ARTICLE IN THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION ON "GAP BETWEEN COLLEGE ASPIRATIONS AND SUCCESS" IN LATINOS

The article in the Chronicle of High Education talks about a poll funded by the "Associated Press-Univision...and... co-sponsored by the Nielsen Company and Stanford University" found a couple of interesting things. First off, of the "1,521 Hispanics polled", "94 percent of Latinos expect their children to attend college". This is an amazing testament to how Latinos view a college degree; there are very few Latinos who would shun the advantages in quality of life and self knowledge that it brings. However, of the Latinos polled, only "13 percent of Latinos...[had]...at least a bachelor's degree, compared with 30 percent of the U.S. population."

Moreover, "Eighty-seven percent of Hispanic Americans value higher education as being extremely or very important, compared with 78 percent of all Americans." Therefore, it would be hard for one to disagree that Latinos find education important. And this is true, but might we calibrate for hubris and the "ridiculousness" of the question. In other words, what fool, living in these United States, would not consider a college degree of the utmost importance. So, the bent of this poll now aims to understand the difference between Aspiration and Success. However, the authors of the study did come up with some reasons as to the gulf might exist.

The authors of the study suggest that "causes for the discrepancy between aspiration and achievement: lack of money and a reluctance to borrow it, familial obligations, and tepid support from parents and teachers." Which is nothing new, although I was surprised by the acknowledgment that "tepid support from parents and teachers" was making ground as a reason why inner city schools chock full of Latinos are failing to educate our minority children. College needs to not even be a question of volition, but of decision, and we need to ensure that Latino children are successful in college and outside of college, as citizens, denizens of an important minority.

The url for the article is, http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Poll-of-Hispanics-Finds-a-Gap/25866/

ILLUSTRATION FOR SECRET CAVE BASES...BY CHAZ FOLGAR

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF NEW PEW CTR STUDY ON LATINOS

Just one-in-ten Hispanic high school dropouts has a General Educational Development (GED) credential, widely regarded as the best “second chance” pathway to college, vocational training and military service for adults who have not graduated from high school. By contrast, two-in-ten black high school dropouts and three-in-ten white high school dropouts have a GED, according to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis of newly available educational attainment data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2008 American Community Survey. The relatively low level of GED credentialing among Hispanic high school dropouts is especially notable because Hispanics have a much higher high school dropout rate than do blacks or whites. Some 41% of Hispanics ages 20 and older in the United States do not have a regular high school diploma, versus 23% of comparably aged blacks and 14% of whites.

Among Hispanics, there are significant differences between the foreign born and the native born in high school diploma attainment rates and GED credentialing rates. Some 52% of foreign-born Latino adults are high school dropouts, compared with 25% of the native born. And among Hispanic dropouts, some 21% of the native born have a GED, compared with just 5% of the foreign born. Hispanics are the nation’s largest minority group; they make up 47 million, or 15%, of the population of the United States. As of 2008, there were 29 million Hispanics ages 20 and older; of this group, 41% are native born and 59% are foreign born. This Pew Hispanic Center report also analyzes labor market outcomes of Hispanic adults based on whether they dropped out of high school, have a GED or obtained a regular high school diploma or more. Among its key findings:

• As of 2008, Hispanic adults with a GED had a higher unemployment rate
than Hispanic adults with a high school diploma—9% versus 7%.

• However, Hispanic full-time, full-year workers with a GED had about the
same mean annual earnings ($33,504) as Hispanic full-time, full-year
workers with a high school diploma ($32,972).

ODE TO INIESTA

Sobriquets amass resonance, a sort of
frequency of utterance so victories

feed hard-scrapple scandals and ego-imploding
defeats, glitches on the donkey tube.

The Spanish press take Don Andrés to be their
lawfully-wedded guest, pero Iniesta is no
crisp maiden.

If anything, el Ilusionista is a humble bogey
with enormous scimitars for Dimensions.

Some call him Anti-Galactic based on that
Milky-Way of a season with Barca, burying Chelsea

in the League Mausoleum with the deceased stars
of long-range petards at 25 yards; tambien, Iniesta

le dio tremenda nalgadas a Manchester until Rooney
stepped up and pledged allegiance to Iniesta from across
the glassine moat of his celebrity.

Iniesta's that scrappy palooka runt makes pop-off midfield;
he pries opens the berth of play and doesn’t get sucked out to sea

by the phalanx of defensemen flotsamed into the penalty box.
If anything, Iniesta proved paramount as that character actor

alternate with humility degrees; I mean it was David Villa I think
gave the assist, but it was Iniesta that projectiled the rock
past Stekelenburg.

