Thursday, July 2, 2009
There is a lot of ignorance about education in Santa Barbara. Example: Mr. Woodrings' words in your June 25 issue, "Latino parents do not instill in their children an appreciation for the value of education." [Letters, “White Flight It?”]
Really, Mr. Woodring?
As a public school teacher in bilingual and Limited English Proficient classrooms in Redwood City, San Jose, Oxnard, and Santa Barbara over a span of three decades, I can speak to this. Culture does have something to do with how education is emphasized. Most Asian and South Asian immigrant children seem to excel and seem to be very much supported in their efforts, regardless of parents' financial conditions—this seems to be an overwhelming cultural phenomenon in all the districts I have taught in.
With Latinos, it seems to be a matter of economic class. Middle-income Latinos, and many second/third generation Latino parents do support their children, while most of the newly arrived, low-paid immigrants work at multiple jobs (and whom Santa Barbara depends on for a constant pool of cheap, nonunion labor for construction-related businesses, maintenance, gardening, and domestics) and have little or no formal education themselves. And so it is true, we often see less commitment to education from many—but not all—of these overworked and undereducated parents.
On the other hand, Mr. Woodring, I have seen many, many of these "disadvantaged" parents truly change their values with the proper support and outreach by teachers, administrators, and activists/organizers. It is possible for people to change. Calling names and rehashing stupid, racist stereotypes will not solve anyone's problems. Working together as a community will. — Karl Johannsen