Addressing this topic is like running a gauntlet. The title alone is enough to peak interest, or cause one to dismiss it immediately. People seem only to want to discuss issues generically anymore. Despite the most earnest intentions, if you tinge the discussion with race, you immediately polarize readers. And not just along racial lines. Blacks as well as whites would rather not discuss these matters in mixed company -- no matter how strong their points of view. And other ethnic groups expect that the discussion simply does not pertain to them at all. So why bother?
I am going to muse openly about educating black children -- not only because it is a topic dear to me, but it is an area where I can claim some expertise. I am a public school teacher and administrator, and father of two school-aged children. And, yes, I am African-American. This little fact is not only important for full disclosure, but I have had occasion to find myself in a pivotal role as the single black figure in a predominately suburban (white) school, where minority children look to me with optimism. Or, like presently, I routinely lay down the discipline in a predominately black middle school.
Next, I want to make some statements of truth that I have come to learn in my experience. Black and white children have equal learning ability across the board. Despite the much vaunted "learning gap" their is no innate advantage I can discern. [Variables such as quality teachers, competent administrators, and supportive environments outside of school cannot be discounted in the equasion.] White teachers do not routinely and openly discriminate against black children in the way of the Little Rock Nine, or in the manner described by figures like Malcolm X in his autobiography (i.e, "You should do something more reasonable for a person of your race...") -- at least it is not commonplace anymore. Public schools still posses huge possibilities for economically disadvantaged students and their families to gain a leg up -- even in poor inner city communities. Finally, there is an educational deficit facing urban (black) youth that cannot be denied.
Rather than report the numerous deficits experienced by black children in various quality of life indicators, I'll refer you to the published work by the Smiley Group (The Covenant), or the National Urban League's annual report. Or you can refer to the May 16 issue of The Economist magazine (Black America). My objections is not with the facts, or with the perspectives commonly espoused; it is with the assumptions, platitudes and covert discrimination that predominate education for black children, especially those from families who are poor and unable to navigate their way through the system.
One peeve of have is with the inevitable comparisons of black students to whites. Whatever indicator you choose to measure achievement among students -- state assessments, SAT scores, drop-out rates, etc. -- there is an objective level of attainment that spells success, despite how well white children do comparably. All of the research mentioned routinely uses racial comparisons to dramatize the failure of black children. If black students under perform against white students, then, is it true that once the "achievement gap" is somehow closed, we can again sing Cum-by-ya?" Or will black students next have to surpass Asian students who are increasingly outperforming white students now-- in math and science? In fact, if there is to be any comparison at all, should not black students be measured against those in first place...not in second? You see...That story is not sexy enough for the race-based superiority complex in America.
Children of all races need to be made ready to compete in the best college enviroments they can afford and, ultimately, at the highest rungs of the national economy they can ascend. There is an objective standard of achievement they need to meet --irrespective of how another ethnic group is performing. That is the best way to know you are getting an education.
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