Garcia, Eugene E. (2001) Hispanic Education in the United States: Raíces y Alas. New York: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.
Pp. 290
$69 (Cloth) ISBN 0-7425-1076-X
$24.95 (Paper) ISBN 0-7425-1077-8
Reviewed by George August Chapp
Dougherty Group,Ltd.
February 10, 2003
American society is undergoing a cultural and ethnic transformation. A changing demography, led by an expanding Hispanic presence, will dominate the American landscape in the near future, and drive much of this transformation. It is no secret that by the year 2050 it is expected that those Americans of European or Western lineage will no longer be the dominate ethnic and racial group in our society. At the same time it appears that persons of Hispanic origin, primarily from Central and Latin America, will become the largest majority-minority ethnic faction in our society. The primary concern becomes whether our educational institutions are currently capable of providing a competent education for this sector of our population—now and in the future. Eugene Garcia, author of Hispanic Education in the United States, attempts to answer this fundamental concern.
Garcia contends that in their current state, our primary, secondary and higher education institutions are ill-equipped to prepare Hispanic students for success. Garcia's reasoning is predicated on the notion that the key for best educating Hispanic students lies in "understanding and acting on their linguistic and cultural attributes" (p.241). Garcia strives to meld both quantitative data and personal anecdotes to make his point more personal and relevant to the reader. At its heart, Hispanic Education in the United States seeks to illustrate that education comes both from the classroom as well as the community. This is especially true for students of Hispanic ancestry, as Garcia contends that this sector of the population learns best when community experiences are integrated with current curriculum methodologies.
The book itself was written at times with eloquence. Words pour out of the paper and directly into the reader's consciousness. In other parts, the same book can read more like a VCR manual, rather than a progressive minded treatise on Hispanic learning. This is due to Garcia's philosophy of education as both a technical and personal practice, and his book reflects this philosophy. The book is organized in a concrete and logical manner, with the first half focused on the cultural and social origins of Hispanic-Americans (chapters 1-5); the second one-quarter discusses educational approaches to suit Hispanic learning processes, and what works at various stages of intellectual and personal development (chapters 6-8); the final one-quarter of the book concentrates on tying all of the quantitative and qualitative data together to make the case for more specific, Hispanic-orientated learning methodologies in U.S. educational institutions. This book would be best suited for a college level education, ethnic studies, or social studies course. With that said, the book targets a relatively narrow audience, yet even within this narrowness there is academic diversity as well.
Garcia begins his argument with an introduction to "Raices y Alas," or the development of, "linguistic and cultural attributes—their raices—in ways that can lead to educational success—develop their academic alas" (p.241). Garcia relates personal stories of his own Hispanic upbringing, which are interwoven with quantitative data on various skills assessment tools (SAT, ACT) to create a mosaic of personal and academic evidence that serves to reinforce his main contention, viz., that Hispanic students learn best when the educational institution structures itself to be reflective of Hispanic learning needs. Such needs, as was stated earlier, recognize several variables: Race, Culture, Linguistic disposition, and personal/community experiences. Garcia goes on to frame the next four chapters around these core variables, while providing the slightest hint to the reader that Hispanic students ought to harbor a social and academic exceptionalism that demands the attention of both a changing culture and an arguably unresponsive education structure. The next four chapters build on this core perspective. Chapter two discusses how Hispanic peoples have increasing contributed not only to the economic viability, but the social diversification of America, in recent years. Because of these contributions, chapter two discusses how educational institutions must address the specific linguistic and cultural needs of the Hispanic population. This includes teaching students to be communicative in a linguistic, mathematical and technical fashion, as well as to put greater emphasis on "living processes that serve to enhance, human relationships, critical thinking, and civic responsibility" (p.16). Finally, Garcia contends that we ought to take more seriously the looming demographic shift in culture and race, since the bulk of Americans have yet acknowledge the Hispanic impact on educational institutions. Chapter three builds on chapter two in discussing the need for balanced "home" language retention, while simultaneously mainstreaming students into a predominately "English" speaking society. Chapter four asks the reader to consider the social and educational needs of Hispanic immigrant populations, in light of their enormous contribution to the economic vitality of our economy—currently and in the future.
The second one-third of the book dedicates itself to a discussion of the ways in which educational institutions can address the learning needs of Hispanic students at various stages of intellectual and physiological growth. Garcia takes great pains to craft specific methodological policies suited to maximize learning potential at each developmental level: Early, Adolescent, and Post-Secondary preparation.
Garcia suggests that we utilize early childhood education as a means for solidifying cultural identity, while at the same time preparing Hispanic students for at least, in part, the inevitable cultural and linguistic immersion into a predominately Anglo, English-speaking society. Garcia sees early childhood education as a means of reinforcing the Hispanic "self" while laying the intellectual foundation for achievement in society. Garcia asserts that at this stage of development, the school should strive to achieve the following: support development of ethnic identity, promote cross-cultural understanding, foster preservation of a student's home language, and engage in on-going reflection, dialog and communication (p. 149). The school becomes to a student an intellectual extension of his or her immediate family and surrounding community.
