Kerensa Sawh

Huerta
ENGL 1T
1/30/2015
Essay 1
Dont Ignore the Merit America
Community activism can be used to address unequal education in the United States. In
today's society students and adults are not acknowledging that the future of America is in the
hands of the next generation, and without equal and quality education the next generation will
not know how to lead a country. In the film Walkout by Edward James Olmos, we are introduced
to a group of student in the East Los Angeles School district who protested for quality and equal
education. The schools in the East L.A. district had two pools for students. One pool was for the
who students who were chosen by faculty to be successful and were given the resources and
education needed to pursue a higher education, while the other pool was for student chosen to be
mechanics or housewives. The student who were selected to be successful were pushed to focus
on a letter grade, and students who were chosen to be unsuccessful would often be punished and
spend their time in detention doing janitorial duties. Crimes such as, using the bushes as a
restroom, only because all the facilities were locked and speaking spanish to ask for help from a
peer were punishable. Activism can teach students about social inequality and the importance of
getting involved. Through community activism student learn about real American history, and
the struggles fought for by those who walked the road before them. By student coming together
with their community as an agency, they are collectively working together to find solutions to the
struggle that student and different ethnic groups face today.

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When a teacher limits a student's personal education through low expectations, it causes
the student to not have the resources and knowledge needed to pursue a higher education. When
a teacher does not care about the quality of education being distributed, it causes students to feel
under prepared or not smart enough to pursue a higher education. A teacher is suppose to be a
resource for a student to have, but when a teacher shows she doesn't care about what she is
teaching, students starts to have a lack of motivation to carry on with the class or even try to
pass. When a teacher limits a student education potential, the student will not be prepared to go
out in the world as an adult and pursue a career, but he will settle for what comes first hand to
him, because he has a lack of education. In the film Walkout Jesus and Bobby are introduced
as two students in an english class that is in the middle of reading out loud. When Jesus was
called on to read out loud, he was having trouble with pronouncing certain words in english, so
he turned to Bobby and asked for help in Spanish. The teacher stopped them and told the boys to
assume the position in front of the class, then proceeded to give both of them two spankings.
The classroom looked dark and gloomy and all the students faces look sad and lifeless. The
teacher showed that he didn't care about the purpose of reading out loud, he cared about weather
or not the student could pronounce the words in english. Without acknowledging the problems
that cause an unequal education, America cant work towards closing the achievement gap,
because America is not aware of the problems in the education system that needs to be fixed.
Not understanding ones own culture or historical connection to struggle, can prevent
students from being motivated to overcome his current struggle. A lack of cultural history can
lead to students being less motivated to get involve with movements because they think their
ethnic group has done nothing great or has no legacy. Student don't know their cultural history
because American history books fail to include them. People who make up more than half the

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American population don't know their own history or the roots that make up their culture. In the
film Walkout, Mr. Castro, an American history teacher and his students Yoli and Paula are
introduced during class. Mr. Castro asked Yoli to find facts about Mexican Americans in her
history book, knowing that she wouldn't find the answers because the history books failed to
included them. He then told Paula to to help Yoli, Read about the 9,000 Mexican Americans
who fought in the American Civil War. The girls realized that their history books said nothing
about Mexican Americans or their aid in helping America overcome struggles. Mr. Castro,
proceeded to explain to the class how Mexican Americans lost their legacy because their not in
the history books, and that Mexican American students are learning their history from people
who dont know the Mexican American history. The American history books failed to mention
that the backbone of America consist of many communities. Student don't know the real history
of America, which result to student not knowing the real history about themselves, and the
accomplishments that their ancestor fought for. If student were to know the struggles that their
ancestors fought for, the generation right now would be motivated to pursue a higher education
and make something great out of themselves.
The history of segregated schools as shown in Mendez v. Westminster and Brown v. Board
of Education, created the roots of todays achievement gap. There is a distinct relationship
between the two cases, which is better standards for equal education, meaning student werent
allowed to be segregated against and have to be given equal educational opportunity. Maria
Blanco, Executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of San Francisco
Bay Area and author of Before Brown, There was Mendez, speaks about the struggle to end
segregation in public schools. After Blancos nieces and nephew were denied from a school they
live right across the street from, she realized that her children were admitted to the same school,

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but miles away from their home because of the fair complexion of their skin and their last name.
Class segregation creates barriers and is one of the main cause of education inequality. Who
students have class with depends on the color of their skin, how they present themselves, as well
as what their last name sounds like. The school district wants student to get accustomed with
each other and the system they were placed into. Segregation is being taking outside of school
and affects the personal life of students and their families, because students are placed within a
class consisting of their own ethnicity. Students became accustomed to the system they were
placed into, and take the group or clics that they formed in school, outside of school, where
they alter their personal life to fit the profile that they are accustomed to in school.
In the case of Mendez, Thurgood Marshall and Mendezs attorney David Marcus wanted
to ensure that the case would be a strong stepping stone for Marshall to try and break down the
"separate but, equal" doctrine. Latino students were place in separate Spanish speaking school,
and were not granted the same facilities, books or course instruction. Mendez argued that social
inequality leads to a physiological impact on students, which causes a lack of consciousness and
identity for student. Marcus relied on social scientist whose testimony challenged stereotypes
about Latino students and attested to the psychological damage caused by segregation. (Blanco,
pp.41) For students to have equal education, they must be treated equally as humans. Judge Paul
McCormick pointed to the fact that only student of Mexican ancestry were placed in the nonenglish speaking schools and he noted that many of the children spoke English, including the
Mendez children. For education inequality to change, student, teachers and the government must
address the issues that lead to inequality, weather it is inside or outside the classroom. By
addressing the issues affiliated with educational inequality, we as a society, are also closing the

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achievement gap. It is important to distribute quality education to each student, because the
future is in the hands of the next generation.
For America to progress, students need resources and role models. Schools should
include books about different ethnicities in their learning curriculum and should advertise the
benefits of having a growth mindset and believing in yourself, such as having higher test score,
and living a healthier life. Although there are more resources offered by schools for academic
help to all student, statistics show that students of color underperform academically and fail to
pursue a higher education. Without acknowledging the problems that cause an unequal
education, America cant work towards closing the achievement gap, because America is not
aware of the problems in the education system that needs to be fixed. Through community
activism, student learn between right and wrong, as well as having respect for those who have
fought and are fighting for a cause that benefits students now and future generations.

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Work Sited:
Before Brown there was Mendez- Maria Blanco
http://immigrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/docs/Mendez_v._Westminster_032410.pdf
Walkout- Edward James Olmos
Walkout. HBO Video, 2006. Film.

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