(This article courtesy of Agape Press.)
by Jim Brown
A syndicated columnist says Hispanic families need to place a much greater emphasis on education.
A recent study by the Pew Hispanic Center, entitled “Latinos in Higher Education: Many Enroll, Too Few Graduate [PDF],” reveals that more than 40% of Hispanic high-school graduates are finding their way into colleges, but only 16% of them graduate with a four-year degree. The study by Richard Fry, a senior research associate at the Center, concludes — among other things — that one of the reasons for the low graduation rate is the result of tradeoffs between the desire to gain an education and “powerful forces of family, community, and affordability.”
Linda Chavez is president of the Center for Equal Opportunity. She says the Hispanic community places a high value on work — but that sometimes the emphasis on work actually de-emphasizes the importance of staying in school.
“Hispanic parents need to understand that the long-term interests of the family are served best when children stay in school — past high school — and are actually able to attain a college degree,” Chavez says. “[They also need to understand that] that gives a much firmer footing in the middle class than going out right after high school and getting a job — even if the job is relatively well-paying, as it is, for example, in the construction industry.”
Chavez, who was once president Bush's nominee for Secretary of Labor, says although Hispanics are more likely to become members of the labor force than virtually any other ethnic group, over the past 40 years they have consistently lagged behind others when it comes to attaining college degrees. She believes it is extremely important for the nation's workforce that young Hispanics improve their graduation rates.
“We are becoming increasingly a population with a larger and larger Hispanic [segment of the overall] population,” she says, “and obviously if that [portion of the] population lags far behind in education attainment, it is going to affect all of us — because it is going to have a dramatic impact on the education attainment levels of Americans as a whole.”
Chavez notes that even though more Hispanics are graduating from high school, recent census figures show only 10-12% of Hispanics are receiving four-year degrees. According to the study, 36% of white high-school graduates and 21% of black high-school graduates — in the 25-29 years-of-age category — that enter college attained a Bachelor's degree or higher.
