The Blueprint

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

Table of Contents: Page:

2

1. Opening Letter Pages: 3, 4

2. Cover Page Page:

5

3. Quality Education Pages: 6, 7

4. Health Care Page:

8

5. Economy Page:

9

6. Family Page:

10

7. Quality Education: Part II Page:

11

8. Global Warming Page:

12

9. Rural Communities Page:

13, 14

10.Discrimination Towards Women Page:

15, 16

11.Immigration Page:

17, 18, 19

12.Poverty Page:

20, 21, 22

13.Universal Voluntary Public Service Page:

23, 24, 25, 26

14.Human Rights Page:

27, 28

15.Improving/Securing Mexico’s Standing in the World Page:

29

2

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

A MESSAGE FROM BENDING BACK BARRIERS: Thank you for taking a look at this booklet. I believe it is vitally important that those of us who desire to see a fundamental change in our world, that we have an honest, open, and clear dialogue with one another that will move the world, and our hopes, progressively forward. I am hopeful that this booklet gives you a good sense of where I stand on the fundamental issue of educational and social improvement in Mexico, how we can face this issue, and how we will overcome any obstacles that would prevent this fundamental change from happening. I am hopeful that this booklet sparks a dialogue and that after you’ve finished reading it, you will give us your thoughts and input on the policies and the ideas that you find here. I believe it is time to place the Education System of Mexico back in the hands of the teachers, the students, the parents, and the caregivers of the students, for this is where it belongs. I believe that we must have an educational system that is good for the children of Mexico. I believe that we must have an educational system that provides an upwardly mobile future for children, teens, and young adults, and expands that reach beyond the sovereign borders of Mexico and into the global community. I truly believe that we need for the people of Mexico to help shape these policies. This is truly a defining moment in the global community. The dream of so many generations of parents for a better life for their children is beyond the grasp of many to provide it. Retirement in Mexico is literally non-existent. Most have lost faith in ability of the government to not only improve, but also provide a quality education for students and children, and subsequently, a quality way of life. It is because of these failures that this moment of challenge presents this opportunity. This is the chance of a lifetime to effectively change the future for the children of Mexico. Out-of-date textbooks will no longer due. Unimaginably high costs for private schools are beyond the reach of our dreams for children and their parents living in Mexico. We can change this. A quality education is a fundamental, human right guaranteed for all people. Change is most effective when it is not led by politicians, the political pundits, or the polls… but by moral principals. Change is most effective when it is not led by economics, or the rich, famous, and the powerful, but by an unyielding desire to change the world. I am doing this not only for my son, but also, for all young boys and girls, sons and daughters, fatherless sons, and single-mothers. I am doing this so that barriers of education, language, race, ability, and sovereign borders will become a thing of the past. I

3

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

am doing this so that the dangers of undocumented immigration, with the expectation of life-threatening border crossings, and the displacement of one, or both parents from children and elderly parents, that these realities will become a thing of the past. Most of all, I am doing this for our future, and for the future children of our own children. But I need the help of all of you to achieve this goal. As you can see, I have quoted President Barack Obama from his acceptance speech on November 5, 2008. The “Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico” was modeled after President Obama’s Blueprint for Change for America. This is because we firmly believe that, “What is good for America is good for the world.” The change we seek must not begin and end at the sovereign borders of America. The pride, hope, and feelings of perseverance and determination that is the indomitable spirit of America must be shared. The can-do attitude, personified by recent cries of “Yes We Can,” is what will help us succeed in this audacious endeavor to change the world. So, thank you for taking the time to read this booklet, which explains in detail how we will achieve these goals for the people of Mexico, beginning with the town of Tlapa De Commonfort, Guerrero, Mexico. If you have any questions or comments, or want to get involved, or want to offer your ideas about how we can make this plan of action stronger, I hope you’ll visit http://bendingbackbarriers.org. Sincerely,

Melvin A. Roach CEO/Founder Bending Back Barriers

4

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

The THE Blueprint BLUEPRINT

5

QUALITY EDUCATION – THE PROBLEM With the advancement of the Internet, we have truly become a global society. However, inadequate educational systems, coupled with a lack of funding for the minimum necessities for a quality education continue to plague even the most modernized countries. Additionally, children must prepare for their entry into an ever-expanding, global market place. The immediate future is a world where multi-lingual persons are not only wanted in the workplace, but will be in high demand. Already, in most modernized countries throughout the global community, the most prominent languages spoken are English and Spanish.

QUALITY EDUCATION – AT A GLANCE Modernized Schools: We are now a global community. The Internet enables us to communicate instantaneously with one another from literally, anywhere in the world. Computers are now a necessity more than ever. An understanding and knowledge of computers, programs, and the Internet are becoming more and more necessary for educational and career purposes, and subsequent successes. Fluency in Multiple Languages: In the modernized world of today, understanding the global economy and upward mobility are directly related to the ability of young adults to speak a language(s) other than their native language. Additionally, the ability to speak, read, and write multiple languages with fluency, affords young persons the ability to enroll, attend, and succeed scholastically in international and foreign educational environments. Increased Parental Interaction: To encourage parents to work with their children on a daily basis to avoid difficulties with school and home studies. The main goal is to encourage parents to take more responsibility for, and interest in, their child’s studies. Longer School Days: Longer school days will encourage students to study through active classroom participation and a positive, conducive environment of learning. This will also enable many single mothers and fathers the time to seek employment (if this is their option). Immigration: Never has a societal difference so inflamed people as that of immigration and foreign-born persons. From countries such as Canada, Great Britain, the United States, Russia, and Mexico, there are arguments from all sides of the spectrum. However, the problem can basically be broken down to a lack of understanding of the culture, race, religion, and the barrier of language of other persons. Our intensive language study programs, dedication to the use of computers and understanding of the Internet, and our liaisons with multiple, foreign consulates will enable us to effectively challenge and change the way our students travel abroad, and how the people of Mexico are perceived abroad.

