No education, no future

Getting an education is a duty of faith

by Carmen Aguinaco

The headline that jumps off the pages of Hispanic magazine reads: “One third of our high school students [throughout the entire country and all ethnic groups] drop out before graduating.”

The statistics, obtained from the Nation’s Report Card, could not be more disturbing: about 27 percent of our youth do not possess basic reading and comprehension skills, while 39 percent do not have basic mathematic skills.

These figures are even worse among the Hispanic population. According to a report of the Council of La Raza, only 61 percent of all Latinos complete high school. When you consider that the average age of the Hispanic population is 18 years, much younger than the rest of the country, the conclusion is obvious: the future of this country is in the hands of the Hispanic population.

Yet what type of a nation can this population produce? A population with a low educational level will logically lead to lower productivity levels, reduced professionalism, jobs with the lowest wages, and poorly provided public services. What sort of teachers, doctors, lawyers, and scientists can we expect?

Add to this the constant challenges presented by new technologies. Jobs are continuously changing as technologies advance. Schools must continue to change if they do not want to prepare students for jobs that are becoming obsolete. Education requires constant updating.

At last year’s Encuentro de Pastoral Juvenil, it was clearly and forcefully stated: There is no excuse for not pursuing a higher education. This was said within a church context. What was expressed there is that, within the U.S. Hispanic church today, it is the moral obligation of a Christian to attain an education.

We cannot serve the community, become a great nation, or attain leadership without being adequately prepared.

In today’s world, we cannot claim to be Christians while at the same time refusing to get an education.

It’s true that discrimination and the lack of opportunity have hurt the Hispanic community. However, in a way, the community itself has contributed to the problem, by not fighting for our rights and resigning ourselves to allowing our children to attend mostly Hispanic schools, with all the problems that segregation entails.

It is also true that in many cases there has been little motivation when it comes to educating women. In the past, many parents considered women to be destined to a life of household chores that didn’t require higher learning. In today’s world such a position is no longer tenable. It is patently unjust—and socially and economically destructive—to deny women the possibility of attaining an education.

Sometimes the economic situation—particularly of undocumented workers—does not help or allow access to university studies. The family situation of many students often forces them to begin working as soon as possible. But just how far can they go?

There are also certain myths regarding the lack of opportunities. The DREAM Act, which many Catholic communities have fought for and continue to work for, could be closer to becoming a reality.

Advice, help, and resources are also available from the U.S. Department of Education. Visit yosipuedo.gov or the Hispanic College Fund website, where you can access scholarships, resources, and opportunities. It does require, however, effort to find these, and attaining them takes work.

Religious and civic leaders continue to state loud and clearly that there is no excuse. What is yours? There is a saying that “if you think education is too costly, compare it to ignorance, which in the long run is very expensive, both on a personal and social level.”