Category: WK4: Educational Inequalities

Still Falling Through the Cracks is a comprehensive report that examines persistent problems in the education pipeline for Latinx students through K-12, community college, four-year college, and graduate education. Through a comparative race study, this report clearly illustrates the systemic inequality Latinx students face, which persists even after policy changes in California.

One of the main challenges highlighted is the lack of attention toward Latinx students in academic support, resource allocation, and sufficient guidance at every level of education. Reflecting on curriculum design in high school, especially in humanities and social sciences courses like history, literature, and sociology, I can see the need for educational reform to include more cultural studies. Such reforms would shift the predominantly Western-oriented curriculum toward recognizing the cultural diversity of this country and the world.

It was also intriguing that this report included comparative ethnic studies to provide a clear comparison of how different groups succeed in education. It made me reflect on my own educational journey. As an Asian student, I experienced pressure to study from my family, school, and society. This is because higher education in Asia is often perceived as a guarantee of a good career and a good life, leading parents to push students very hard and adopt a grade-oriented approach to raising their children. Although I recognize the issues associated with this demanding attitude, such as fostering an unhealthy climate of competition and intense psychological pressure, I failed to acknowledge how we sometimes take the importance of education for granted. This pressure drives students to strive for academic excellence, potentially opening doors to promising opportunities in societies with large populations and high levels of competition. This realization made me reflect on the complexity of education, which serves not only individual students but also families and entire ethnic communities.

Hence, I agree with the authors’ recommendations on how we can promote the importance of higher education for Latinx students, as it is critical to their success. However, the educational system is highly complex and requires collaboration among multiple ethnic groups to recognize each other’s differences and work together to create a more equitable and culturally inclusive environment.

The document Still Falling Through the Cracks analyzes the inequalities in the Latinx community when it comes to education. Using samples from primarily California based schools, such as the LAUSD and California Community Colleges, the authors reveal to us a variety of statistics that illustrate and active trend in academic progression from the Latinx community.  The documentary Precious Knowledge presents the viewer with an insider look to into at-risk school programs in the Southwest US. that teaches students on Chicanx and Latinx history. We are additionally given a view on the benefits these programs have towards students, especially to Chicanos. Both materials demonstrate a severe problem within the Latinx community. Latino children aren’t seeking higher education. We see this is because of the system set in place in schools that both inhibit student progression, through suspensions and lack of “gifted” recognition among others, and prevent them to from utilizing ethnic studies courses, to actively engage with their history. The reading gives us a good sense of how the current system prevents academic progression among Latinx students. The authors provide claims that state how incorporating ethnic studies courses into a curriculum could lead to improvements in student engagement as well as expose them to higher education. In the documentary, we get to see more clearly. The students in these ethnic studies courses are actively engaged in discussions about their roots. This is often brought to life by an instructor who shows passion and dedication to the subject. The reading highlights the importance of having adequately trained instructors to teach these topics. I find this topic to be something that I have seen firsthand. Coming from a majority Latino school, it was easy to see they lack a push factor towards Latino students to pursue higher educations. Looking at the graphs presented in the document surprises me, since a lot of Latino students who go to school are told by their parents that they should pursue higher education to not end up like them. Even with a strong push factor coming from parents, Latino students still are choosing not to graduate. The system continues to pull students away from reaching higher education, by continuing to make it difficult to get in more college level classes and the inclusion of trade skills in curriculum.

In the article, “Still Falling Through the Cracks: Revisiting the Latina/o Education Pipeline” by Hubert et al, the authors argue that the educational disparities that are affecting Latinx students exist all the way from elementary school to graduate school and tenure for those in academia. The wide range in which these problems exist highlights that the education disparities are brought on by the educational system and that while some changes are being made to improve the statistics, it is not enough. One of the key points that stood out to me was the fact that any improvements being made is likely a reflection of the growing population, not because of the measures that have been implemented. One of the main arguments is that providing the students with education about their own culture through Chicano studies and other similar programs encourages engagement with the material and connects them with leaders who look like them, the key in keeping children in school. In the in class documentary, Precious Knowledge, we are able to hear from students and educators in Arizona how Raza studies have changed their outlook on education and life, motivating them to continue with school. 

It is mentioned in the first text, it mentioned how the Mexican-American studies program ended in Tucson, leaving me to wonder how it impacted the student’s trajectory. I could see how much it meant to them. I doubt that there weren’t any protests or rallying. It also makes me wonder if the classes were having a positive effect on the community, increasing the students’ graduation rates, which in turn can benefit the economy, why would the government change that. It feels as if education and the government are always at odds with one another, especially in today’s news with the Trump administration trying to dismantle the department of education. 

I think that if I would have had a class like this in high school, it would have been met positivity by the student body and the few Latinx teachers we had and encouraged students in the same way. My school had a ballet folklorico program which I feel had a similar impact on students. It taught students about their culture and even got people participating in it outside of school as well. Programs like these attract teachers who really care which I think is another important aspect of keeping students in school. 

