HUMBERTO CASPA
It's been about a week since five Latino mothers stood up in front of
the Newport-Mesa Board of Education to complain about racial and
ethnic discrimination at TeWinkle Middle School.
So far, our community has shown a perplexing response of silence,
as if nothing has happened.
There hasn't been a spark of controversy. There has been no public
outcry; no opinion letters have made it into the Daily Pilot's
mailbag, either supporting the five moms' version or defending the
school's principal Dan Diehl and his assistant Tim Tolzda against
discrimination charges.
For a high-ranking school administrator to state in front of
students that Latinos are "least likely to achieve (academic goals),"
or to mock them or make insensitive comments not only deserves an
immediate response from school authorities, it also deserves the
community's attention. Fortunately, Supt. Robert Barbot said "there
would be an investigation into the matter."
Our silence can be as devastating as finding both school
administrators guilty without due process of law.
We haven't done our jobs as concerned citizens, residents, or
parents. Doing nothing may tacitly reinforce a fallacious notion that
Latinos aren't capable of attaining successful careers. Although it
is well-known that they do lag behind Asian and white students in
terms of graduation levels, standardized exams and grade-point
average scores, the reasons lie beyond the individuals themselves.
Making scathing remarks against Latinos in front of a group of
students at a local school doesn't help to ameliorate the problem. On
the contrary, it creates division and broadly affects the Latino
students' psyche, especially with regard to their self-esteem.
The five mothers and the people who raised doubts about the
principal's and his assistant's leadership at TeWinkle have
legitimate concerns. They are aware of their own limitations at home;
that's why public schools become an important element for their
children's success.
In retrospect, many of them, particularly those coming from Mexico
and Central American rural areas, had a lower economic status in
their native countries. Their poor educational background usually
becomes an impediment when they reach the United States. They often
remain lower on the social scale, despite many years of work in this
country.
However, a few break away from language, economic and social
barriers, and are able to adjust well in America. Some of them even
acquire college degrees in the long run.
