What Do We Celebrate?

First and foremost I would like to thank all of the individuals involved in coordinating and organizing this year’s Puerto Rican Festival. I enjoyed the food, reconnecting with old friends and the entertainment was pleasant. As I walked the enclosed layout of the festival, I kept thinking to myself, why are we here? What are we celebrating? What have I, or my community achieved that we are here celebrating so joyously this weekend? With these questions stuck in my mind I began to think about the upcoming Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs annually from September 15 through October 15. I began to think about what do we do here in Rochester that recognizes the importance and contributions of this nationally recognized month. The short answer… not enough.

Now more then ever Latinos must begin to be a part of the everyday conversation. In fact, according to the most recent projections from the U.S. Census, Latinos are the nations largest ethnic minority at an estimated 46.9 million individuals. Given that, only Mexico had a larger population of Latinos than the United States. To coincide with this President Obama most recently placed the first ever Latina to the highest court in the land. The confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor, a Puerto Rican from the Bronx on August 6, 2009 was a historic moment for Latinos across the country. In my eyes it was a glimpse of hope that opportunities still exist for an often-overlooked population.

I know our community has a lot of struggles some self-inflected and others systematic, but now more then ever we have individuals in positions to impact change. Yes, that includes me! What we have to do now is focus our agenda back on advocating for our community. We have to create opportunities for our community to help one another and be viewed by the larger community as an asset. Whether those opportunities involve community service, health outreach or educational exposure, more must be done. As a community, we should have a unified presence that has resources for all Latinos to look towards as an advocate or beacon of hope, regardless of political affiliations. In an era where many of our youth feel disengaged and the family structure has dismantled. I feel that we need to go back to the basics of educating our population on all we have accomplished and still have yet to do. We should be exposing our community to the various cultural practices that make us so unique and special. Our language, food and family traditions are important and should not be abandoned. As a community we should have monthly events that continue to recognize all things that make us Latino. We should be educating our youth on what it means to be Latino and in turn sharing all of the rich cultural history we have.

I repeat, what we need is continual ongoing events that are both educational and community service based, events that allow us to truly be viewed as entitled to a celebration. So ask again, what do we celebrate?

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Back to School

As I write this section I am sitting in the blazing temperatures of Orlando, Florida vacationing with my family in Disney. During my week here, one thing keeps popping back into my mind, that one thing is “back to school.” I keep thinking about the many things I have still to accomplish, but more importantly the many important things that students and parents can do to ensure a successful start to the school year. I thought I would take this month's issue to address some of my “back to school” recommendations for parents and students.

First, parents this is the best time to sit with your daughter or son and clearly go over their performance last school year. It is the best time to discuss those results before you head into the start of another school year. You should both clearly lay out some goals together and then periodically check on your child's progress as the school year goes along. Let me warn you though first, please don't make the goals just about academic performance but make sure you include behavior as well.

Parents, August is also a great time to revisit what is necessary for “back to school” shopping. I often times see many of my students coming to school with the latest and greatest clothing and footwear, but with no book bags, pens or calculators. I know it's important to look good, but if you don't have school supplies from the onset, then your telling your teachers and administrators that it's more important that you look good rather than be prepared for school. If you don't know what's needed for your school, then call them up and ask for a “back to school” supply list. I am sure they would love to provide one for you, but you can never go wrong with lots of notebooks, pens, folders and pencils.

Parents, I will stop here but I cannot emphasize it enough that our students don't hear it enough at home that being successful in school is the most important thing in their lives and that everything else will fall in place once they are successful in school.

Now, some words of advice to the students of Rochester. Let me first start out by saying I hope you have enjoyed your summer, but I also hope you have spent some time thinking about how you will continue your successes or improve on your past performance in school. I will keep my recommendations short and focused really around a couple of things, all which surprisingly you can control.

My first word of advice to you is that you take some time before school and get use to being on a schedule. What do I mean by a schedule? Well, what I mean is that you go to bed at a reasonable hour (no later then 10 P.M.) and that you wake up with the use of an alarm clock. Getting your body in a routine similar to school will help ensure that you are ready to start your school day fully engaged.

