| Latinos and Educational Reform in the United
States (Part II)
by Manuel Hernández
A student must be much more than a student and become a disciple.
The denotative meanings are similar, but the connotations
of one and the other are far apart. A student is bond to a
classroom, one school and several teachers. The disciple receives
an intensive impartation from one or few teachers in a real-life
classroom. As students, children learn and work in an atmosphere
filled with new, fulfilling challenges and are surrounded
by classmates with different interests and abilities as well.
As disciples, children learn and work in an environment filled
with new, fulfilling experiences and opportunities of growth
to help mold character and take them into greater heights
and walks of life. The gap between one challenge and one experience
is minimum, yet a discipleship goes beyond the classroom atmosphere.
Discipleship is intertwining the personal, social, cultural,
academic and even spiritual backgrounds of the student to
transform him/her into a supernatural leader. It is stating
and designing clear, concise and specific objectives to lead
the disciple into his/her own leadership. The academy award
nominated movie Stand and Deliver presents a real-life story
of an Eastern Los Angeles math teacher who transformed his
students mentality, attitudes and way of life forever. Jaime
A. Escalante was a mentor, father and big brother for his
students. He fed, fathered and provoked them to surpass other
peoples expectations. When the educational system unjustly
marked these students, the teachers clear, concise and specific
objectives transitioned them into disciples who eventually
changed the mentality of their own generations to come. Twenty
years later, Escalantes students are all influential and supernatural
leaders of our society. Because disciples are given tools
to make a difference in society, they will be better equipped
to succeed and positively impact other peoples lives.
What is a discipleship? What ingredients are needed to successfully
make the transition from a student to a disciple? According
to the Websters New World Dictionary, a disciple follows one
who leads. An educational reform must begin aqui. Americas
leaders need to reform their character, attitudes and ways
of thinking. The greatest Teacher of all time taught us all
the greatest lesson of all time; a teacher must be willing
to put his/her life on the line for his/her students. As part
of His schooling, the disciples received three years of hands-on
intensive training. This may seem like the extreme, but His
extreme has revolutionized every institution in America today,
including Hollywood. It is to set an example, always. Martin
Luther King taught his disciples by example not by word of
mouth, and today all of us are proud of his legacy and impartation.
Even when death do us part, we supernatural leaders will be
not only remembered, but loved, emulated and followed.
But how can one give what one has not received? Even the
academic institutions that train teachers in America must
change their curriculum. The body cannot function well without
a cell; education can never reform itself if the institutions
that prepare teachers are not willing to ingrain the human
aspect of education. Teaching is ministering love, hope and
faith. In Sandra Maria Esteves Puerto Rico Discovery # 10
Surprise Package poem, the speaker reiterates the importance
of being able to give what one has received from one generation
to another:
When you start out in life
You are handed down a package
Who knows?
Maybe someday
Your package will be passed on
Given to someone else
As if it were theirs
When they start out in life (Undelivered Love Poems p.33)
Latinos have the highest high school dropout rate in America,
so we Latinos have the greatest responsibility in the process.
We are the ones able, capable and willing to become reformers
in our childrens education. The stakes are high but attainable.
Let us revive what has been stagnant and obsolete. Education
is too noble and sacred to be taken for granted. The passion
of He who saved humanity must be part of our reality. It is
not promoting His religion but understanding the Vision. If
it took the passion of one man to disciple the universe, imagine
what a body of Latino leaders can do for their children. There
are so many of us but so few willing to work as one for a
common goal: the education of our children.
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