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

QUALITY EDUCATION - THE SOLUTION Computers / The Internet: Every student and teacher will be provided with a laptop from the first day of school. BendingBackBarriers will incur all Internet access fees. This will allow all students to actively explore the world beyond their physical borders for research reports, learning and general exploration. We are already actively seeking donations of laptops from major donors. Languages: Every student will have intensive study in their native language of Spanish, English, and a third language of their choosing. Additionally, teachers certified by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools will teach all classes in English. These are two of the more prominent certification boards of the United States of America. We have already begun initial communication with these boards. By utilizing these certifying boards, our students will have the opportunity to attend international or American schools worldwide upon graduation from our schools. Success in the understanding and completion of college entrance exams (ACT and SAT) will enable our students to proceed upon graduation into secondary educational institutions without delay due to language deficiencies, low test scores, or the problems faced due to the digital divide that young students of limited social resources and limited income now face in today’s society. Parents: Parental interaction with the student and the teacher will be strongly encouraged at all levels of the education process. Parent-teacher conferences will be held on a weekly basis. Additionally, all members of the academic community and administrators of Bending Back Barriers will be available on a daily basis to personally communicate with all parents and caregivers. Extended School Days: We are actively working on our school calendar. The benefits of extended school days are numerous; from providing students with after-school activities, to encouraging extended hours of study, to helping students gain confidence with difficult subjects. Immigration: We will work closely with consulates and embassies of Canada, Great Britain, Italy, Mexico, and the United States of America, and their Departments of Immigration. We will do this to ensure that upon graduation, all students will possess the necessary immigration documents to not only travel legally to a foreign country, but to enter into secondary educational institutions of their choosing without the social stigma now facing many migrants to foreign lands. Free From Special Interest Influence: Our school, our organization, and our educational system will be funded using private donations only. This will enable us to stay free and clear of special interests from political groups and/or persons, as well as special interest groups pushing their own agenda.

7

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

HEALTH CARE – THE PROBLEM Adequate childcare facilities are a must for the mental, emotional, and social growth of our children. Children grow mentally and emotionally around other children. Additionally, the physical care and welfare of a child involves constant medical monitoring. A lack of hospital care serves to exacerbate the problems that can, and do impact a child’s formative years. A lack of means to pay for hospital care serves only to exacerbate the divide that separates the rich and the poor in today’s societies. We at Bending Back Barriers understand this societal phenomenon.

HEALTHCARE - AT A GLANCE As educators, parents, and caregivers of the future leaders of tomorrow -our children- we have a moral and social obligation to provide for the physical health and mental wellbeing of our students, as do the faculty and administrators to whom we entrust their education. We will also provide health care to the parents and caregivers of our students for routine care such as flu vaccinations, and general checkups. We will also provide daycare facilities for our young parents, and provide healthcare for their underage children.

HEALTH CARE - THE SOLUTION Guaranteed Eligibility: Bending Back Barriers will make available a plan so that all students, and children of young students, enjoy the same Health Care coverage as employees of Bending Back Barriers, for the duration of their time in school. No cost Incurred: Neither the student, nor his and/or her family, will incur co-pays, Insurance Premiums, and or deductibles. This means no cost will be incurred by the student, or by his family for medical care. Coordinated Services: Coordinating and integrating Health Care issues with local doctors and hospitals, with the promotion of patient safety and security being a top priority. By maintaining detailed, computerized medical records, working in tandem with local area hospitals and physicians, we will ensure the mental health and physical safety for our students, their caregivers, and immediate family, and the security of personal information. By doing this, we can help to eliminate the disparities in health care that exists in today’s society between the insured, the underinsured, and the uninsured.

8

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

THE ECONOMY – THE PROBLEM The global economy is in crisis. Economic powers such as Canada, the United States of America, Great Britain, Japan, and many others are at a turning point in their history. One solution to this economic meltdown involves getting our young leaders involved in finding and implementing solutions to solve our individual and collective economic crises. We can do this through educational improvements.

THE ECONOMY - AT A GLANCE Trade: Trade with foreign, as well as with local economies will help strengthen the economy of Mexico. However, I sincerely believe that Mexico has more than sufficient human resources, material resources and economic potential to build upon, and strengthen its economic base. Technology: Our schools will have the most modern, and user friendly communications infrastructure available. This will help not only our students learn using today’s modern technology, but will also allow our students to virtually transcend their physical borders and boundaries. Labor: Bending Back Barriers will enlighten and allow our students to expand the future educational abilities, and employment opportunities. Increased educational opportunities will also allow our children to earn substantially more than the below-poverty-level minimum wage that is the standard in today’s economy of Mexico. Work-Family: Bending Back Barriers will offer multiple after-school programs, as we have stated previously, Bending Back Barriers will incur all medical costs for all students, care givers, and children of students, and when necessary, we will offer a program for flexible educational schedules.

