One Nation, One Standard: An Ex-Liberal on How Hispanics Can Succeed Just Like Other Immigrant Groups (Hardcover)

by Herman Badillo (Author) "Few Americans realize that the influx of foreign-born His-panics to the United States since the Second World War is larger in relative size than the..." (more)
Key Phrases: central school board, social promotion, New York, Puerto Rican, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
He provides nourishment for intelligent people who call themselves liberals and equally intelligent people who call themselves conservatives. I call him brilliant. -- Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York

Herman Badillo is a true leader who doesn’t flinch from expressing difficult truths. His own amazing story provides inspiration and the moral authority that allows him to advocate hard choices for American Hispanics. -- Linda Chavez, author of Out of the Barrio

Herman’s recollections on a host of important national issues, described and discussed in One Nation, One Standard, are fascinating. It is a wonderful read. -- Edward I. Koch, former mayor of New York City

The greatest lesson of Herman Badillo’s story is that the genius of American life—the upward ladder of opportunity that American freedom at its best provides—is better at solving most any problem than any government program. -- Rudolph W. Giuliani, former mayor of New York City

Review
Herman Badillo is a true leader who doesn’t flinch from expressing difficult truths. His own amazing story provides inspiration and the moral authority that allows him to advocate hard choices for American Hispanics. (Linda Chavez, author of Out of the Barrio)

He provides nourishment for intelligent people who call themselves liberals and equally intelligent people who call themselves conservatives. I call him brilliant. (Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York)

The greatest lesson of Herman Badillo’s story is that the genius of American life—the upward ladder of opportunity that American freedom at its best provides—is better at solving most any problem than any government program. (Rudolph W. Giuliani, former mayor of New York City)

Herman’s recollections on a host of important national issues, described and discussed in One Nation, One Standard, are fascinating. It is a wonderful read. (Edward I. Koch, former mayor of New York City)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Sentinel HC (December 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159523019X
• ISBN-13: 978-1595230195
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #731,331 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very thought provoking and very personal analysis of the rise of the Hispanic minority and their education in American culture, January 3, 2007

By	Craig Matteson (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

In 1970, Herman Badillo became the first native-born Puerto-Rican elected to Congress. He came to this country at eleven as an orphan (both parents died of tuberculosis) with his aunt. Badillo was shipped between the coasts and managed to get himself a good education and learn English despite obvious race and language barriers (for example, in New York Hispanics and Blacks were put on a vocational rather than a college track).

After learning about the college academic track, he got himself put in that, went to CUNY - then the Harvard for the Poor - got his undergraduate in 1951, a law degree from Brooklyn Law School in 1954, and in 1956 he qualified as a CPA. However, his passion has always been education. He knows what a difference it has made in his life and can make in the lives of millions of others struggling to break the cycle of poverty and out of the underclass. As he says at the end of chapter four, "If we fail in education, we fail everywhere. It has to be our most urgent priority." After several attempts to become Mayor of New York, he resigned Congress in 1977 to become Deputy Mayor under Ed Koch, a position he resigned in 1979 after a policy disagreement with Koch.

The title refers to the idea that while we need to recognize cultural differences as starting points and the value of retaining identity, it is essential that there be a single standard for education, that English dominate as the language of the culture, that social promotion end (because it makes the diploma meaningless), that open enrollment at CUNY be ended, that money go to classrooms and students and not consumed by the bureaucracies (the average funding per student is vastly misleading because of how the money is allocated), that special education cease being a money sink and a place to drop any student with behavioral problems with no expectations and nothing accomplished, that the schools for Gifted Children cease to be simply the kind of standard program that was available to all a few decades back and become the standard educational program. There is more.

Badillo is also noted for his place in fighting against bilingual education as it morphed from what he supported in Congress. He says the original notion was to provide support for students who entered the educational as he did, with no facility in English. However, the idea was to support them for a short time while they learned English and transferred to the English curriculum. Badillo recounts how it became a political weapon and allowed for a parallel system for students to stay in the non-English program. He even recounts how "bi-lingual" teachers were hired who did not speak any English. Many of them stayed here long enough to learn English themselves and then went home to become English teachers. The author recognizes that it is impossible to eradicate the parallel system of bi-lingual teaching, but that a focus on support and transition must be put in place and emphasized.

But Badillo recognizes that some of the problem exists in the way the Hispanic culture rose out of colonialism from the Conquistador culture and the severe stratification of that culture. He recounts what he calls the 500 year siesta and what must be done within the Hispanic communities to wake up. His recommendation for America to deal with the illegal immigrant (his term) problem is to help improve economic equality and opportunities for the lower classes to rise within Mexico and other Latin countries in the Western Hemisphere.
This book was a very interesting read and if it is a topic that interests you, and it probably should, it is an easy but thought provoking read.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars REALITY HURTS IF YOU REMAIN UNEDUCATED BY CHOICE, February 6, 2007

By	Hispano Educado por Dios "MEB" (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

This book is an eye opening manifesto that reminds us all that we have not, and will not make it, as a people, without the will to win; the detmination to get there; and the hard work and creativity to stay on a path that will furnish us with opportunities to succeed. America is about "opportunities", and not necessarily "equality." If you expect to be equal, Russia is still around -- go there; in America, you have to kick the door down with hard work and cajones to get ahead.

Our Hispanic community is smart; great; and, capable of winning any battle. The socialism of Venezuela; Cuba; and other Spanish speaking countries is just a "momentary illusion" that hides the true poverty and lack of imagination of these countries, and ignores the hard work that Hispanic Americans must thrive on to excel in this country. So, don't just whine and curse the USA for its "tough love"; embrace it and help each other, including your children, to succeed by avoiding laziness; learning the American language and customs; avoiding drugs and alcohol; stopping having children just "because"; GETTING AN EDCUCATION any way you can; nOt being a whiner; and praying to GDO for his GRACE and guidance. La revolucion continua, el Pueblo Hispano apenas tiene que saber quien es el enemigo verdadero -- "la ignorancia que sigue la falta de educacion y la pereza!!"

La malicia indigena siempre ayuda a los hijos de Dios que destinan el suceso del pueblo Andino por su trabajo fuerte y educacion!!

3.0 out of 5 stars to the point, August 29, 2008

By	David B. Segarra - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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Herman badillo's One Nation,One Standard, is a excellent expose on the
dangers of inferior education,the failures of not assimiating as Americans
to achieve economic success,and the low morale that plaque New York City
before Rudy Giuliani became mayor.
One Nation,One Standard is a MUST-READ for hispanics and non-hispanics.






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