Latinos in Action- What works?

Latinos in Action

What works?

I had the chance to visit a program called Latinos in Action this past Monday, which allows bilingual Latino students to tutor elementary kids in the local elementary schools.  According to their website, they have a 100% graduation rate for all the Latinos that go through the program. They also claim that 85% go on to college.  The numbers are miraculous when compared to the national graduation average for Latino student at 67 percent.  I would like to explain from what I observed three reasons why this program seems to be so successful.

1.       Unity. The class consisted of about 30 students, all Latinos and all bilingual. The class environment was very social but still under the control of the teacher.  The students interacted well with each other and friendships were evident.  The unity that existed among them became very apparent to me after exiting the class and seeing that even after class, all of them were still hanging out in the hallway socializing. The unity is also fortified by the fact that most of the class participates in the Latinos in Action dance team that performs at various occasions.  Unity is a key for success because those students that are less motivated to attend a university or graduate are motivated by the fact that most of their friends are graduating and going to college, and by themselves they raise their own standard of expectation.

2.       Service. The goal to seek higher education can often seem self-centered and a lot of hard work.  The service they render puts a new light on the importance of seeking a higher education.  One can quickly see through tutoring others that education is a tool to serve.  Without at least a high school diploma, such meaningful employment is almost impossible to obtain.  Along with this new perspective, the Latino students often tutor ESL kids, and these younger Latino student look up to the high school students as examples. The feeling of being looked up can motivate the high schools to play the part and be the best students they can.

3.       Accomplishment. Goal setting is a difficult attribute to develop, but everyone enjoys the feeling of achieving goals.  The teacher may not explicitly tell the students the goals of the class, but whether the students label them as goals or not, they have them and they commit to them. For example, their dance performances, they diligently prepare and practice their routines.  They also prepare to go to college and being accepted by a university is a huge achievement.  The achievement they probably witness the most frequent it the progress of “their student” at the elementary school.  All three of these example are important motivating factors that contribute to the success of the Latino students. 

    

       I focused on the learning what is working for Latinos in Actions so that if I were to modify or create a Latino aid program I would understand some key fundamentals to incorporate to my design.  As I continue to research these types of programs I will develop a more developed list of what works and what doesn’t.  For Latinos in Action I have yet to find out what could be improved.