To prevent a youngster from turning to gangs or substance abuse, you have to increase his feelings of self-esteem and self-worth.
For a growing number of Utah school students, that means valuing their diverse ethnic backgrounds and cultural heritages, says Richard P. Gomez, coordinator of the Educational Equity Section of the State Office of Education."We have a year's work planned in our campaign to increase such appreciation," he said. "We are also identifying and cooperating with the many groups working with youth at risk, to avoid duplication of effort and expenditure, and take advantage of the expertise already functioning among us."
What makes a child turn to bad or deviant behavior? "Not knowing who he is," Gomez said without hesitation. "Many kids feel alienated in schools that often have a wide cultural and racial mix. They need experiences that make them feel comfortable about themselves. And one of the biggest morale builders is bringing in arts from their own cultures.
"When Ballet Folklorico of Mexico was here last fall, 6,000 children from many schools saw them. Three days later, a little girl 10 years old called me at home to say that the dancing had made her so proud. When she started school she was put down because of her color and speaking Spanish. Then her father got on the phone and said they had had to move to Davis County to get away from such belittling.
"This ballet gave all the Hispanic kids a lift, a feeling of acceptance as they saw others of all cultures enjoying their art. Such recognition is important for kids at risk for substance abuse and gangs.
"The public schools have a tremendous role to play in promoting the value of diversity," Gomez said, "and the home setting is a real area of concern. In some school areas, the dominant population is single-parent homes. Kids come to school with limited English, and they don't understand the system.
"We don't recommend harping on English deficiency in minority groups, making a problem where actually an opportunity exists. If a child comes with another language, we should capitalize on that, take him from where he is and build upon it."
Gomez spoke of the self-fulfilling prophecy: "If a child is treated as dull and a troublemaker, he will react in that way. On the other hand, we have the Pygmalion effect: If a child is regarded with high expectations and treated accordingly, he will rise to that level. That's one of the big arguments for not grouping children according to ability levels. They come to see themselves as able to function at only one level."
By the same token, if a teacher views a Spanish- or Vietnamese-speaking student as deficient in skills, the teacher will fall into the trap of expecting less of the student. "Is limited English a handicap, or a stimulant to learning?" Gomez asked. "A child must have a certain level of English mastery to enter the mainstream, and the school must provide a way for him to gain it."Gomez deplores bureaucracy that, when something goes wrong, treats or punishes the symptoms instead of looking for underlying causes. "It is ironic that this state pays as much as $17,000 a year to incarcerate a criminal, but only $5,000-$6,000 to educate a kid. Where are our priorities? In the same way, retrieval of an addicted child or a gang member is much more expensive than taking the steps that will prevent such involvement."
Gomez applauds the state PTA's hard work to involve all parents at all levels in saving kids and teaching them self-esteem. One tool is the Family EDinfo Hotline, messages for families from the Utah Center for Families in Education, sponsored jointly by the PTA and Office of Education.
The service is available 24 hours a day by touch-tone telephone. You can call 531-7007 in the Salt Lake area or 1-800-332-7007 in toll areas. Then press codes for instant help and suggestions under the headings of "Home-school working together," "Parents as teachers," "Programs for special needs," "School laws: parental rights and responsibilities," "All about tests," "College and career opportunities," and "Health, emotional and social concerns."
The one-sheet directory is printed in both English and Spanish, Gomez explained. He said a parent called him, saying she resented bilingual printing because children should be learning English and should be compelled to speak it. Gomez finds this attitude unacceptable.
"In the great immigrant influxes of the past, most new Americans learned English on the job, doing largely manual labor. But nowadays our civilization is too complex for that. And we live increasingly in a world community, where bilinguality can be a great advantage, give you double options."The State Office of Education is assembling teaching tools that will expose whole school populations to the ethnic arts and culture, thus fostering respect for the minorities that live among them.
"The big cultural organizations that we have - orchestra, ballet, opera - represent western European arts. We have to get other non-European cultures represented," Gomez said.
He pointed to tapes on Mexican culture that can circulate throughout the state: how to count and identify colors, how to prepare good Latin food; visual artists, pottery, weavers, Mexican ruins, Mexican horsemen (showing that rodeo originated in Mexico). "These are useful in connection with history and social studies," he said. Similar collections have been or are being assembled for other ethnic cultures.
A few days ago, the Office of Education deliveredto local schools a directory, "Ethnic Folk Artists and Presenters," listing talented people of several cultures - Asian, black, Indian, Hispanic and Pacific - who will share their skills in Utah classrooms.All cultures have what psychologists call the rites of passage, by which a child moves to successful maturity with self-esteem intact.
Ron Johnson, who works with the Community Reclamation Project, a program to combat substance abuse in Lomita, Calif., has been in Utah to present his successful "Rites of Passage" program, features of which the Utah Office of Education is incorporating into its work. His program identifies and addresses 10 specific areas of growth - personal, spiritual, cultural, emotional, historical, social, political, economic, mental and physical - with the guidelines needed to successfully mature in each area.
"Such rites are especialy important in all African societies," said Gomez, "and if they are not successfully negotiated, maturity is often flawed or incomplete. But American blacks have an extraordinary problem finding the roots of their culture, because they are generationally removed from it. They need to be reintroduced to their rites of passage.
"We find in many cultures - Polynesian, Hispanic, Oriental - that the older males watch out for their younger siblings. I remember finishing lots of my brother's fights!
"In some single-parent families, children are traumatized, without family support. In societies where elder-brother protection is usual, it's a very easy step to forming a `family' of friends, where you take care of each other. That's how gangs get started," he said.
"Children must come to see their culture as something positive, by means that can be developed in boys and girls clubs, community centers, schools and churches. Professionals are getting into promoting cultural awareness. If a child comes from a place where his parent or parents enjoyed music and dance, that pulls them into position.
"The United States has millions who are affected by substance abuse and gangs. It's necessary to try to recover lost children, but what a lot more expensive (it is) to reclaim rather than prevent!"
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Cultural events
During the week of Feb. 17-24, Nefertari, a group of high school students and adults from Milwaukee, will dance and conduct workshops in Utah to promote Black culture. On a smiliar mission to disseminate Hispanic culture, the Ballet Folklorico Quetzal de Vera Cruz will be in town Feb. 25-28.