Latinos

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Latinos Latinas in Higher Ed

• What Constitutes Success?

L.E.A.P. 2008
Dr. Victor Chacón, Presenter
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Agenda

• Introductions Icebreaker
• Survey 3 questions
• Presentation issues data
• Conclusions, resource sharing

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Three questions

• What does it take to succeed academically?
• How do you define success? Identify it.
• What stands in your way? What barriers keep you
  from succeeding in school?

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Washington Population
Source OFM
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Projected Growth in Minority School-Age
Population2000 - 2030
Source Office of Financial Management, U.S.
Census Bureau (Census 2000)
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WA State Hispanic Teachers/Students
Source OSPI
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Indicators

• Financial, economic
• Language
• Pressure peer
• Pressure family
• Pressure cultural
• Assimilation
• Relationships and Communication
• with Instructors
• familiarity w system
• Academic preparation
• Personal ambition

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Financial Need

• How to pay for school?
• Education isnt free
• Federal Financial Aid
• Dont qualify? Oops
• Grants
• Scholarships
• Savings
• P/T job
• Parents
• Family

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Language

• Monolingual or Bilingual?
• Asset or detriment?
• Bilingual means Bicultural
• Code-shifting, frame-shifting
• Myth Latinos dont want to learn English, not
  assimilating
  
• Accent Im embarrassed of how I speak
• Be proud of who you are!

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Pressures

• Peers, friends matter
• Im not smart...
• Learning is for wimps
• You think youre better than us?
• Entertainment, fun, sports trump education
• Youre young only once
• Ill do it later later, later...
• Future what future?

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Relationships Communication

• With
• Your close friends
• Instructors, Faculty
• Tutors, Mentors
• Administrators, Staff
• Colleges, Universities
• Yourself
• Self-examination
• Personal empowerment
• Reading, knowledge of issues, literacy
• Speak up, speak out
• A.K.S.A. MC Model

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Academic Preparation

• Who runs academia?
• Who has your interests at heart?
• What do they know about you that you dont?
• Stop being a number, communicate!
• Voice your needs
• Tutoring, clarification, support w homework
• El que no habla...

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Research Findings

• Best student-teacher relationships grounded on
  cultural values, acceptance of who you are
  
• Majority of Latinos lack tutor support
• Family (and friends) trump education
• Work trumps education
• Latinos thrive in group learning situations
• Most 1st year college students lack math, science
  skills
  
• If its meant to be, its up to me! (Matier)

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Source Post-Secondary Educational Opportunity,
2004
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Success Skill Development

• Learn to plan, strategize, organize your life
• Learn to DREAM dreamings good! Write
• Set short long-term goals for yourself
• Focus on what you want, not what you dont
• Watch your negative self-talk, re-direct
• Develop networking skills along the way
• In order to get, learn to give, pay it forward
• The main thing is to keep the main thing the main
  thing...dont get side-tracked