Latino Males historically have been lacking in pursuing higher education. Numbers show that the amount of Latino males going to colleges and universities has decreased tremendously. Many people are wondering why? So, we sat down with Anaheim High School Puente English teacher Eric Tenorio to hear what he had to say about the matter. 

We asked him why does he believe Latino males aren’t going to college, and he had this to say, “I think it has a lot to do with them not having positive role models in their childhoods.” “Specifically, positive role models as in other males.” According to a research study done by firstthings.org, a non-profit organization that provides healthy relationship skills through classes, events, and multimedia outlets, “Nearly one-fourth of America’s children live in mother-only families.” Meaning the father is not present, causing the child not to have a positive male role model, and in many cases, Latino males are the ones going through this.

Looking at the statistics from a study from the files of the Department of Education focusing on Latino males’ rates in higher education, in 2014, only about 10% of Latino males who graduate from high school received a bachelor’s degree. And about only 4% of that 10 % receive a graduate’s degree. An example of how low these numbers are is if we have 100 Latino males go to a college or university of their choice, only ten graduate with bachelor’s, and only 40 received graduate degrees. That means the other 90 did not even make it through 4 years of college for some reason. 

We also asked Mr.Tenorio about if he thinks that the “Abuelita effect” a term used to describe the special treatment males get from their grandmothers or mothers in the household. Where they usually have everything done for them,  has anything to do with these numbers, “I believe it does and it has a lot to do with how their mothers treated them. They are treated as the kings of the house, and everything was given to them”. He also gave a personal example of his uncle still living with his mother, and the uncle’s own son is living with them as well. Meaning there are three generations of males living under one house because of the “Abuelita effect.” 

Finally, we asked Mr.Tenorio if he believes we can change this matter, and if so, how? And he responded with, “I believe that we can change this matter by reaching out to them.” “The reason why I teach is because our boys are getting crushed.” “We need to get them excited to go to college.” Mr.Tenorio also had to say that he believed organizations like Anaheim Exclusivo and Bros are helping these Latino males go to college and pursue higher education by getting them involved and also spreading the word of this issue. It is our job as a community to support and encourage males to seek higher education. Through our combined efforts, change can be made, and our Latino males can achieve their educational goals.