Morning Rant

I recently received a forwarded e-mail about the problems teachers face when teaching illegal immigrants (a hot topic here in California). The article talked about wasted money, graffiti, teenage pregnancy, and feelings of entitlement in Title 1 schools with large Hispanic populations. While I don't disagree that these things are happening, I can say with certainty that Title 1 schools aren't the only ones wasting money, and Hispanic students aren't the only ones being disrespectful, getting pregnant, and feeling entitled. The tone of the entire article bothered me, but it wasn't until I reached the following paragraph that I started yelling:

There are many hardworking Hispanic/American citizens that contribute to our country and many that I consider my true friends. We should encourage and accept those Hispanics who have done it the right and legal way. It does, however, have everything to do with culture. A third-world culture that does not value education, that accepts children getting pregnant and dropping out of school by 15 and that refuses to assimilate...

I don't know that I could come up with a more racist paragraph if I tried. "We would accept them if they were more like us. Especially if they weren't lazy, stupid, and immoral." Ugh.

The part that really gets me steamed is how the author accuses Hispanics of not valuing education. I live in a upper middle class district. I would estimate that on any given year my classroom is 20% Hispanic (along with 15% Asian, 10% Native American, and <5% African American). My students aren't dealing with an inner city environment, and they are elementary aged, but even with those difference my experiences don't fit with what this author has stated at all.

To say that Hispanics as a culture don't value education is flat-out bullshit. This is like saying that Jews like money and Italians are all connected to the mob. It's a stereotype, designed to spread fear and distrust. From my experiences, the value of education has less to do with culture and more to do with the parent's own experiences with education as a child. Many times, I have had a conference for a Hispanic student, during which a father who is working three jobs to make ends meet tells me that he has changed his shift hours so he can be home to help a wayward son with homework or motivation.

Although I have dealt with that pre-teen sense of entitlement in many of my 5th graders, it is not limited to any one culture. Most parents work hard to give their kids a better childhood than the one they had growing up. Unfortunately, after several generations of this, we are no longer sheilding our youngsters from famine and factory work, but instead excusing them from having to do simple chores or practice basic courtesy. This isn't a cultural thing...it's a generational thing.

While I don't have to deal with the teenaged pregnancy issue at my level (yet...shudder), I know this is not a cultural thing either. In my opinion, the rise in teenaged pregnancy stems from low self-esteem, lack of sex education, boredom among teens, a shifting of influential power from families to peers, a decreasing of responsibility, and the effects of sexual repression.

Finally, assimilation is for the Borg. The sheer variety of languages, foods, traditions, and beliefs found in our borders SHOULD give us one of the richest, most experienced countries in the world. Instead, we give in to our fear of the unknown and refuse to accept anyone who isn't just like us or willing to become just like us.

In summation:
I agree that there are problems with our educational system, our society, and our world, but I refuse to lay the blame of those problems at the feet of one group. No amount of anger or hatred is going to change things. We need to work together if we hope to tackle these issues.