1. Dr. Lawrence V. Bolar
Understanding The Dynamics of
The 21st Century Minority Student

2. What Does The 21st Century Minority Student
Look Like
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, approximately 36.3 percent of the
population currently belongs to a racial or ethnic minority group.
 African American/Black - a person having origins in any of the black racial groups in Africa;
 Hispanic American - a person of Spanish or Portuguese culture with origins in Mexico, South
or Central America, or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race;
 Asian American - a person with origins in any of the original people of the Far East,
Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, including Pakistan, and the Pacific Islands (including,
among others, Hawaii, Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia); or
 Native American - a person who is a member of a federally or state recognized Indian tribe, or
whose parents or grandparents have such membership, including the native people of Alaska.
Dr. Lawrence V. Bolar

3. Dr. Lawrence V. Bolar
#1 Parental Engagement
Understanding the Dynamics of The 21st Century
Minority Student
No Parent Left Behind
1. 74% of African-American
children are born to unwed
mothers.
2. Virginia produce some of the
highest teen pregnancy rates in
American.
3. “No Parent Left Behind” is
designed to cultivate the
fundamental core principles and
values in preparing 21st Century
Parents.

4. Dr. Lawrence V. Bolar
#2 Social Impact
Understanding the Dynamics of The 21st Century
Minority Student
1. ‘Saggy’ pants has become a
worldwide statement, crossing race,
culture, and gender affecting our
community and youth nation wide.
2. The book was forged to empower the
minds of each reader, especially
minority youth to make an
intelligent decision when selecting
their attire.
3. The power of perception .
4. The books provides a historical
glance that for awareness, and
exposure.

5. Dr. Lawrence V. Bolar
Understanding the Dynamics of
The 21st Century Minority Student
Nothing Substitutes Time
7 minority students face by not
having a father in there lives. The
book is structured to:
1. Empower young men on how
“not” to become Sperm donors,
2. Recognize the importance of
fathers.
A. Spending quality time
with their children.
B. Teach fathers the
important role they play
in the lives of their children.

6. How does this affect the Librarian
Children are different today than they were ten,
twenty and even thirty years ago.
There is a distinct effect culture has on learning style and
as educators and librarians you can facilitate the
learning process by knowing the differences from culture
to culture; thus directly affecting the leaning styles and
teaching critical thinking skills.
Dr. Lawrence V. Bolar

7. Dr. Lawrence V. Bolar
 In America, there are six living generations, which are six
fairly distinct groups of people. As a generalization each
generation has different likes, dislikes, and attributes.
1. GI Generation Born 1901-1926.
2. Mature/Silents Born 1927- 1945.
3. Baby Boomers Born between 1946 and 1964. Two sub-
sets:
4. Generation X. Born between 1965 and 1980
5. Generation Y/Millennium Born between 1981 and 2000
6. Generation Z/Boomlets Born after 2001

8. Understanding the Dynamics of
The 21st Century Minority Student
Generation Z/Boomlets Born after 2001
1. In 2006 there were a record number of births in the US
and 49% of those born were Hispanic.
2. This will change the American melting pot in terms of
behavior and culture.
3. The number of births in 2006 far outnumbered the start
of the baby boom generation, and they will easily be a
larger generation.
4. Since the early 1700’s the most common last name in the
US was ‘Smith’ but not anymore, now it is Rodriguez
Dr. Lawrence V. Bolar

9. Understanding the Dynamics of
The 21st Century Minority Student
 61 percent of children 8-17 have televisions in their rooms.
 35 percent have video games.
 14 percent have a DVD player.
 4 million will have their own cell phones. They have never
known a world without computers and cell phones.
 Eco-fatigue: tired of hearing about the environment and
ways to save it.
 KGOY-(kids growing older younger)Because of computers
and web based learning, children leave behind toys at
younger and younger age.
Dr. Lawrence V. Bolar

10. Dr. Lawrence V. Bolar
 Once children reach the age of four and five, they
begin to play on the computer, become less interested
in toys and begin to desire electronics such as cell
phones and video games.
 They are Savvy consumers and they know what they
want and how to get it and they are over saturated with
brands

11. Goal: Librarians Understanding The Dynamics of The
21st Century Minority Student
To learn about cultural differences in customs and beliefs to
foster an atmosphere of:
1. Trust
2. Cross-cultural communication/ code switching
3. Competence
4. Create insights, not stereotypes
5. Encourage cultural competence for all.
Dr. Lawrence V. Bolar

12. Librarians Role
Understanding The Dynamics of The 21st Century
Minority Student
1. To ensure that All students are effective users of ideas
and information.
2. To empower students to be critical thinkers, enthusiastic
readers, skillful researchers, and ethical users of
information.
3. To instill a love of learning in all students and ensure
equitable access to information.
Dr. Lawrence V. Bolar

13. Friendly Reminder :
1. Now is the time to increase the investments we make
in young people, enhance the content, opportunities
and supports we provide, and empower them to
make better choices about both their individual
future and the future of our nation.
2. Young people across the country have been let
down by the education system and by the adults
responsible for their care and development.
3. Children don’t care how much you know that care
about how much you care!
Dr. Lawrence V. Bolar

14. Understanding The Dynamics of
The 21st Century Minority Student
1. Parental and Family Engagement
2. Social and Environmental Challenges
3. Building strong Positive relationships
Dr. Lawrence V. Bolar
The best library staff make you feel like the
library is your space, and make you feel
genuinely part of your community –
respected and valued and maybe even a
friend.

15. No Community Left Behind
One of the problems most people face today is the situation we find our
communities facing and that’s the lack of productivity out of our youth
today(No Parent Left Behind)
.
“So goes the youth so goes the community.
” Communities that don’t stress the
importance of putting resources and finances back into building new
schools with updated technologies, highly intelligent qualified and
dedicated leaders in place to move our school divisions our children and
community crumble(No Parent Left Behind).
Dr. Lawrence V. Bolar

16. How does this affect the Librarian
Have you ever seen a young person who has the potential to
be great but lack essential skills? Persons who don’t know
how to respond to adults, to authority figures, or just to
people in general. (No Parent Left Behind)
Librarians have to be willing to engage these behaviors and
build positive relationships.
Dr. Lawrence V. Bolar

17. Psychological Health
1. Minority children in high-poverty areas are more likely to be exposed to alcohol and tobacco
advertisements (Wallace, 1999) and drug distribution (Wallace, 1999); they are also more
likely to use drugs and exhibit antisocial behaviors (Dubow, Edwards, & Ippolito, 1997).
2. The odds of being diagnosed with schizophrenia were significantly higher for African
Americans than Caucasians in lower poverty areas (Chow et al., 2003).
3. African Americans and Latinos in low-poverty areas were more likely to be referred for
commitment by a law enforcement official than any other racial group (Chow et al., 2003).
Dr. Lawrence V. Bolar

18. Questions and Answers
Dr. Lawrence V. Bolar