Blowouts In Mexican Schools

741 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Chicano education movement essays

In the East LA school district, the Mexican schools were very much unlike the public schools. Even though the Mexican and public schools belonged to the same district, the students of the Mexican schools were given unequal opportunities to education. The Mexican schools themselves were unclean, and in terrible condition. They had outdated textbooks, low expectations from teachers, and high dropout rates. Many Chicano students didn’t receive the education and learn the skills needed to attend college. Mexican schools also taught with a stereotypical and negative view towards Mexicans. Theses schools didn’t reflect the culture and ethnicity of their students. No one stepped up to change this problem, so Chicano students decided to take matters …show more content…

The East LA student protesters were a champion for Latinos because they bravely fought to improve education, and were able to be let their voices be heard to inspire others. First of all, the East LA student protesters fought bravely as they worked towards improving education for themselves and future Latinx students. As Sal Castro, a Chicano teacher who helped organize the walkouts, once said, “The blowouts are important because of the courage of the kids… The students knew that whatever changes they could bring about in the schools wouldn’t affect them but they hoped it would affect those who came behind them…” (Castro and Garcia, 3) The students were motivated to not only improve schools for themselves, but also for …show more content…

Moctesuma Esparza, one of the original Walkout organizers, recounted his experience, “Following the large number of students involved with the protest, the attention of the school board was gained, and they agreed to meet with students to listen to their demands.” (Esparza, 4) The East LA student protesters had a tremendous influence that the school board couldn’t ignore the needs of the Chicano students any longer. The East LA students were able to be heard by adults, and work towards a solution. Many students were given a chance to voice their opinion, and were able to decide how they want their own education to be like. Although they might be young and still in high school, they accomplished what many others might not do, speak out and be heard. Furthermore, there were many other people who wanted to support the students’ cause. The United Mexican American Students (UMAS) Organization traveled around universities recruiting Chicano students to increase Chicano enrollment in colleges, and helped organize the students for the walkouts. The Brown Berets, a paramilitary force, also heard this call for action, and decided to stand up by helping protect student protesters during the protests. The actions of the East LA student protesters inspired many different people to hear their cause, and support them in their fight.

Show More
Related

  • Subtractive Schooling Angela Valenzuela Summary

    363 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Subtractive Schooling: US-Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring, Angela Valenzuela investigates immigrant and Mexican American experiences in education. Valenzuela mentions differences in high schools between U.S born youth and immigrants such as how immigrants she interviewed seemed to achieve in school as they feel privileged to achieve secondary education. However, she found that her study provided evidence of student failure due to schools subtracting resources from these youths. Both are plagued by stereotypes of lacking intellectual and linguistic traits along with the fear of losing their culture. As a Mexican American with many family members who immigrated to the U.S to pursue a higher education, I have experience with Valenzuela’s

    Read More

  • Chicano Studies: Ignacio M. Garcia and Guadalupe San Miguel

    1349 Words  | 3 Pages

    The first paragraph gives the readers and idea of the growing interest on Chicano Studies. It’s has developed over the course of twenty-six years and obtaining more non-chicano intellectuals that have absolutely no connection thus having no clue if studying the history of Chicanos. Part of the reason for everyone’s sudden interest in Chicano Studies is to integrate it into a larger ethnic study programs. The downfall of integrating the studies is that it places limitations on other courses that intervene with the major academic departments. The new development of Chicano Studies is really an excuse to teach genuine studies and to allow teachers to implement connected programs to receive a permanent status within their careers. Another part of keeping Chicano Studies in succession is to deliberately undermine its true meaning as well as keep it understaffed and under financed. This situation diminishes the programs ability to do community service for further future developments.

    Read More

  • Bettie's Analysis Of Mexican-American And White Girls

    1267 Words  | 3 Pages

    Their style and actions were deemed inappropriate because it did not adhere to the school standard of conduct. Thus, they were left on their own, without support or comprehension from the school staff. Because of this belief held by the school personnel, las chicas would be placed on a vocational tracking system. Once placed on this track, las chicas were essentially denied any chance of escaping their current socio-economic class. Las chicas and other hard-living girls were often told that college courses would be too difficult for them. Many of las chicas actually had high grades in their classes, but the grades didn’t matter because the courses they took wouldn’t qualify them for a four-year college. For many, the prospect of college dwindled, and with it, any hope for escaping their class in the future. They would head either to community college or straight to work in low-wage jobs. They were systematically excluded from any chance of improving their

