Rationale
Generationally, American children of African descendants have been told that the best way to obtain achievement is to have a goal, a vision of some type that they could use as a blueprint for their working years. These may have been the chosen words for yesterday's generation, but it appears that today's generation in America's inner cities does not possess the drive and stamina to maintain the status quo. One needs to determine what happened to cause students, any student, to be without a vision. Without educational goals, students cannot expect to survive the current economic turmoil.
After the Civil War, many people envisioned educating African American students. This vision was widely received by many, yet discouraged by just as many. The thought of people of color being able to read was difficult and raised challenges that included the lack of available teachers, the ideology of preserving White superiority, and a general atmosphere of White on Black crime. Although the government had decreed that people of color had the same legal rights as Whites, Blacks were often without adequate resources to enforce these rights. Therefore, many African Americans were still without formal educational resources. No matter what, they did not lack vision.
After Emancipation, the development of churches for persons of color grew immensely. Black people created congregations and facilities that were designed to meet their own needs spiritually and academically. It was in the Black church that many meetings were held to discuss the education of the now freed population. Many could not read, and now the possibility of being educated was at hand. The Black church was also the schoolhouse. The Black church kept hope alive during slavery, often secretly, and was the foundation of the fight for freedom during the 1960s as the church held leadership roles. Black churches have played an important role of getting the word out with regard to what was happening in the Black community. The Black church could be viewed as the greatest relationship with children in neighborhoods overwhelmed by poverty, hostility and school collapse.
From a historical perspective, the church has been central to the organizing and inspiration of the Black community. People continue to work all week and have that one special day set aside coming together as collective to pray, sing and enjoy fellowship. It is a family gathering not only by blood, but connected by God. Many former slaves may have learned to read by reading the Bible. The Black church contained schools, social and political events. Black ministers played (and continue to play) a key position in politics and have a profound effect on the education of its members both spiritually and educationally.
Northern education was somewhat permissible and provider greater access to success. However, in the South, Black education was forbidden and guarded. As a result, in the North, African-Americans had greater contact to recognized schooling and were possibly more likely to have fundamental reading and writing skills than their Southern counterparts. Moreover, both sides faced continued educational segregation and the thoughts of integration continued to look bleak and pitiful.
Plessey versus Ferguson2 (transportation) gave the United States a legal decision of supporting racial segregation which was not overturned until the Supreme Court handed down Brown v Board of Education3 in 1954. Educational segregation continued in the South, although the Court had indicated that it wanted integration with all deliberate speed. Resistance to Brown was so powerful in some places that government officials who were against the decision stood in school doorways with their militia and angry White people continued to terrorize and demean Blacks who sought equality.
W. E. B. DuBois said, "...(T)he Negro needs neither segregated schools nor mixed schools. What he needs is Education."4 If DuBois was then correct, the educational system would have encouraged equality between the races in school. Instead, there continued to be harassment and deliberate attacks against those who sought education on an equal basis. Today's educational system seeks to provide equality in "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB). While the basis for NCLB continues to be unclear for some, it appears that its premise is to provide equality for all students regardless of race, creed and disability. "Any workable proposal must be clear to practioners; fair in the sense of not holding educators accountable for things they can't control; technically sound; and supported and enforced. It also should not squelch promising approaches that the states are developing."5 (Noll) Perhaps those who thought that either segregation or integration would be the ultimate answer, did not understand this quote.
When one thinks of leaders, with vision, one must realize that leaders can influence others to do what they need you to do. Leaders who have vision create lasting accomplishments as their legacies. Thomas Jefferson, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Abraham Lincoln, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Barack Obama are just a few leaders who were visionary. They offered methods of inspiration and encouragement to people. Their visions set the meaning or purpose for the public. Leadership vision helps to create dedication to a cause. If Obama had not had a vision of change during his run for President, his campaign would have echoed that of the former administration and the voters could have turned deaf to his words. But because he wanted change, and stood by that message, he was able to inspire a whole nation to see his point of view. While he may not have garnished votes from every citizen, he was able to succeed with those who felt his vision was a requirement for the success of the nation.
Creating a vision means having the knowledge that a vision is required. Students cannot create what they do not know can be produced. Having a vision creates a method to inspire change. Students lacking in basic skills may find that creating something with the mind will not take shape and therefore is discarded before it is even begun.
