News-Record.com

Let's do what we always do - cite racism and make excuses for them.

How many of these kids have one parent only?

Even better, Holden, let's just suspend all the black children (long term) so we can have our schools back- they will never know how to behave, actually,even better- let's just send them directly to jail!! Yea!!!!, then we can just send the white kids on drugs (there are a lot of them) to rehab for 6 months (California, Florida, or Arizona)- it may take a couple of tries-we will give them chance after chance- and when they return we can put them in AP classes because they know have to behave its just that their high level intelligence just was not challenged enough in their early years in school............................ on second thought, how about we just EDUCATE EVERYBODY!! What do we pay taxes for?

What to do?

Obviously, the answer is to spend a lot more money. With these pitiful results, we can't be spending enough. The County Commissioners need to be strong-armed into submission, if necessary, to increasing the property tax so that we can do a better job of educating them. I'm sure that it is the fault of unqualified teachers and not enough of them. so, let's pour another couple hundred million dollars into the system.

My first impression was that this was the opening of a dialogue on an important issue. However, I fear that it will, as things like this tend to do, devolve into claims of racism. I think it is fair to say that many of the speakers at the special meeting see the problem simply as an issue of historical, or as others call it, institutional racism. One speaker linked underachievment by black males in 2006-2007 it to things that took place in the 1860s.

Speakers who lay the blame for poor achievement on white racism demean the great strides that we have, as a country (and city), made over the past fifty years. We have a black mayor, a black police chief, and, as Doug Clark has pointed out, the two highest vote getters in the at-large school board race are both black. These results would be impossible in the institutionally racist world that some claim we live in.

As Americans we are not, unfortunately, very good at taking responsibility for shortcomings. We tend to blame a lot of things on other causes other than our lack of effort or control. We blame McDonald's and whole milk producers for our obesity. Many people believe that if their child is in trouble at school or not doing well in school it must be the teacher's or the school's fault. We must always hold the schools, administrators, teachers, etc. accountable, but as I have said before, this is only half the equation. The other half is parental involvement and individual responsibility by students. Parents must inform their children that they have certain expectations for educational performance and behavior at school. Children must also abide by reasonable standards for behavior and work hard.

Like most things in life, you get out of education what you put into it. Imagine a student who wants to play football, but he won't practice, go to the weight room or read the play book. We understand intuitively that this kid probably won't be a very good player because he has not put in the preparation. Why do we think that the same is not true when it comes to education? If you aren't going to do your homework, or you sleep in class, or you are disruptive in class, the very great odds are that you probably won't do very well in school.

Despite the importance of parental involvement and responsibility in educational outcomes, however, we hear little, if anything, about it in discussing black male achievement. We can't fix this without the parents and students, and we need the school board to say so.

Paul,

I really can't wait for you to be seated on the Board!

Good luck with Deena.:-)

Paul,

While some kids run riot they ruin the education of many others.

By the way, the other half does not exist. They have no parents.

Paul,
Your comments are well thought out and very well said, however I fear that you will be one of three that see things that way. For years we have only heard of how the system has let down the black male. We don't teach things that are relevent to them, so they disengage. I, for one can say that most of what is taught is not relevent to my white 15 year old either. The difference, in many cases is that he knows that he will be in trouble at home if he doesn't do his work, behave and show respect. Yes, I am at home for him. I dont work a 2nd or 3rd shift to make ends meet, but I would think that would be motivation to do better than my parents if I saw my parent (s) having to struggle just to buy groceries.

In many ways the school system has let parents off the hook. If you child fails... don't worry! we will pay for the bus to pick them up for summer school, wouldn't want to inconvenience the parents! You kid looses a book... don't worry, we won't make you pay... etc. There is no real reason for parents to get involved. Don't want to come to meetings... okay we will move the meetings to your community.... etc, etc.

I agree with you that parents and student have to take responsibility. Along with that, the teachers and administrators have to look at to see if they are being harder on black males about behavior. They also must realize that all can learn and not to lower expectations due to a students color. All teachers should be color and sex blind. Hold the bar high and expect students to reach it. Do not lower that bar for anyone.