This week’s materials centered around educational inequities among Latino populations in the US. “Still Falling Through the Cracks,” a report conducted by the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center examines how education attainment among Latines not only remains low, but actually continues to fall. The report then examines each part of the educational pathway – from K-12, to community and four-year colleges, to graduate school and beyond – and analyzes the structural failings which lead to students dropping out of these programs. These failings include Latine students’ increased likelihood to be suspended or given a disability classification, racial microaggressions, lack of representative role models, administrative and financial barriers, and lack of resources and support for undocumented students. These are all symptoms of both institutional and interpersonal racism, and this report argues that understanding the role they play throughout students’ educational careers can help to reduce the inequities they create. The report also includes recommendations to tackle each identified problem. Some solutions include recruiting and retaining inspirational Latine educators, creating curricula that reflect the experiences of students of color, fostering a college-bound school climate, providing resources for undocumented students, and maintaining effective diversity and inclusion initiatives. Some school districts across the country have taken these recommendations. Precious Knowledge captures these efforts in action at school districts in Tucson where a large population of Latine students are receiving their education. The documentary captures the very real and very material improvements that these efforts have brought about. We see how Raza and ethnic studies courses engage students quite profoundly. We see how exceptional educators make the classroom a safe and fun environment that keeps students coming to school when they otherwise might not. We see how these efforts have changed students’ relationship to school and widen their cultural understandings. At the same time, however, we see how these changes have provoked pushback from individuals who are at best misguided, and at worst malevolent. All of these things highlight the importance of scholarship in this area and, perhaps most importantly, resource allocation. I found this week’s materials to be very compelling, but I feel discouraged about the likelihood of this important work to be done in the current climate. 

After reading Still Falling Through the Cracks: Revisiting the Latina/o Education Pipeline I learned and explored how the climate of education for the Latinx population connects  to the current efforts to increase Ethnic Studies in the U.S. education system and modify a system that creates educational barriers. It is evident that the disconnect with Latinx people having access to equitable education is due to an unwelcoming environment, systemic inequalities, and a lack of a diverse curriculum that makes it challenging for the Pan-ethnicity to feel supported in their education. The reading states: “Schools must create an ethos that encourages Latino Students to believe that their schools care about their academic needs and  their aspirations to be successful” (8). Many times there is a discriminatory analysis towards the diaspora when explaining why there is a significant educational gap, which fails to acknowledge how the educational system sets students of color to fail due to discriminatory policies and limited resources depending on the county. A solution discussed is the initiative to provide studies that educate students about their culture as it empowers students and through programs that personally guide students through their educational journey there can be an increase in achievement (8). An important analysis in the reading included “Research has found that students of color on college and university campuses continue to face incidents of racial/ethnic harassment, bias, and discrimination” (13). This connects to the formation of Latinx Studies at Emory University as students came together to advocate for programs that are inclusive of a diverse student body. In addition, these barriers in our education system continue to be seen today as universities including Emory continue to take actions that do not take into consideration all voices and at times create an environment where marginalized communities are targeted, an example being arrested students on campus. While this study was conducted in 2010, it is relevant to today’s climate in education. It is necessary to continue these conversations and have communities come together to advocate for one another. Changes in policies will only occur through the uplifting of voices of different perspectives and research that focuses on the gaps within Latinx education is an example of useful information that can shape implementation of programs/systems that can bridge the inequities.

The materials for this week emphasize educational inequalities specifically among Latinx students’ attainment of degrees and provide potential solutions to addressing such disparities. The reading, Still Falling Through the Cracks, and the movie Precious Knowledge both provide critical insight to the educational inequalities Latinx students’ face in California and Arizona respectively. The reading primarily focuses on providing a statistical report and analysis of the educational pipeline from K-12 education to higher education that is constituted by the parameters of California, Los Angeles County and the Los Angeles Unified School District. Based upon the data, the authors of the report suggest solutions such as changes in pedagogical practices and more structural elements such as the actual curriculum (e.g. offering ethnic studies courses). Precious Knowledge particularly focuses on ethnic studies in the state of Arizona as a point of contention. Many of the students and their families in the film express content with an ethnic studies curriculum as it reinforces the claim made in the Hubert et. al report in which a curriculum that reflects the students’ experiences as students of color can positively impact their academics and achievement. On the other hand, the film also shows how politicians have gone against an ethnic studies curriculum as it is deemed “anti-American.” As a product of LAUSD, Los Angeles County and California, I could really relate to and understand within my own experiences and observations, the findings and recommendations provided by the report. I attended K-12 schools all located across distinct areas of the city; elementary a couple blocks down the road, middle school in Glassell Park, and high school near Downtown LA. My experience across all three schools were animated by a profound connection to the large Latinx student population within LAUSD, and it hasn’t been until much later that I realized how as the 2nd largest school district in the nation and the largest in the state, the district lacks in providing quality and equitable educational opportunities to one of its largest student communities. More specifically, an example that appears with my own experience is the talk of academic and college counseling in which my small Highschool of approximately 800 students shared 2 academic counselors, split by last names A-L and M-Z, and 1 college counselor. Also ethnic studies for the most part are pretty nonexistent within the curriculum. I only came to learn about the term in college.