My next piece of advice is that you start to read daily, especially if you haven't been doing this at all this summer. I don't care what you read, it could be something that interests you like a good novel or a magazine. What matters to your teachers is that you are reading daily. Unfortunately for you reading alone won't do it and you must take the time to also practice your writing. Again, I am not asking for much, but after you read something take the time to write a quick blurb about what you just read, or maybe it's a paragraph asking some questions that you have about the article or book. The combination of both elements will determine your overall success in school and in life.

Now for my final recommendation for all of you students as you get ready to head back to school. Take the time to take advantage of all the programs, support and opportunities your school has to offer. School is about you, it's not about the adults that work there. In fact, many of them are there to guarantee that you succeed, but they cannot do it without your willingness to succeed in school. Regardless of whatever obstacles you face, school is the one place that can help you move beyond them but you have to want it. I will leave you with this final piece of advice. I can show you all that needs to be done in order to succeed in school, but you the parent and student must take what I give you and actually do it! If you do your part, then the rest will fall into place. Have a great start of the school year and remember to start getting ready now!

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

A New Day

The summer months are often spent relaxing and enjoying time with your family and friends, but for me it’s a time to begin a new journey. In late May, I was announced and appointed the new school principal of East High School a surprise too many outside my family and close friends. With this appointment comes a new day for not only East High School, but for the Latino community. It is the first time in a very long time that the Rochester City School District has more than one Latino male leading a school. This appointment also puts me, a Latino male in a high public position that has direct access to the city's community. It is my hope that with this position I can help bridge the gap with many families who don’t see a direct association with our public school system. In particular, the Latino families who often feel underrepresented, uninformed and misguided by our school system.

As I write this article, I have been at East High School for two and half weeks and what I have seen is extremely promising. I have seen students engaged and orderly throughout the school. I have seen staff and teachers working closely with students to ensure they succeed. I have also experienced award ceremonies that recognize the hard work and dedication of students, student- athletes and the families that support them. I have also been able to interact with phenomenal programs that exist within the school walls at East High School. School programs such as the Firefighter Training Program that provides high school students an opportunity to gain employment in the Rochester Fire Department after successful completion. In fact, five graduates of East High School were just inducted into service. East High School also has an array of National Academy Foundation programs that focus on business, information technology, culinary arts and hospitality and tourism. Too compliment those programs there is also a Teaching & Learning Institute that prepares and exposes high school students to what is required to become a school teacher. Once more, these are just some of the many positive programs often not recognized by the media that exist at East High School.

With that being said, there are still many areas of improvement for my new school and moving forward to next year it is my hope to continue to build upon the successes currently at East. It is my goal to surround myself with dream builders that understand the challenges we have ahead of us. It is also my goal to continue to foster and build upon the strength of the Rochester community. I look to challenge and enhance the current partnerships with local colleges and universities, to ensure they are truly doing their part in educating our children. I look to enhance the educational experience of all my students. I look to create a high performing environment that fosters high expectations for all students regardless of their socio-economic background. Additionally, my goal is to create a school with a top-ranked staff that competes academically, athletically and artistically with those from more affluent environments. The task will not be easy; in fact it will be arduous. I often have to remind myself that the great pyramids of Egypt were not built over night but stone by stone.

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Summer Vacation

The weather has finally changed for the better and May’s flowers are now in full bloom. Another school year will come to a close and there will be thousands of youth looking for things to do. There will be another group of youth who would have completed the kindergarten through twelfth grade journey and will now be entering college or the workforce.

Let me be the first to say that just because school is out that doesn’t mean learning has to stop. For the group of students who have not graduated and are still enrolled in school there are plenty of opportunities for you to engage in academic summer programs throughout the city and county. As parents we have to make sure we go out and get access to every opportunity available for our children. Often times it is just a matter of signing up. It is significantly important that we do not allow our students to take a break academically because more often then not our students spend the summer months engaging in little-to-no academic behavior. As a parent or guardian it is your job to continue to hold your child to the expectation that they will continue to learn new things even when school is not in session. Parents must look for summer programs that continue to promote and expose their child to high levels of literacy and math. Particularly important is the exposure to literacy as many of our youth do not read or write enough during the summer months, which often places them behind at the start of the following school year. Even as an adult and college graduate literacy is still my weakest area, which is why I continue to read and write as much as possible. I know I will never be the best at it, but it won’t be due to a lack of effort. If your child is not enrolled in a program, then take him or her to your local community library and have them sign out a book or two of interests that both of you could read together. I can’t think of a better way to improve your child’s reading ability while still spending time together.

