In Education, Poetry Shows the Way
Víctor Landa     [Photo]

Mathematicians say that numbers are like poetry. That numbers have rhythm, harmony and beauty. I guess that it must be so.

Numbers have always seemed a mystery to me personally.

Many poets say that poems are mysteries, and, in some way, I arrive at the same conclusion: numbers are similar to poetry.

But frequently, numbers tell stories. For example, in the state of Texas, only 50% of Hispanic students graduate from high school; by the year 2025, 25% of the students of the state will be Hispanics; children whose parents are directly involved in their education are more likely to succeed; throughout the nation, 90% of the parents who are members of their schools’ parents associations are white.

Recently, the national directorate of the Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) initiated a movement to include more Hispanics in its group, an appropriate gesture.. I believe it is a positive step and a good opportunity to counter the false notion that Hispanics are not interested in their children’s education.

My experience as a Hispanic has taught me that we care very much about the education of our children, and that we want to learn English and that our children learn it very well.

Both parties show goodwill but there is also hard work before us. Hispanics should find the way to participate more in their children’s schools. White parents, on the other hand, should be more open to the Hispanic culture.

The only obstacle is lack of imagination.

There are many divisions in our communities and our cultures. The economy divides us; education divides us; and in many cases, language and culture divide us.

But for the future, what joins us together is harvested at the schools, the place where we can find common ground. As Hispanics, we benefit if our children receive a good education, if they study at the best schools and have the best options.

The rest of the nation also benefits if Hispanics receive a good education.

Soon Hispanics will become the foundation of industry, commerce and the service sector. We will be a majority in factories and businesses and we will hold positions of leadership in the most important institutions of the nation. It is inevitable.

A good education for a better future benefits all of us. And the groundwork to ensure that future is the imagination. If we can imagine a better future for our children, it will be easier to take the necessary steps to make that dream come true.

One of the first steps is to become more involved in the education of our children, to visit their schools, to get to know the teachers and the principal, to ask questions, to reach out to them.

The poem of numbers presents us with a reality and the poetry of imagination shows us the way.

(Víctor Landa, of San Antonio, Texas, is a contributing columnist with Hispanic Link News Service. He may be contacted by e-mail at:
vlanda@sbcglobal.net)

© 2005, Hispanic Link News Service
02/13/05

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