THE ECONOMY – THE SOLUTION Create New Job Training Programs for Clean Technologies: With the advantage of an advanced education, our children will now be able to create job opportunities through the sharing of innovative ideas, broadening the horizon for economic growth in Mexico. Invest in Rural Areas: We can have free broadband Internet in every rural community of Mexico. Broadband Internet access will attract more entrepreneurs to low-income, rural comminutes. Additionally, our students will lead with their entrepreneurial spirit and ideas, allowing them to invest in their home communities while maintaining close, family relationships. This will strengthen an already well known, and well-documented, strong social bond.

9

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

FAMILY – THE PROBLEM The displacement of one or both parents to foreign lands due to a lack of economic opportunities at home continues to be a problem for the children of Mexico and for families in Mexico. This social strain impacts greatly on the ability of loved ones to care for elderly parents. Additionally, parents are not afforded the opportunity to provide the social structure that is vital to the upbringing of children. The result is that the bonds of family structure are sometimes irretrievably broken.

FAMILY - AT A GLANCE Families must have the ability to provide for the long-term future of their families. With the return of the extended family, where there can be three or four generations of family living in one household, investment planning for the future is of vital importance. Bending Back Barriers will provide a method for families to achieve this goal. This will involve providing pension plans, affordable HealthCare, while also providing for the physical, mental, and emotional well being of our senior citizens.

FAMILY – THE SOLUTION Invest in Retirement Savings: Students, family members of students, faculty, staff and employees of Bending Back Barriers Schools will have the opportunity to open a 401K and/or IRA savings plan. (All financial savings planning will be designed and managed by the Maplewood Financial Group). This will be a family plan, which will provide ample opportunity for the families of our students, as well as our faculty and staff, to enjoy a retirement that is free of the strife, and the worry of limited income. Provide Full Disclosure of Retirement Savings and Pension Investments: This will provide students, family members of students and their caregivers, faculty and staff with important resources to make their certain their pensions and investments are secure. Create Automatic Workplace Pensions: All employees of Bending Back Barriers will be automatically enrolled in a workplace pension fund. This will be a separate workplace fund, but will provide the same long-term benefits as the 401K plans. Affordable Health Care: Please refer to our section titled: Health Care for an overall view at our plans for the future. Protect and Honor Seniors: Our parents, grandparents, and those who have come before us need more than kind words and smiles as they go about filling the remainder of their lives. The elderly who have provided for the generations of family following them have very few dreams of retirement in Mexico. We do not promise to offer a life of leisure and riches. However, we sincerely believe that the combinations of planning involving pension funds, Health Care coverage, and the high value we place on family, will finally enable our seniors to enjoy their golden years free from the worry of financial strain.

10

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

QUALITY EDUCATION: PART II - THE PROBLEM A child without the benefits of a first class, world class education, is not unlike a blind man placed alone in a foreign land. Without the familiarity of voices, shapes, and knowledge, this individual would suffer a slow, tortuous and painful death. They would be relegated to low-paying jobs without the benefit of career advancement. I do not want this type of future for our daughters and our sons. I do not want this type of future for the children of my children. I want a different future for the children of Mexico.

QUALITY EDUCATION - AT A GLANCE Launch an agenda that provides care, learning and support to families with children from birth until the age of 18 years old. This will be in addition to recruiting dedicated, qualified, certified teachers to teach in every classroom within the Bending Back Barriers School System. We will also provide incentives for children to continue their educational studies beyond graduation. Savings plan for the costs of college are also vital to the improvement of educational opportunities that will be afforded to our students.

QUALITY EDUCATION - THE SOLUTION Early Education Plan: We will provide critical support to young children and their parents, including early education for infants, which is essential for children to be ready to enter kindergarten. Preschool and After School Care: We will provide before school and after-school programs for all children. This decreases the social and economical cost burdens for families, and provides additional time for families where one or both parents work outside of the home. Recruit Teachers: We will provide a realistic, living wage stipend, beyond salary, and to include stipends for all utilities, rental costs, mobile phone, Internet, and transportation stipends, etc., to assist us in recruiting the best, most dedicated, certified teachers. Retain Teachers: We will implement mentoring programs that pair experienced teachers with new teachers. We will provide incentives to give teachers paid common planning time so they can collaborate to share their best practices. Reward Teachers: Bending Back Barriers will promote new and innovative ways to provide and increase teacher pay that are developed with teachers. We will reward accomplished educators who serve as mentors to new teachers. When teachers consistently excel in the classroom, that work can be valued and rewarded as well.

11

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

GLOBAL WARMING – THE PROBLEM Climate change is one of the greatest scientific challenges facing the global community in our lifetime. Our school will be run using clean, renewable fuels. We will use 100% recyclable paper, recyclable materials, water filtration systems, and solar energies. Additionally, we will be a paperless school from Day One. We will truly place our best foot forward in being “The Change We Wish To See.”

GLOBAL WARMING – AT A GLANCE Problems such as the excess use of pesticides and the killing of trees and wetlands are a major contributor to the effects of Global Warming. Pesticides affect the bodies of our children in ways we cannot yet comprehend, and will not fully comprehend for quite some time. Trees and wetlands are on the verge of becoming extinct.

