"Until recently I taught at a predominantly black high school in a southeastern state. The mainstream press gives a hint of what conditions are like in black schools, but only a hint."
"Until recently I taught at a predominantly black high school in a southeastern state. The mainstream press gives a hint of what conditions are like in black schools, but only a hint."
Dear Brock:
ReplyDeleteGreat articles as usual!! A lot of pubic schools are terrible, luckily in Howard County, MD where I live, they are the best in the state and do a good job for most kids. I would respectfully disagree with Mr. Jackson's assessment that ALL black students act a certain way. True, those in inner city schools have had little encouragement from home, structure or environmental stimulation but not all black students are like that. Those coming from working and middle class homes don't act like that and if they do, they hear very quickly from their parents. They are more likely to have both parents at home, go to church, participate in Boy and Girl scouts and take part in extracurricular activities. The sad behavior that this guy witnessed is the result of poverty...poverty of the spirit in a matriarchal environment without good male role models, with people who might as well be on the moon and are not connected to the larger society ( or that of the larger functional black community). There is no family or community encouragement of academics and over indulgence of these students who get a free pass from white liberals who make excuses for them. Where there is structure within the school, involvement of the parents and expectations are set high, it is possible to turn the poorest of students into scholars. There is an incredible school in Harlem where the kids are testing at or above grade level and all the students are black or hispanic. The principal is very strict and has high expectations of the students, lots of participation of the parents and virtually all these kids go to college. The school where Mr. Jackson taught at, sounds like the principal was asleep at the wheel unfortunately. My mom was a teacher for 20 years and then a principal of a inner city elementary school where a lot of the kids came from the projects. She succeeded in encouraging students and parents, got more parental involvement, increased the kids test scores and left the school in much better shape than she left it.
Anita