To what do you attribute the low participation of
Hispanic educators in the UTD? How does the situation in Dade compare to
participation of Hispanic teachers in unions that exist in school districts that
are somewhat comparable to ours?
Shawn Beightol’s response:
here are the stats
–
Miami-Dade is roughly 21% Anglo, 57% Hispanic,
20% Black, and
2% “Other”
MDCPS teachers
33% Anglo 39%
Hispanic 26% Black and
2% Other
This is a
representation
over the “available” pool of 158%
69%
130%
100%
Where 100% represents an exactly
proportional representation of that group.
Now consider UTD (UTD does not track
this data officially and won’t release it):
>20% Anglo*
<20% Hispanic* 51% Black
NA
Which is a
representation
over the “available”
pool
of
>100%
<50%
260%
NA
A quantitative verification of what
many have qualitatively observed: Hispanics are grossly underparticipating
while Blacks are disproportionately participating in UTD
membership.
Consider the national labor union
scene:
The
representation
over the “available”
pool of
98% Anglos 74%
Hispanic 105% Black
NA
This suggests that lower than
expected Hispanic participation in organized labor is a national phenomenon,
though with the high number of Hispanics in South Florida, this
under-representation becomes alarmingly pronounced.
Hispanic participation in education
as a whole is a crucial issue. Consider Lawrence, New Hampshire – a
student population that is 90% Hispanic but whose faculty is barely 11%
Hispanic. The full scope of the
problem can be seen at http://www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests/ed260870.html
“Hispanics in Math and Science: Attracting Student Teachers and Retraining
Experienced Teachers.” Hillsborough County reports 20% of
their student population is Hispanic, but only 5% of its teaching force is ( http://www.nea.org/nr/nr001130.html
).
Finally, the most shocking stats are
obtained when executive union positions are considered ethnically. Nationally, 92.3% of all officers in
labor unions are white, while 5.7% are black and only 1.3%
Hispanic.
This is the descriptive view of the
problem. I propose some ideas later
in answer to your other questions.
As far as speculation of what is
going on in our union, a couple things come to mind:
1)
I think UTD has been negligent,
either ignorantly or willfully (afraid of the power change that was taking place
quietly in Miami).
2)
I suspect that in our city where the
Hispanic population is largely of Cuban origin, the history of organized labor
may add a negative connotation to the image of UTD.
3)
On a related note, a union activist
by the name of Modecker sponsored a campaign to have unionism introduced into
the curriculum in one school system because of the decrease in union enrollment
among new graduates. He identified
a lack of historical awareness of the role of unions in our strong economy and
workers rights and privileges. It
is very possible that the generation of educators which arose from an immigrant
population also missed this component of U.S. history.
4)
It is quite possible that a largely
republican Hispanic population sees unionism as a strongly democrat
activity.
5)
Finally, Mellor, Barnes-Ferrell, and
Stanton did a study on union activism and gender/ethnicity, finding a direct
correlation between a perceived threat of discrimination and union
involvement. Perhaps in light of
the previously mentioned power change, Hispanics have not felt threatened by
discrimination in a city that has become increasingly dominated by Hispanic
power brokers. This may further
explain why Blacks have involved themselves in the union 260% times what their
proportion of the general population would predict. Blacks first had to deal with
white-against-black racism of the past, and then they faced the perceived threat
of job displacement from the immigrating Hispanics.
Ceresta Smith’s response: Organized labor is often
erroneously linked to socialism or communism. Those who hold disdain for these
political ideologies often avoid union membership. Sharing the history of organized
labor and giving solid facts as to its benefits through intimate correspondence
will help reverse the negative stigma.
I agree with Shawn that Hispanics in
M-DCPS and the county hold key positions and that may provide security to many
Latinos. Consequently, benefits to
union membership are negligible to many Hispanics.
If elected president, what action would you take to
increase Hispanic teacher membership in the UTD?
Shawn’s
response:
1)
I would make sure the full time UTD
staff responsible for outreach to the Hispanic community was on top of important
events (like the two forums, neither of which were broadcast!).
2)
I would also ensure that this
fulltime publicist was setting up press conferences and getting coverage for all
events in which UTD participated.
3)
I would make sure that UTD offered
services to the Hispanic community.
UTD could participate in a number of the cultural events offered by the
city/county each year.
Visibility!
4)
UTD could form alliances with local
colleges of education and federal agencies (DOE, NIH, NSF) to offer tuition
reimbursements in return for a 5 year commitment to teaching after
graduation. By association, and
through ongoing nurture, such teachers would naturally view participation in UTD
as personally profitable.
5)
Use economic services to identify
local and national sources for scholarship money for Hispanics who would study
education and tie the scholarship to union participation after
graduation.