Paul, good luck on the Board. When you get on the Board, you will find almost unbearable pressures to go with the flow. Weeks and months will pass and none of your ideas are taken seriously by the majority of the BOE. You will convince yourself that 1% of a loaf is better than no loaf at all. This BOE is not on the right track. You need to remind them of this several times each meeting. In addition, you shold not go into close session and talk about items that could be taken up in open session if a little care was taken by all concerned. You have my utmost support. You have a choice. Push hard from day one or wait for others to support you. I know the answer and you know the answer on what you should do. It is lonely, you will not be priased in the press, but you will have the everlasting support from thousands of citizens if you just do what is right and let the chips fall where they will.

"I, for one can say that most of what is taught is not relevent to my white 15 year old either."

What would those things be, Debora? Reading, writing, history, science, math? If so, what should replace them that is relevant?

I meant things like ancient history, shakespeare etc. I don't think any high school kid likes those 'old' things. The black community often says that what is taught is all 'white' history and that black males don't relate. I think that teenagers as a whole don't relate. I doubt many our age thought that was very exciting either... the difference is that we listened and learned because we were expected to!

debora,

Let's face it, most teenagers today think that the world started on the day that they were born. Anything that happened before then is ancient history.

Billy Joel wrote a song many years ago because his nephew said that he felt sorry for him because nothing important ever happened in his lifetime. Joel wrote "We didn't start the fire", mentioning people and events in every year of his life from 1948 to 1989. Many history teachers have used this song to teach their students about "ancient history".

So, even though students think that what happened in this country and world in the past is not relevant, they are wrong. Everything that has happened in the past has been prologue for us for where we are today, whether we are black, brown, white or other.

In the event that anyone is not familiar with the song, you can find it and enjoy it here:

http://www.teacheroz.com/fire.htm

That just does not get the buy in of all kids.

Anon,

Obviouosly. Of course, those kids do not buy-in to very much, and that is why they drop-out without getting an education. If their parents cared enough, the kids might care as well.

"not relative to my white 15 year old"...

great point Debora

and why is it that most of the books my child had to read for AP Literature and in middle school where black historical novels, or books that Oprah recommended?

"Native Son" was one of them and a few others.

Joe:

Thanks for your support! Your presence at all things having to do with schools will be a constant reminder to me to push for change even when in a distinct minority.

Best regards,

Paul Daniels

Paul Daniels, thanks for your comments. I would add that regardless of whether people are for Obama or McCain in the election, Obama deserves credit for being the only high profile black leader since Bill Cosby to challenge the black community on its responsibility and its toleration of unacceptable behavior. This is why Jessie Jackson dissed Obama the other day -- Jackson and his type of politician will face the music if Obama is elected and continues to challenge the status quo of the black community. (Please don't view this as an endorsement of Obama -- that is not the intent.) To Anonymous I say you are correct, too. I have noticed the same thing. Far too much use of "black" literature, whether or not it is good literature that will teach kids or prepare them for more difficult future coursework.

One of the other novels was "Beloved" and there were many more. Many parents noticed this obvious change in required reading material. There is nothing wrong with providing different kinds of literature for learning, but what about the classics? What about having a balance and not an obvious slant?

Ditto on Obama observation.

Another great read is Thomas Sewell.

Anon,

debora said "I meant things like ancient history, shakespeare etc. I don't think any high school kid like those 'old' things." The classics are old school and kids today can't relate to classical literature. It's not cool enough or relevant to today's society. Of course, they don't. They make kids have to actually use their minds.

This is nothing new. I did not relate to Shakespeare when I was 12?

I am 42 now.

Come on please!

My daughter is reading "The Color Purple" for her summer reading.

There's more than Shakespeare. There's Steinbeck, Hemingway, Tennesse Williams, Fitzgerald. There's nothing wrong with "The Color Purple" and other Oprah picks but let's just please have a balance.

Then again Shakespeare will come in handy if you are on "Jeopardy" one day. When a student plans to go on to college, they need to be exposed to all kinds of literature.

Never thought about jeopardy.

That makes a big difference then. Modern school equips you do watch TV shows!

As I watch the special session on the plight of black males in our school, I thought the statistics pointed out the gap in basic skills: reading and math. Certainly, by the time a student is in middle or high school, a wide selection of reading materials would help keep their attention and maybe their excitment; however, Dr. Zhang pointed out that many more black males arrived (some would say were pushed) into high school without high school level skills. Having taught high schoolers who were reading on a 4th/5th grade level, I can honestly say it's really hard to get them to see the relevance of Shakespeare or Plato or any other difficult and demanding text. Even our best students don't always enjoy pushing themselves as hard as they need to in order to understand those authors most worth reading--whether dead white guys or modern 3rd world authors.

