Hernandez Torres !

Paulina Hernandez Torres

Tarnoff

CTW 1, MWF 2:15PM

28 November 2018

Overcoming Disadvantages

Growing up, academics were greatly emphasized in my home. Because the preschool in

my area was not affordable to my family, before beginning kindergarten, my mom would make

number and alphabet worksheets for me on legal notepads. Before I began school, she had taught

me to write my name, the alphabet, and how to count to twenty. To say the least, my parents’

were very involved in ensuring that I was academically successful. However, paradoxically, my

mother did not speak English--neither of my parents did. They had no familiarity with the

American school system. In fact, my father was not even familiar with the school system of his

homeland, Mexico, because he was forced to leave school in order provide for his family after

the death of his own father. Yet, even after long days at work, my dad took the time to read me

picture books, in his broken, accented English. Nevertheless, both my parents worked endlessly

to attempt to involve themselves in my education. As immigrants to the United States, my

parents came with the purpose of giving their future family, my sister and I, a better life filled

with the opportunities they were denied in Mexico. They knew that receiving an education that

would be the only way. It is because of their great sacrifice that I so passionately committed

myself to school in order to be successful in the future.

My background as a minority student and a first-generation student has affected the

values that my family associates with education. My parents hold to the highest esteem the value
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of the possibility of progression that education offers and have impressed it in my sister and I to

pursue academic success. However, throughout my many years of education, I have seen many

of my peers experience very different realities. While many my minority, first-generation

classmates also had parents who immigrated from others countries in hopes of giving their

children the best life possible, I often found many of their parents did not emphasize academic

success in the way my parents did. This has become a sad and common reality for many families.

School--education in general--represents success in the future, yet some families are so burdened

by the intersection between minority immigration and poverty that they cannot focus on the

future. I have had many close encounters with families in which both parents work two jobs,

families where mothers work night shifts and still uphold their cultural obligation to their

children and household throughout the day, families where teens are expected to contribute

financially. While working this much may seem optional or a form of simply receiving an

additional income, many of these families are barely making it--every job and work opportunity

is necessary to provide for their family. Thus, school is put in the back burner, as feeding,

clothing, and housing their children become the only focus. In the documentary Precious

Knowledge, which depicts the fight for an Mexican-American studies program in Arizona public

schools, several students of Latino background shares how little importance they placed on

school because they had other responsibilities in their home, such as taking care of their younger

siblings or working to provide for the family. These students reflect the attitudes that I saw in

many of my peers as I was growing up, the possibility for excitement for school was drained by

the socioeconomic issues they did not understand nor could control.
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While many parents in my community encouraged and advocated for school as the key to

a successful future, they were unfortunately unable to provide the support to make this possible.

Many of these parents were burdened with other issues, such as citizenship status, language

barriers, cultural barriers, and of course financial struggles, that inhibited a nurturing of their

children in a way that emphasized academics. While my parents often displayed their support

more effectively than other parents, they cannot be labeled as “better” or more committed

parents. My family was fortunate enough to have enough time and energy to dedicate to my

education, even when it was challenging for them, other families do not have this luxury. More

importantly, although my parents attempted to contribute as much as they could to my

educational pursuits, many times they were at a loss as they simply had no understanding of

anything I was learning in school. This is the case for many children of minority and

impoverished backgrounds, they are placed at a disadvantaged from other students who have the

ability to fully integrate into the education system in a way that invites curiosity for the world

around them and propels them toward creating a better future for themselves and their families.

