The Other Side of Education

...he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’
Mark 4:35b

When Jesus led his disciples to the 'other side,' he was beckoning them into Gentile territory--different culture, different lifestyle, but same mission: to heal and liberate humanity. I ventured to 'the other side' today in a conversation with Aida, one of my senior Economics students. Aida is a soft-spoken, hard-working Latina who attends class on-time every day. She earned an 'A' in my American Government class first semester and will probably get an 'A' in Econ even though the final is insane. She asked me if I could help her apply for the Pell Grant, federal assistance dollars to help lower-income students attend college [Obama just increased the maximum to about $4000 per year for those who qualify]. She wants to go to Saddleback Community College and then a four-year school to get her nursing degree. Only problem is that Aida doesn't have a social security number because her passport expired--she's 'undocumented'...or as others might say: an 'illegal alien.' It was news to my own white suburban naivete that neither federal nor state government [Cal-Grant] allows undocumented students to apply for these funds. I did learn, however, that the state of California allows students in Aida's situation to qualify for in-state tuition by filling out an AB540 form.

The American suburban ethos, in my experience, shields us from the plight of young, vulnerable, impoverished students like Aida who desperately want a chance to work their way out of the shadows. Her dad [undocumented] works construction and her mom [who is paralyzed after falling off a roof 7 years ago] lives in Mexico. Aida spends most of her free time caring for her two younger sisters [12 and 9]. They live with her uncle.

Those who consider themselves citizens of the Kingdom of God have a different ethos: a calling to journey to 'the other side' and bring healing to those kept in bondage to the constraints of the Kingdom of America. From early on in the Story that, in Christ, we have been invited to participate in, God repeatedly calls his people to embrace those who have traveled in search for economic survival and opportunity--here's a sample:

The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 19:34

Or has our King said on the mount [Matthew 5:5]:

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Of course, a country with policies that deny our young the equal opportunity to an education is doomed. The United States has built its economy on the cheap labor of folks like Aida's dad [who hide in fear of INS], but its policies lack the grace and generosity to help with his daughter's education. A recent study debunked the myth that illegal immigrants milk government services and don't pay taxes--it showed that the typical illegal immigrant pays a net $80,000 in taxes over a lifetime and ironically those earning a college degree net $198,000. But we live in a system where those studying 'on the other side' do not have the same privilege as those born on 'the right side' of the border. You would be shocked at the number of wealthy white students who skate by in my classes and will go to college and will get a degree and will have economic opportunities that Aida and her undocumented brothers and sisters only dream of.

God's Dream has been inaugurated in Jesus the crucified and risen Lord and it is embodied by those who are called to the task of living out this vocation to the world. Our Spirit-led calling is to participate in the upside-down Kingdom of Christ with creative imagination and real-life adventures to 'the other side.'

If you are interested in giving financially to support Aida's journey towards 'the American Dream,' let me know and I'll make sure every dime goes to her education. We'll deliver a cashiers check anonymously when she graduates from high school in 15 days. Invite others to join us. Let's bring the hope and joy of God's Dream for the world to Aida.