Why Latinos Need To Be Educated

Why Latinos Need to Be Educated?
The Hispanic population has increased in the last years in the United States. Because of this, the Latino students’ population has grown also in public schools. In the year 2002, the census data noted that there was 37.4 million Latinos/as. One third was less than 18 years old, and 13.3% of the population made up of Latinos was projected to grow one-fourth (24.4%) of the total U.S population by the year 2050 (Soto, 2008). School and college age youth represented 37% of the Latino population, with projections of an 82% increase. Due to the expected growth, Latinos' education has become significantly relevant for the United States (Soto, 2008).
According to Valverde (2006) there are at three reasons why the 21st-century
They are hardworking people, with dreams and aspirations. They come looking for an opportunity that probably they could not get in their own countries. They have hope that they can have a better future living in this nation. They also come here because they are looking for a better future for their children. They value the educational system in the United States. However, once their children are enrolled and start to attend school, they realize it will not be that easy for them. Their children start to live in two different worlds, one at school and another completely different at home (Eggers-Piérola,2005). In the case of the students that their primary language is not English, it is very difficult for them to follow their classmates’ pace of learning. On the other hand, the children who were born in the United States but have Hispanic parents, sometimes they have difficulty communicating with their non-English speaking parents at home. In occasions, teachers are not able to understand Latino students’ cultural backgrounds. Parents blame themselves for their incapability of helping their children or sometimes they think they are not supporting their children hard enough (Soto, 2008). Besides all this, the conditions in where they live, most of the times are not the most adequate for their best development. Latino children bring into the classroom these experiences that differ from the ones that Anglo children live in
Some they will act on response to that and others will just ignore the fact their classes have become multicultural. Regarding to Latinos growing population, Eggers-Piérola (2005) affirmed that educators must be instructed to know how to provide support to Latino students and their families. She said that is through values, principles and practices that early childhood programs and training institutions can increase their response to many people of Latino background in the United States. The four major values she highlighted in her book were: (1) family, (2) belonging, (3) moral, social, and academic, education, and (4) commitment. In order to achieve this, it will require cooperation from teachers, administrators and parents. On the other hand, Valverde (2006) believed schools need to be transformed in order provide a viable education for Latino students. Some suggestions he gave were: “utilization of the Spanish language, incorporation of the Mexican and American cultures, development of the full-service and community-centered facilities” and other more (p.137). Unlike Eggers-Piérola and Valverde, González, Huerta-Macías, and Villamil Tinajero (1998) found out that schools where Latino students improved academically was because the principal’s leadership. Pedroza (1993) explains that “a culturally competent administrator is a school leader who has clarified his/her own values and thinking regarding