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DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Puerto Rican Students:

A NYC Ethnographic Research Study

 

        Imagine all the nations in the world belonging to one big family. The

United States would be the father, China the mother, Japan the daughter,

France the son, and so on. In this family of nations, Puerto Rico would only be a

family relative. Puerto Rico is a gorgeous island of many different colors. It has

green trees, fields and forests, brown hills, and white sandy beaches. It is

famous for its beautiful beaches, warmhearted people, and delicious foods. In

fact, it is also known to be the oldest community under the American Flag.

Christopher Columbus discovered the lovely island on November 19, 1493 during

 his second voyage to the new world (Flores, 2009). Columbus decided to call

the island San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist) in honor of King Ferdinand

and Queen Isabella of Spain. Before Columbus named the island San Juan

Bautista, it was called Boriquen, but a lieutenant to Columbus named Juan

Ponce de Leon later changed it to “Puerto Rico” (Flores, 2009).

 

          Today, Puerto Rico is defined as a “Caribbean island commonwealth of

the United States, located about 1,000 miles southeast of Miami” (Powell, 2005).

The United States acquired Puerto Rico in 1898, in the aftermath of the Spanish-

American War, prompting the first wave of Puerto Rican immigration. Puerto Ricans

were recognized as U.S. citizens by the Jones Act of 1917, permitting them to travel

freely to the mainland—United States(Nelson, 2003). Immigration increased

rapidly, particularly to New York City, where industrial development and

prosperity offered good employment prospects (Powell, 2005).

                                                                                                           

         

          This pattern continued through the mid-20th century, when an

industrialization program known as Operation Bootstrap caused agricultural

workers to leave Puerto Rico. In the 1950s and 1960s more than 600,000

people left Puerto Rico for the United States (Flores, 2009). The largest number

of Puerto Ricans in the continental United States continues to reside in New York,

with sizable groups also in the Philadelphia and Chicago metropolitan areas.

Significant numbers have also settled in and around other East Coast cities,

in addition to California and Texas. More than 1.3 million Puerto Ricans live in

the New York City area (Powell, 2005). The first significant migration to U.S.

territory involved 5,000 Puerto Rican contract laborers who were hired to work

on sugar plantations in Hawaii between 1899 and 1901 (Powell, 2005). By the

year 2000, the number of Puerto Ricans in the United States became 3.4 million.

 

           Economic hardship also drove migration after the Spanish-American War

(Flores, 2009). Although many Puerto Ricans were glad to be rid of the Spanish

government, under the direction of the United States the economy was

increasingly based on the export of coffee. An import tax in the United States

caused many Puerto Rican farmers to lose their farms and leave the island. Many

 of these migrants came to work as seasonal farm workers

along the eastern seaboard. Others came to work in factories in urban centers.

There, they settled and created their own neighborhoods called “barrios”.

 

          Influenced by the changes brought by the Civil Rights movement and

other movements of the 1960s, Puerto Ricans began to work through grass-

roots groups to create better living conditions in their communities

(Flores, 2009). The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund were

created in part to help create counseling and educational guidance for Puerto

Rican youth in the cities. The implementation of bilingual education in the public

school system counted among their successes. People in many barrios

encouraged the creation of social clubs, religious associations, and athletic

teams as ways of creating positive values and creating a viable community. Also

in the 1960s and 1970s, radical Puerto Rican political groups such as the Young

Lords challenged many of the standard notions held about their community and

advocated a radical socialist alternative (Nelson, 2003). They were able to

create free breakfast, day care, and health care programs for the poor as well.

 

           By the 1980s and 1990s, many significant changes took place in the

Puerto Rican community. Many of the factory jobs in urban areas moved to

countries where the wages were lower. Service sector jobs in communications,

advertising, financial services, education, and government required high levels

of education, which new migrants did not always possess. The media has also

persisted in portraying Puerto Ricans in negative images, highlighting drug use,

unemployment, and gang membership. With so many Puerto Ricans residing in

the U.S., why is it that so many of them fail to achieve academic success?

