Radical Teachers, Radical Students by Sheila

Radical Teachers, Radical Students by Sheila - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

This was my first day of class in my ‘Radical Latinos’ course at The University of Texas at Austin. Professor Cordova walked in the door, and I noticed that she had a different approach to students than the other professors that I have had in the past. With a big smile, and a very strong voice she greeted all the students with “Good morning, Radicals!” We all laughed because in a way we were radicals for having the courage to sign up for that class.

The class was very challenging in a very unique way since we were required to read a new chapter for every class day and to speak of our thoughts about what we had learned. Having every single one of my classmates speak up allowed me to hear their thoughts and understand their points of view, especially when it came to speaking of why the history of Mexican Americans is very limited in the K-12 history books. Professor Cordova allowed me to critically analyze the way society functioned in America at the beginning of its colonization and how it is not so different in the 21st century.

I left that class every day questioning why me, being Mexican did not know even half of the history of Mexicans and Mexican Americans during the Bracero Program, Vietnam War, World War I &II, and the Chicano Movement. The things that I read for that class were very painful that made me wonder why I was even at UT. I felt like I should have been out on the streets and near the Capitol protesting for all the discrimination and racism that Latinos/Hispanics and Mexican Americans suffered just for being of a different skin color and culture.

Being part of the class also empowered me to educate my family and the people around me. It motivated me to research more about my own history and to apply what I had learned to the inequality of today’s society. I went to class prepared everyday to speak up and to ask more questions. Without realizing it, I was becoming a radical. A radical that was not satisfied with what she read out of a single book or from what she heard from the media. I wanted to learn more, to acculturate myself, to challenge myself and to challenge others to speak the truth. It was no longer me that I wanted to educate, but others as well.

Ever since I became part of a group of “Radical Latinos”, my mind became clearer, but eager to learn more. Most of my critical abilities are thanks to Professor Cordova, for motivating me to think critically, to speak up, to ask questions, and to have a mind of my own. Besides learning the definition of being a radical, I learned that the schools, including colleges need radical teachers to teach students the importance of self-awareness, discrimination and inequity. Through this professor, I was able to put my thoughts into action: inequality will continue to be acceptable unless we decide to think otherwise and take action to make the world better for the rest of society.