HISPANIC ADULT EDUCATION

During the semester I have been working online with Adult Education for Hispanics. A few years back a Mexican guy working with Utah State University in Logan started a program to teach adults basic computer skills and basic English to Hispanics with collaboration from a private university in Mexico called Tecnológico de Monterrey. The curriculum is in Spanish so that the students can understand instructions. In March 2011 I started groups with the Mexican organization that I am part of; the first group was in Tooele with 12 students. In the following months a group was established in Heber City, Park City, and finally Cottonwood Heights.

Working with adults sounds easy to do since you are dealing with people that are supposed to be responsible, but it is not that easy. There is a problem that Hispanic adults are having when it comes to learning new things; especially working with computers for some adults is a little bit frustrating.

With the Functionalism Theory basic computer and basic English education is needed for Hispanic adults since we live in a time and in a country where technology advances very rapidly. In consequence some information has to be received through the internet and, in some cases, socialization for some people can be done online. But in this case the group that I work with was very hard for them because they felt many times that they couldn’t learn due to their age, or because it was hard for them to study since they needed to work to be able to provide for their families.

Here is where the Conflict Theory also applies because some of the students didn’t feel that they could have equal education opportunities in American society and they didn’t feel that studying was going to make much difference. Talking with different people who support these classes told me that for them it was very important that Hispanic adults be able to learn the basics in computers and English so that their kids no longer have to do everything for their parents.

In the Symbolic Interactionist Theory, adults were focused on performance because, being an adult, they felt that society was expecting them to do their best. Some students told me on a couple of occasions that friends were telling them that since they were adults they should learn more quickly; but they felt pressured by those comments and some of the students decided to quit the class with the excuse that they needed to work.

There were more problems that were present during these courses making some students not to continue. Unfortunately with the Hispanic community we find issues in the different areas of our society, education, health, culture, etc. Hispanic adult education is where I will continue my focus.