We live in a world where everyone is striving to be the best, to be on top, to be number one. In the United States, we have advanced in some fields, but have fallen behind in others compared to those across the globe. Over the years, the United States has fallen behind in areas specially related to STEM programs. STEM programs are those pertaining to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Out of those who are currently enrolled in STEM related programs, a fraction of them are Latino. This could be due to a number of reasons: from not having enough money to pursue college, to the improper or lack of teaching in lower level courses, or even the fact that there are very few Latino role models represented in these fields. Once at a …show more content…
citizens and permanent residents, 7.3% (about 31,855) were earned by Latino students.” In a research study done by Crisp, Nora, and Taggart (2009), it was predicted that by the end of the decade, 2010, jobs relating to STEM programs would increase by almost 50% in the United States. With this increase, there is a hope that more students enter into these programs, especially Latinos, to fill these desired job opportunities. In the same journal article, the authors said that, “…nearly half of all Hispanic students who declare majors in engineering or science change majors during college and do not earn a degree in either area” (Crisp, Nora, & Taggart, 2009). This could be the result of a variety of reasons and factors, but the authors did not state them. With a seeming low interest in STEM related fields and high degree changes out of STEM programs, the government has pumped millions of dollar into educational programs with the hope that Latinos and other minorities get an equal chance to prosper and succeed in these STEM programs. These educational programs are aimed at those in elementary school and high school, which is the ideal age group to focus on according to journal article by Russell, Hancock, and McCullough (2007). In this journal article, a study was done to find out when an interest in STEM related fields began; 59% said they became …show more content…
Take Mario Acuna for example, he’s a space scientist who was an instrument/project scientist for Mariner 10, Explorer 47 and 50, Voyager 1 and 2, and Pioneer 11. He also developed instruments that helped detect electromagnetic waves, gamma rays, plasma, and x-rays. Another scientist is Luis Walter Alvarez who was a physicist during WWII. He helped developed Little Boy and Fat Man, the first nuclear bombs dropped on Japan in 1945. He won the Novel Prize for Physics in 1968 for developing a bubble chamber and discovered new “elementary particles never before seen.” Next, there’s Angeles Alvarino who was a marine biologist that discovered 22 new marine species of organisms and who was considered “the world’s authority on three groups of marine organisms: chaetognaths, hydromedusae, siphonophores. She also helped the world better understand the oceanic food chain. Finally, we have Raul Alvarado Jr. who was an engineer. He fought to promote opportunities for minorities and his purpose was to help promote the participation of Latino and Latinas in engineering (Newton,
In the article “The Latino Education Crisis” by Patricia Gandara who talked about how the rate of Latinos that are educated and graduates from school are so low and how they have low income because most of their parents are not educated and he also stated some solutions that can help like starting an early childhood education to help the student to have more educational interest and so many more. I agree with the author that Latino are facing allot of educational crisis because most of them are less educated, they have less income in their families because parents don’t have enough money to send their children to schools and because the parents lack education. I believe that there are solutions like focusing on early education
More of our children should be aware of these great historians. African Americans that have made major contributions in the field of science that should be discussed, studied and taught to our society to educate new generations of the vast majority of these great scientists. There are a variety of areas in the science field that African Americans have participated in. There were Chemists, Biochemists, Biologists, Physicists, and many others. There were people like Herman Branson, an assistant professor of chemistry and physics at Howard University, who helped prepare many young students for the science field.
A qualitative study of minority students in their last year and teacher-education majors (Hobson-Horton & Owens, 2004) indicated the need for providing support to students. This support was in the form of advising, providing monetary support,or exchanging educational materials necessary for instruction. In a longitudinal, qualitative study conducted by Chang, et. al (2014), factors influencing the persistence of underrepresented racial minority (URM) students in STEM majors were evaluated. Results supported the need for early activities that facilitated competence. Those activities had greater and more sustained effects when they were reinforced with interventions in higher education that guaranteed student achievement. Likewise increased guidance for successful achievement on assessments in relation to content and exam preparation were expected to decrease the racial gap in science achievement ( Chang, et
The First part of my research showed more Latinas women are going to college, and their graduation rates have increased faster than any other group of woman. According to Maresshah Jackson (Center for American Progress) November 7 2013. Graduation rates for Latinas where 31.3 percent in 2010, still significantly lower than graduation rate for white woman at 45.8 percent. However, Latinas are the faster- growing female population in the country, but still lower graduation for college Jackson said Latinas hold only 4.4 of the degree earned. Because of these low graduation, rate some, famous people such as actress Eva Longoria have donate, money and time to the University of Los Angeles to hire more Latino teachers to help more Latinas obtain a college education.
