By: Daniel Nardini
Two things. First, the 2010 U.S. Census has reported that the white population has increased by eight percent. This is because a growing number of Latinos are identifying themselves as “white.” This in of itself would not be significant—the concept and image of who is white and who is not keeps changing every 50 to 100 years. However, the other thing that is significant is that the number of Latinos failing school is now close to 50 percent! According to a presidential commission, the number of Latinos who drop out of school and do not return within five years is as high as 50 percent. To make it worse we are seeing a failure rate where not only Latinos drop out of high school but worse drop out of junior high and even elementary school.
Further, those Latinos who stay in school in a growing number of cases do not receive the quality education that non-Hispanic whites do. This is especially dangerous for the future of this country. Latinos make-up one out of every six Americans. Latinos are the largest ethnic minority in the United States, and more important they are the largest growing group of young people. Because of this, Latino children make-up one out of every four students currently in school. If current trends persist, Latinos as a whole will constitute one-third of the entire American workforce come 2050. That is less than 40 years from now. This final statistic is truly alarming because Latinos overall are not receiving the quality education they need for the jobs of the future, and too many of them are falling out of our education system.
It is estimated that maybe 14 percent of all Latinos ever get a college diploma—a totally inadequate number of Americans who will be the workforce of the future. A workforce that cannot properly read and write, cannot achieve specific work skills needed to do a job, and unable to rise above being mere unskilled labor is a wake-up call for America. This will be one-third of our entire workforce in just a little over a generation, and this country cannot afford to have this large an under-class of people doomed to poverty and living on our society’s margins. This figure very much includes Latinos born and raised in the United States. If you think about it we will not only be dooming Latinos but fellow Americans who will be part of the future.
This is why even in a era of cutbacks, economic uncertainty and growing poverty we must as a nation find ways to invest in our children and especially take action now to make sure that no more of our children fall through the education cracks. This nation must reverse the number of Latinos dropping out and lift them and their children out of poverty. The consequences for failing to do this are unimaginable. For everyone, I warn you that the future is closer than you think!
The Future is Sooner Than You Think
By: Daniel Nardini
Further, those Latinos who stay in school in a growing number of cases do not receive the quality education that non-Hispanic whites do. This is especially dangerous for the future of this country. Latinos make-up one out of every six Americans. Latinos are the largest ethnic minority in the United States, and more important they are the largest growing group of young people. Because of this, Latino children make-up one out of every four students currently in school. If current trends persist, Latinos as a whole will constitute one-third of the entire American workforce come 2050. That is less than 40 years from now. This final statistic is truly alarming because Latinos overall are not receiving the quality education they need for the jobs of the future, and too many of them are falling out of our education system.
It is estimated that maybe 14 percent of all Latinos ever get a college diploma—a totally inadequate number of Americans who will be the workforce of the future. A workforce that cannot properly read and write, cannot achieve specific work skills needed to do a job, and unable to rise above being mere unskilled labor is a wake-up call for America. This will be one-third of our entire workforce in just a little over a generation, and this country cannot afford to have this large an under-class of people doomed to poverty and living on our society’s margins. This figure very much includes Latinos born and raised in the United States. If you think about it we will not only be dooming Latinos but fellow Americans who will be part of the future.
This is why even in a era of cutbacks, economic uncertainty and growing poverty we must as a nation find ways to invest in our children and especially take action now to make sure that no more of our children fall through the education cracks. This nation must reverse the number of Latinos dropping out and lift them and their children out of poverty. The consequences for failing to do this are unimaginable. For everyone, I warn you that the future is closer than you think!