GLOBAL WARMING - THE PLAN Invest in a Skilled Clean Technologies Workforce: Our schools will focus on jobs for the future (Green Jobs). Our students will learn skills that will enable them to earn a real living wage within the technological fields of today and tomorrow. We will provide internships with major companies that can and will lead to future employment opportunities for our students. Clean Technology: Our Schools will implement the use of solar panels, recyclable water filtration systems, recyclable paper, and clean energy for cooling and heating costs. We will instill in our students that we must protect our home, our planet, and our atmosphere as well as develop new methods and tools to repair the damage done to our planet, as well as our local communities. Teach Our Students about Next Generation Biofuels and Their Uses: We will incorporate in students’ everyday learning and extra-curricular activities the need for clean fuels and their uses. Students will learn its importance for our society, and our planet. Teach About Cellulosic Ethanol: A type of biofuel produced from lignocellulose, a structural material that composes much of the mass of plants. Production of ethanol from Lignocellulose has the advantage of abundant and diverse raw material compared to sources like corn and cane sugars, but requires a greater amount of processing to make the sugar monomers available to the microorganisms that are typically used to produce ethanol by fermentation. Internships at Local Refineries: Our students will learn about biotechnology from day one through internships at local companies.

12

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

RURAL COMMUNITIES: We are at an important crossroads and an urgent time in the history of our modern society. The divide between the rich and the extremely poor in Mexico continues to grow at an exponential rate. Families in rural communities continue to fall further behind in their ability to earn a reasonable living. Parents and grandparents, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, should not have to leave their families for several years at a time to earn a decent living. The dreams of a family living in rural Mexico are no different than the dreams of a family living in rural America, or rural London, Germany, or Russia o Australia. These dreams include earning a decent living, sending their children to an affordable college where success is the rule rather than the exception, and the opportunity to leave our children a future that is full of opportunity and promise, not despair.

13

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

RURAL COMMUNITIES – THE PROBLEMS Family Farmers are Often Left Without Access to Modern-day Technologies: Farmers with an understanding and access to modern-day technology such as the World Wide Internet have the ability to increase their sales by almost 40% per fiscal quarter. CAFAWOs Pollute the Environment: CONCENTRATED ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS pollute our waterways, and jeopardizes public health.

AND

WASTES

Rural Communities are Often left Behind: Rural areas often struggle because of a lack of infrastructure and remote distances. These areas are the equivalent to low-income inner-city, urban areas in America. There is less access to quality doctors, and schools have trouble recruiting quality teachers.

RURAL COMMUNITIES - AT A GLANCE Family Farms: Our schools will work with the rural farmers of Mexico, providing our students with valuable internships, and teaching and working with rural farmers to employ modern technology. Investing in Rural Communities: Our schools will work with rural farmers, small business, and local community leaders to expand the access to high-speed Internet. We will work closely with all business owners and farmers to bring their ideas and businesses to the World Wide Internet. Protecting the Rural Environment: Our Schools will work with local farmers of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFAWOs) to prevent air and water pollution.

RURAL COMMUNITIES - THE SOLUTION Strong Safety Net For Family Farmers: Bending Back Barriers will help to institute farm programs, working in tandem with graduating students, that provide family farmers with stability and predictability using modern technologies. Prevent Anticompetitive Behavior Against Family Farms: Bending Back Barriers will work with local farmers, allowing graduating students to serve internship positions, bringing new ideas to ensure independent farmers have fair access to markets, control over their production decisions, and fair prices for their goods. Support Small Business Development: Our students will work to raise and provide capital for farmers to create value-added enterprises. We will also work to establish a small business and micro-enterprise initiative for rural Mexico. Connect Rural Mexico: Bending Back Barriers will work with our students to modernize phone service in the rural areas of Mexico, so that it promotes affordable broadband coverage across rural Mexico.

14

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

DISCRIMINATION TOWARDS WOMEN – THE PROBLEM “CHILDREN LEARN WHAT THEY LIVE.” Truer words have never been spoken. This is why we at Bending Back Barriers will lead the way in ushering in a new era of equality. We will do this in word and in deed. Our students will learn from day one that women and men are equally talented. Our students will learn that both boys and girls have the ability to become doctors, lawyers, teachers, professors, chemists, dentists, or whatever their minds can envision and dream. Additionally, we will instill in our students -our children- to respect individuals regardless of race, creed, religion, sexual orientation, or gender. Bending back Barriers will focus on all aspects of women’s mental, emotional, and physical health. Finally, we will instill in our students that respect for women must begin at home. Bending Back Barriers will fight to end the scourge of Domestic Violence by teaching our youngest students to act ‘morally and responsibly’ toward all persons.

DISCRIMINATION TOWARDS WOMEN – AT A GLANCE Equal pay: Currently, women earn approximately .47 cents for every $1.00 a man earns. Health Care: Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death among women. Additionally, illnesses affect a disproportionate amount of women than men. Implementing programs to combat and eradicate diseases that disproportionately affect women will begin with a student’s entry into pre-school, and will continue with preventive medical checkups through graduation. Domestic Violence: Domestic violence reaches across all racial, economic and social barriers and borders. The effects on the mental and physical health of children, the family unit and the elderly demonstrate that domestic violence is an all-encompassing disease. We at Bending Back Barriers will instill in our children, from the first day of school, that violence against women is wrong. We will work to implement programs to instill and teach all students that domestic violence is not a solution.

DISCRIMINATION TOWARDS WOMEN – THE SOLUTION Equal Pay for Equal Work: Our students will be expected to work diligently in their studies and after-school programs. Our students will intern with companies that stress Equal Pay for Equal Work. We will work with local grassroots organizations to fight job discrimination in the workplace. This, coupled with our childcare and medical plans, will help to give women an equal footing in school, and later, in the workplace. High Quality After-school Programs: Our after-school learning programs will serve as 21st Century Community Learning Centers. We will provide free access to Internet cafés, learning libraries, and Job Preparation Centers. It will be here that our students, and citizens of the local community can learn to prepare and update their resumes, and retrain for new jobs. Additionally, video conferencing will be available for online interviews with perspective employers and college entrance administrators. This plan, coupled with Equal Pay for Equal Work, will help mothers, fathers, and students understand the rule of equality.

