Philosophy
The philosophy of The
National Hispanic University is well
grounded in theories and principles of such
scholars as Sabine Ulibarri, Juan Aragon,
Tomas Arciniega and Vincent Tinto all
leaders in multicultural and higher
education.
"Language
is culture; it carries with it traditions,
customs, the very life of a people. You
cannot separate one from the other. To love
one is to love the other; to hate one is to
hate the other. If one wants to destroy a
people, take away their language and their
culture will soon disappear." (Ulibarri)
According to Ulibarri, every
individual in our classroom and society is
different. Teachers cannot assume that
all students learn alike. To be
effective, teachers must understand and
respect differences in students not as
deficiencies or handicaps but as assets,
which students bring to school.
Aragon wrote about a
"filtration" system that exists in our U.S.
society. He compares our U.S. system to a
large number of ethnic ponds with different
types of fish (Italian, Polish,
African-American, Hispanic, etc.) and a
mainstream of Anglo fish into which all
ponds feed. Aragon contends that
extended from each of the ponds to the
mainstream is a giant filtration system.
For fishes from each of the ponds to "get
into the mainstream," they first must go
through the "filter" and lose their language
and culture.
Next, the color of their skin
must be of light complexion; otherwise, the
fish must remain in their "pond" or barrio
(ghetto). Aragon states that most of
the European ethnic ponds are now empty.
While some of the African, Hispanic and
Asian "fish" have gone through the
filtration system into the mainstream, a
majority of these fishes have not been
accepted due to their differences; thus,
separate ponds outside the mainstream still
exist in our society.
Aragon emphasizes that a truly
pluralistic society would
welcome all different types of
fish (people) and respect their
differences without forcing them
to pass through some filtration
system. While all would
communicate in a common
language, they would not be
forced to lose their native
language and culture. He
feels that the diversity of fish
would enrich our mainstream,
make it more economically
competitive and bring about
better understanding.
Arciniega, a more
contemporary scholar who retired as
President of California State University,
Bakersfield, expresses similar views towards
the importance of pluralism in our
educational system from kindergarten through
college. He cites the current demographic
changes in our society, which show the
increasing number of minorities, immigrants
and women who will constitute our future
work force, to emphasize the importance of
multicultural pluralism in our educational
system.
|