HBO Film Latino Teacher Advocate Speaks

(EMAILWIRE.COM, July 27, 2007 ) Sacramento, CA - The HBO film “Walkout” was based in part on Salvador Castro's account of what was happening in 1968 to Latino high school students within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). As a high school social studies teacher, Castro's involvement with those students lead to “Blowouts” or walkouts which forced the LAUSD to review its policies regarding the treatment of young Latinos. Would this approach work in today's high schools where Latinos have up to a 50 percent drop out rate? “Despite the fact that we have so many administrators of Hispanic descent, Spanish surname Hispanics, not much has changed,” says Salvador Castro now a retired Teacher and Coordinator of the Chicano Youth Leadership Conferences, Inc. “We lead the nation in high school dropouts, we lead the nation in college dropouts, we lead the nation in teen pregnancies something radical has to happen. Part of a solution can be creating a super credential…tell the teachers the job isn't getting done, we need you to take an additional 30 units of Chicano studies.” Castro was born in East Los Angeles, but was forced to move to Mexico during his first years in elementary school after his father was deported during the repatriation period, where thousands of U.S. born and legal residents were deported to Mexico without cause. His family came back to East Los Angeles where he finished high school and eventually obtained a teaching degree after serving in the armed forces. In 1963, he was involved in establishing the first Chicano Youth Leadership Conference, an activity still conducted today throughout California and parts of the Southwest. “We've been having conferences since 1963…we run weekend conferences for Chicano kids, motivating them, immersing them in success,” says Castro, “We bring in professors to talk to the kids, professionals. We've had the Sheriff of LA County come and speak, and the State Supreme Court Justice. In fact, the State Supreme Court Justice, Carlos Moreno was one of the kids that went through it (the conference), the Mayor (Antonio Villaraigosa) went through it.” When asked about the State's exist exam, which is supported by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, Castro says they are bilingual and speak from both sides of their mouth. “We need to spend more money for education,” Castro says. “Look at the statistics, in the 1950s California was second in spending for education. Today, in 2007, we are 48th in spending on education. Are we saying education is important? Or, what? In an exclusive interview on “The Latino Journal This Week,” Castro adds that we need to spend more money on teacher retraining, and schools should also consider having parent teacher meetings when parents are available, like on Sundays after church. But, he states teachers won't want to do these meetings because it will cut into their weekends. He says we should go back to the time when schools were the center of community meetings and information. To watch the entire interview, readers are invited to go to “The Latino Journal This Week” webshow now available on www.calmagazine.com, Channel 1. The website is free and available on-demand.Contact:Adrian Perezwww.calmagazine.cominfo@calmagazine.com###This press release was issued through GroupWeb EmailWire.com. For more information on press release distribution, go to http://www.emailwire.com.

Adrian Perez
Adrian Perez

info@calmagazine.com