15

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

Paid Time Off: All employees, staff and administrators of the Bending Back Barriers School system will receive twelve paid, sick days per year, and seven days vacation pay, and three mental health days annually. By instituting this plan of action, we believe that our teachers will be encouraged to explore teaching plans without fear of a lack of job security due to illness or a medical emergency. This will allow our teachers to enjoy the freedom a life outside of work offers. Flexible Work Schedule: Our students will be encouraged to learn because their teachers are encouraged to teach. A flexible work schedule is the first step in that encouragement. This too, will allow our teachers to enjoy the freedom a life outside of work offers. Ending Violence Against Women: We will appoint a special administrator within our school system who will report directly, and daily to Director of Education and our Director of Security and Public Safety with regards to incidents of domestic violence and violence against women regarding our students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Additionally, we will work with the local authorities to provide shelter for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

16

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

IMMIGRATION The social discussions and debates regarding immigration are not simply a problem between the United States of America and Mexico. These discussions exist in countries such as Canada, Great Britain, Spain, France, Russia, and, yes, even Mexico. As is stated in our name, we believe in the bending of the barriers that separate us. These barriers of language, race, history, religion, sexual orientation, and even geography need not be broken. It is these differences, as examples of diversity, which allow each of us to retain our uniqueness. However, there must be an understanding of these differences in order for citizens of the world community to truly become global citizens. Additionally, we must stop the exporting of our able-bodied citizens to foreign lands. The best and the brightest must have a reason, opportunity, and the potential of a viable future to secure their homes and family in Mexico. These are the skills and workers a viable economy needs.

17

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

IMMIGRATION AT A GLANCE The Land of Opportunity is what Mexico will be called in the future. No longer shall the best and the brightest seek the fulfillment of their dreams on foreign shores. We will implement a plan to retain the best and the brightest. Additionally, we at Bending Back Barriers will work with foreign governments to ensure that our future leaders of tomorrow have a safe and legal passage into lands of foreign neighbors, and a safe passage to return home. We will do this by ensuring that our students understand the laws, cultures, and mores of our neighboring governments. This will help speed and smooth the transition of our students into foreign cultures.

IMMIGRATION – THE PROBLEM Immigrant Population is Exploding: There are approximately 32.5 million foreign-born persons living in the United States. Citizens of Mexico account for approximately onefifth of all legal immigrants living in the United States. Additionally, Citizens of Mexico account for approximately 57% of all undocumented immigrants within the United States, or 5.3 million. These citizens are those who face a life of ‘Living in the Shadows,’ and living in fear of public officials when faced with personal trials, tribulations, and tragedies, and victimizations. Immigration Bureaucracy is Broken: The bureaucracy of immigration is inherently broken. Foreign-born persons face insurmountable odds in their quest to achieve legal status abroad. We must provide a reason for those living in the shadows to return home. The prospect for viable employment that provides more than a living wage of minimum status must become the norm rather than an exception. Immigration Raids Violate Human Rights and Break Apart Families: The impact of Immigration raids abroad on families living abroad can only described as devastating and dehumanizing. Families are torn apart for weeks, months, and sometimes even years. The conditions in detainment camps are often the equivalent of maximum-security prisons. In the United States of America, organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have denounced these raids, and the separation of parents from children as a violation of civil and human rights. Additionally, these raids have proven to be highly ineffective, and place unnecessary burdens on families, the legal system and the immigration system. The Stigma of Being ‘Illegal’: Those seeking the dream of a better life, decent living wages for honest labor, and a better life for their children than they themselves had, are not ‘illegal.’ Additionally, the status of being ‘illegal’ allows for predatory lending practices, mistreatment in hospitals and other life-threatening situations, and possible mistreatment from law-enforcement authorities. These situations occur when the offender, the victim, and the police officials all believe that the victim, due to his or her non-legal status, have no legal right to lawful protection from nefarious situations.

18

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

IMMIGRATION – THE SOLUTION Improving the Immigration System: Our students, upon graduation, through of our Office of Consulate Affairs, will receive, along with their diplomas, valid passports, visas, and student visas. We will work with foreign governments to ensure that our students have legal passage to foreign lands. This will enable our students to continue their studies unencumbered by the bureaucracy of having to attain temporary citizenship upon arrival in a foreign land without experienced professionals offering unlimited assistance. Bringing Our Citizens from the Shadows of Foreign Lands and Return them Safely Home: The result of our students having legal citizenship in a foreign land is that they will not be subjected to the social stigma of being deemed ‘Illegals.’ This degrading term, unfortunately, has found its way into the mainstream vocabulary. Work and constant communication with foreign and local consulates will ensure that our students will enjoy the civil rights, human rights, and legal protections afforded to all persons. Additionally, upon completion of their secondary education, these students will have incentives to return home to Mexico. These incentives will encourage our students to return home to improve the social and economic infrastructure of Mexico. This influx of new ideas and new intellectual talent to Mexico will be especially beneficial to the rural communities of Mexico. Remove Incentives for Our Citizens to Permanently Leave Mexico: With the increase of online schooling, especially regarding secondary schooling, coupled with the improvements and the expected availability to Broadband Internet access, our students will be encouraged to continue their secondary education while remaining in their hometowns in Mexico. This will enable our aging population to enjoy their senior years, while granting the younger generation (our future leaders) the life and employment experience needed by all persons. Additionally, this will help expand and improve the infrastructure of Mexico’s rural and its urban communities and areas.

