*Now that school’s out for summer and all that, there’s a wide gap between what Latino parents want for their children and what’s actually happening. Ninety percent of Latino parents want their kids to go to college, 42 percent make it through. VL
It’s high school graduation season – a joyful occasion for families across the country.
But every year, we fail to deliver on the promise of public education for too many Hispanic students. In many cases, this includes even those with high school diplomas in hand.
We at the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference consider education equity a matter of biblical justice, and we’re committed to raising the standards for all students, especially minority children and those living in poverty.
Latino families value hard work, education and faith. Yet our educational system continues to fail Hispanic students, even as parents see college as necessary for their children’s futures. READ MORE
“They never thought I would leave. I remember tía Olivia calling the house to let me know that I was betraying my family by leaving to study. But unlike both of my parents, I wasn’t leaving the country to let years pass before seeing my family again; and unlike my mother, I wasn’t leaving to get married.” In this short but powerful memoir, Marisol explains that she knew her departure for Yale would create conflict with her family, but she is surprised that her leaving leads to a bond with her parents that she could never have imagined.
Marisol is one of thirty-six Latinos whose writings are included in this collection. They all uniquely document their struggles with the issues that young people encounter—friendship, death, anorexia, divorce, sexuality—but added to these difficulties are those specific to their ethnicity, such as adjusting to a new culture and language, and handling familial and cultural expectations that can limit their hopes and dreams but just as often enrich their lives.
These short essays written by young men and women from various Latino backgrounds—Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Salvadoran—reflect the diversity of growing up Latino in the United States. Whether from a gay or straight, urban or rural, recent immigrant or third generation perspective, these illuminating pieces of memoir shine a light into the lives of young Hispanic adults.
By Samuel Rodriguez, Sacramento Bee (2 minute read)