In all truth, I had flotsamed Jarque's tragic heart attack from mind
but the Paladin Iniesta, a tiny man, is an avalanche of cleats.

FOUR NEW BANNERS FOR ISSUE THREE OF HINCHAS

BANNERS FOR HINCHAS TRES

SPAIN WINS THE 2010 WORLD CUP

Holy crap! What an amazing game! Full of sighs and miraculous, theatrical kicks, stuntman tumbles, Luftwaffe header pirouettes and ninjitsu tears. The two halves went without a goal until second over-time when Iniesta fiddles through a Dutch dam and David Villa lobs it to him. Iniesta's goal was worth not only worth wait, it's grandeur drew from the more than 105 minutes of continuous play (two 45 min halves and a 15 min overtime).

Both teams were evenly matched. The Netherlands came out to play and they played defensively aggressive, while from minute one, Spain played aggressively adept and dynamic futbol; shit, you could even say that Spain beat the Netherlands by outplaying them at TotalFutbol, a style of futbol created by Cruyff in the late 70's. Exhibit A: in the awesome match against Germany, Puyol, a defensive player made the most amazing header I have ever seen in my measly life.

I guess what I am trying to say is that both teams wanted it but I feel that the Netherlands were waiting for Spain to make a mistake that never came. For example, Iker Casillas made the sweetest save on a fast break with Robben, but so did the goalie for the Netherlands. Both teams' goalies plaer amazingly well and the goal that Iniesta made in the second over time segment was pure genius and came almost at the end. But it came, and that is all that matters.

I swear towards the end I was just hoping that the game would not end in a penalty shoot out because I felt that that might have been a let down. In some sordid way, I feel that the World Cup owed us an amazing match that did not end in a shoot out.

I also came to grips with the many Odes that I am going to have to write for the 2010 World Cup. So far this is my short list: Sneijder, Forlan, Iniesta, Donovan, Higuain, Podolski, Schweinstagger, etc.

ODE TO FORLAN

Forlan's got forty years of ego felatio coming to him
for propelling Uruguay to uber-heights of Cup History.

More than sideswipes from el Ruso or pseudo-saves
by slap-happy Suarez, more than martial lobs into
double-team territory by Perreira or Gargano chest bumps,
more than cardio from the bomba or vuvusella vitriol

No player has done more to propel, permit, permutate
purloin, their country's chances than Forlan did with
Uruguay.

Forlan's got pedigree and panache
plus a mustard plug of Fortitude, a phalanx of ambidextrous
closed-loop fire control systems.

Nicknamed Cachavacha by Independiente fans,
or was it los locos de Penarol?, Forlan destroys conceits
that the goalie can run spatial reconnaissance
that the farthest post is difficult to sopapo
that too much green deflates balon's roar

Forlan's boxing shot is right outside box
where balon arcs and wanes, where any outside
shove from the gods can slap alas on your botin.

GERMANY VERSUS SPAIN

Obviously, I want Germany to pay for spanking Argentina. Obviously, this means that I want Spain to best them, to overcome their disadvantage in height and weight. But, I got to tell you: I have been watching Germany for some time now and I am kind of wanting them to take it all. If that happens, then my wife and I will be justified in naming our first born, Berlin.

Let me just say that the German defense is near to amazing; when they are rendering, when they are calibrating, they are a wonder to see. One of the tenets of futbol is, control of the middle, and both teams had that down pat. That is, Spain would manuever volleys and sojourns into German territory and had very little luck, despite being a little faster and more compact. But the German did not allow this mechanism any currency. The Germans would roll up, bumrush style, and were obligating Spain into errors that never materialized.

This made for very interesting and dynamic futbol. Germany's size advantage though was huge. For example, at least on the television screen, putting Boateng versus a striker like David Villa seemed like putting a action figurine against an action figure, or like putting Danny DeVito against Gary Coleman.

ODE TO WESLEY SNEIJDER

At 26, Sneijder helms battering gallop abacus
representing hazard-orange Netherlands against
stalwarts Brazil, Uruguay, and Cameroon.

In infinite three-day rapscallion shadow
fresh from Internazionale romp and circumstance
hustled his heart out in South African terrordome.

At 17, Sneijder commences career in Ajax brigadoon
to continue his father’s futbol seraphim from the primeval,
medieval core of Utrecht to the plush, ergonomic belly

of Mundo Futbol’s cult-like Mechanical Academy
and achieves hincha-status with Internazionale so
hooligans in Milan now ploy a Dutch limp in star suits.