 

        Puerto Rican children and adolescents appear more at risk for below

average school achievement, mental health problems, and service referrals than

 any other Hispanic group living in the United States. Moreover, their

experiences within U.S. schools are characterized by “low levels of academic

achievement, severe ethnic isolation, and one of the highest dropout rates of all

 groups of students in the United States” (Nieto, 2000). Reasons for such

shortcomings are due to language, the public school system, and socio-

economic factors. In New York, less than a third of Puerto Ricans have any

college education (Powell, 2005). They are poorer and less educated than

Latinos on the whole, despite the fact that they’ve been here longer and

have the advantage of U.S. citizenship. Furthermore, the achievement level of

Puerto Rican females are “worst than or equal to that of the males” (Diaz, 2010).     

          

          Primarily, having a language barrier that prevents you from understanding

 what is being taught within your classroom would block anyone’s chance of

succeeding in school. Despite the now legally mandated requirement that states

that all non-English speaking students receive bilingual instruction, “40 percent of

those entitled do not receive it” (Rodriguez, 1991). Of the other 60 percent who do

receive bilingual instruction, only “30 percent are exposed to a fully bilingual

instruction program” (Rodriguez, 1991). These students who did not receive

such instruction are at a higher risk of dropping out by the time they reach the

ninth grade (Maizel, 1993). They also become overrepresented in zoned high

schools and underrepresented in optional education programs

(Rodriguez, 1991). Hence, underprivileged Puerto Rican students often times

end up on the negative side of the educational tracks, where they are faced

with more stone walls than open doors.

        

            Because it seems crucial for non-English speaking students to become

familiar with and eventually learn the English language, they often times lose

their sense of cultural identity. As for Puerto Ricans, the majority insist on

“retaining Spanish and their cultural roots while at the same time learning

English and becoming biculturally adept” (Nieto, 2000).  However, how is it

possible to learn about an entirely different culture and its language and still

manage to keep your cultural roots and language in a school system that gives

teachers limited to no opportunity to create a learning environment where “the

bilingual and bicultural backgrounds of students are affirmed in every aspect of

their learning?”(Nieto, 2000). If students were to be provided with a learning

environment where they feel comfortable speaking their native language along

with English, as well as one that fully allows and encourages them to “express

and explore the behaviors reflecting the heritage of both cultures” (Nieto, 200),

students would have a better sense of identity; which would then promote their

self-confidence and motivation needed in order to do well academically.

However, there are still the socio-economic factors that play a major role on

Puerto Rican students’ academic life.

 

       Although more than a third of all Latino children live in poverty, “Puerto

Ricans have the far greatest risk of being poor of any other Latino group”

(Nieto, 2000). According to a Current Population Survey given by the Annual

Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) in 2006, 26.6 % of Hispanic children

were found to be living below poverty level. The Stateside Puerto Rican poverty

rate for families headed by single women is 39.3 % (Baker, 2007). The Stateside

 Puerto Rican poverty level for single female headed households is higher than every

other major group except Dominicans, which stands at 49.0 % (Baker, 2007). What is

 most troubling about these statistics is that among all the other Latino groups,

Puerto Ricans are the only ones to arrive in the United States already as U.S.

citizens, which should be an advantage but apparently is not in terms of

socioeconomic status. Growing up in poverty often times prevents Puerto Rican

students from gaining access to the resources needed to do well in school.

Students living in low-income families have a ten times greater dropout rate than

their peers from high-income families (Nieto, 2000).

 

         Puerto Ricans, along with other U.S. Latinos, have experienced the long-

term problem of a high school dropout rate that has resulted in relatively low

educational attainment levels. Of those found to be 25 years of age and older,

63.2 % of Stateside Puerto Ricans had graduated from high school, compared

to 84.0% of Whites, 73.6% of Blacks and 83.4% of Asians(Acosta-Belén, 2006).

This Stateside Puerto Rican high school graduation rate, however, exceeded

that of Mexicans (48.7%), Dominicans (51.7%) and Central and South

Americans (60.4%), while it was below that of Cubans (68.7%) and Other Latinos

(72.6%) (Acosta-Belén, 2006).  

 

         In Puerto Rico, according to the 2000 Census, 24.4% of those found to be

25 years of age and older had a 4-year college degree, while only 9.9% of

Stateside Puerto Ricans had a 4-year degree. According to the 2003 Annual

Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplement Current Population Survey, the percent

of Stateside Puerto Ricans with undergraduate degrees increased to 13.1%,

below the rate for Whites (26.1%), African Americans (14.4%) and Asians

(43.3%). Among other Latinos, only Mexicans (6.2%) fared worse than Stateside

 Puerto Ricans in undergraduate degree attainment. While other groups were

found to have higher rates: Dominicans (10.9%), Cubans (19.4%), Central and

South Americans (16.0%) and other Latinos (16.1%) (ASEC, 2003).

