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Melissa M. Hernandez

Critical Inquiry

22 July 2010

Looking at Education Through Open Eyes

To me, education has always been important. I need an education to be successful, to be

happy with my life. I was told this over and over by my teachers and by my family members. It

was drilled into my head, as Emerson would say. But I also knew that the political system that

governed my education was never right; it was always trying to steal from the students by giving

pink slips to our teachers or taking away money needed for our supplies. Now I know that the

education system is actually worse than what I thought it was, and it has to change to help

students succeed in life.

Before this summer, I never really thought of what the purpose of an education was or

reflected on why I have to go to school. All I had in my head was that an education is needed to

succeed in life and to be able to change the world. By changing the world, I mean making it a

better environment for the world, so that we can all be happy.

Economic problems are occurring in today’s economy, and it isn’t only just affecting the

school staff in the education system. They are needed to be discussed because students need to

know what is going on in the world; they need to see that the school budget isn’t the same as it

used to be. Students will ask questions about the amount of tissue paper classrooms have when

teachers say not to use it too much. They have a right to know these things. For example, during

my lunch period, my friends and I eat with our old History teacher, and we ask him questions

about the budget and how it is affecting him. We ask him what the school administration is

taking away from him now, such as less copy quota or less materials, such as tissue and board
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markers. Most, if not all, of his board markers are not working, but he continues to use them

because that is all he has. So basically, students have to know what is going on with the

economy, especially if it is affecting them. I did agree with Douglas Gerwin and David Mitchell

when they said, “In the final analysis, educational reform is the task of a school’s circle of

educators, not of a government’s house of legislators” (4). This I did agree with completely

because teachers are the ones teaching the students, not the government. If the government

officials were our teachers, then, yes, they could take over, but they aren’t teachers, so they can’t

take over. This would be the beginning.

There were ideas that I never really thought about that were important in my community

other than being education. One example is our values. In school when we have rallies, we chant,

“Si, se puede” over and over when we are talking about how we have to change and reverse

these budget cuts. But I never thought of the saying in English, until I had to read an article

called “Cultivating Failure” by Caitlin Flanagan. She made one argument where she gives one

scenario where the founder of Chez Panisse in Berkeley has a sign saying “yes we can” to help

bring customers. In Mexican restaurants, there is no such thing as “yes we can,” but there is such

a thing as “Si, se puede.” If people wanted to use a saying, they should at least get the saying

right. No one says the saying in English because it is known to be derived from Cesar Chavez

and Dolores Huerta in Spanish. Another assumption she makes that is very wrong is that she

states “Why are obesity and Type 2 diabetes so closely related to low incomes in this country?”

(6). She answers her question with a generalization by saying people of poverty don’t know the

truth of fattening foods or chose not to believe it. This argument really upset me because I am

from a family of low income, and I do not have Type 2 diabetes. Another thing I would ask her is

where is her proof that Type 2 diabetes is related to low incomes or poverty stricken families.
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Where is her proof? She is making multiple assumptions that were not true, and if she wants a

cogent argument, then she has to supply truth, even if it is little. I completely disagreed with this.

In my school, the school administration focuses mostly on those who have the highest

scores, so the teachers who have that selected group of high achievers push their kids to score

high. They scare us by telling us that if we do not do well on our tests, then the state will take

over our school, and that isn’t a good thing to happen to a school. When reading John Dewey’s

article, I noticed that he gave a solution to have the school be equal in treating each student

academically. He wants teachers and the administration to focus on everyone and not just “a

certain number of selected minds” (82). I agree with this because the school needs to focus on

everyone, and not just the high achievers. Scores would go up if schools focused on everyone

and not just a certain group.

Another idea of Dewey’s that intrigued me was “change the image of what constitutes

citizenship and you change the image of what is the purpose of the school” (83). When I read

this, I was surprised because I never considered that at the end of our education, we are taught to

be acceptable citizens. I never saw my teachers teaching that citizenship is important or the

important aspects of being a citizen. If teachers showing us how to behave in our society during

elementary school counts, then the schools have done their job teaching us. They have done their

job teaching us how to citizens, but then education isn’t all like that. He then argues how

children are being “rapidly de-nationalized,” meaning “they lose…their own native traditions,

their own native music, art, and literature” (83). I never thought about this, but now I see it in

front of me. One prime example is my brother. He is Mexican-American just like I am, but he

doesn’t follow much of Mexico’s traditions—speaking in Spanish, listening to Spanish music, or

reading in Spanish. I am the complete opposite: I do listen to Spanish music, read in Spanish, and
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speak Spanish. From my brother, I realize that some kids are losing “their own native traditions,

their own native music, art, and literature,” and this shouldn’t be happening because the nation

needs its diversity. Overall, after reading Dewey’s argument, he has me more open to what is

going on in the educational system, especially how teachers are teaching us—to become better

citizens—and how some kids lose their traditions.

I never thought of how my school is racially constructed, but all I knew was that it was

mostly Latino kids and that was all I ever saw. But after reading the article, “Reading, Writing,

Race & Resegregation: 45 Years After Brown v. Board of Education, it had me thinking. I

started to understand that the schools have not done much to fulfill the act of the court case

because most schools are either more than half white or more than half of one minority—Latino,

African-American, etc.. For example, in my school, more than half of the school population is

Latino. You would be lucky if you saw a Caucasian student or an Asian-American student or an

African-American student. My school, I would argue, is segregated because our school only

consists of Latino students. What I mean is that many of us do not know the values or lifestyles

of other cultures. In a sense, my school has not lived up to the court case of everyone being equal

in a school because it does not have diversity—it cannot live up to it. We can say that it is not

equal because the court case stated that schools of different races will be equal, but my school

isn’t like that. Because it does not have diversity, many of the students then create assumptions,

or in this case, stereotypes, of other ethnicities. For example, many of my Latino friends make

assumptions on how African-Americans live. They think that they are up to no good and that

they tend to create violence with other kids, but this isn’t true.

