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Fil-Am students perform poorly in school - US study
JOHN BRAMHALL, Philippine News
11/24/2008 | 02:45 PM
SAN FRANCISCO - The more Americanized Filipino students become in the US, the worse they tend to perform in school. Such was the finding of a study of 10 urban communities across America conducted by the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) of Washington, DC.
Speaking at the quarterly ‘Kapihan’ (‘Coffee time’) meeting of the Philippine American Press Club (PAPC) last November 15 at the West Bay Pilipino Multi-Service Center in San Francisco, Dr. Anthony Ogilvie, Executive Dean of Seattle Central Community College, spoke on the key notes of the study funded by Wells Fargo providing insight on the academic performance of Filipino students in 10 US metropolitan areas namely:
1) Chicago, 2) Honolulu, 3) Jersey City, NJ, 4) Las Vegas/Clark County NV, 5) Los Angeles County area, 6) Miami-Dade County, 7) New York City, 8) San Diego, 9) San Francisco, and 10) Seattle.
"In the older Filipino communities in this country (San Francisco, Honolulu and Los Angeles), some one-third of Filipino students are failing, while in cities like Miami, where the Filipino influx is newer, they’re doing well," Dr. Ogilvie said.
Himself a European-American born in Manila, Ogilvie summarized: "The more Americanized we become, the less well our students do. This study is a wake-up call."
Remarking upon how families in the Philippines differ from their U.S. counterparts, outgoing PAPC President Charito Benipayo said, "Even families (in the Philippines) with meager income try to get their children the best education they can."
Similar families in the US however, often find that making ends meet economically hampers their participation in their children’s school activities.
Hydra Mendoza of the San Francisco School Board pointed out that 36 percent of Filipino students in San Francisco dropped out of high school which, while still 8 percent below the district average, still constituted a cause for alarm amongst Filipino parents.
Concerning the nearly 19 percent of Filipino students in San Francisco who were limited English-speakers, she said, "I’m a big proponent of total immersion programs."
"We should be worried because the trends in the urban areas are not good," said lawyer Rodel Rodis of the San Francisco City College Board of Trustees.
Rodis also spoke on the trend amongst Fil-Am youth to allow social pressures such as drugs, promiscuity, gang affiliations and other social ills to encroach upon their academic performance.
Speaking on the need for role models and a better self-image to combat the "colonial mentality" still persisting amongst Filipino adults and youth in the U.S. as mentioned in the report, Rodis told of his efforts to have some schools in the Bay Area renamed after some prominent Filipino figures.
"All of my efforts were in vain," he said. "In this area, there are eight to 10 schools named for Blacks, five or six named for Chinese, four or five named for Hispanics."
But even in Daly City, that contains a significantly high population of Filipinos, he said, "No street or schools in Daly City are named for a Filipino."
He further pointed out that 10 years ago, there were 10 or 12 Filipino school principals in San Francisco. "Now there’s only two or three."