HEP and Migrant Workers revised post

"Federal Register" www.federalregistar.gov the daily journal of the united states government. N.P. web 26 Oct. 2010.
Velazquez, Loida C. Migrant Farmworkers' Perceptions of Schooling, Learning, and Education. , 1990. Print.
Mines, Richard. Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (naws) 1990. a Demographic and Employment Profile of Perishable Crop Farm Workers. Research Report No. 1. , 1991. Print.

Before I start I feel it was important to included findings and questions from my three earlier blogs due to the relevance each one has to the other.

 

The HEP program was implemented in 1967 to help migrant and seasonal farm workers and their families obtain the skills necessary to gain a GED(General Educational Development) credential. The following programs are all designed to assist the migrant workers and their families with continuing education High School Equivalency Program and College Assistance Migrant Program, the Federal TRIO Programs, and Gaining Early Awareness, and Readiness for Undergraduate Program

The HEP programs are specifically designed for migrant workers to be able to meet there special needs. What constitutes a migrant worker? A migrant worker works in the agricultural business traveling from place to place harvesting crops etc… Typically most people I feel when the term migrant worker is used make the assumption " illegal immigrant" or "undocumented worker". When in fact the portion of migrant workers that are illegally in the United States is a very small percentage. The migratory workforce is composed of many ethnic backgrounds ranging from European Anglo, Black, Mexican-American, Asian, Filipino and people from Puerto Rico. Even though these people have different cultures and backgrounds they share a bond or commonality if you will in their daily lives. The constant moving around and following their work has made it difficult on them to finish school. Their frustration with our regular school systems is one of the reasons for their high dropout rate from high school.

In the late 90's more than 50 percent of all agricultural workers were migrant workers according to the "NAWS" demographic report. These migrant workers play a key role in the success of our agricultural business yet they still remain the least educated minority group in our country. The median level of education for these migrant workers was 6th grade and only 1 out of 5 workers had taken adult education classes according to the "NAWS" report. Why is the education level still so low after 30 years of programs specifically designed for them? I feel one of the factors contributing to these numbers is that a lot of migrant workers may not even know there are programs out there to assist them. A program cannot be successful if no one knows it is there.
" Migrant lifestyles revolve around working, moving on to find other work, and working again."(Velazquez pg.11.) As we can imagine that type of lifestyle would add a degree of difficulty to gaining an education.

Velasquez interviewed and studied several migrant workers in North Carolina and found there to be a common theme to why these people would drop out of school. The constant traveling and lack of an understanding of the American school system along with prejudice and unsympathetic teachers and faculty had a lot to do with their choosing to drop out of school. Most make an attempt at some point to return to school for higher learning but many did not gain there GED until programs like the HEP came along. During this study Velasquez discovered several factors about migrant workers and their way of life, some key points of defining their culture. They have a strong sense of loyalty and honor within their families. They do not disrespect their elders and they have a high respect for authority.
I feel due to these values and "station in life" many of them do not make attempts to rise above or go against the grain if you will. Many have the belief that due to the difficulty of understanding the complex social system of America they don't stand a chance of ever elevating themselves to a better position in life. Therefore passed down through generations is a sort of this is who we are and what we do mentality. Programs like the HEP that are specifically designed to meet there needs may be the only chance they have of breaking that cycle.

With all the disadvantages stacked against them it isn't hard for one to begin to feel pity for these people. Pity however is not what they need. Awareness is what they need, awareness that there are programs and people willing to work with them to assist and guide them to a better education and ultimately a better life. Over the next few weeks I will be working through our universities service learning center at our local HEP center. During that time I hope to answer some of the following questions. How did the student find out about the program? What kind of specials needs do they have? How successful /helpful they themselves feel the program is and what their goals are? I also would like to find out how they found out about the program and how wide spread that information is to the migrant communities.