Being able to have an education would bring a price. The Dream Act and the AB 540.

Both give undocumented students the right to go to college—meaning, they are able to get
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financial aid. In my school, we have rallies to support this act, and being in Wise Up!, which is a

club a part of CHIRLA, which is an association for immigration reform, we have rallies outside

of the school. CHIRLA has their annual May Day rally, so people all come together and fight for

immigration reform. There are arguments on whether or not they should receive financial help. I

think they should because they are people; they are just like my friends, my family, and myself.

They want an education to be successful—just like me. America is known to be the land of

opportunities, but it seems as if it is not being lived up to. America must live up to it.

America gives opportunities, but it is now harder to achieve them because of budget cuts.

Teachers do not have enough money for supplies to teach students the best that they can. For

example, in my school, teachers do not have enough desks and chairs for every student. The first

day of my junior year in my AP Calculus class brought tons of commotion. Nearly eight students

did not have a desk and a chair to sit on, so the teacher had to focus on them instead of the

course. To be able to learn throughout the weeks, you would have to get to class early to get a

seat, so you would be able to learn at least something. By at least something, I actually mean that

because it would take about half an hour to find a couple of chairs and finding desks were

another story—that would take even longer. The amount of time it takes to find our supplies

means less time to learn the curriculum, to prepare for the AP exam. This wouldn’t be happening

if there weren’t any budget cuts, so I was able to connect myself deeply with “School Funding,”

which was about the certain amount of money given to each school. Because of the economy, the

certain amount of money is decreased, which means such stories like my AP Calculus will

continue, but there is a chance that it might not stop.

I would soon realize that the education system isn’t striving for its best. I was surprised to

discover that schools have not done much to fulfill the acknowledgement of Brown v. Board of
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Education. The educational system is all over the place because it has not done much to fix our

schools. I am now able to see the flaws of our system, and it has to be fixed. As my friend, Erick

Deras said, “we must take a stricter approach.”

The system of education contains many flaws, and there are ways to fix it. Students need

to be treated equally because they are entitled to an equal education. It would not be fair if one

student was more focused than on another student because one of them happens to be the highest

achiever. A school is a place for kids to come and to know that they will be treated equally and

will receive the same education as any other kid in the school. It then goes broader with each

student; each student should receive the same education as any other student of another city, of

another state. The SB 777 Senate Bill states that “it is the policy of the state to afford equal rights

and opportunities to all persons in…schools.” It should also be the same with those who are

undocumented students because many of them have the same values as we do, and they want to

be successful in life. Why that should be taken away? It must be granted to them because they

deserve the right to pursue a greater education because they came to America to have a better

life. It has to be equal, so the problems would then continue to be fixed.

Another problem that today’s education system consists of is lack of resources. There are

times when there isn’t enough of one particular thing—chairs, desks, tissues, etc. It has to change

because it affects the students learning. Teachers need to be able to teach without worrying on

how much tissues they have left for their kids or whether or not there is enough books for them.

There has to be a budget where everything will be taken care of; everyone will get an equal share

of supplies. From paper to tissue to markers, it will be taken care of. If teachers are dealing with

a dilemma, it will show when they teach, and it will affect the students because their teachers

will not be able to concentrate fully, which means students won’t either.
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Diversity. To have a diverse school means that every student will be able to understand

many other cultures and their values. They will understand that the known stereotypes depicted

in media are false, and they will be able to learn with an open mind. Knowing that ethnicities and

sexual orientations are just terms would be the best thing in the world because equality would be

established. Discrimination would end. It might seem like a utopia, but by taking steps into

establishing equality, it can work.

Books. Textbooks. They all have to be correct in every fact, and they need to add the

history of situations that happened within the country that are important, but are not in these

textbooks. For example, many students believe that the “history of school desegregation

legislation” began with the Brown v. Board of Education, but it actually began with the Lemon

Grove Inicident. “The case is a testimony of the San Diego Mexican community’s rights and

their actions towards equality in education not only for their own children, but for the Mexican

population in California and the United States” (1). The textbooks in my school do not mention

this court case, and it should because it is important. It is the same with gay and lesbian pride

parades. They had their marches where they began to fight for their equality, but it isn’t

mentioned in my textbook. People are forgetting important things that helped shape what the

United States is today. Big events that helped bring about awareness are important and always

will be.

The education system must also, as another friend, Kevin Delucio, said, it must “show

how different subjects intersect and can be applied across disciplines and in the real world.”

Teachers must teach kids about the real world, so they can be successful in life. Kids have to be

able to survive in the “real world,” and they must be able to contribute to the society.
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Education does have its flaws, and I know that it cannot be perfect, but it can be fixed to

where it is almost perfect.

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Works Cited

Jr. Alvarez, Robert R. “The Lemon Grove Incident: The Nation’s First Successful Desegregation

Court Case.” The Journal of San Diego History. Spring 1986. Volume 32, Number 2.

Dewey, John. “The School as Social Centre.” Essays on Logical Theory.1899-1924.

Flanagan, Caitlin. “Cultivating Failure”: How School Gardens are cheating our Most Vulnerable

Students. January/February 2010.

Gerwin, Douglas and Mitchell, David. “What is the Purpose of School?” Spring 2009:

Redefining Education- Issue #55, Vol. 14.

Kuehl. SB 777 Senate Bill-Amended. February 2007.

Jacobson-Hardy, Michael. “Reading, Writing, Race & RESEGREGATION 45 Years After

Brown v. Board of Education”. Spring 1999.