Strategies
Essential Question - Can teachers become change agents and provide Black male students with the opportunity for success and growth?
How does one get out of this precarious situation? Developing an individual, educational vision is not going to be without difficulty for a hopeless generation. It requires positive action on the parts of both teacher and student. It also requires a commitment from the family. Bridging the racial and cultural divide is everyone's responsibility. It is a collaboration that must meet the needs of the afflicted. The first step would be to require a more composite understanding of African American heritage. To do this, teachers need to inform students on the causes and effects of being uneducated. Slavery was not just about economics and physical labor. Slavery also included keeping people ignorant of what was available to them for economic wealth. Many people, Black and White, prior to 1863, saw reading as a method of emergence to a new age without the restrictions of slavery. If bondage meant slavery, then the inability to read could mean destruction and annihilation. Students would learn that many African Americans lost their lives to guarantee that today's generation had these basic privileges and rights. Students would also know that Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks are only examples of African American suffrage and that many have fought for equality.
If the Black church is essential to the development of the individual spiritually, then the Black church needs to also adopt a similar position on education. Black churches could and should provide quality afterschool programs that give children safe havens in which to study and possibly provide the evening meal. As with anything else, funding is always a problem, but churches should know that "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." (Matthew 25:40)1 In other words, practice what you preach.
School should develop mentors to ensure that the youth are exposed to men in academic settings. This could be achieved with by a collaboration of community and church. These do not necessarily have to be Black men, but men who can help to instill in the youth what a man should or should not be. These should be mentors who are not afraid to speak up and have influence on the youth. Kids as young as early elementary school are losing interest in the educational system and teachers and administrators must find new and concrete concepts to get away from the learning environment that is too structured and rigid.
There needs to be collaboration between advanced education and the public schools. In order to break the cycle of unemployment, incarceration, poor housing and negative media, the entire community must come together to erase the stereotypical images that prevail. Mentors and tutors could be assigned to assist young Black boys with teaching them to read beyond the third grade. They would also be positive role models for these youth and provide a strong spiritual base. There would be the creation of self-discipline and high expectations. The implementation of respect for females would also be a strong component. The adage, "reach one, teach one", would come into play. This would also help to expose students to cultural events and activities they might not otherwise have exposure or experience.
Teachers, however, would be responsible for building positive peer culture by ensuring that all students are aware of their own diverse culture through history and language arts classes. Curriculum would focus on the positive aspects of the culture, leaving the stereotypes as items for discussion, not absorption. Students would be taught to embrace themselves with positive images.
Teachers, administrators and parents would need to embrace each other to build a separate relationship of strong family and community. Schools would create positive atmospheres where parents are welcome not only to the school, but to enrichment activities for themselves as well. Schools should have day or evening classes where adults can come in and learn simple parenting skills, get knowledge for GED testing, or just to continue their own education.
School districts and school administrators need to figure out how to attract more Black male teachers to education. By doing so, there is the creation of seeing positive role models who have a stake in the learning of Black males. Children will possess enthusiasm and eagerness when entering the primary years. Imagine that willingness magnified throughout all of their schooling years if they can see positive male role models in the educational setting.
Jail and early death should never be an option. Jails are being built to house men and women who are prisoners not only in the legal sense, but prisoners to themselves as well. The Black male population in jail continues to rise, while the number of black male college graduates seems to be a disappearing entity. Too many young men, of all ethnicities, are being incarcerated or killed while in their prime. Excuses for this problem must come to an end. Jealousies and hatred are vile aspects of our society, and coveting what someone else has and forcibly taking it is not optional. Students need to have insight as to why "saggin" is commonplace and how to withstand peer pressure. By having a stronger sense of who they are, young men will be able to determine who "the man in the mirror" really is.
Everyone must teach tolerance and campaign for as much multiculturalism as possible within school faculty and school boards. The undercurrent of fear that some teachers may face from students simply because of their ethnic background must stop. In addition, teachers should recognize Black students for achievement. Yes, Blacks do excel at sports, but also in math and science. Raising the bar for African American male attendance in organizations such as the chess club and the school newspaper should also be encouraged. Students should be able to contribute to these organizations without compromising their own self identity.
To reach such a climax requires the partnership of not only individual teachers, but the school and community as a complete unit. The old adage that says that it takes an entire village to raise a child is true, especially when the success of the African American male is at stake. Teachers cannot stand alone in this endeavor, and there must be others who are willing to deposit concrete concepts into the lives of needy students. America cannot continue to sit by and allow her young men to remain victimized by ignorance and the draw of street life. However, when the community is in disrepair, it may become increasingly difficult to solicit and receive additional support.
With regards to this unit, its primary basis is to build life skills and identify self-esteem issues in students, using any text that amplifies U. S. History and civil rights. Although the focus is on low achieving boys, in many special education classrooms girls, too, face similar challenges. Therefore, the lessons apply to both sexes. Once their skill deficits are identified, students will be able to focus on rebuilding their needs and trust. Students will begin with several questions. 1) What do you see your life like in ten years? 2) What do you want your life to be like in ten years? 3) What is getting in the way? The need to explore concrete steps to turn their wishes into reality is the focal point of the lesson.
The next lesson would begin with a pictorial of the Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1968. With such, students will become familiar to Jim Crow laws and why equality amongst the races is essential to everyone's survival. Also to be included is why the Supreme Court is necessary for the survival of the United States. Students will then proceed to another famous court case, Brown v. Board of Education, that sets the tone for today's outlook on equal education. Students would compare and contrast Brown in 1954 with Brown fifty years later. The film, Separate but Equal could be shown.
Students would then continue with how Blacks are perceived in America and how they fit into the visible world as invisible individuals. Here, students will be given lessons on how to be successful individuals. The implementation of a life skills curriculum would be necessary. In order to sustain hope, students must be able to survive the everyday components of life like rent, food, and shelter.
The final section to the lesson is the use of Barack Obama as focal point to the courage of hope and change. Students would decide if hope is possible for their community and if change will be effective for them as adults. Students will then listen to parts of Obama and King speeches as they decide for themselves if hope is real. In addition, students will utilize the great Internet to help them will several of their projects.
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