Barriers+to+Involvement

media type="custom" key="4038655" __Barriers/Obstacles that Native Americans Face in Connection with Educational Involvement__ “Our school system has, at best, underserved Native American children…at worst, it has engendered suffering and disharmony.” (Robinson-Zañartu, p. 381) There are many pieces of the educational system that has left Native American children without the tools necessary to become successful especially by tribal standards. There are many layers of ignorance shown historically in the United States preventing the continuation of culture, language and life skills by which Native Americans are able to survive. When a child walks into a typical classroom in the United States, here are some obstacles they may face:            
 * Loss of language and culture - children were forced away to boarding schools to assimilate them into the American society (Aguirre & Turner, 2007)
 * Violence - there are over 5,000 youth involved with gangs (Aguirre & Turner, 2007)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 128);">Drug and alcohol abuse - On average per 100,000 youth, ages 15-24, 5.5 will die from alcoholism, compared to 0.3 in 100,000 for other minorities (Aguirre & Turner, 2007)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 128);">Death - suicide rates are 2.7 times higher than other minorities and increased criminal activities (including murder) account for more youth deaths (Aguirre & Turner, 2007)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 128);">Learning Untied States history through the lens of a Euro-American
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 128);">Racism – which can lead to low self esteem which can lead to dropping out
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 128);">Unequal opportunity for a quality education – It is difficult to find teachers who want to teach on reservations and usually they do not stay for extended periods of time
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 128);">Lack of funding and larger class sizes – especially in schools on reservations
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 128);">Ineffective pull-out programs
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 128);">School and home disconnect
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 128);">Miscommunication with parents – teachers see parents as uninvolved, parents don’t want to interfere or be disrespectful to teachers
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 128);">Student behavior is misunderstood – verbal cues are different in Native American culture which is misunderstood by teachers
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype', 'Book Antiqua', Palatino, serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 128);">No acknowledgement or connection with students’ funds of knowledge