The question in the prompt, “How did the program help Latino
students?” Can be answered in the first paragraph of the piece, “Arizona Bands
Mexican American Studies Program.” It says, “97 percent of students participating in
the programs graduated form high school, compared to 44 percent nationally, and
70 percent entered college, compared to 24 percent nationally.” I believe that
it helped the students learn how to succeed on their own, and to be able to
think for themselves and to figure out what they wanted their future to be
like. In a round about way I believe it also served to help the students to
recognize what exactly they don’t want in their future.
How could this be threatening? Well once again we look to the
statistics above. They are incredible, these students are amazing, and can do
amazing things. They just needed the help and push of a program. To cut this
program is ridiculous, I’m sure that money had much to do with it, but it’s
also very important to keep these kinds of programs in play. Students are often
taught that they are the masters of their minds, which means that they should
have the ability to think for themselves. This program allowed that, it’s a
great one, and it’s sad to see it go.
Yes, it's really sad to get rid of any program that empowers students, but as we saw in Waiting for Superman, whether or not schools engage in formal tracking or not, the idea is still strong in our culture that the schools' main job is to prepare students for the workforce: compliance, obediance, and subservience are valued by big business.
ReplyDeleteIn your third paper, will you be using some techniques that empower students?