Today's students, without a vision, can lack motivation and aspiration. Perhaps standing on the proverbial corner selling drugs has more financial attainment to it than getting good grades and having a tax-paying work experience. Perhaps the parents were not interested in education and therefore passed this "quality" to their child. Society has given labels to those who fail to maintain a certain quality of life and families may have succumbed to these labels. Such labels include, but are not limited to, single-parent homes, male students with learning disabilities, middle class teachers, teenage pregnancy, violence, inner city living, etc. Many of these diagnoses are not really disabilities, but a result of the lack of resources necessary to educate the whole child. Students may accept these labels as gospel rather than trying to dispel the negative connotations.
Of particular concern is the African American male population. These young men can become "at risk" as early as birth. Questions abound as to why this phenomenon is taking place and why it continues without a possible end in sight. Answers are also as plentiful as the questions. Being considered at risk indicates that there is the possibility of school failure, criminal involvement/incarceration, mental illness, substance abuse, vocational instability, failed health. The degradation of family life, a willingness to live a life of poverty, lack of faith in teachers and the educational system, etc. are also some of the questions where researchers have tried to find appropriate responses.
African American males also encounter racism, classism, and possible exploitation (music, fashion, sports). As they try to emulate what might be seen as negative to the dominate culture, failures in education continue. Students come to school regularly, but often to be social, i.e. dating, game playing. They may also see the schoolhouse as a safe house, available meals, and their outlet away from family life that offers negative perspectives on life. As a result of their lack of attention to the educational material, they may receive a disproportionate amount of punishment when compared to other ethnic groups and to females.
Research studies are plentiful on information that leads to the downfall of the Black boy and his plight as he becomes a Black man. When circumstances surround the education of the Black youth, there only seem to be accusations and no solutions. Everything always comes back to money. Without money, Black youth are seen as deterrents to societal growth and thus the incarceration rates for Black men increase. Without money, Black men do not qualify as appropriate providers for their families. Without money, well...you get the point.
Cultural and structural factors must be included in the methodology that enhance African American male success. Because the negative is always put into play, the positive has little chance for survival when it comes to the Black youth. Negatives like lack of quality jobs, low economic status, unwed fatherhood, and of course, schools that put children at risk of failing themselves and their community.
There is the presence of perpetual failure for these young men. When a prominent and successful young man like Michael Jackson is not satisfied with his own skin color, it leaves little to wonder that youth who are less affluent could also feel that they are failures because of the color of their skin. Every negative undertone out in America suggests that any connection to being black is a bad thing - black cats, black witches, black as the night, a black president, etc. Barack Obama has also said that he stuggled with his identity. On television, identity for the Black community can be a stereotypical view that truly is not a representation of the full picture. The only television show that may have come close to what some middle -class African Americans have considered a true depiction of a successful life is The Cosby Show.
But Heathcliff and Claire are in syndication now, and the youth of today may not hold true the concepts that were present with the show. There no longer exists a community of caring that will help to enable Black youth find self-identity and self-fulfillment. The NAACP no longer recruits publically; the African American newspapers and magazines are losing support and are also facing budgetary issues. That now leaves the responsibility of encouraging African American youth to become successful men to the schools.
Our schools need to be fixed. Schools should be fixed in a way that guarantees that students do more than just pass and graduate, but that they become active citizens because they have obtained the necessary skills for life. Moreover, schools should be responsible for making sure that students, all students, make the most of their young lives. Adulthood is forever, and students should be encouraged to participate in activities and events that make their teen years enjoyable. The audacity to hope should be the given right of every child. The ability to hope and to dream are the foundations of the American culture. It is hope that permits these youth to destroy obstructions that stand in the way of their prospective success. This is America: anything is possible for everyone.
Perhaps young Black men find that giving into the social culture of education is too difficult to maintain. Perhaps it is easier to fall into the "wanna-be" life style as presented through the media. Young people often want to emulate sports figures and rap stars who earn more money than most people can count. What students do not know is that everyone is not going to make it as a ball player or rapper, especially if there is no skill involved. In order to do this, the enticement of illegal activities produces a culture which could be considered acceptable socially and financially. The drug dealer, whose actions lead to genocide, probably does make more in a day than the educated Black man, but the truer answer lies in knowing there is dignity in a job well done. However, the success of the Black man is still in jeopardy. Education works, but it requires a cooperative with the community to ensure its continued success.
