Fyi...

The song that lies silent in the heart of a mother sings upon the lips of her child..
Kahlil Gibran




Rodney D. Coates
Professor


-----Original Message-----

Will College Become a Luxury for the Few?

By Katynka Martínez

March 9, 2010, CNN 

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/03/08/martinez.immigrants.education/?hpt=Sbin

San Francisco, California - Before the protests of tuition
hikes last week, a colleague posted the following: "Need
suggestions for protest songs. We have a DJ but need to give
her a play list." The requests started coming in: Joan Baez,
the Dixie Chicks, The Clash.

I wondered about the overlap between songs on a professor's
play list and those on a student's. So I went to class and
asked students to tell me what they wanted to hear. The list
included Dead Prez, Lyrics Born, B-Side Players and Erykah
Badu, among many others. This is the protest play list of a
new generation.

My introduction to protest songs came through my mom.

As the daughter of a Chicano movement activist, I attended
protests against wars in Central America and rallies in
response to police repression.

Last week, I marched in solidarity with people across 17
states calling for well-funded, accessible public education.

While at the March 4 rally, I realized that California's
public education system has had a great impact on who my
mother and I are today.

As a 15-year-old immigrant newly arrived in Los Angeles, my
mother was placed in remedial classes because she didn't
speak English. She struggled with the language but excelled
in math. Yet her high school counselor directed her to work
at a local tortilla factory.

This was the early 1960s. Just a few years before, students
responded to educational inequities through organized acts of
civil disobedience that would later be referred to as the
East Los Angeles blowouts.

It was only by chance, and without parental or institutional
guidance, that my mom enrolled in East Los Angeles College.
Like many other low-income and working students, community
college was her entry into higher education.

It was not until her mid-30s that she enrolled in the
California State University of Los Angeles while working full
time. I was in elementary school and remember going to campus
with her on days that my dad was working, even during an in-
class exam. This was my first exposure to a university
classroom.

Since then, I have taught at the California State University
of Los Angeles and the University of California at San Diego.
I am currently an assistant professor at San Francisco State
University.

Watching preschool teachers and children participating in the
recent marches reminded me that my education began at Head
Start. My mom enrolled me in this program, which provided
early reading and math skills and set a foundation for my
educational development. I stand in solidarity with early
childhood educators.

At the protest, I watched high school students confidently
take the stage and list their demands and hopes for a better
future. I wish that my mom, as a teenage immigrant, could
have aired her own frustrations with the 1960s educational
system. Today's high school students inspire me, and I am
proud of today's teachers, who support their students.

I ran into some of my own students at the rally. One asked
where she could hear the DJ playing her song request.

We searched through the sea of people and realized the
turnout was much larger than we had imagined. The protest
play lists of multiple generations filled the air with music.

Young fans of Dead Prez marched and chanted alongside older
fans of Joan Baez. They all recognized the need for well-
funded, accessible public education.

Rising student fees have placed barriers between thousands of
eligible students and their dreams of higher education. In
addition, budget cuts and the subsequent elimination of
course offerings have extended the number of years necessary
to graduate.

Many of my students have taken on multiple jobs to finance
their education. I hear their stories and imagine my mom
trying to attend Cal State L.A. today.

Younger generations in the U.S. have consistently achieved a
higher level of education than the generation that came
before.

But for the first time since World War II, we are in danger
of reversing that trend. Students and educators view
education as a public good available to all and will continue
mobilizing to restore funding for public education.

Will they receive support or will education become a luxury
available to fewer and fewer people? 

© 2010 CNN 

[Katynka Z. Martínez is an assistant professor in the
department of Raza Studies at San Francisco State University.
She works with students, faculty and staff of the College of
Ethnic Studies to restructure public education.]

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