This system of disadvantage, in which social burdens interfere with the ability to focus on

and be inspired by their education leaves many children unable to receive the support necessary

to succeed. This is evident in Nikole Hannah Jones’ podcast “The Problem We All Live With”

which depicts the issues at Normandy School District, the worst school district in Missouri. As

Hannah-Jones’ presents the district's points for achievement, she states, “Points for academic

achievement in English-- 0, math-- 0, social studies-- 0, science-- 0, points for college

placement-- 0. It seems impossible, but in 11 of 13 measures, the district didn't earn a single

point. 10 out of 140 points, that was its score. It's like how they say you get points on the SAT
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just for writing your name. It's like they got 10 points just for existing” (Hannah-Jones). This

portrays exactly how awful the conditions in the school district are. The reason for this stems

from the formulation of districts based on the socioeconomic level of the neighborhoods that

surround them. More likely than not socioeconomic level coincides with race and ethnicity;

therefore, these minority communities of less socioeconomic standing have less financial

resources in their school districts. After the Normandy School District finally closed due to its

terrible condition, students had the option to bus to a near district that consisted of primarily

white students, for Nedra, mother of Mah’Ria, who worked profusely to make this happen, this is

a dream come true. In fact, Mah’Ria discusses how great she feels within the new setting,

because of the greater support she has received. This is similar to the experiences of the students

shown in Precious Knowledge. As the students describe their experiences with the ethnic studies

program, one student states, “What they started teaching us was so interesting I just could not

stop thinking about it. I would go home with the articles and I would read ‘em over and over

again” (Precious Knowledge). Thus, similar to Mah’Ria’s experience, giving students resources

for success is a key to developing their sense of passion for education. Because many students in

poverty are subject to these lacking school districts they most likely will not get to have a

classroom experience in which they feel empowered and excited for the material covered in the

class.

Nedra’s mother worked endlessly to give Mah’Ria an adequate education. However,

before the closure of the Normandy School District, her options were limited to switching her out

of that district or moving her into a private school, neither of which she could afford. As Hannah-

Jones’ explains, “the nearby districts told Nedra they would enroll Mah'Ria, but since she lived
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outside of their boundaries Nedra would have to pay tuition, upwards of $15,000 a year. She

couldn't afford that” (Hannah-Jones). Thus, the issues Nedra faced in order to provide a better

educational experience could be solved with money. This is similar to many of the parents in my

community if they were not burdened by financial stressors, the support and resources they could

provide for their children would be very different. The lack of financial limits both parents and

students ability to foster dedication to education and its implementation as a fundamental part of

a child’s identity.

To me, education is my pathway to a better future for my family and I. One in which I

hope to use to eliminate the financial struggles my family currently faces. This is a commonly

held belief for most individuals of an intersectional minority and impoverished background.

Nonetheless, the social constraints of prejudice to minorities and their often lower

socioeconomic background have the ability to completely alter their relationship to education.

Many students must prioritize theirs and their family’s survival and do not have time to think

about their education. This becomes a greater issue when students who reside in these poor

communities attend schools that lack the resources to encourage students to grow passionate

about their education. Even when these resources are offered, such as the ethnic studies program

presented in Precious Knowledge, they are often forcefully removed. Thus many students of

intersectional backgrounds, such as myself, have grown up with a mixed identity in relation to

education in which we are taught to value the education we receive as an opportunity yet are

conversely given no incentive or even possibly do so because of the situations we are placed in.

Therefore, as I finish my first quarter of my college education I feel extremely blessed to

have made it this far. While I worked long and hard to dedicate myself to my education in order
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to get where I am, coming to college is an achievement for my family and teachers who have

helped and guided me along the way. Arriving here was not easy because the system is not made

to favor the children of poor Mexican undocumented immigrants. Thus, my own goal as I

continue my education is to eventually help other students who are like me to break the

constructs of prejudice that work to limit us, whether it be a lack adequate educational resources

or financial barriers, and begin to normalize and encourage the association of that disadvantaged,

intersectional identity with the overcoming of those barriers with through a passion for education

and the endless possibilities it offers.

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Works Cited

Hannah Jones, Nikole. “562: The Problem We All Live With - Part One.” This American Life,

WBEZ Chicago, 16 Jan. 2018, www.thisamericanlife.org/562/transcript.

Palos, Ari, director. Precious Knowledge. 2011.