Is Latino Parent/School Involvement a Cultural Thing?

A recent post in hispanicallyspeaking.com asked a challenging question: Why Aren’t Many Latino Parents Involved in Their Child’s School?

I can’t tell you from experience because my mother was all over my school, I have no idea what it’s like to have a disinterested or detached parent. When I was in the first grade my mother made a random visit to my catholic School and found that my teacher, a sister, had me standing in a trash can because I had misbehaved. My mother’s wrath unleashed. Similar storied abound from all of my siblings throughout our school experiences. Our mother was never president of the PTA, but she was the leader of the family educational defense front, and that was more than enough.

Hispanicallyspeaking makes an opening point that reflects my own experience:

…there is a difference between not being involved in your child’s school and not being involved in your child’s education.
Latino parents are very supportive of their children receiving the best education they can afford but not necessarily comfortable with being involved in the school where they are getting that education.

As I grew older my mother’s advocacy evolved. I’ll admit that I was not the stellar pupil, nor was I the model student; detention and suspension were not foreign concepts. I was bored. In secundaria and later in High School (the two were done each in a different country, in different educational systems) the teachers’ and administrators’ word became law. My parents believed the school’s version of my activities and progress, then sorted out that truth with me. It makes sense.

Most students whose parents come from Mexico come from a cultural background that respects and trusts educators and the public school system. What the teacher says goes, no need for my input.

My mother was from San Antonio, but the cultural background is pertinent. She was rare in that she had a college degree (rare for a Latina in the 1950’s), and the fact that for her the school’s word was law didn’t mean that she wasn’t involved.  And I think that’s the take away. The feeling is that as Latino parents become acculturated they understand the need for participation, attending school meetings and such.

My question, though, is what about those families that have been here for generations and the detachment from their children’s education persists? Is that cultural, or what?