Insightful Words from Mr. M

From Fantasy to Reality

When my family and I emigrated from the Philippines in 1985, we were hoping for a better opportunity in the United States than what we were experiencing in a country controlled by “dictator”. Through this drastic change, we were hoping for better career opportunities, better educational opportunities, and better opportunities to exercise our democratic rights as citizens in a free country. When we arrived in this country we experienced a major culture shock. All of the colorful books and magazines I read as a child in the Philippines about the Unites States were fantasies. We arrived during a dead January winter in St. Louis, Missouri. No warm beaches, no Hollywood Sign, no Mickey Mouse, no Michael Jackson, and no Madonna. After major adjustments, my family and I realized that the hope of a better lifestyle is not free in this country. We quickly realized that we would have to sacrifice and work for these better opportunities to be within our reach.

With opportunity I was given, I am now a proud husband, father, teacher, and a responsible citizen. But for the past eight years, our country’s approach was heading to the fantasies I experienced during my childhood. For example, when my wife and I were borrowing money for our first house, the bank assured us that we can afford a three hundred and fifty thousand dollar house. My wife and I realized that there is no way we could afford this mortgage payment in two teacher salaries. If we accepted the offer, we were going to live beyond our means. This is a fantasy. Another example is the broken program of “No Child Left Behind.” The concept is admirable, but the objective is fantasy. With all of the different obstacles my students are facing, with different intellectual capacities, with different economic status, with different family support, with a different ethnicity, race, and culture, not everyone will be academically proficient by 2014. We did not all start on the same starting line and some of us work harder and sacrifice more than other, so we will not all finish at the same time. The idea that we can all be proficient at the same time is a fantasy.

The Presidency of Barack Obama will change all of these fantasies to realities. During his victory speech, President Elect Obama stated that for our country to turn around we need “a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.” As I learned from my family’s success story better opportunities and change come about with many sacrifices. Therefore, I agree with Obama’s philosophy of hard work. I am hoping with more responsibility taken on behalf of the government and individual citizens, our economy will have the confidence and hope to recover.
Obama’s administration will also reform the broken program of “No Child Left Behind.” Obama would like an alternative way of measuring schools and the academic performance of students. He realizes that schools are only teaching students to beat the test and states are watering down education to meet NCLB’s standards. Obama proposes a well rounded quality education so our students can compete in a global 21st century. Obama hopes that they too will have endless opportunities to be productive members in a free, democratic society.

The most significant impact of electing Barack Obama as our 44th president is the concept of hope. It is the same hope I felt as I anticipated my family’s arrival to this country. With two wars and a financial crisis, I am confident that Obama will change the United States so that it will once again be revered as a land of endless opportunities, not a land of fantasies. I do realize that it will take time and sacrifices from all, but as Obama promises “we will get there.”
I am hoping with this historical election that my two year old son, Niño, will understand that he is fortunate to be born in this country. But not everything will be easy and free. With sacrifices and hard work, he too will have an opportunity to become President of United States, as a son of a Filipino immigrant.