Now, for those students who are completing high school let me be the first to congratulate you on your upcoming graduation. Congratulations you made it! For many of you, you are the first in your family to obtain a high school diploma. Enjoy and treasure this moment but don’t get overly excited because your work is far from over. In today’s economic condition it is critically important that you prepare yourself for college or trade school. I encourage you to not necessarily take this summer as a break but to use it as a transition period to prepare yourself for the “real world.” What you do this summer will setup your path down the road of life, therefore make sure you take advantage of every networking and academic opportunity available. If you are going away for college make sure you spend this summer with friends and family while still engaging and learning new things. In retrospect I wish I had prepared myself better for the rigor of college and spent some time reading more about my major or about topics that intrigued me.

Lastly, summer time has been meant as a time to break away from the normal challenges of the school environment but given the poor educational achievement of many that break can no longer be afforded. I challenge you and your parents to make the most of your summer and my hope is that by the end you would have become more knowledgeable then when it began.

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

It Takes A Village...

Two months ago, the community was hit with another immense setback. The Executive Director, of the Rochester Surround Care Community Corp., formerly known as the Rochester Children’s Zone had stepped down. Thus putting the organization further back and in my opinion completely out of reach of finally producing something that will affect our community. This was not only a huge blow to the fledgling efforts of this organization, which was initiated approximately three years ago by Dr. Rivera who ambitioned replicating what is still going on in Harlem; but it also is a devastating setback to our Latino community. This was the first direct concerted effort that I can remember by various organizations within this community to begin to have conversations around addressing the socio-economic barriers involved in educating our children. Unfortunately, like most initiatives that start with these intentions this effort has resulted in little to no community improvements.

Now my reason for writing about this is not about putting down the organizations efforts, but more about raising awareness that this cause and effort cannot be lost. The old proverb and often-used rhetoric clearly states that it takes a village to raise a child, but right now our village is disconnected. Currently within our village we have only small pockets of individuals stepping up and making educating our children, and specifically our Latino and African-American students a priority. It is my fundamental belief that if we focus on educating our community and specifically those individuals of various ethnic backgrounds who live in the heart of the city that then, and only then will we see improvements in our city. This community needs an individual or leadership that is not afraid to put the critical issues at the forefront. A leader, who understands that the health, well-being and social environment of our students directly effects student achievement considerably. When I visit my grandparents who still live off “La Avenida” and I see abandoned house after abandoned house, or I see local drug dealers hustling just a block away, you can’t tell me that these conditions don’t affect our students abilities to perform let alone dream. The social problems and economic gaps our students live in are real, and must be addressed before we worry about implementing a citywide literacy initiative.

It is my hope that regardless of the outcome of R.C.C.C. that someone or some organization of our community will come together to lead the blended efforts in educating our children. A focus on leveling the playing field for students who have economic and health gaps when they enter our school doors. It is also my conviction that these efforts must be lead by an individual who is specific about the intentions of bettering the lives of African-American and Latino students. A realization that the achievement gap isn’t just about those who live in poverty or are in a lower class, but more importantly a gap that has racial significance. An individual that understands these are issues of access and exposure that our current system is not addressing within our community and schools. Again, we know schools cannot do it alone and that education is the key to opening the doors of opportunity, but until someone is specific and targeted we will continue to have racial achievement gaps and efforts that will continue to die out to bureaucracy. I will leave you with this thought or uncertainty, if not you then who, if not now then when?
--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Fatherhood: It's Never to Late

It was 1990 and I was 13 years old, it was the last time I can remember my father being around for one of my birthday celebrations or better yet any celebration. Now, there are some things you should know about my father and me. First, we share the same name and secondly, we also share the same birthday. Like most, Latinos naming your first-born boy after the father is a tradition. Furthermore my parents were not married, something that has become a negative standard associated with our culture, and as you can imagine contributed significantly to his absence. In fact, my father didn’t live in Rochester he lived in Newark, New Jersey and currently resides in Florida.

Outside of these small intimate rendezvous around birthdays or holidays that was the extent of our relationship. I grew up without his presence. Although my Grandfather did an outstanding job filling the void, it is something that I still am impacted by today. Questions of why and images of doubt still go through my mind as to why my father was never really involved. At the time of his absence I didn’t know what to think of his lack of involvement, or what to say. I thought it was normal, because all of my other Latino and African American friends were also being raised by their single mothers and grandparents, again I knew nothing else.