Still Falling Through the Cracks: Revisiting the Latina/o Education Pipeline by Lindsay Pérez Huber, Maria C. Malagón, Brianna R. Ramírez, Lorena Camargo Gonzalez, Alberto Jimenez, and Verónica N. Vélez addresses how gaps in educational attainment for Latina/o students have been widening over the past decade rather than narrowing and that Latina/o students are still “falling through the cracks.” The authors then go through reports from 2006-2014, with each report having recommendations for the improvement of educational conditions and outcomes for Latina/o students in each brief and report. Some of the things that they talked about in the reports were a necessity to require ethnic studies courses in California for all high school students. They also talked about promoting high-stakes engagement for Latino students by training staff to provide an educational space in which students feel safe and comfortable. Students were also feeling that their were poor institutional practices and that the teachers assumed they were deficient, not allowing them to test out this could be improved by grabbing institutional data collection. Going with the previous topic, students should also learn the importance of placement exams with better classroom instruction in basic skills. Going through the school system for the last 12 years, I agree with a majority of these points, as it is very difficult to test out of classes and teacher instruction can be greatly improved through classes with a lack of effort from various teachers. The author then began to talk about colleges and their campus climate, referring to multiple henious acts done, and began talking about how they should do climate assessments and take action based off of their results. This is actually vary relatable with the N word being drawn in the snow a few weeks ago, and I agree that colleges should monitor acts like these and take action based off of the reports that they see. Overall, the ideas in this article build up on each other, leading to the final point where the author talks about the limited Latina/o graduation rates and how institutions should find the right faculty and provide adequate support regarding these processes.

Still Falling Through the Cracks was a meta-analysis paper about the educational pipeline for latinx students focusing on California school and higher education systems and providing recommendations to schools on how to improve the pipeline for Latinx students. Precious Knowledge was a film focused on the importance of ethnic studies courses for Latinx students and how that improves the students outlook on education. The paper we read was more of an overarching paper about the problems with the education system for Latinx students and Precious Knowledge, from the small snippet we watched, is focused more on a specific school system, Arizona, and how in a way the teachers at this school are somewhat portraying the recommendations in the paper in a real education system. Both articles have an overarching idea, that we have been discussing in class, that the system is the issue and is not uplifting our communities. For example, students like in Precious Knowledge are retaliating against it by making sure their history, American history, is protected and not allowing the system to define what their history is similar to how many Indigenous communities will not allow themselves to be identified as Native American. Both pieces do a great job at not just stating what the problem is, the system, but promoting solutions that can be applied nationwide. One thing I found disheartening within the paper was the fact that promotion and tenure were not defined strictly and were harder to attain for Latinx professors. I had assumed that they were standardized but again ambiguity allows for white supremacy to persevere. One thing I found beautiful was the way the teacher taught about the different deities from MesoAmerica, he was able to create life-lessons from what each deity represents to help students practice those life-lessons and learn about what each deity is. I am a person of faith and this way of teaching about different cultures is very beautiful and shows the humanity that has been so often stripped from these cultures. The film and paper highlighted the importance of changing the narrative and creating empathy for Latinx students because before it was projected that these students did not care but rather that they were given up on and internalized those perceptions. Latinx students have been set up to fail and it is the communities responsibility to uplift and provide resources that the system will not provide.

Still Falling Through the Cracks: Revisiting the Latina/o Education Pipeline by Lindsay Pérez Huber, Maria C. Malagón, Brianna R. Ramírez, Lorena Camargo Gonzalez, Alberto Jimenez, and Verónica N. Vélez depicts the systemic racism and barriers that exist against Latinx students within the American education system. The article covers several factors that contribute to the overall disadvantage of being a Latinx student in America, no matter what age. The article talks about how schools within Latinx communities are underfunded and some of the cultural and lingual challenges and setbacks that young Latinx students experience. The article also discusses the disproportion of Latinx students in higher education and uses graphs to exhibit how despite the percentage of the population they make up, their rate of educational success in post-high school is immensely low. 

The writers of the article call for changes to be made in order to lower the Latinx student dropout rate and to increase the representation of Latinx people in higher education. The article lists numerous recommendations involving DEI employment, specific policy changes, and affirmative action as a whole. The article brings up discussions and awareness towards systemic racism, educational inequality, and the general minority-student experience in America. It suggests solutions revolving specifically around the structure of the education system and how structural changes could help increase the rate of success among Latinx Americans in higher education. 

I overall agree with the sentiments of the article. The overall argument attacks current social and structural norms within the education system and displays the negative effects they have had on the Latinx community. This article is of course a reminder of the historical systemic racism and the impacts that it continues to have on modern American society for the minority youth. The writers give suggestions revolving around affirmative action and a hopeful increase in diversity, equity, and inclusion to help remedy the disproportionate and unfair setbacks of Latinx students in America. 

The underrepresentation of the Latinx youth leads to a lack of true leadership, educational support, and general empowerment for Latinx students throughout their youth and young adulthood, and without proper reform, this will be a continuing cycle that continues to give young Latinx people an educational disadvantage in American society.