Our Challenge

Latino Youth-Educating over 52 Million Americans!

Extrapolating from US Population projections (1) we estimate that during the period from 2012 to the year 2050 there will be approximately 60 Million Latino youth, in the U.S., between the ages of 1 and 17. As these youth mature about 48%, (depending on the reference you read), or 29 Million will drop out of school before high school graduation. Only about 12 Million, or 20%, will enroll in higher education. Of those, only about 60%, or 8 Million, will graduate. Thus, out of 60 Million Latino youth, between 29 Million and 52 Million will not have the education to realize the American Dream of achieving a lifestyle of the majority of Americans.

Educating over 52 Million American Latino youth! And that’s just counting Latinos, the number swells when you add other minorities and other under served youth. And make no mistake, these youth are Americans! Just like your great grand-parents were Americans when they came from England, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, and other northern European countries. The difference is that your grand-parents were mostly white. And so America became the melting pot. Well, these kids are mostly brown, but they’re Americans just the same. So because they are brown, they don’t melt and intermix as well as previous waves of immigrants. So now instead of a melting pot, America is becoming a salad bowl. Will we have a salad bowl where every culture compliments the culture already here. Or will we have a salad bowl of racial violence like in Southern California and New York City? These kids are no longer on the Texas and California borders, they’re everywhere, in the heartland of America.

We at Youth Discovery Inc, YDI, do not engage in the political and emotional issues of whether these Latinos and other races should be here or not. We see only that they are here. And they are beautiful and intelligent youth, youth who deserve and need all the chances for success that is afforded all American youth: acceptance, non-discrimination, good schooling, hope, a chance for higher education, etc.

Currently Latino youth graduate from college at the rate of 14%, while whites graduate at the rate of 34%. The parents of these youth came here for a better life and they found it working on farms, in factories, and other manual labor work. But their kids are growing up in the American school system with white friends. If they have the same chances for a good education and good jobs, like their peers, then we’ll have a peaceful nation. Otherwise we’ll have a lot of very angry families spread among us.

Youth Discovery’s Latino Initiative is the beginning. It is an outline for how we can integrate the youth of other cultures into America without their losing their identity and the wonderful features of the culture they brought with them.

Look over our web site. Read the Latino Initiative. Add your own ideas. Volunteer to help us take this movement nation wide. Contribute money to help implement needed programs and to help us grow. As you can see from the Volunteer Form, we are looking for Leaders at all levels. We especially need help with the development of the Self-Discovery Class.

Youth Discovery is not an organizer’s ego trip organization. We’re looking for leaders that can do this better than we can. YDI was started by a Gringo with a Spanish first name, Carlos Roundy, and Judith Torres, who’s Hispanic family has been in New Mexico since before it was part of the United States. Carlos has been a BSA Scoutmaster for 35 years, the last 20 of which were with Latino troops. Judith has a Master’s degree in speech-language pathology and English As A Second Language instruction and has worked as an educator for more than 28 years. We saw that all Latinos and Latinas needed that same start in life that BSA gives to white youth. Thus Youth Discovery. And thus, the focus is on the youth, not the organizers.

Help us take the principles of Youth Discovery Inc, our Latino Initiative, and the Self-Discovery Class to all segments of our population and make a better America for all of us.

Sincerely,

Carlos B. Roundy, Ph.D. 

Please go to our Volunteer Form  

Please go to our Donate Form