19

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

POVERTY – AT A GLANCE Help More People Climb the Corporate Ladder: Bending Back Barriers will help low-income people enter the modern workplace and move up the corporate ladder through free job training, educational improvement courses, computer courses, resume writing, ‘Dressing for Success Seminars,’ etc. Support Economic Development in Rural Areas: Bending Back Barriers will help local entrepreneurs revitalize rural communities by bringing these businesses into the 21st century through placing their business ventures on the World Wide Web, through broadband Internet access.

POVERTY – THE PROBLEM POVERTY RISING: There are more than 109 million people living in Mexico. 50% of all persons living in Mexicans live in poverty, and one-fifth live in extreme poverty. MINIMUM WAGE IS NOT ENOUGH: Even when a parent is working fulltime in a foreign land, and providing money to his or her immediate family in Mexico, and when the incomes of the working adults in the home are factored into the equation, families are still living approximately $135,000 ($13,500 USD) pesos below the federal poverty level annually.

POVERTY – THE SOLUTION EXPAND ACCESS TO JOBS Help More People Acquire the Skill(s) to Climb the Employment Ladder: Bending Back Barriers will help not only our students, and our graduates, but provide the skill-sets so that all of the citizens of Mexico will be able to move up the corporate ladder. Create A Green Jon Corps: Bending Back Barriers will create a program to directly engage disadvantaged youth in energy efficiency opportunities to strengthen their communities, while also providing them with the practical skills in this important highgrowth career field. Improve Transportation Access to Jobs: Bending Back Barriers will work to ensure that low-income persons have transportation to their jobs. We will also work to ensure that highest needs communities receive transportation access as a priority. Reduce Crime Recidivism by Providing Ex-Offender Supports: Bending Back Barriers will work to ensure that ex-offenders have access to job training, substance abuse counseling, mental health counseling, and employment opportunities. Bending Back Barriers will also work to create a prison-to-work incentive program and reduce barriers to employment for ex-offenders.

20

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

MAKE WORK PAY FOR ALL MEXICAN CITIZENS Benefit Programs: Bending Back Barriers will work to implement a program of benefits for working parents, and ensure a continued presence through a partnership within the legal system, of ensuring that parents who do not receives support for children will find options available regarding housing and utility assistance. Create a Living Wage: Bending Back Barriers will work with local businesses to ensure that our students committed to internships earn a realistic-living wage that allows them to help support their families, and pay for such basic needs as food, transportation, electricity, gas, water, and housing. STRENGTHEN FAMILIES: Promote Responsible Fatherhood: Bending Back Barriers will instill in it students the philosophy of Responsible Fatherhood. Support Parents with Young Children: Bending Back Barriers will implement the Nurse-Family-Partnership for first-time mothers. The Nurse-Family-Partnership will provide home visits by trained registered nurses to low-income expectant mothers and their families. Expand Paid Sick Day: Today a majority of working Mexican people do not enjoy the benefit of paid-sick days. Bending Back Barriers will ensure that our graduates, staff, employees and contractors will be guaranteed a specified amount of 12 paid sick days, 7 vacation days, and 3 mental health days, annually. INCREASE THE SUPPLY OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING Create an Affordable Housing Trust Fund: Bending Back Barriers will create and raise monies for an Affordable Housing Trust Fund to develop affordable housing in low-tomixed-income, rural communities. Fully Fund Community Development Block Grants: Bending Back Barriers will fully fund a Community Development Block Grant Program and engage rural and urban community leaders across the country of Mexico to increase resources to the highest-need Mexican families. TACKLE CONCENTRATED POVERTY: Establish Promise Neighborhoods to Combat Urban Poverty: Establish Promise Neighborhoods in areas that have high levels of poverty and crime and low levels of student academic achievement in cities across the nation of Mexico. These Promise Neighborhoods will be modeled after the Harlem Children's Zone, which provides a full network of services, including early childhood education, youth violence prevention efforts and after-school activities to an entire neighborhood from birth to college.

21

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

Ensure Community-Based Investment Resources in High-Need Rural Community: Bending Back Barriers will work with community and business leaders to identify and address the unique economic development barriers of rural areas. Bending Back Barriers will provide additional resources to a soon-to-be developed Insured Community Financial Institution Fund, to address these financial needs. Our Financial Management Company will be the U.S. based Maplewood Financial Company. Ensure Community-Based Investment Resources in Every Rural Community: We at Bending Back Barriers will invest in rural small businesses and to expand high-speed Internet access. Bending Back Barriers will also work to attract more doctors to rural areas. Support Economic Development in Low-Income Rural Communities: Bending Back Barriers will work with local entrepreneurs, through a student-internship program, which will revitalize rural areas.