Does the saying" we hold these truths to be self-evident...that every man is created equal" include the African American male youth? Probably not, and that includes any youth of color who needs to examine these text to determine their right to the freedoms that are supposed to be presented to all. Somewhere the system has failed these young men. They are part of a culture that has a right to an ideal life, however, the odds appear to be stacked against so many. What can a new government do to ensure that their "unalienable rights" are being met? Probably not very much except to ensure that they have quality teachers, adequate health care, equitable housing, etc.
William Julius Wilson6 says, "the attitudes and behaviors valorizing a kind of "footloose fatherhood" have been passed down to younger generations". This is a profound statement as it serves the notion that Black fatherhood is an acceptable notion in the Black community. The absenteeism of fathers in urban setting is becoming a continued pattern of despair and conflict. The analogy of producing children and the inability to care for them continues in a cycle of poverty and failure. Failure that could stem from the fact that the Black man has experienced so many failures (education, economics) that he becomes complacent in his attempts to conquer his own inabilities. How sad the notion that children are growing up fatherless (from abandonment, incarceration, or death) and that the cycle fails to have an end. In the event that a father is present, some African American males may still decide that the presence of a nuclear family does not hold merit and desire to be like their single-parent friends who may defer to an alternative lifestyle without male guidance and bonding. Wilson also indicates, "children from low-income households without fathers present are more likely to be school dropouts, become teenage parents, receive lower earnings in young adulthood, be welfare recipients, and experience cognitive, emotional, and social problems."7 The continued absence of positive role models can leave any student without vision.
The realization that a lack of vision exists needs to be examined. How did this happen in the African American community? Why does it continue to exist and how do students go from a hopeless generation to a generation that is willing to become successful again? When one lives with the stigmas long enough, it is possible to believe that change is unavailable. Life continues daily for the visionless and they often never know that the possibility of achieving the lifestyle of the rich and famous is available through hard work. Previous generations of African American values placed hard work at the center of achievement. Parents who do not see quality in education can be a detriment to the educational development of the whole child. Students could find self-realization in knowing that success is possible.
Another obstacle in the urban environment is middle class teachers. Never mind that the teacher is Black or White, middle class values can offer hindrances to the inner city student. Jawanza Kunjufu8 writes, in his book, Black StudentsMiddle Class Teacherss, "middle class African American teachers are lowering their expectations of low-income African American students". African American teachers who forget that students of color need to give more than 100 percent of their time and talents, as opposed to their White peers, is unforgiving. A formidable reason could be that African American teachers may have grown tired of attempting to educate students who lack vision and demonstrate a spirit of "entitlement".
In the same chapter, Kunjufu discusses racism versus classism. Do Black teachers respond negatively to White teachers who indicate that Black students are "different" than their non-Black peers? Possibly. With regards to classism, any African American teacher who lives in suburban America may have different points of view on how students should function when in school. Teachers new to the profession may not have experienced any form of racism, direct or indirect, and may not be able to relate to racism. Therefore, teachers develop unacceptable stereotypes about the inner city and its schools. In addition, students may not see teachers that look like them. Especially absent from the educational arena is the Black male teacher. Moreover, teachers do not often live in the same neighborhoods as their students. Teachers who are stuck on class or race continue to fail the student by having low expectations of the student.
Teachers are at the center of the child's universe. In many cases, the child spends more time with the teacher than anyone else. Therefore, the teacher should develop self-control and strategies that escape stereotyping the African American students - especially the male. Teachers who dismiss student academic abilities will not put forth the effort it takes to ensure their success.
There remains a disproportionate amount of African American male students in special education. Eight percent of the children in America's public schools are Black boys yet their representation in the nation's special education classes is nearly twice that. (www.terry.uga.edu)9 It appears that more boys than girls are being referred for special education services, especially if there are behavior issues that the teachers fail to control. Parents, too, may refer their children for special education services to get monetary gain. When teachers fail to act, students fail to learn.
Novice teachers should be required to take classes or professional development in urban perceptions so that they have concrete ideas on how urban education may differ from suburban education. Teachers who fail to maintain good rapport with the students and the administration may leave a school that is failing. These may be good teachers who do not want to be connected to a school that is in danger of not meeting the standards. Way too much pressure is put on teachers with No Child Left Behind. In a continually failing school, teachers may want assurance that their efforts are being appreciated, if not applauded.
