Education

THE SCHOOLS CONTRAST NIGHT AND DAY

As of this year of 2023, for 2 years of grade levels, I have attended quite an unhealthy student environment for a 12 and 13-year-old child. For context, nearly every day of my 6th and 7th grade middle school year, I have recalled hearing and witnessing multiple students use the racial derogatory slur known as the “n-word” on a daily basis.  For 7 days a week and 365 walking hours a year, I remember the peers I used to stroll the halls along with address not just each other, but other minorities as well with a widely known offensive term that they simply thought was normal to say. As a 13-year-old today, my still fully functioning brain cannot wrap around how other children can repeat such disgraceful slang towards a race and make what they thought were funny and so commonly acclimated jokes. At that point in my life, I gave up on trying to make a difference in that schooling environment. It was nearly impossible when the head directors would not suffice any punishment for the racism. Every report I gave of recalling the acts of racist sayings was thrown by the wayside and not taken to a serious extent. I felt alone and for quite a while, I didn’t want to continue to attend school. I knew my parents were also filing complaints to my school, but they were disregarded as well. So in total in that situation as a 13-year-old what do you do? Really, nothing. I tolerated it, I tortured myself to go to school until the year was finished because I didn’t have a choice. But as the year went by, the n-word calling did not let up, and as my happiness and welfare being educated slipped, my parents made the immense decision to move. The long nights of dreading to attend school the next day got shorter, and the counted months I had for the ending of the school year finally finished before I knew it, my parents were selling the house and we were packing our belongings saving for the big move to my now current home in Williamsville. I now can finally say I have very few to zero troubles waking myself up in the morning and actually being delighted to attend my new school. I have friends, teachers, and an actual life outside of sadness and a bubble of depression. I have what I now can say, a healthy schooling environment for myself. The unconditional love and gratefulness for my parent’s major decision is never-ending. I still can’t fully wrap my finger around the fact that my good spirits were such an important factor in their own separate lives that they simply packed up their previous lives and just moved…all like that. If I have to say thank you a million times more than I already have, then I will. Read More From This Writer All Post Art Books & Poems Business Community Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Media Military & Veterans Music Peace People Politics Sports THE SCHOOLS CONTRAST NIGHT AND DAY December 20, 2023/No Comments As of this year of 2023, for 2 years of grade levels, I have attended quite an unhealthy student environment… Read More

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MAKING A MARK ON OUR YOUTH

During my column last month, I wrote about having the opportunity to visit my childhood school, Herman Badillo Bilingual Academy, School #76, on Buffalo’s lower west side for the Hispanic Heritage Council of Western New York’s annual “Dia de los Ninos y Libros” event. I was invited to participate and meet with young people and awarded the opportunity to give a presentation on my film “Boricua Soy Yo” to Mrs. Smith Quiñonez’s 8th Grade Spanish class. The segment I chose to focus on during my 45 minutes was part of my film that explored the question of “What does it mean to Boricua?” I had an incredible time, walking the halls of my childhood school and seeing folks I had not seen in decades. To my surprise, as I sat in the newly (new to me) renovated library on the third floor, I heard a voice I had not heard since I graduated from the 8th grade in 1992. It was the voice of Dr. David Caban, my old school principal. To say that Dr. Caban, and other educators, did not make a mark on my young adult life and the lives of my classmates during our time as students at School #76 back in the late 1980s and early 90s would be a lie. Dr. Caban and I chatted and reminisced about the old school, and I was happy to learn that Dr. Caban had retired years ago but was still somewhat involved with the educational community, being invited to attend the day’s events. For a student body of mostly Brown and Black students, it is important to see our own in leadership positions or as educators teaching children and guiding them on the right path. Seeing my old principal brought back memories of other educators such as Mr. Torres, Mr. Mercado, Dr. Rivera, Mrs. Sanchez, and many others who left an indelible mark on my life in one way or another. After some introductions and discussion, volunteers were escorted to our classrooms to spend time with the children we would read or present to. Once I arrived at my room assignment, I started my presentation by asking the class a simple question: What do you want to be when you’re all done with school? Of course, I received many of the cliche answers young folks would often respond with, such as entering military service or being a beautician, as well as the expected rapper and YouTuber responses. I also asked the class if they liked history, to which many responded with a resounding “NO!” As we spoke, I mentioned to the class that I was once a student in this very school close to 30 years ago and I also was unsure of what I wanted to do with my life once I was done with school.  All the young men and women in the class were Latino, mostly Puerto Rican, either born here in Buffalo or on the island itself, and I saw myself in the faces of these children. When I was in their shoes, I never in my mind —  envisioned ever being a filmmaker; it just was not a career nor a field many of us young folk on the lower west side were exposed to. Here I was, however, thirty years later, presenting to a classroom full of children who sat in the same seats I sat in, hoping to make a positive impression and make a mark like the one that was made on me by the men and women who educated me in this very same building so many years ago. After my documentary film segment finished, the classroom and I exchanged a little bit, asking and answering questions. Documentaries are more geared towards older or more mature audiences, especially a documentary that discusses history and culture, and although some of the kids looked bored, I was incredibly happy that they all were watching the segment, paying attention, and following along with what was being discussed onscreen. As my 45 minutes with the class ended, I was proud to have been invited to present at my old school. We all need to make a mark on the lives of the young people we meet, whether they be family or children, we see in the neighborhood. I just hope I could make a mark on at least one of these students, and if so, it would have been worth it. It is cliche to say it takes a village to raise a child, but I honestly believe this. I was blessed to have both my parents raise my brothers and me; however, I feel doubly blessed to have positive (Latino) role models in this very school that helped me see the value of an education. And I proudly carry that mark with me everywhere I go. Until next time Read More From This Writer All Post Art Books & Poems Business Community Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Military & Veterans Peace People Politics Sports A BITTERSWEET NIGHT, LISTENING TO THE MUSIC OF “GITANAA July 6, 2023/No Comments On Saturday, June 24th, my wife and I joined a few friends and enjoyed a night of live Latin music Read More MAKING A MARK ON OUR YOUTH June 6, 2023/No Comments Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Read More Read More IT STARTS WITH A BOOK May 12, 2023/No Comments IT STARTS WITH A BOOK On Friday, April 29th, I will have attended the 13th Annual Dia del Ninos y Read More Load More End of Content.