    Read More

  • Analysis Of No Saco Nada De La Escuela

    1215 Words  | 3 Pages

    A student should never be denied the right to learn and become successful because of a different skin color, or because they speak a different language. “No saco nada de la escuela” by Luis Valdez is a play that discusses the racism in schools. The play starts with students going to elementary school and then ascending to middle school and college. At the beginning the students were not aware of what racism really was because of their innocence. However, the teacher that they had was very racist and bullied the students of color. That experience made the other kids realize that not everyone was the same and because of color or language they should be treated differently. There are five different students who take part of this play, two of those students were white, and there were two Chicanos and one black. That is great diversity of cultures. The teacher that the students have in elementary school was an example of the other professors they were going to have throughout their school years. Very arrogant and not understanding of the minority students. Their teachers were not really interested in teaching the minorities and always showed her discontent of having students of color. Their teachers didn’t believe that students who were part of a minority should be placed in the same classroom as the white students. Maybe that was because they didn’t know the potential a minority student could have. One Chicano student named Francisco never denied his roots and became very successful. He had many obstacles in his learning environment, but at the end he becomes a great example of perseverance. Francisco is the student who I think showed the greatest development in the play. He had to deal with racism all the time, but that didn't stop ...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Still Separate Still Unequal

    1199 Words  | 3 Pages

    The essay “Still Separate, Still Unequal”, by Jonathan Kozol, discusses the reality of inner-city public school systems, and the isolation and segregation of inequality that students are subjected to; as a result, to receive an education. Throughout the essay, Kozol proves evidence of the inequality that African American and Hispanic children face in the current school systems.

    Read More

  • César Chavez: Sí, Se Puede! (Sin Violencia)

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the early 1960’s, the Civil Rights Movement was rearing its head amongst ethnicities other than African Americans. The mid-60’s saw the flowering of a movement for legal rights among Mexican-Americans, as well as a new militancy challenging the group’s second-class economic status. The aptly named ‘Chicano’ movement had many similarities to what the ‘Black Power’ movement also advocated. It primarily emphasized pride in both the past and present Mexican culture, but unlike the Black Power movement and SDS, it was also closely linked to labor struggles. The movement itself found one of its leaders in César Estrada Chávez, the son of migrant farm works and disciple of Martin Luther King Jr. César Chávez would become the best-known Latino American civil rights activist through his use of aggressive but nonviolent tactics and his public-relations approach to unionism. In 1965, Chávez led a series of nonviolent protests which included marches, fasts and a national boycott of California grapes. The boycott drew national attention to the pitifully low wages and oppressive working conditions forced upon migrant laborers, and in 1969, Chávez addressed a “Letter from Delano” to agricultural employers, defending his own movement’s aims and tactics.

    Read More

  • The Chicano Movement: Film Analysis

    848 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Chicano Movement was a time that pressed forth for the equal opportunity of the Latino community and proved to America that Mexican Americans were a force to be reckoned with. In the documentary Latino Americans – Episode 5: Prejudice and Pride, it centralizes on the success of the oppressed community through significant leaders in that period. Union activists César Chavez, along with Dolores Huerta, playwright Luis Valdez, teacher Sal Castro, US Congressman Herman Ballido, and political activist José Ángel Gutiérrez all contributed to egalitarianism of Latinos across the nation. This documentary reflects on the importance of equal prospects within the workplace, the academic setting, and the social and political features in society.

    Read More

  • Chicano Studies and the Latino Student Community

    1645 Words  | 4 Pages

    Latino grassroots politics in the academic realm has been considered as predominantly Chicano in nature. However, the geometry of this academic sector is no longer one dimensional, due to the formation of a Chicana feminist consciousness; the rise of an identified gay community within the Chicana/o student populace; and the emergence of “Latinos” in era of Chicanismo, The abrupt growth of Latinos (e.g. Spanish speaking of Mexican, Central or Latin American decent) in the United State’s educational system led the general population to characterize them as subjects on the cusps of political power and influence. But this widespread depiction of Latinos as an untapped potential is intrinsically linked to an impression of civic cohesion within the Latino student population. Although there is a correspondence between these parties in terms of the alienation they have felt and the discrimination they have endured throughout their academic careers, there is a minimal collective effort in confronting against their oppressive status. This is mainly a result of conflicting ideologies and social agendas within the Latino student community, as well as the relegation of Hispanic subgroups into the lower echelons. Latino students, nevertheless, have demonstrated their capacity, when both Chicanos and the marginalized Hispanic subgroups join efforts to reach a communal objective. This debunks the historical notion that Chicano students are the only group of Hispanics in the academic sphere that have been actively challenging the processes of social exclusion, and also displays the capacity of a collaborative effort.