6)
Broker tuition for certification
add-ons, for NBCTP, Masters, and higher degrees for Hispanics. Again, tie receipt into ongoing union
participation.
7)
Summer internships for Hispanic
companies, particularly where Spanish language would be a
plus.
8)
Increased participation in and
sponsorship at school sites where Hispanic populations are
dominant.
9)
More fun/social type activities at
the UTD center, like the Hispanic heritage dance/social night 2 weeks ago. How about some salsa/meringue parties on
Key Biscayne? BBQ picnics? Conferences with Hispanic guest
speakers?
What actions could Hispanic teachers take to effect
positive changes in the UTD, at the school site, or the school system at
large?
Shawn’s
response:
1)
Obviously, membership in the
subcommittees is going to effect the most immediate change. The Hispanic coalition is making a
powerful statement, and has the potential for powerful influence by doing this
exact thing – poll for ideas, make known the community concerns, let people know
that you have the ability to vote as a block!
2)
Educate the Hispanic teacher
community on the laws (workshops?) that affect their teaching conditions (email
usage, AIP’s, etc).
3)
Encourage participation in EESAC
committees and in speaking out at School Board meetings.
4)
Encourage participation in national
conferences and associations that recognize, value, and diversity in education
(SECME, ASPIRA,
Have you received an award from, been a member of, or
participated in an organization that promotes issues of concern to the Hispanic
community? Please, give details.
Shawn has written education articles
for Progreso Semanal, an online political internet news site aimed at the
Hispanic community (at http://www.rprogreso.com/ ); has volunteered at the Good Samaritan
Mission (for Mexican migrant farm workers) in Wimauma, Florida, including
leading an NPR reporting team to report on migrant farm worker conditions in
Florida; and has worked both locally and nationally as a Master Teacher with
SECME Inc., the largest pre-college minority engineering program in the
nation. When the national
conference met at Miami in 1998, the focus was on getting more Hispanic students
into engineering careers and more Hispanic teachers into high level math and
science problem-solving based teaching.
Shawn was awarded national teacher of the year that year for his work at
Wm H. Turner Technical Arts High School for his dynamic work with minorities and
motivating high-level academic achievement and career interest in tech
careers.
Ceresta has participated in the
Ethnic Heritage Panel and brought in Hispanic leaders and artists for
presentations to students, organized Hispanic heritage luncheons, brought in
Afro-Cuban artists to school sites to promote ethnic awareness and
diversity. She has worked closely
with the Hispanic community in Wash. D.C. as well as here in South Florida. In Washington, she worked with Cuban
immigrants in regards to social inclusion through the cultural arts. In Miami, she has invited Hispanic
community leaders to address student audiences in various schools in which she
has worked. She has organized
luncheons and cultural awareness events at school sites. She has promoted the arts and music
through organizing workshops and performances. The community service and
networking organization - Millennium Movers, of which she is a member - has
honored Jimmy Morales and worked to promote his aspirations for elected public
service. Moreover, she has assisted
activist organizations in fighting for the rights of displaced costal
Nicaraguans.
What role, if any, could the UTD play to increase the
numbers of Hispanic students who graduate from Miami Dade Public
Schools?
Shawn’s response:
Ceresta and I both believe it is
time to begin radically revamping the curriculum offering and vehicles used by
educators in this drastically changing world. We think it’s time to look at
internships, “earn-while-you-learn,” and worksite based educational
opportunities. It’s time to look at
providing all schools with magnet offerings and to drop boundaries. Students should be able to choose where
they want to attend for access to skills training that meets their desires and
needs. As UTD president and
1st VP, Ceresta and I would pursue research and development of
creative, bold, and innovative curricular solutions to the drop-out and
“act-out” problem that we are facing.
If students valued the curriculum received, if they saw relevance, they
would embrace it.
Shawn worked in a program at FIU a
few years ago that was aimed at decreasing drop-outs by offering math and
science courses for 6 years to high risk students in the Miami Southridge feeder
pattern. Students that completed
this program were given full scholarships to FIU. A couple weeks ago at the Hispanic
Heritage festival, one of the dancers approached Shawn and thanked him – she was
a graduate of his class and a recipient of the scholarship. Shawn also taught a summer program at
Turner Tech where students from the Liberty City area earned $5/hour for
attending. The class was student
run and structured like an engineering firm. Shawn saw a 95% passing rate for this
summer program. The point of both
of these stories is that there are solutions, if one is willing to think out of
the century old box!
Thanks for your questions and I look
forward to serving you as UTD’s president, God-willing.
Regards,
Shawn Beightol,
M.S.Ed.