The point that I am trying to make is that the role of the Latino Male as a father within our community has drastically declined. In fact, according to the 2000 Census Hispanic women had a 36% rate of childbirths out of wedlock. This statistic clearly states that there is a divide within our family structure. A separation that allows Latino males to not step up and take responsibility for not only creating a child but also in raising them. We have lost the value of fatherhood within the Latino family structure. I am not saying that parents have to get married or even that they have to live together, but instead what I am saying is that the today more then ever the father must be involved in raising his child. Involvement doesn’t mean just paying child support or showing up on those special days. It means picking up the phone daily and calling to check on his or her progress. It means spending time reading a book, or coloring with him or her. It means showing that child, that although you are not living with them, you are committed to always being a part of their life. It also means that during good and bad times you will always be there.

Presently, the communication between my father and I is still sporadic, and although we have never had any meaningful conversations about why things worked out the way they did, I do know he is proud of what I have become. I know that he acknowledges the strength of my mother and the commitment of my grandfather to fill his void. I also know that it hurts him knowing that he wasn’t around enough, although he has never told me directly, he has demonstrated it by his renewed attempts to stay in contact. Again, I know that it hurts because he could never go back and change the way things worked out.

Having recently become a father myself I have not taken the role of being a father lightly. I know realize first hand the power and influence I will have on my son as a man. Lastly, if you could take anything from this small vignette of my life, take with you the impact and importance of being a Latino and a father. There is no time like the present to go out and change your approach and ensure you are a part of your child’s future. Ultimately, If you know a Latino father who hasn’t done their part please remind them of how important this moment is and that it’s never to late to start.
--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Latino Advocacy: Migente Please Stand up!

The majority of my life has been spent here in Rochester, N.Y. and during all my years I have barely seen or heard a large voice speaking for the Latinos within this community. In my opinion, the focus has always remained predominantly on the needs of the African American community, and the media has contributed to this deficit by continuing to paint the issues in black and white. To the credit of the African American community they have realized the importance of being at the table and have positioned themselves in various political functions, which although not perfect has extremely increased the sponsorship within that community. The same cannot be said of the Latino community.

Whenever an issue is presented in this community whether it’s violence, education, or economic we have no public voice. As a community we have not found ways to advocate for our betterment. As a community we continue to sit back and not realize that we have a role in this community, in fact we have a large voice that is yet to be heard. The issues and concerns of Latinos will continue to remain invisible until we begin to understand the importance of advocacy. The only way we will begin to change this unfortunate circumstance is to come together as one. To create unified partnerships with other Latinos and Latino based organizations. We must begin to work more efficiently, and find ways to ensure that we are always a part of the agenda. We must understand that advocacy must begin within our community. We must be willing to go out and support each other in public forums, to stand up for what is right not only for all of those within our neighborhoods, but especially for Latinos. We must begin to understand the role of education in all we do, and especially in it’s role of advocacy.

Advocacy starts with knowledge, and as Latinos we must remain informed as a community. If we are not, we will remain and continue to be marginalized by society. Education, and in fact literacy has been the tool that has helped so many other ethnicities break through barriers within this country. It is the same tool, which has allowed many activists such as Malcolm X, Frederick Douglass and currently President Barack Obama to unite a group of people and bringing about change within their community. Simply put, through education all is possible. It is being informed and having access to different venues that has allowed myself to navigate the system, and it is the same tool that has allowed me to advocate for others and my family. I grew up in a single-parent household in the North Clinton area of Rochester. I was a Latino, who attended city schools who wasn’t supposed to amount too much, but through the advocacy of my mother and grandparents who had ingrained in me from the very onset of my educational experience, that schooling would open new doors for my Latino community and myself. That even though the road would be arduous what would come as a result would be far greater then any of the difficulties that I have faced, it is with this body of knowledge that I am now able to advocate for my community.

Finally, what we need now is a unified coalition of Latinos within this community, a grassroots type effort of Latinos who will work together to ensure that Latinos do not remain invisible or silent. A group of Latinos who will encourage future generations to maximize on their educational experiences for the advancement of the Latino community and themselves, a distinct group of Latino advocates who will ensure that we have a voice and are present when it comes to issues of poverty, violence, joblessness and most importantly education.

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com