Furthering Latino Education

The Pew Research Center released Five Facts about Latinos and Education this week. While very brief, it paints an informative picture of the status of Latinos and education. Essentially, Latinos are graduating high school at greater rates than before; enrolling in colleges at higher rates than other groups; and have less loan debt. Yet, Latinos are not earning those four-year degrees, and instead are enrolling at two-year Universities that do not seem to be pipelines to eventual bachelor degrees. Right now only 9% of Latinos between ages 25-29 hold a Bachelor’s.

I’m not one to knock down good news with bad. It’s fantastic that we’re graduating high school and that Latinos continue their education in higher Ed. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t stop to see what more can be done to improve the situation. As women who have earned Bachelor degrees and beyond, it’s highly important that we take a moment to assess and figure out what advocacy we can do to help the rest of our communities.

My hypothesis is that Latinos aren’t being encouraged to consider four-year universities. Not by their schools, who may not adequately support them or by families who may not understand the difference in two year/four year schools or most parts of the American college process. Further, predatory for-profit schools are also targeting minority groups, including Latinos; along with predatory loans. On top of it all is the strong pull of family obligation and inter-family dependence that makes it difficult for Latinos to break away from home and set out on their own.

When I really assess College, American-style, I realize it is an antithesis to most Latino communities’ expectations. Generally, a young adult, while encouraged to get an education, is also expected to live at home and continue to support the family. In the American mainstream culture, the young adult moves away for long periods of time, with no in-person interaction with family, and can’t be depended on to help the family either financially or emotionally. I can see why this way of life would be difficult for Latino parents to accept and encourage.

Further culture clash occurs when it’s time for families to actually guide the college-bound student. Instead of relying on parents to fill out FAFSA forms or prep for college entrance exams, Latino students may have to depend on friends, guidance counselors, or other sources to navigate through the college application process. When parents can’t provide the hands-on help a student needs, they are relegated to the background, unable to give much input, even when they want to. Or when they do give advice or recommendations it may not be the best in the long-run. Latino parents, for example, may generally discourage a student from taking on loans instead of seeing that debt as an investment. Or they may not know the intricacies of financial aid enough that they can properly counsel their child. Another example is encouraging a child to take a grades-based scholarship, not knowing the difficulty in maintaining those conditions.

But this isn’t solely an issue of Latino parents needing to adjust. Rather, onus falls on schools—both high school and post-secondary—to support and encourage Latino students. I know there are many great guidance counselors that help set high school students on a path towards higher ed. However, there are just as many horror stories of slight and overt bias aimed at Latino students by supposed counselors swaying them from “unrealistic” goals, like attending a four year school. And once a Latino sets foot on a campus, what is the support like there? Latino Rebels’ article about Harvard’s Latin@ Commencement captures the feeling perfectly. It describes how the Latinos from the 80s and the ones today all felt like they were the first to “walk on Harvard’s cobblestone streets.” Meaning, there is a disconnect when we arrive on campuses. We feel isolated. And generally, it seems that both administration and alumni could do more to encourage and support current students.

So why am I on my soapbox about this? What’s so bad about two-year schools? I don’t mean to sound elitist, as if only Bachelors matter because any endeavor in education is worthwhile and worth celebrating. However, statistically, it seems obstacles tend to appear that make it difficult for two-year students to transfer to a four-year school. That’s why Associate degrees may be up, but we don’t see the correlation in Bachelor degrees. There is also a large difference between income-earning potential between those degrees. Economic capital can translate into political power; power we are letting slip through our fingers.

So what can be done? Ay dios. I don’t know. How do you solve a problem this massive? A problem that, on its face, actually seems a little positive–higher graduation rates! More enrollments! Who can be mad at that?

I’ll leave the problem-solving to other education activists who are fighting for progress every day. But I think as an individual what I can do is continue to mentor and support other Latinos seeking higher education, AND use my power whenever I can. Meaning, as an alumna of two private institutes of education, I feel obligated now, more than ever, to start pushing for further progress in my alma maters.

What else can we do?