If anyone out there truly knows how to motivate every high school student who just doesn't see the point of the exercise, copyright is immediately and become a consultant, for every high school in the nation would buy your program! The point is, no one does know for every student, we only know some programs work for some students; getting any individual into the exact right program is the tough part. In the presentation, no one catalogued all the programs tried, or the money spent on them, during the past 20+ years . . . all to no avail. I think the sum of effort and money which hasn't worked would give all of us pause. And make us realize that the problem is bigger than what this school district or BOE, or any school district can do solely in the classroom.

There's something going on in the community that is being dumped on the schools for a fix. And it's not fair, nor will the schools be able to fix it alone.

Jack,

You said it all. Let's quit dumping society's problems on the schools. It's much bigger than that. It must start long before high school and middle school. Social passing eventually causes these students to drop out when they can't keep up.

I think that there are plenty of options for kids in HS to keep them interested but we have already socially promoted them through middle school. In MS Terry Griers solution was to mix non readers into classes of readers. Its no wonder they have discipline problems is it?
I knew of one seventh grade class with some kids that had third grade reading level. When the class is 30+ what chance does the teacher have?

This is the real world that our teachers live with!

The removal of one elective in middle school also worsened this situation. At our local middle school the non readers had reinforcement instead of an elective. Now they are just stuck more time in a classful of kids that can read with no chance to catch up.

Reading well is probably the most important skill needed for success in school: in every class one has to read and comprehend a textbook. Promoting students, whether black, white, hispanic or whatever, who are not reading at grade level makes all teachers and capable readers suffer. And middle and high school teachers are prepared to teach those reading at grade level to read math texts, history, literature or science texts--they are not trained to teach non-readers to just read; they expect that to have been taught in the lower grades. That's just one problem.

A second problem is time. Schools have the students for 7 instructional hours each day; if you allow each student 10 hours to sleep, that means that half of their waking time is in school, excluding the 48 hours over the weekend. Put another way, less than 20% of their time, each week, is spent in school, under the influence of their teachers. Is it surprising that many students see school as simply filling up the time in between the really important stuff of life?

Can you imagine the roars of laughter before his firing if the Commandant of the Marines testified on Capitol Hill that he only needed his Marines for less than 20% of each week to guarantee that he could field a combat-ready force able to go anywhere in the world to protect the US's interests? Ridiculous, isn't it? Yet we ask our schools to turn out young adults ready to compete in a national, nay, world economy with that level of training. And, unlike the Marines, our schools can't send home those who can't cut it--regardless of background, intellect, knowledge, or desire, the schools are to perform daily, weekly, monthly and yearly miracles.

Yeah. Not even in Lake Wobegon.

I have taught in Middle School and Elementary for years. Black males not doing well must be a cultural thing in America. Black students who have immigrated with their family from Africa and the Carribean have mostly two parents, value education, and work hard in school. They have been some of my best students and I value them greatly. However, many more black students who were born and raised in the good "ol" USA spend much of their time "thugging up" and playing the race card. Just my observation.......

Too much Deenaculture.

Too many liberals reading the books that Deena reads....Let's blame everything on Whitie. Afterall, they are born racists and can't help it, black people cannot be racists in the books Deena and her friends read. It is much easier to place the blame on the teachers, the cops, "the man", than to look within one own's environment to find the cause.

It brings to mind that famous line by Jack N "You can't handle the truth!" If Deena and friends could perceive the truth, maybe they could handle the truth and start to fix the problem.

As long as the real problems are not acknowledged, blame will always be placed on the teachers for failing our black males. Teachers are not allowed to hold back students that can't read. The principals have the finals say. They get their orders from central office who must follow the black politics in this lovely county.

Anon (from July 19, 12:28 a.m.),
As a former middle school language arts teacher, I can tell you that the blame will always be placed on teachers for failing ALL students. This blame comes regardless of student race or background. Also, the principles in Guilford County have been instructed NOT to hold back any students without express written permission from the student's parent or guardian. They do not have the final say in whether or not the student is promoted.

