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Moscorro, Pat (audio interview #1 of 1)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This short interview was conducted by a student. 3/10/1972
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- 2020-03-20
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- Notes
- SUBJECT BIO - Pat Moscorro was on the faculty of the CSULB Chicano Studies Department. The department was organized in 1960 and Moscorro joined the faculty in the next year. He emphasized bilingualism in his teaching. While he was on the faulty, they secured a government grant to support a tutoring program that lowered their student dropout rate. Despite this, the department didn't get many new courses adopted but concentrated on fully developing the ones they were teaching. In addition, they did not establish a strong relationship with the Chicano community in Long Beach. This short interview was conducted by a student. TOPICS - Topics included on this side of the tape include, the CSULB Chicano Studies Department, bilingualism, student dropout rates and tutoring;Topics on this side of the tape include, CSULB Chicano Studies Department, the department;s relationship with the Long Beach Chicano community, Chicano Studies faculty and Chicano Studies students;
- *** File: mampmoscorro1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-5:15)... Pat Moscorro was a faculty member in the Chicano Studies Department at CSULB where he taught courses on bilingual communication, creative writing, and Chicano culture. He says that bilingual instruction was especially important because it did not sacrifice vital parts of Chicano culture and language. (5:15-9:03)... Moscorro believes that many of his Chicano students were having identity crises. Some were not used to hearing their names pronounced in Spanish at school. He used Spanish words in his class presentations. He wanted students to knew that he understood their culture. (9:03-12:15)... The CSULB Chicano Studies Department was created in September 1969 and Moscorro joined the faculty the next year. He was not involved in the department's initial planning. The early curriculum was oriented toward the Humanities, but became more balanced in the second semester. The program began offering a Bachelor of Arts degree in April 1972. (12:15-15:12)... Most of the faculty members who were hired when the Chicano Studies program at CSULB started were bilingual. Moscorro argues that bilingual people are better at seeing things from different points of view than those who only speak one language. (15:12-17:25)... Moscorro argues that some schools do not recruit bilingual teachers because they wanted to encourage assimilation. He further argues that some schools discourage Chicanos from speaking Spanish, while encouraging other students to learn foreign languages. (17:25-22:12)... Moscorro said that the high-school dropout rate among Chicanos has remained high because, at the time of the interview, there were no Chicano studies courses offered in public elementary and secondary schools. Most Chicanos in public schools lose interest by seventh grade because they have not been given the attention or resources to succeed. In college, on the other hand, students come to class because they make the choice to do it. (22:12-27:18)... The CSULB Chicano Studies Department provides tutoring for Chicano students. When the program began, only 40 percent of students graduated from college This was because most of them were not adequately prepared. The department secured a government grant to create a Bilingual Special Service Program with more than 10 tutors and four graduate assistants. By 1972, the dropout rate had fallen from 60 percent to 20 percent. (27:18-30:14)... Moscorro says that the Chicano studies program at CSULB did not relate to the Chicano community. End of tape *** File: mampmoscorro2.mp3 (0:00-4:59)... The Chicano Studies Department held meetings in the Long Beach Chicano community and tried to create extension courses to serve that community's needs. The CSULB administration, however, only offered one of those courses. The administration was only interested in serving the campus community and not in addressing the desires of the non-university community. (4:59-9:01)... The success of the Chicano Studies Department depended on both Chicano students and on the faculty. Since the Chicano Studies Department is an interdisciplinary program, Moscorro says there are always new problems to study and progress to be made. (9:01-12:50)... The CSULB Chicano Studies faculty had difficulty in establishing new courses because they lacked of funds, time, and experience in getting things through the university bureaucratic process. In addition, they were more intent on fully developing their existing courses than expanding the curriculum. Chicano Studies faculty encouraged not just Chicano students to enroll in their classes, but other students interested in learning about Chicano and Mexican culture also were encouraged to enroll. (12:50-16:53)... Moscorro refutes the criticism that Chicano Studies programs are a waste of taxpayer money. He argues that they were beneficial in helping people understand the importance of many aspects of Mexican and Chicano culture other than cuisine and vacation destinations. (16:53-18:53)... The goals of Chicano Studies departments are to enable Chicano students to become bilingual and multicultural and to allow non Chicanos to understand another cultural perspective. End of tape
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