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Banessa Rivera

Susie Huerta

English 1S

10/31/2016

El Saber Es Poder; Knowledge Is Power

In the article, Whose Culture Has Capital? A Critical Race Theory Discussion of

Community Cultural Wealth, Tara J. Yosso argues how each and every student have special

qualities and attributes that they bring into the classrooms. Unfortunately, many educator miss

this knowledge and the students talents go unseen. Educators hold lower expectation of students

of color which have negative effects in their education journey. Yosso states in her article that

deficit thinking takes the position that minority students and families are at fault for poor

academic performance because: (a) students enter school without the normative cultural

knowledge and skills; and (b) parents neither value nor support their childs education(Yosso

75). Educators with deficit thinking often fail to acknowledge students values and aspects and

focus on the negative characteristics. Students of color bring culture and knowledge beyond what

are taught in textbooks. To prove this, Yosso explains her six forms of capital; aspirational,

navigational, social, linguistic, familial, and resistant capital. Yosso states how aspirational is the

hope and dream capital, ones desire for a better future, this capital often develops within social

and familial contexts. Linguistic capital is developed through storytelling and the ability to be

bilingual. Navigational capital refers to the skills of operating and moving through social

institutions. Resistant capital is standing up for equality and resisting oppression. Yossos hopes

to empower people of color and transform the education system where every student gets the
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opportunity to succeed and reach their full potential. Being a person of color and the first

generation to graduate, I know each and every one of us is unique and bring an abundance of

knowledge that we gain through our struggles and obstacles in life events. Based on my strengths

and experiences I believe that its important to bring aspirational, familial, and resistant capital to

the classroom and to the education system in general.

Having the ambition to reach all the goals you desire will get you through many barriers

you come across too. Thats why I believe having the aspirational capital is one of the most

important form of capital to bring to school. This capital refers to the ability to conserve hopes

and dreams, even when facing limitations. As Yosso states in her article this resiliency is

evidenced in those who allow themselves and their children to dream of possibilities beyond

their present circumstances, often without the objective means to attain those goals (Yosso 78).

The hunger to succeed is a must. Coming back to school at 23 took a lot of desire and hope. I had

so many negative feelings, I just didnt know what to expect, but in my mind, I was just

preparing myself for the worst. When taking the placement test back in January for the winter

quarter, I remember walking into the classroom, my heart pounding so hard against my chest. I

sat down in an almost empty classroom and started my math test. Oh man, how I have forgotten

so many things. Once finished, I waited to take the english test. As soon I was done, the girl in

the front desk told me my results, I was surprise, my math results weren't bad at all. I knew that

getting adjusted to school was going to be somewhat difficult but I kept telling myself I can do

this. I really wanted to come back to school stronger y con mas ganas. At this age I have my

priorities straight and I know my purpose in school. My mind is set to achieve my goals. This

capital/ knowledge is important because its just an extra push for students that are faced with
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oppression in the school system. Having this capital makes you stronger as a student and as a

person in society. This positive energy can be passed on to the surrounding students.

A lot of my aspiration came from my family as well. Familial capital has had a profound

effect on my success. This capital gives me the understanding of the importance of a strong

community and maintaining healthy connections. This sense of community is a plus to have in

sports, your work ethics, and especially school. This form of cultural wealth engages a

commitment to community well-being and expands the concept of family to include a more

broad understanding of kinship (Yosso 79). Yosso explains that students pre-college

experiences within a common environment come with knowledge that can help students leverage

into positive experiences in college. Seeing my mom works so hard day and night even

sometimes having three jobs killed me. I remember growing up, and not seeing her much. She

was amazing though I dont know how she did it but she would always manage to have cooked

meals ready for me and my siblings when we got home from school. She left little notes for us,

which warm my heart. I want to make her proud and show her that all her hard work to give us a

better life is paying off. By being the first to graduate from college I can be the one to break the

cycle and start something new and better for the future generation. I would feel accomplished.

Familial capital to me is having my family as my support group. The importance of helping each

other out sharing our success is ingrain in the way I grew up. Feeding each other the knowledge

we know is empowerment. Everyone is diverse and the more we know the more we grow.

Standing up for what you believe in is liberation. Thats exactly what resistant capital is

all about. This capital is fostered by having experienced inequality challenges, yet fighting for

whats right and securing social and racial justice for yourself and others. Valerse por si misma
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(value themselves and be self-reliant) within structures of inequality such as racism, capitalism

and patriarchy. Parents of Color are consciously instructing their children to engage in

behaviours and maintain attitudes that challenge the status quo (Yosso 81). I grew up with my

family telling me this. Helping me become independent and strong on my own. In high school, I

was in MEChA Club (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztln) which was basically a

Latinx/Chicanx club about being proud of our culture, and getting us to think of the future. This

club was inspired by the actual Chicano movement created in the late 1960s, which was a

student organization that promoted higher education, culture, and history. This club did not last

long at my school (only my freshman and sophomore year). As soon as our teacher who was in

charge of the program moved, the school quickly shut the club down. We tried writing letters,

emailing and calling the union high school district representative, but we were ignored. We set

up appointments with counselors and the principle to keep running the program. The problem

was that there wasn't an instructor in school who wanted to take over the club so there was no

way of reopening it. We knew that it had to do with the school being primarily white and Asian

descents. I personally felt bad as if we didnt matter. This taught me that we cant let anyone

belittle us. Our voices are as important as any other race. Our color of our skin or our address

does not determine our intelligence. Having this capital can get you through tough obstacles.

This capital is the ability for marginalized people such as the students of color to persist and

resist oppression to become empowered. We need to break all the stereotypes and not be just

another statistic in their book.

Students of color must trust their struggles. Bringing aspirational, familial and resistant

capital to the class I can show that we all go through different experiences in life which is what
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makes us a better person. When students have the desire to grow, an educator should never limit

their success or hold them to lower standards. Educator must acknowledge that our Latin cultura

is filled with rich history and knowledges that are passed on through generations to generations.

Our dichos, cuentos, and our ability to speak more than one language make us have a lot of

advantages that we need to share in the classrooms. Students of color dont lack skills in the

contrary we bring diversity to the classroom. Bringing the capitals that Yosso explain in her

article to the classroom can eventually close the achievement gap that the institutions has placed

for students of color.