Editorial

She also hopes to use her crown to counter popular stereotypes of Latinos. “Hopefully, I can erase some stereotypes about Latinos – they’re not all housekeepers, drug dealers or hoodlums in the ghetto,” she told AP Newswire. “Maybe there are some roles out there for a queen.”

We at Latin Roots certainly think so.

Taking a closer look

“WHEN LATINOS MIGRATE TO THE U.S., THEY TEND TO LEAVE EVERYTHING IN THE HANDS OF THEIR CHILDREN‘S TEACHERS WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THAT THE SYSTEM IS VERY DIFFERENT...”

Felix Arroyo, Councilor At Large in the City of Boston, moved to Massachusetts to attend Harvard University. He has lived in Boston ever since, devoting his efforts to strengthening Latino rights and participation. Councilor Arroyo has been a public servant since 1984, as a policy advisor to Senator Kerry, member and President of the Boston School Committee, Director of Personnel for the City of Boston, and in many other demanding roles. He agreed to chat with Leslie Lobb, Ealeen Ceballos, and Leonardo Vivas, from Latin Roots.

Q. The past few years could be described as years of Latino “emergence”. The U.S.’s Latino population has surged, and Latinos have made increasingly visible strides in areas such as education, politics, the arts and marketing. What important achievements do you think Latinos have made during the past ten years in Massachusetts, and what setbacks did they face? What goals will they achieve in the next ten years?

A. The Latino community’s work in Boston began a long time ago. I had an intense experience more than twenty years ago with a group of nuns in Villa Victoria, here in Boston that evolved from teaching women how to read and write into teaching English. Over time, children joined in, especially those that didn’t want to attend school.

When I see Latin Roots addressing Latino dropout rates, I can’t help but remember that in those days, kids didn’t drop out, they were pushed out. Hispanic kids felt rejected – and sometimes still do – by teachers and school authorities, consciously or unconsciously. Like all youth Latino youngsters deserve to feel valued. That is why after school programs addressed to tackle the various areas of Latino student involvement are so important.

Throughout the years, many programs emerged. I always insist that the community play a role in education. Chinese, African-American and other ethnic communities have a host of after school programs for cultural support. The Vietnamese celebrate their children’s educational successes in an open theater. In the Hispanic community, people like Miriam Torres and Braulio Felipe do similar things.

Looking back, one significant difficulty in the quest for a more integrated Latino community was the loose communication between the Hispanic communities across cities. As a result of lack of integration, Boston Latino visibility became overwhelming. However, there have been important achievements. A first has been a change in predominantly negative Hispanic stereotypes, or a change in the perception of Hispanics by mainstream U.S. society. To the extent that Hispanics tend to be more respected, such changes in perception allow a better understanding with other communities, as well as a more sober understanding of what we can put on the table as a community. Given the rising importance of Latinos, nowadays the media tends to be more careful in how they stereotype us.

Another achievement is that we are looked upon as a potential market, which explains the number of positive commercial messages and images about Latinos. TV stations use more Hispanic presenters and new spaces have been created for Latino TV stations, radios and newspapers.

Though very slowly, a third achievement is that the Latino community has achieved a new space in the political world, especially in Boston. We still have a number of goals towards which to work. They include understanding that political participation is essential for social and economic

development. This involves several hurdles, like overcoming the low electoral participation of Hispanics, especially in places like Lawrence or Chelsea, where Hispanics are a majority of the population. Establishing working coalitions with other communities would be a second goal. Exerting leadership means being able to work with others for the achievement of common goals. Finally, we must remember that success comes only with persistence, and that we must seek equality without fear.

Q. What changes should occur in Massachusetts to grant Hispanics a better education?

A. We have to consider both attitudes and expectations, because teachers’ attitudes and expectations for students impact them greatly. In school, teachers always offer their students a mix of acceptance and rejection. Students will perceive whatever the teacher expects from them very quickly. The most immediate consequence is that either you have motivated students, or unmotivated ones. Attitudes and expectations should be given greater consideration by those responsible for education.

Q. In your view, what is the main responsibility of the Latino family in helping their children perform well in school?

A. Here, again, we find the issue of expectations. In U.S. schools, Latinos face a totally different cultural setting. In our countries, the teacher is a great authority, and families go along with that, up to the point where parents concede their child’s entire education to him or her. There is a tacit agreement: the parent accepts the teacher as the one who knows, while the teacher simultaneously accepts responsibility for the kids’ education.

When Latino families come here, they tend to leave everything in the teacher’s hands. But in the U.S., the setting is different. Education is a civil right, the school is a means, and the teacher is not responsible if the student learns or not. We Latinos have to be aware of that difference in expectations, and establish a greater dialogue between school authorities, teachers, parents, and students to create a different network where everyone understands his role in a transparent way. We must also create a support system for families that fail to understand the new environment.

Q. How do you interpret the current rebellion in many Massachusetts school districts against MCAS test results?

A. The MCAS tests were not created to determine if the child knows or not, or if he or she could pass to the next level. They were designed to evaluate the school system. It has evolved into a system that burdens the victim. It’s like any product – if someone sells you a product and it doesn’t work, how can you be blamed? A child can’t be blamed for something the teacher didn’t provide, either in content or in terms of advice. Moreover, the MCAS only count English or math exams, not the child’s entire development. The end result is that those who fail are typically African-Americans and Latinos, because they are worse placed to take advantage of the system. The MCAS should only be used as a method to assess and provide advice to the system, to know where and how it fails, and to make the necessary corrections.