Hearing with Isabel Castillo: Why our politicians need to open their minds

     From the Virginia Legislative Information System, HB 1465:


Admission of illegal aliens at institutions of higher education. Provides that notwithstanding any existing policies regarding limitations on enrollment eligibility, the boards of visitors of the public, post-secondary institutions of higher education, including the State Board of Community Colleges, shall adopt written policies and procedures prohibiting the enrollment of an individual determined to be not lawfully present in the United States.


     The man speaking in the center of the committee who questions Isabel Castillo, the woman speaking throughout the beginning of the video, is Todd Gilbert, a Republican politician from Virginia. His response to Isabel Castillo's plea against HB 1465 in January demonstrates a few issues that should be highlighted regarding the status of illegal immigrants and how this nation views the issue of immigrants in the education system. Although this video brings up more questions than answers it shows how our politicians on the state, municipal or even federal level, are not fully embracing the illegal immigration problem. This post was inspired by the NYTimes article: "Dream Act Advocate Turns Failure into Hope".
     The first point Todd makes that shows his lack of an open mind is "we do have a broken system, and your story... that just on an emotional level does not make sense to people like me who are very rigid in our beliefs on the immigration problem." 
     At what point do politicians believe that emotion is the reason for the necessity to help people like Isabel Castillo? Where does this politician get the impression that an emotional connection is what he should be making? If that is a byproduct of what Castillo is trying to say then so be it, but that is not the purpose. The purpose is that Isabel Castillo has the capacity to improve the community and the United States. The purpose is that she has the mental ambition and focus to help our economy and communities facing economic deterioration. This has nothing to do with emotion, and his source of "rigidity" in his perspective is unfounded. Her story has to do with common sense. This woman can become a community leader but because of our "broken system" she cannot use her strength to its full capacity... that sounds like underutilized resources to an economist. We must also ask why this politician thinks he can ever say the words "very rigid in my beliefs". Is his purpose to choose the better side of every story or to follow an ideology regardless of its broken application? The story does not make sense on an emotional level because that is not what the story is trying to do. But we continue...
     "When you mention a broken system, we agree that it is broken... but I think... most of us on our side of the debate feel that the government has to secure our borders so that we have a sovereign nation that has a rule of law before we can adequately address situations like yours. So maybe, what you and I, and folks on different sides of this issue can do, is try and work to find a way that we can satisfy some of our concerns and satisfy yours as well."
     Todd explains how "...we must first secure our borders so that we have a sovereign nation that has a rule of law before we can adequately address situations like yours..." Again we see a lack of connection between the proper issues. Isabel is already in the United States and has been here well before she became an adult, so that must be addressed first, because whether or not politicians on the side of Todd Gilbert believe, she has been an American long enough to get citizenship if the system was not so "broken". Therefore, if you follow my first line of reasoning, her words become an education issue, not an issue regarding the current influx of immigrants. A sovereign nation, in the independent and strong sense, is not a nation that deports people like Isabel who contribute to the competitiveness of our education system and economy and who have pride in this nation. Indeed, we cannot allow any and all hardworking people into the nation, but that is where this sense of a "broken immigration system" needs to be addressed, and not just by Isabel. 
     This is not an issue that she alone must promote, it is one that politicians like Todd Gilbert must also recognize are up to him, even more than up to her. Politicians on this committee have the influence that she lacks to slowly fix our education system, not to mention our immigration system. Giving this woman her necessary citizenship will help all those in power. Ensuring that amnesty is only given to those who make certain eligibility criteria (i.e. not guilty of any crimes, came before 16, wish to join either higher education or the military etc.), will help strengthen our education system and those workers with high potential. Instead of viewing this issue through a fixed lens, we must accept that each opinion is warranted, but it requires an open mind to distinguish between separate issues.
     Barack Obama stated in his "State of the Union" address that this nation allows thousands of international students into our higher education system but rejects many students who have been in our domestic public education system for decades. This breaks down in simple words why our nation needs to rethink our values and work together to make reality consistent with them. Luckily, HB 1465 was unable to pass according to this source. However, the growing number of anti-immigrant laws in our nation demonstrate that this issue will remain unless the Federal government takes action rather than simply speak. Moreover, the broken system Gilbert discusses is broken because of his rigid view of this complex issue. If more U.S. politicians viewed human society as a global network instead of simply a national network with external influences, perhaps they could appreciate the legitimacy of immigration.

Empirical Idealism in U.S. Public Education

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/education/02baltimore.html?hp

     Great news from the city of Baltimore touches on multiple issues regarding low-income communities, low-achieving public schools, and the politics behind the public school system. An immigrant from Cuba, Andres Alonso deserves the attention for his hard work in improving the public education system of Baltimore. What the New York Times article notes, however, is that his efforts were fruitful because of his connections with political figures and thus a comfortable control over the public school system. The article also touches on some important facts regarding the elimination of educational inequity, along with the role non-profit organizations can play in realizing educational opportunity for all U.S. students.
     The non-profit organization, Teach For America, invests in post-undergraduate and graduate students by sending them to various schools in low-income communities in both urban and rural areas to teach for a span of two years. From her book, "One Day, All Children...: The Unlikely Triumph Of Teach For America And What I Learned Along The Way", Teach for America's founder, Wendy Kopp, describes a dream of establishing a teachers corps parallel to the peace corps. Her energetic and confident path toward making this dream a reality proved effective, and each year, Teach For America expands both its corps membership and funding as seen in their annual reports. The New York Times article regarding the Baltimore public education system, demonstrates that Teach For America's alumni base can one day lead the march in working with the politics that could be retarding the elimination of educational inequity.
     From the students' point of view, it is very important to understand a key aspect of this article, low-achieving public schools could be facing the ills of low motivation. Teach For America strives to demonstrate that when students, in any community, live in a culture where success is attainable and not a vague dream, they excel. What the Baltimore school system transformed was this culture of discouragement: students felt welcome in their public schools. This was achieved in part by removing the penalty of suspension for school violations. Suspensions created a sense that the schools "did not want them there". What Teach For America alumni can do over time after exposure to the urgency behind educational inequity, is transform the public system from within. 
     Teacher effectiveness can motivate students to a degree, but they cannot be an island in the growth of student efficacy. The public school systems across our nation need to be structured so as to remove the image of a day care for misbehaved adolescents. They should be organized so as to promote the future of the student by engaging their minds in thinking of a better future and that this path is possible despite all the hardships they may face. How can such a feat be undertaken by the superintendent? By imitating Andres Alfonso and taking individual responsibility for interjecting energy and motivation into the students, organizations and events. Optimism will allow for more resourcefulness in solving this issue as non-profits such as Teach For America are numerous in our nation. What Wendy Kopp realized was that people are willing to help, they just need the direction and the guide.