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LATINO COLLEGE STUDENTS FACE INEQUALITY AND CULTURAL ISOLATION AT THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK at BUFFALO

LACK OF COLLEGE SERVICES FOR LATINO STUDENTS: This is in response to a story by UB Spectrum reporter, Kayla Estrada, in the November 2022 issue (UB Student Newspaper). This is what happened: This past year in November, the Spectrum (student) publication, published an article about the numerous problems faced by their Latino students – no Latino faculty, lack of recruitment for more Latino students, no Latino food in the cafeteria, and no support or care by the administration —  AND NOTHING WAS DONE! This reminds me of 1968, the year I and other Puerto Ricans/Latinos came to UB, and after a few months on the campus, we experienced the same reality Spectrum lays out in their article. The one thing I noticed is that today’s students were complaining about the situation, but they have or had any plans of action. The students of 1968 did let the issue go away. They demanded, they organized, and they took over several administration buildings to make their point. Were they successful? Yes, they were, but unfortunately, due to students moving on, and disconnection with Buffalo’s Puerto Rican/Latino leaders, the things accomplished faded away, things like more Latino students on campus, recruitment of Latinos interested in Law, Medicine, Engineering, and other professional areas, Black and Puerto Rican Studies, Radio Spanish programming (WBFO-FM), Office of Minority Student Affairs, thanks to the strong leadership of Roosevelt Rhodes, leader of the Black Student Union. Another vital program was EOP (Educational Opportunity Program), thanks to Assemblyman Arthur O. Eve, the only black and progressive elected official at the time. I’m no longer connected to the social and political fabric of UB, but I know for sure that Latino students need many of these services to ensure a successful education and quality of life on campus. The students must reach out to the local Puerto Rican/Latino leaders and get them involved in their (Latino community) struggle for social, cultural, and educational equality.  Contact the Buffalo Latino Village, we will put you in contact with the local Latino leaders, as it is their responsibility as leaders to care about what’s going on in the educational community in Buffalo, NY. Buffalo is a college town, with many black and Latino students on all the campuses. I’m convinced that UB Latino students are not the only ones facing this disconnect with their institutions.  Perhaps the Latino professors and staff already working on these campuses can get the ball rolling. These students are our sons and daughters. Contact the Buffalo Latino Village — buffalolatinovillage1@gmail.com—646-248-2302. Read More From This Writer All Post Art Books Business Community Education Entertainment Food & Culture Health Interviews Military & Veterans Peace People Politics LATINO COLLEGE STUDENTS FACE INEQUALITY AND CULTURAL ISOLATION AT THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK at BUFFALO March 25, 2023/No CommentsRead More

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