At the adolescent level, Garcia insists upon building connections between academic success and self-esteem. It is at this stage of student development that Hispanic children are very much at risk for losing their Alas, or academic success, contends Garcia. He also points out several programs from around the country that specifically target the academic and emotional needs of students at this level. Garcia contends throughout this section that an effective school treats itself as not only a place for learning, but also a "social enterprise," which seeks to reinforce success and positive self-esteem when engaging the Hispanic student in the learning process. Some of Garcia's suggestions for achieving this include: reorganizing the school framework to an education environment for Hispanic students; allowing new teaching techniques that are inclusive of non-school experiences; recognition of volatile issues that have both a general and ethic-specific impact upon Hispanic learners; taking into account language efficacy in the learning enterprise; and challenging Hispanic students to be dynamic learners through a student-generated curriculum. Garcia rightfully asserts that Hispanic students are indeed at risk in many areas. This is due, in part, to the academic institution's inattention to the emotional and cultural needs of Hispanic learners. Garcia provides some compelling statistical data to reinforce his point: 17 percent of Hispanic students have dropped out by 9th grade; fewer than 50 percent of Hispanic students are on track, credit wise, to graduate high school on time; by 10th grade, 31 percent of students have dropped out of secondary schooling (p. 158). It is in this section that Garcia makes his most compelling use of synthesizing statistical and anecdotal evidence in presenting his case to the reader. He does so effectively.
As we prepare students for post-secondary learning, Garcia believes that it is possible for Hispanic learners to excel in higher learning, though he makes an argument that current assessment tools do not accurately reflect the dynamics of Hispanic learning and Hispanic intellectual temperament. It is here that Garcia argues most forcefully for the inclusion of the above primary and secondary policy recommendations as a basis for creating more successful Hispanic students in preparation for post-secondary study. Though this is evident, Garcia does not specifically allude to it, which for organizational purposes would have provided greater clarity for the reader. Garcia goes on into Chapter 9 and continues to describe how Hispanic learners would prosper greatly from increased exposure to higher education, due to the increased emphasis on theory in higher education institutions. Garcia makes use of his own experiences in working with theory and how it made him more cognizant of his world, and why such over-representation of Hispanics in the military and under-representation in higher education has occurred in American society. Garcia needed to draw a correlation between the success of students in understanding social and political theory as being possible, only through his specific proposals for early and adolescent education practices. But he fails to do this convincingly.
The final component of Garcia's treatise speaks to tying up the loose ends of his proposals, while illustrating how social and educational reforms will improve educational success for Hispanic learners. It is here that we find Garcia as both academic and quasi-sociologist—effective as well as compelling in his assessment of the American educational structure. It is also in the final section that Garcia states that the future of Hispanic education lies within a series of current heated policy proposals. Garcia argues that current policy proposals, such as immigration reform, bilingual education, and affirmative action, will indelibly affect Hispanic learners in both positive and negative ways—depending on how progressive or conservative the policy proposals are. Garcia views restrictions on immigration as further isolating Hispanic learners from their indigenous culture by being denied a greater community of likeness; bilingual education is threatened by the call for designating English as the "official" language of the United States; and the effective dilution of affirmative action policies as being a death knell for Hispanic students seeking to enter higher education. Garcia lays out clear positions on such issues, and offers the reader some well thought out consequences for each policy issue.
Overall, Hispanic Education in the United States is a well written and timely addition to the literature. Garcia not only seeks to address the needs of Hispanic learners, but he also seeks to provide greater understanding. He makes a good attempt at addressing the concerns plaguing Hispanic students and their education. While Garcia rightfully points out several areas for reform, namely in the areas of cultural and linguistic inclusion, I believe that many of the concerns raised by the author would resonate with students in general—not simply with Hispanic learners. Garcia tries too hard to create ethnic specific concerns while failing to acknowledge that many of the pedagogical issues affecting Hispanic learners also affect students of different races and ethnicities in much the same way. The fact is that no amount of anecdotal data can accurately portray the true depth of inequality that Hispanic and other ethnic minority learners suffer in American educational institutions. Had Garcia simply included some comparative analyses between Hispanic, African-American, and Caucasian learners, his argument may have been more compelling. Instead, we are presented with half the picture.
About the Reviewer
George August Chapp
Director of Education
Dougherty Group,Ltd./Sylvan Learning Centers.
George A. Chapp holds a Masters of Arts in Secondary Education from Wayne State University (Detroit, MI). Beyond education, his interests include grassroots political advocacy of progressive issues, public policy, as well as researching ways for students (18-24) to become more involved in the domestic political process.
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