The Urge to Learn
By Dr. Eduardo J. Padron
President of Miami Dade College

It’s called the “Dream Act.” If it passes Congress, this legislation would open a world of possibility for Hispanic youth across the nation. Each year, 65,000 undocumented students graduate from American high schools, but their immigration status doesn’t allow them reasonable access to a college education. Present statutes deny these students in-state tuition rates, state and federal grants and loans, private scholarships, and the ability to work legally to earn their way through college. Though they have grown up in America’s schools and playgrounds, the American dream remains an illusion for these students.

Unfortunately, the passage of the Dream Act will only staunch the outflow at a single point in the educational pipeline. Let me forewarn you that the statistics in the ensuing paragraphs are frightening if we care about the future of America’s children, particularly America’s Hispanic children. But facing challenges squarely marks the beginning of
a viable, inspired future.

Today, Hispanic children have the lowest rate of participation in early childhood development programs and the highest high school dropout rate (28 percent), almost double the rate of blacks, and four times that of whites. Forty- three percent of Hispanics over age 25 do not have a high school diploma. Only 11 percent hold a bachelor’s degree, compared to 29.4 percent of whites. It follows that diminishing percentages of Hispanics hold advanced degrees or become teachers in America’s
schools or colleges.

One in three Hispanic children lives in poverty. As the fastest growing segment of the population and now the country’s largest minority group, Hispanics accounted for half the nation’s population growth between 2003 and 2004. The growth rate for Hispanic children is even higher.

Poverty statistics, teen pregnancy rates, healthcare needs and more would paint yet a darker shadow on Hispanic prospects. So, if you feel like standing back and taking a deep breath, please do. You would not be alone.

The good news begins with the knowledge that you and I are not alone in confronting the challenges. Committed educators, government, civic and business leaders, and grassroots activists work the trenches every day building new avenues of opportunity.

Their efforts announce that the old paradigm of fragmentation and isolation doesn’t work. Educational components need to work together; the private sector needs to support education; government needs to recognize education as its utmost social and economic priority.

But the guiding principles in this undertaking run far deeper than a collaborative methodology, crucial as it may be. We need to be moved by each child, by the immense potential within each individual. All of education is rooted in the urge to learn. If we understand that, we will find creative means to encourage that instinct.

At Miami Dade College, a guiding mantra reads “Opportunity Changes Everything.” From remedial reading and math to MDC’s Honors College to the Ivy League is a recurring journey I witness each semester. But we are confronting a massive crisis of opportunity. Each person who misses the chance to grow fully is an inestimable loss. A society that does not prioritize opportunity exhibits a critical failure of judgment.

Rest assured the American dream is still intact. It was born of the urge to learn and is fueled by the gift of opportunity. Education in America is a birthright; our charge is to ensure that this cornerstone of the dream becomes reality.

Stand back, take a deep breath. There’s work to be done. H

Sources: Hispanic CREO (Council for Reform and Educational Options), U.S. Census 2000 and yearly updates, National Council of La Raza and Hispanic Scholarship Fund