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Excellence in Education |
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Brother Allan, You are absolutely right we need to demand excellence in everything we do. Having said that let's take a realistic look at our situation. In most inner-city (code word for Black) school districts, illiteracy is the norm. In many of them average levels of academic achievement are lauded as excellence. The mistake we seem to be making is limiting our definition of education. We seem to want to limit support for academics to school and teachers. In expecting education to be an isolated, institutionalized activity we are at best only assuring mediocrity. Education and respect for intellect and academic achievement must become part of a way of life in our community if we are to make positive change. Education and academic achievement requires broad-based community support. For all the talk of wanting better achievement, we have done few of the things that will bring it about. Your example of demanding parental involvement is an excellent example of a proactive step. We need to do things like your example and so much more. For one thing we need to stop thinking in terms of limited potential for our children's academic success. In reality there is no such thing as a talented tenth. Time and time again, across every racial and ethnic line, it has been shown that given the proper levels of support at an early enough age almost any child can reach high levels academic competency. That not withstanding, what possible excuse can we have for the fact that more than one-half of our young people entering high school can't read above the eight grade level? While I agree fully that there is a need for more teacher accountability, there is also a community and parental responsibility to make learning a priority. As individuals we can not tolerate the creation of attitudes and stereotypes that disconnect intellectual ability and academic achievement from our definition of Blackness. We must educate ourselves in proven methods of early intervention that increase the chances of our children's academic success. We need to act on definitions of manhood that don't assume that practiced intellect is somehow un-natural, un-manly, or un-black. But most of all we must cultivate the assumption that our children can and will achieve intellectual and academic competence. I am still overwhelmed by the logic that glorifies practiced physical skills while at the same time ridicules practiced mental skills. If we are to progress this must change. While we must "demand" accountability from our teachers, we must also demand it from ourselves and our community. What our children and school need is a commitment to "tough love". To do this we must be willing to support the failure of our students when they have not achieved. The message must be made crystal clean, you will read at your grade level or you will be in the grade at the level you read. Our churches, social institutions, fraternal organizations, all must join in support of children who lack adequate support for learning at home. We need to teach young mothers how they can help give their childern a head start in learning. We need to state that we value education, then reinforce that statement with our actions. There are a number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities that represent the interest of the Black community. What is their role if not to address the problems in education that plague our community? Their research, where is it? What is their plan for changing the direction of education in the Black community? The Black community spends billions on designer clothes, jewelry, luxury items of all sorts. Where are our priorities for the education of our children? We refuse to give up our big cars, yet the difference between a new Chevrolet every three years versus a new Cadillac every three years over an 18 year period is enough to put two children through college? The simple reality is that our need for immediate self-gratification in the form of false displays of wealth undercuts all our lip-service on the priority we supposedly give to our children and their future. As for the right to "demand" excellence, why does this always seem to come up as a reason not to support our community? Are there no sources of "excellence" in our community? Why can we never find "excellence" in community owned operations? What is the overpowering force that demands that we enrich the white community at the expense of the future of our children? Why are we so totally committed to the goods and services that are provided by the other community? As my father would often say, "It seems for some people the white man's water is always colder and his sugar a little sweeter." Sure everyone has a right to demand excellence, but we also have the ability to choose to defer spending or use our resources to help develop excellence in our own community. Thanks for keeping an open mind, Charles 11-25-02 |
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