I am a former teacher who taught in one of the Mission Possible schools in Guilford County. I was appalled at the amount of “special treatment” our black males received. I am an African American woman, and the way the school system allows the administrative teams to handle discipline is heartbreaking. Instead of creating programs that will target this frail population we turn to out of school suspension.(which is necessary in some cases) However, once these children are released from our care there are not any provisions being made to ensure issues have been resolved with these youth. This issue will continue to be on going if we do not strategically plan how to embrace, support, understand, mentor, and guide these young men.

Last week's edition of The Carolina Journal, which is a newspaper that is inserted into the Rhino Times, had an interesting article about a recent meeting concerning the very issues on this blog. The title of the article is something about black males in college. You can also find the article on the Carolina Journal website.

What truly amazes me is that it does not matter which city or community you visit or read their newspaper (the internet allows you to keep up with ANY city you want); they are ALL posing the same questions and I seriously don't think they want an answer to this problem. Most of these blogs are divided into: (1) where do we place the blame; (2) why we need more money; (3) merge the "penal system" with the "educational system" concepts.
As the mother of a new born son; I am indeed sadden by these philsophical, religious, academic, rhetoric engaging discussions! What is REALLY AND TRULY DISGUSTING is that we have some starting points--if not solutions ALL AROUND US! This problem did not just start yesterday--nor does it ONLY involve black boys. WE ARE ALL, (especially black girls and mothers) affected by this situation. And yet, our so-called leadership, the Mayor, the school administrators, our business community, our law enforcement administration, our churches--have turned a "blind eye" and "deaf ears" to people who've been bringing solutions to the table for over 20 years. By this, I mean we have "RESULTS ORIENTED" community based programs that can help put MOST, if not any child on the right track to LEARNING AND ACHIEVING! And even though Greensboro has been the "birthplace" for some of the most successful efforts, the individuals and instituions I meantioned before have done LITTLE OR NOTHING to support these efforts!
As a nine year old girl some 20 years ago, I had failed the 4th grade and "hated to read" period! On my way home one summer day, I met a man who was working with other children--my age and older, at the old Mt.Zion Elementary School building. When I asked him what he was doing; he stopped and shared with me the ideas about a year round after school children/ youth development program called RELA (at the time--now RELAY). I told him how much I hated to read, and he paid me no attention--just gave me three books (new books for myself) and told me to come back after I'd read them and that READING was non-negotiable. I went on to not only graduate from Dudley High, but by the time I was 12 years old, I had internships with High Point's WGHPiedmont ABC TV affiliate and WQMG radio station. He was there to see me receive my degree in Broadcast Journalism from N.C. A&T State University (along with several other of his former RELAY participants who graduated at the TOP of their class in Engineering).
If you visit the RELAY website at www.americaschildrelay.com , you will witness the history of success (over 22 yrs) we RELAY participants have spread across North Carolina (including Durham, Reidsville, Charlotte--even Maryland and Mississippi; according to Ted)
Thus, it is nothing short of a CRIME that our so-called leadership has done ALL THEY COULD NOT to support this outstanding year round program. After all, most kids "get in trouble AFTER SCHOOL in our communities, and it spills over into the schools system. Evin Brisbone also had a great and effective progam--but he got the SAME treatment and NON-SUPPORT that RELAY has received.
Unfortunately, despite the facts that RELAY students are now successful, literally "ALL OVER THE WORLD"; and they are engineers, medical doctors, military communications personnel serving in Iraq and overseas; actors/ actresses; engineers (over 15 of them), software engineers, entrepenuers, TV producers and directors, teachers, lawyers and just "good quality citizens"--IF PASS HISTORY IS ANY INDICATION--the people who read this blog will just continue to come back when another "crisis" presents itself and try and sought out the "BLAME" and ignore what God had given us! I know personally, that over 20 years ago, Ted Mangum and Ervin Bisborne "begged" Greensboro for support (they were out there in the streets and saw it coming--gangs and otherwise. Ted told me that the ONLY response he could get was "Mangum, Greensboro is NOT L.A. OR NEW YORK". WELL, GREENBORO, WELCOME TO NEW YORK and L.A.!
I will make sure my son is exposed to the many vitures of a RELAY enhanced education and overall development. You can continue to meet here to "discss" the issue(s).