The importance put on education often comes from parental involvement. Many Latinos come to this country in hopes of giving the opportunity to their children to have more open more doors to success while enjoying freedom. The freedom that some possibly do not have at home. “A number of factors contribute to the translation of a family’s social capital to schools capital, including parental income and educational attainment, English language proficiency (ELP), parental beliefs and educational aspirations for their children, and parental involvement in schools (Zambrana 62).” The need to aspire is an individual motivation, however the family structure has much to do with the ambitions. The Latino community according to the book Latinos in American Society written by Ruth Zambrana ran a study on the Average SAT Scores for Twelfth Grade Test-Taking Population, by Race and Latino Subgroup, 1996-2006. In this study, it was found that the second-generation students that are of college-educated Latino families contributed the most to the rise in the total Latino student
Hispanics are having more success in education than the public seems to know. With the assistance of Educational Programs, Student Benefits, and School Improvement, the Hispanic population of student will continue to become better and thrive.
It has often been said, that high quality education is a privilege base on Race and ethnicity. Let’s take Susan’s example, an enthusiastic Mexican teen who aspires to be a lawyer. She came to the U.S. when she was only twelve, she has work twice as harder
The intent of this project was to promote gender equity in STEM coursework providing all students enhanced postsecondary opportunities. Working with a predominantly Hispanic, low SES freshman population, inteventions became more all-encompassing and a way to advocate for all students who expressed interest in STEM-related fields. Comprehensive school counseling programs are important components of a school’s closing the gap strategies. Low performing schools such as this small rural junior senior high school that are on state improvement plans are looking for effective and creative ways to promote academic achievement.
These groups need to work together to develop a statewide agenda. Hispanic students, according to some studies, lag behind other students in classroom performance; have the highest dropout rate of any ethnic group in the country; and, according to federal data, are less likely to pursue higher learning(Tucson ’66). We as a society, need to have a school system that prepares our students for higher education if that is their choice. Society needs to work together to change the educational process for Latino students. Consider these numbers, which we drew from As A Relook at Tucson ’66 states” Minority groups are being shortchanged by more than 20...
One of the strongest women scientist/astronomer was born in 1818 as Maria Mitchell whom led an unbelievable life and had an incredible discovery. Maria Mitchell was born when women were not given the opportunity to vote nor did women have the same equal rights as men did, but given her circumstances of her father being a principal, founding his own school and being a distant family member of Benjamin Franklin she was given the same rights as the men did. Given a few obstacles she led an extraordinary life and became the first woman in America to work as an astronomer professionally, which she than later received an award personally from King Frederick VII, for her work and discovery.
Community colleges play an important role in providing students access to higher education, and serve as an entryway of opportunity for many minority students (Boswell, 2004; Suarez, 2003; Trujillo & Diaz, 1999). Latinos currently account for 12.5% of the U.S. population and are the fastest growing component of the population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2001). Community colleges enroll approximately 50% of Latino students in higher education, a number that continues to grow each year (Fry, 2002; Suarez, 2003). Scholars report that Latinos are more likely than any other racial or ethnic group to enroll in community colleges (Fry, 2002; Kurlaender, 2006; Martinez & Fernández, 2004; Suarez, 2003). These demographics show
“More than 95 percent of grads who studied computer and information sciences, for example, were employed full-time at the time of the survey and earned $72,600 on average.” This kind of security in salary and employment is seldom found in other fields, like liberal arts. Humanities majors make only $43,100 on average and tend not to be full-time employees. The average cost of living in the U.S. is around 20,000 dollars. Though graduates of both degrees make more than enough to cover the cost, the extra money earned by STEM graduates improves their quality of life, providing a comfortable situation for them and their children. A Princeton University study recently found that Americans with higher incomes had greater satisfaction in life, and people with lower incomes tended to have lower satisfaction and emotional well-being. With STEM majors having the higher income, their emotional health is also better than that of Humanities
When most people think of the Scientific Revolution, they think of scientists such as Galileo, Newton, Brahe, and Boyle. However, many people do not even know about the many women who played a vital role in the scientific advancements of this period. Even when these women were alive, most of society either ignored them or publicly disapproved their unladylike behavior. Because of this, these women were often forgotten from history, and very little is known about the majority of them. Although their names rarely appear in history books, the female scientists of the Scientific Revolution still impacted the world of science in several ways. In fact, all of the scientists listed above had a woman playing an influential role assisting them in their research. However, assisting men in their studies was not the only role open to women; several women performed experimentation and research on their own, or advancing science in some other way, even though the society of the time looked down upon and even resisted their studies.
I have chosen two of them who were in many ways just opposites. One is extremely famous and the other is almost unknown except to specialists. The most famous is of course Albert Einstein. He has significantly altered our view of the world with his Theory of Relativity.
As a nation, we have established institutions of learning that cater to the needs of some. Our schools allow a select handful of students to succeed. Certain segments of our population appear to be at greater risk than others. The future does not bode well for young black and Latino men and women who do not make it through high school. According to Duane Campbell, author of Choosing Democracy, the unemployment rate for Latino men and women is substantially higher than the national average and an African American child is as likely to go to prison as to college (15). According to the Economic Policy Institute, in 1991 43% of African American children and 35% of Latino children were living in poverty. It is not surprising that a vast number of the 501,875 annual school drop-outs come from impoverished black and Latino families.