The prevailing drug culture that persists in the inner city is another major obstacle that faces today's youth. Students, at young ages, are exposed to drug use, drug sales, and the results of such actions. On any major corner in any urban neighborhood, a young child can witness illegal actions that are manifestations of the community. Causes of these breakdowns include lack of education, lack of jobs, and a general lack of vision. Parents who cannot afford to live in neighborhoods outside of the "ghetto" are possibly exposing their children to negative life images. Drug use can be seen as a major cause of the infestations of a poverty life. That does not mean that suburban children are less exposed to cultural deficiencies, it just means that perhaps it is more covert than overt.
Coupled with drug acceptance is the increase in urban violence. Once upon a time people fought for their right to be different. It did not matter that the fight might have been over something trivial. A fight was a fight. It was physical, and required both parties to defend themselves with their fists. It appears that this characteristic of problem solving has given itself over to more violent and devastating means. Guns are now being used to settle petty differences. Perhaps it is the influence of the media that guides people to solve their disputes with guns. Perhaps people think that the person will "get up" as they do in the movies. Whatever the situation, this type of violence is not acceptable. Young, innocent children are being destroyed by the continual effects of gun violence in the inner city. Whether it is defending one's property, possibly drugs, or determining territorial rights, the effects are becoming evident in the lives of school children. They are losing parents, aunts, uncles and friends to this type of unnecessary violence. The streets are becoming an ever increasing place of danger and insidiousness.
I don't think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as someone who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good. Oprah Winfrey10
Oprah's statement is relevant to anyone who needs inspiration to create a positive image for themselves. Oprah, herself, tells abstractly about her struggles, her vision and her ability to overcome. Barack Obama probably echoed those words.
One point in Obama's educational platform is to restructure teacher value, capability, and training. While teachers are not an immediate issue on the Obama administration radar, teacher reform is coming. Teachers, who do not want to "change", should begin to seek retirement or another profession. No longer should students be subjected to teachers who are merely coming to work for paychecks. The success of students, regardless of race, affects the entire community and nation. The students, too, will have their work cut out for them. Without a vision, the people (African Americans) will cease to be at the forefront in educational and economical successes.
But does Obama have the ability to help African American males become productive? Obama indicates that change is at the forefront of what America is in need of to create a cultural and structural positive environment for change. If so, then the public persona of African American males will indeed changed - in time. How much time is required has not yet been established, but the Black youth will someday have to stand up and remember that his ancestors died an often bitter death to ensure that youth, every youth, would have the right to free education.
However, Obama's ascent to presidency cannot make a Black boy a man. Each person must decide for himself why/why not he needs to be successful. Obama can only give hope to the notion of success for those who never thought to encounter success. Obama cannot make a boy a man; however, he can be a representation for such success. When Black youth previously decided to reject the dominant culture, they now have an example to use to frame their success.
Obama has often said that family is the nucleus of American life. Parents must return to the "old school" notion of realizing that not only is success necessary for their family, but for all families of color. Educational reform is a necessary part of African American cultural success. High performing schools must rise out of urban chaos. Educational reform means repairing "No Child Left Behind" to make it effective and rational.
Public school reform should also take into account methods of improving teacher attitudes towards students of color, especially boys. Teachers may require more assistance with developing higher expectations, improving parental relationships, and obtaining better resources, such as equipment, materials, supplies, and the necessary field trips. Adequate professional development is also at the top of the list.
Reform is not just for schools. Urban student reform will require students to have a better understanding of their past, know why they exist here and now, and have a formidable plan for the future. Students should recognize that having a minimal education is insufficient for today's economy. Excuses for failing in education should no longer be an option. Students need to put their academic work into priority and develop strategies to enhance internal control over their explicit actions.
Urban students should realize that high crime, poor city services and other external factors are really not theirs to change - not yet anyway. There is the adage that says, "worry about the things you can change". African American students can change the way they think about certain things, they can control their number of yearly suspensions, their acts of violence against other students, their absenteeism and their high dropout rates.
This unit will serve to assist young students (especially those with disabilities) with developing their identity and their heritage. They will need to know why African American education is important and how it affects the nation and beyond. Students will be able to grasp at facts instead of ideas. Students also need to develop ideologies that will enhance their abilities to read and write more efficiently. By doing so, they put themselves at a more level playing field with the majority race. Students should not be willing to hide behind racial issues that are negative and provide stereotypical insight into Black culture.
Building self-esteem is essential to any cause. By beginning with this issue, students will be able to overcome the obstacles that they face with relation to education. Education is empowerment, and African America students may have decided that the easiest way to face the majority is by lying down and taking "it". Encouraging students to stand up for what they believe in and a way in which to get this completed.
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