22

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

UNIVERSAL VOLUNTARY PUBLIC SERVICE This is an audacious undertaking. This endeavor will take a village of dedicated, committed, selfless individuals who believe in helping others. We are seeking persons who are willing to give all of themselves, and expect nothing in return. We are seeking persons who may not have the most, but who understand that in times of need and in times of suffering, those persons with the least can do the most, for those have the least. Again, “This is our moment, this is our time.” As I have stated previously, I have quoted President Barack Obama from his acceptance speech on November 5, 2008. The “Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico” was modeled after President Obama’s Blueprint for Change for America. Again, this is because we firmly believe that, “What is good for America is good for the world.” The change we seek must not begin and end at the sovereign borders of America. The pride, hope, and feelings of perseverance and determination that is the indomitable spirit of America must be shared. The can-do attitude, personified by recent cries of “Yes We Can,” is what will help us succeed in this audacious endeavor to change the world.

23

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

UNIVERSAL VOLUNTARY PUBLIC SERVICE – AT A GLANCE ASK ALL MEXICAN PEOPLE TO WORK TOGETHER TO MEET OUR COMMON CHALLENGES: We at Bending Back Barriers will work to create a Barriers’ Peace Corps. This will be a nongovernmental program. It will partner community leaders with non-profit and faith-based organizations. The goal will be to improve dramatically the effects volunteerism have on education, public service, and environmental clean up. EXPAND SERVICE LEARNING: Bending Back Barriers will integrate Service-learning in our schools to enable students to graduate with as many as 20 weeks of service/employment experience. BOLSTER THE NONPROFIT SECTOR: We will work with community leaders to foster the best practices of the private sector to nurture innovation in the nonprofit sector.

UNIVERSAL VOLUNTARY PUBLIC SERVICE - THE PROBLEM GLOBAL COMMUNITY DID NOT REACT AS A COMMUNITY AFTER SEPTEMBER 11, 2001: This moment in history presented people of differing cultures, lands, races, religion, language, abilities, and social economic resources the opportunity to unite for a common goal. Instead, we as human beings again displayed our frailties by allowing the very differences that distinguish us to become tools of mistrust. THE

A VOLUNTARY SERVICE CORPORATION IS NEEDED: There is no unifying organization that utilizes the need in human beings to selflessly help one another. NEED FOR MORE R&D IN THE NONPROFIT SECTOR: Research and development in the nonprofit sector is limited because there is a disconnect between charitable foundations in Mexico and funds that can develop innovation and ground organizations that can test new concepts and bring them to the public.

UNIVERSAL VOLUNTARY PUBLIC SERVICE - THE SOLUTION ENABLE ALL MEXICAN PEOPLE TO SERVE TO MEET THE NATION’S CHALLENGES: Expand National Community Service: Bending Back Barriers will expand the Barriers Peace Corps, and will focus this expansion on addressing the great challenges facing the nation of Mexico. We will establish a Barriers’ Classroom Corps to help teachers and students, with a priority placed on under-achieving students; a Barriers’ Health Corps to improve public health outreach; a Barriers’ Veterans Corps to assist veterans at hospitals, nursing homes and homeless shelters; and a Barriers’ Community Security Corps to help communities plan, prepare for, and respond to emergencies.

24

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

Encourage Retiring Mexican People In Service On A Large Scale: Older Mexican people have a wide range of skills and knowledge to contribute to their communities, large and small. Bending Back Barriers will expand and improve programs that connect individuals over the age of 55 to quality volunteer programs, including mentoring programs such as Big Brother and Big Sister programs. Integrate The Barriers Peace Corps Into Our Curriculum: Bending Back Barriers will encourage our students to join the Barriers Peace Corps, or one of its sister corps. We will work collectively with leaders of other organizations, and other countries to build an international network of overseas volunteers so that Mexican people can work side-byside with volunteers from other countries. Show the World The Best Face of Mexico: Bending Back Barriers will set up a Mexico’s Voice Initiative. This will offer opportunities for older individuals such as teachers, engineers, as well as craft and trade persons to learn a foreign language, and then travel to foreign lands as Ambassadors of Goodwill, promoting the best face of Mexico. INTEGRATE SERVICE INTO LEARNING: Integrate Service Learning Into Our School System: Bending Back Barriers will set a goal that all middle and high school students do 50 hours of community service per school year. We will develop guidelines for service learning, and will develop programs to document the student experience. Barriers’ Green Jobs Corps: Bending Back Barriers will integrate an energy-focused youth jobs program into its curriculum to provide disadvantaged youth with service opportunities weatherizing buildings and getting practical experience in fast-growing career fields. Create a Barriers’ YouthBuild Program: Bending Back Barriers will integrate into its curriculum a YouthBuild program, which will give disadvantaged young people the opportunity to complete their educational studies, learn valuable skills, and build affordable housing in their communities. We will grow and nurture this program so that all low-income, young persons will have the opportunity to learn high tech careers while completing their educational studies. Require 100 Hours Of Service In College: Bending Back Barriers will establish a Bending Back Barriers College Credit worth $2500.00 a year for college in exchange for 100 hours of community service. Promote College Serve-Study: Bending Back Barriers will ensure that at least 35 percent of College Work-Study funds are used to support public service opportunities.

25

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

INVEST IN THE NONPROFIT SECTOR: Social Investment Fund Network: Bending Back Barriers will create a Social Investment Fund Network to leverage private sector funding to improve local innovation, test the impact of new ideas, and expand successful local programs to scale. Social Entrepreneurship Agency For Nonprofits: Bending Back Barriers will work to create an agency dedicated to building the capacity and effectiveness of the nonprofit sector.

