Minorities Place in Higher Education: They Don't Have one

Minorities Place in Higher Education: They Don’t Have One

Minorities have been at the bottom of the social hierarchy in the United States from the moment Christopher Columbus and his disease carrying crew wiped out most of the Native American population. It only worsened with slavery and even since its abolishment (which many refuted causing the Civil War) Black people and African Americans have continued to be stereotyped and discriminated against. Latinos and Hispanics as well, portrayed as illegal, border crossing rapists set out to steal American jobs. With protests arising across the country discussion of this topic is only rising. However, something that is lacking attention is minorities such, as Black, Latino, and Native Americans place in education. Minorities are humans, just like everyone else, so equality in education should be a given. That is not the case. The education system has failed minorities for too long and it needs to be addressed. If you were to walk into a higher level class in a high school where a sizeable percentage are minorities, you would most likely see very little of them in there, or at least a disproportionate amount of white students to minorities. This is unacceptable, because many minorities are lacking a rigorous high school education, in a time where college is becoming more difficult for students, high schools need to prepare more minority students by encouraging them to take higher level classes.

Equality of opportunity in education for all ethnic groups in the United States is a goal that remains to be met. With immigration to the United States increasing, there will be a larger number of ethnic backgrounds, especially Hispanics in schools, and as Georges Vernez, Richard Krop, and Peter Rydell state in their book Closing the Education Gap : Benefits and Costs, “Hispanics, the fastest growing minority, are significantly lagging other ethnic groups in educational attainment, most particularly in college-going and college completion”. Blacks and Hispanics will constitute an overwhelming majority (75 percent) of the state's high school dropouts while Asians and non-Hispanic whites will constitute an overwhelming majority (89 percent) of the state's college graduates. This is a problem that can be prevented, but action and preparation needs to start at a young age. However, another obstacle to be overcome is that the incentive states have to invest in education may be less than optimal, most particularly for postsecondary education. High schools want their students to graduate, but once they leave, interest in college success is negligible. If one thing is certain, it is that the education system needs reform, and Guofang Wan says it best in his book The Education of Diverse Student Populations : A Global Perspective, when he states that there should be “conscious recognition that there are other ways of doing things may result in new approaches that we have not explored before”. The standard sit in a desk while the teacher lectures should no longer be the norm. Education, like humans, should be every changing and should constantly be evolving. Yet we are still practicing the same method of teaching in high school like there was hundreds of years ago. The education system needs to adapt so minority students, and really everybody can be better prepared for college.

Everyone is unique, every student is different, and each has had their own separate experiences throughout their life which has led them to where they are now. Unfortunately too many of them end up as college dropouts, and too many of them are minorities. Education should not be a one size fits all. As Paul Krugman mention in his article “Degrees and Dollars”, smart children from poor families (such as minorities) are less likely to finish college than their more privileged and affluent counterparts”. Krugman says that this is not ”just an outrage; they represent a huge waste of the nation's human potential”. Imagine how prosperous the United States could be if only more minorities (which will eventually represent the majority of the U.S.) were to graduate college and be successful. Although Latinos share a strong work ethic, roughly 20% of the Latino population is living in poverty (U.S. Census, 2004). Latinos who immigrate to the US arrive with high hopes of expanding educational opportunities for their children, which can lead to economic betterment. But often, they remain trapped in entry-level jobs without the possibility for advancing. This is where education is pivotal in breaking the cycle of poverty for the younger generation, as said by Herbert Walberg and Susan Paik in their book Narrowing the Achievement Gap : Strategies for Educating Latino, Black, and Asian Students. Someone very important in educating is teachers, but teachers often have not been trained nor do they have the skills to work with minority students, especially Latinos. Teachers must learn to cross cultural boundaries to make learning meaningful and relevant for all students. Just as stated in the book Pathways To Success in School : Culturally Responsive Teaching by Etta Hollins and Eileen Oliver, “when communicative behaviors are familiar to the learner, the learning process is more successful”. And this is not just accurate for minority students, all students work better with a way the are familiar with. There is a significant influence between the relation of culture and cognition. The situation is changing as the connections between language, literacy, and culture are becoming more firmly established, and as Sonia Nieto mentions in her book Language, Culture, and Teaching: Critical Perspectives, “as inequality and the lack of access to an equal education [is being] faced by many students [it] is becoming more evident”. This is why making sure minority students receive a quality proper education in higher level classes is of vital importance if they are to succeed in college.

The incoming freshman minority students across the country entering college for the first time have no clue of the increasing challenge that the college package has to offer, which is causing emotional damage to students. Unfortunately many students are being trained to think and expect that college is a stroll in the park, as many sources are coming out with articles claiming college is getting easier. This by extension creates students with inflated egos, something that Shamala Kumar and Carolyn M. Jagacinski discuss in their study titled “Confronting Task Difficulty in Ego Involvement: Change in Performance Goals”. They found that students who failed to show their demonstrating ability are more likely to doubt themselves, and therefore avoid showing their below average performance. This is the exact opposite mindset of a successful student. Growth and advancement require acknowledgment of mistakes, ignoring

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