    Read More

  • Dbq Chicano Rights Movement

    783 Words  | 2 Pages

    The education system was not equal for everyone. They separated the White and Mexican students with the excuse that the Mexican students did not know the language well enough and needed a different kind of education, so they created schools specifically for them. While the White students had all the new textbooks and nice schools, the Mexicans had what was left. They were given old used textbooks and small poorly built schools. In document 5 it showed two photos. The first photo was of students who attended Mexican Ward School in Texas in 1946. They photo shows students sitting in chairs

    Read More

  • The Chicano Movement in the LA School System

    861 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine seeing 10,000 of your classmates walking out of your school because they wanted a better education - a better way of life. In the 1960s’ Chicano students were being “pushed out”(Esparza) of school or being pushed towards vocational programs. East L.A was home to schools were “one out of every four Chicano’s completed high school”(Esparza). Instructors and the school board alike did not have an interest in helping Chicanos finish school to become someone other than a laborer and was expected of them to keep being a laborer. In “Taking Back the Schools”, Sal Castro a high school counselor claims, “I think the bottom line is the lack of concern of the teachers towards the kids and whether the kids were really getting an education or not...the reality set in that the teachers weren’t really concern for the kids.”(Esparza).

    Read More

  • Success and Failure of the Civil Rights Movement

    1574 Words  | 4 Pages

    Success was a big part of the Civil Rights Movement. Starting with the year 1954, there were some major victories in favor of African Americans. In 1954, the landmark trial Brown vs. The Board of Education of Topeka Kansas ruled that segregation in public education was unfair. This unanimous Supreme Court decision overturned the prior Plessy vs. Ferguson case during which the “separate but equal” doctrine was created and abused. One year later, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. launched a bus boycott in Montgomery Alabama after Ms. Parks was arrested for not giving up her seat in the “colored section”. This boycott, which lasted more than a year, led to the desegregation of buses in 1956. Group efforts greatly contributed to the success of the movement. This is not only shown by the successful nature of the bus boycott, but it is shown through the success of Martin Luther King’s SCLC or Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The conference was notable for peacefully protesting, nonviolence, and civil disobedience. Thanks to the SCLC, sit-ins and boycotts became popular during this time, adding to the movement’s accomplishments. The effective nature of the sit-in was shown during 1960 when a group of four black college students sat down at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in hopes of being served. While they were not served the first time they commenced their sit-in, they were not forced to leave the establishment; their lack of response to the heckling...

    Read More

  • The March on Washington - August 28, 1963

    1353 Words  | 3 Pages

    One hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation was written, African Americans were still fighting for equal rights in every day life. The first real success of this movement did not come until the Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954 which was followed by many boycotts and protests. The largest of these protests, the March on Washington, was held on August 28, 1963 “for jobs and freedom” (March on Washington 11). An incredible amount of preparation went into the event to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of people attending from around the nation and to deal with any potential incidents.

    Read More

  • Mexican Walkout Movie Essay

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    I believe that the Walkouts in Los Angeles for better education has impacted every Chicano in the United States whether or not if they believe it. The Walkouts have given students the ability to learn about their culture. To be specific to the previous statement, Chicano studies is a class in which any student can take to learn about Chicano history which wasn’t offered prior to the walkouts. Keep in mind that most Chicanos were traditional when it comes to doing things in their everyday lives which was difficult to make the walkouts happen. Most parents or students didn’t approve of the walkouts because they didn’t want change or they didn’t care to fight for their education. What I learned from the “Walkout” movie was that if you don’t fight

    Read More

  • Summary Of Shame Of The Nation

    682 Words  | 2 Pages

    He observes that most of the inner city schools are not integrated. The public schools used by blacks and Hispanic are "disorderly, tensed and socially unhappy places. " This, he observes, has an emotional and psychological effects to the students who often feel that they are secluded and unwanted which generates a feeling of inferiority. This shows how the actions of the relevant bodies have continued to perpetuate segregation despite the fact that they bear the names of the heroes of the integration struggle. Chapter

    Read More

  • What Were The Goals Of Johnson's Great Society

    1336 Words  | 3 Pages

    America was getting out of hand and becoming the bully of nations. The responsibility that individual students had to encounter and resolve social problems “was the permeating and victimizing fact of human degradation, symbolized by the Southern struggle against racial bigotry, compelled most of us from silence to activism. Second, the enclosing face of the Cold War, symbolized by the presence of the bomb brought awareness that we ourselves, and our friends, and millions of abstract “others” we knew more directly because of our common peril, might die at any time.” They had to resolve these problems of racial degradation and war by using their voice. So, they had protest what they thought was right to resolve the social problems.

    Read More

More about Blowouts In Mexican Schools

Open Document