26

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

BENDING BACK BARRIERS PLAN TO STRENGTHEN HUMAN RIGHTS HUMAN RIGHTS – AT A GLANCE Strengthen Individual Knowledge of Human and Civil Rights: Bending Back Barriers will work produce a new generation of lawyers and legal scholars. Offering scholarships to those who focus on civil rights, human rights violations, employment discrimination, and hate crimes. Protect The Right To Vote: Bending Back Barriers will embed the incoming generation of young, up-and-coming voters with the knowledge to remove discriminatory barriers to the right the vote. Promote Fairness In The Criminal Justice System: Bending Back Barriers will empower the incoming generation of voters with the knowledge to eliminate disparities in criminal sentencing.

HUMAN RIGHTS – THE PROBLEM Pay Inequity Continues: For every $1.00 earned by a man, the average woman receives only .47 cents. Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Crimes On The Rise: The number of sexual assaults worldwide increased nearly 18 percent in 2006. The number of domestic violence assaults increased nearly 18 percent in 2006. Efforts Continue To Suppress The Vote: A recent study discovered numerous organized efforts to intimidate, mislead, and suppress voters. Disparities Continue To Plague The Criminal Justice System: Lower income Mexican people are twice as more likely to be searched, arrested, or subdued when stopped by police. Disparities in drug sentencing laws remain unfair.

HUMAN RIGHTS – THE SOLUTION Strengthen Human and Civil Rights Enforcement: Bending Back Barriers will allow students to earn college credits in the field of ‘Criminal Justice/Political Science.’ Our goal is to produce a new generation of lawyers and legal scholars who understand the innate foundations of law regarding civil rights and human rights violations, employment discrimination, and hate crimes. Additionally, this knowledge will also imbed the incoming generation of employees and potential employers with knowledge of worker’s rights laws, human and civil rights laws, and a general knowledge of right versus wrong.

27

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

Combat Employment Discrimination: Bending Back Barriers will ensure that all internships and employment opportunities will ensure that women receive the same living wage as men. Expand Hate Crime Statutes: Bending Back Barriers will employ a grass-roots organization of young persons will work with local and federal agencies to legislate and reinvigorate enforcement of the legal system’s hate crime statutes. End Deceptive Voting Practices: Bending Back Barriers will work to provide internships for students with local, state, and federal agencies regarding voter registration, and provide voters who have been misinformed with accurate and full information so they can vote. End Racial Profiling: Bending Back Barriers will work with our young students, again permitting internships with local agencies, which will increase our students’ knowledge and understanding of racial and economic profiling in large, urban areas. Reduce Crime Recidivism By Providing Ex-Offender Support: Bending Back Barriers will work in parallel with other non-profit and religious organizations to provide job training, substance abuse and mental health counseling to ex-offenders in rural communities, so that they are successfully reintegrated into society. Bending Back Barriers will also work with local organizations to create a prison-to-work program to improve ex-offender employment and job retention rates. Eliminate Sentencing Disparities: Bending Back Barriers’ students will be provided with internships so that they can work with local leaders within the criminal justice system. This will provide our students with a firm foundation upon which to continue their educational studies. Implement and Expand The Use Of Community Drug Courts: Bending Back Barriers will work with first-time, non-violent offenders to offer them a chance to serve their sentence, where appropriate, in the type of drug rehabilitation programs that have proven to work better than a prison term in changing bad behavior.

28

Bending Back Barriers Blueprint for Change for the Educational and Social Systems of Mexico

BENDING BACK BARRIERS PLAN TO IMPROVE STANDING IN THE WORLD

AND

SECURE MEXICO’S

AT A GLANCE Renewing Mexican Diplomacy: Bending Back Barriers will ensure that our students understand the role of effective communication as ambassadors of goodwill at home and abroad. Our curriculum will focus intensively on current, political events, and how these events shape’s the global opinion of Mexico and its citizens. Regional Diplomacy: Bending Back Barriers will work intensively with our neighboring countries to ensure that our students understand that Mexico has a moral responsibility to the rest of the global community. Bending Back Barriers’ work with other humanitarian groups outside and inside of our borders, seeking and providing financial support to rebuild and strengthen our infrastructure. Humanitarian Initiative: We at Bending Back Barriers believe that the people of Mexico have a moral responsibility to confront the humanitarian crises that have arisen in the land of Mexico. We at Bending Back Barriers will institute a Barriers’ Corps institution, based on the grassroots organizational belief that common people, working together, can achieve extraordinary results. Expand Mexico’s Diplomatic Presence: Bending Back Barriers will ensure that our students understand the precept of diplomatic presence. Bending Back Barriers will have the opportunity to work with consulates in all corners of the world. Additionally, we will work to ensure that our students receive internships, as well as paid positions, when economically feasible, in these consulates throughout the world. This will ensure that our students develop the capacity to work alongside others in humanitarian situations. Fight Poverty At Home and Abroad: Bending Back Barriers, its students, faculty, and staff will embrace the goal of cutting extreme poverty in Mexico in half by 2015. We will ensure that our students make a goal to work with our economy’s weakest states to build healthy and educated communities, reduce poverty, develop markets, and generate wealth. Seek New Partnerships in Asia: Bending Back Barriers will work so that its students work to build global ties with the students of the Asian global community, through the Barriers’ Student Global Initiative (BSGI). Through this initiative, we will work with students in Japan, North and South Korea, Hong Kong, Russia, and Saudi Arabia to build an infrastructure through the scholastic global community to promote stability and prosperity, led by our students, the future leaders of tomorrow. This is be a virtual world composed of video conferences, a model U.N. comprised of and led be students, where real-world ideas are developed and implemented in real-time landscapes.

29