 

         Based on three interviews I did on Puerto Rican women who have had

experiences within New York City public schools, I found these statistics and

reasons behind academic failure among Puerto Rican students to be valid. Two

out of three of the interviewees admitted to growing up in poverty, having a

language barrier, feeling isolated, and overall being the first in their family to

obtain a high school diploma and college degree. One of the three interviewees

admitted to actually hating the NYC public school system, saying that “it caused

me to drop out on purpose”. The three women that I interviewed were Janice

Gonzalez, Jessica Lopez, and Helen Gonzalez.  

  

            Janice Gonzalez is a 27 year old woman born and raised in New Burgh,

New York. Both of her parents are Puerto Rican, with high school diplomas.

Because Janice’s mother barely survived a brutal car accident, she was barely

able to speak. Since she always mimicked the sounds that came from her

mother, Janice grew up to learn solely the sounds of certain letters or the

beginning sounds of words and did not start speaking until age 8. When she

began school, Janice was placed in a program that required her to receive

speech therapy, as well as another program that helped her as she learned

how to read and write. Having her father help her with homework, Janice slowly

but surely began to catch up with the other students.

         

        Because her father was extremely strict, Janice had no opportunity to

socialize outside of school grounds. However, she admitted to being very social

within the school, and would often get into trouble for being too talkative.

Furthermore, she proudly spoke of the diversity within all the public schools she

attended in New Burgh, as well as the many opportunities given to express her

cultural identity through clubs, multicultural events, and programs. When asked

of what challenges she faced growing up as a Puerto Rican, Janice spoke of the

pressure she faced while attempting to live up to her father’s high expectations.

 She admitted to feeling that she had to behave as an adult although she was

still a child. For example, she was expected to fully care for her mother by

feeding, bathing, and putting her to bed. “It was as if the roles switched, my

mother became the daughter and I was her parent, but worst of all….I became

my father’s mistress.” Having been sexually abused by her father, Janice saw

school as her sanctuary. Consequently, she strove to finish both high school and

 college. When asked what type of student she was, Janice replied that she was an

above average student.  

 

          Though Janice experienced challenges in terms of language and having a

dysfunctional family, she spoke of having a fair socio-economic status. Defining

her family as being in the middle class status, Janice spoke of living in a private

house, having her own room, and having access to numerous resources that

helped her to do well in school. Ironically, she admitted to viewing her father as

her biggest motivation that caused her to finish school. Furthermore, the fact

that she was very involved in extracurricular activities, such as Choir and ROTC,

gave Janice the confidence needed to continue attending school. When asked

of her opinion toward the reasons behind academic failure among Puerto Rican 

students, Janice replied “it’s because Puerto Rican parents tend to have

expectations that are just too high, they’re also too busy working two or three

jobs to even get involved in their child’s full life, above all most of Puerto Rican

families are very dysfunctional”.     

 

            Jessica Lopez is a 19 year old woman born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. She

was brought to New York at age 12 by her mother, Rosalinda Lopez. Both of

Jessica’s parents are Puerto Rican with a junior high school education (mother-

8th grade, father-7th grade). When asked of her experience within NYC public

schools, Jessica replied “no matter how many times my mother changed my

school; I hated each and every one of them!” Because she was a non-English

speaking student, Jessica became frustrated every time she was given an

assignment in class or to take home. Though she was eligible to receive

bilingual education, Jessica stated that due to overcrowded classrooms and

only one to two bilingual teachers within most of the schools she attended, she

had no choice but to be in a “regular” classroom. “I felt like an alien from

another planet, I didn’t understand a word that was being spoken to me”.

When asked what type of student she was, Jessica replied “I was way below

average”.

 

         Having a parent without even a high school diploma, Jessica and her

mother lived on Public Assistance. “Public Assistance alone was not enough to

buy most of the stuff we needed, so my mother had to work two jobs that paid

off the books in order to make ends meet”. Jessica spoke of the brutal beatings

she received from her mother, because her grades were very low at the end of

each marking period. “My mother thought I was just being lazy, she even

threatened to send me back to my father (who was abusive to both of us) just

so I would try harder in school”. As a result, she began to skip classes and

eventually dropped out of school by the 10th grade. When asked if she would

ever try to obtain her GED, Jessica replied “I don’t see the point; there is no

chance of becoming anything in a system made to make people like us fail”.

When asked of her opinion toward the reasons behind academic failure among

Puerto Rican students, Jessica replied: “the public school system breaks us

Puerto Ricans, it’s like they want to rip out your cultural roots or something just

so you can blend in with everyone else living in the U.S., and it’s because so

many of us are very poor and are being raised by single crazy mothers”.      

 

          Helen Gonzales is a 50 year old woman born in Brooklyn, New York. Both

of her parents are from Puerto Rico (mother-Mayaguez, father-Rincon) with a

Junior High School education (mother-6th grade, father-unsure). Helen is the

middle sibling of 5 brothers and 3 sisters. Having been born and raised in New

York, Helen spoke of having good experiences within her public schools. When

asked what type of student she was, Helen replied “I was always smart in

school, I was above average and I always enjoyed learning new things”.

Because her father was very involved in school, as well as very strict, Helen

admitted to “having no choice but to do more than was expected in all her

classes”.

 

          Having a large family consisting of 11 people, Helen described her socio-

economic status as being working class. “It was eleven of us living together

with only my father working, so we received public assistance”. Because she

was solely allowed to attend school and return straight home, Helen admitted

to having hardly any access to resources that would have benefited her in

school. “My brothers, sisters, and I were stuck in the house all the time, and my

parents didn’t have any knowledge of resources....they were never in

community activities, because they were too busy working and raising all of us”.

 

          When asked about her main motivation to continue school, Helen replied

“my father was the one to always be involved, he pushed all of us to do well in

school and even tried encourage us all to become lawyers”. Though she

postponed college, due to having her first child after graduating high school,

Helen went back to school in pursuit of a Bachelors degree in Education. When

asked of her opinion toward the reasons behind academic failure among Puerto

Rican students, Helen replied: “Parents are not as involved in their child’s

education as much as they should be, their expectations are too high, there

are a lot of family problems happening as well, too many are very poor, and

there are no successful Puerto Rican role models out there in these

neighborhoods to motivate them”.

 

           After interviewing each person, I began to realize that there is in fact a

connection between chances of academic success and language barriers, the

public school system, and socio-economic factors. A student who speaks perfect

 English, attends a highly prestigious school, and is of upper class status has a

better chance of finishing high school, college, and even obtaining a doctorate

degree than a student who lacks two if not all of those privileges. Though it is

fair to say that Puerto Ricans have the advantage of having U.S. citizenship, it

does not signify that they all should and could automatically do well in school.

The misconception that Puerto Rican students are “just lazy” does not count as

a factor in whether or not they finish school. According to my research, it seems

that socio-economic factors and the public school system play a bigger role in

academic achievement among Puerto Rican students than language barriers,

for having the other two privileges would allow one to overcome most obstacles.  

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

References

 

Acosta-Belén, E., & Carlos E. Santiago (eds.) (2006). Puerto Ricans in the United States: A Contemporary Portrait .Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers

 

Baker, S. (2007). Understanding Mainland Puerto Rican Poverty Philadelphia:                            Temple University Press).

 

Census Bureau (2003). 2003 Annual Social and Economic (ASEC) Supplement Current

 

Population Survey, prepared by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor

 

Statistics (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Bureau of the Census). Retrieved on April 13, 2010

 

from http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/09statab/income.pdf

 

Diaz, R. & Saran, R. (2010).Beyond Stereotypes: Minority children in Urban Schools.

 

             Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers

 

Flores, L. (2009). The History of Puerto Rico. Greenwood Publishers.

 

Maizel, D. (1993). Personal Adjustments of Puerto Rican Adolescents. New York:  Research Technical Press. 

 

Nieto, S (2000). Puerto Rican Students in United States Schools. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

 

Nelson, H. (2003).Latino Movement. Encyclopedia of American History: Postwar United States, Retrieved on April 11, 2010 from http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp

 

Powell, J. (2005). Puerto Rican immigration. Encyclopedia of North American Immigration. Retrieved on April 11, 2010 from http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?

 

Rodriguez, C. (1991) Puerto Ricans: Born in the U.S.A. United States: Westview Press, Inc.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

 

Reasearch Paper and Presentation

 

Puerto Rican Students.pptx

Final%20EDUC%20355%20paper[1].docx

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.