MLK Day and Minority Concerns for Education
The Washington Post ran an article today that says
that most people of color do not believe that their children are given the same
educational opportunities as are White children. This article was run today, as a side-bar on
Martin Luther King Day. I have a
question. Are the educational problems
of any of today’s children equal to the segregated schools and
institutionalized racism that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King faced? Obviously not. So where do the differences lie? I believe I have an answer.
While individual teachers,
principals and schools have chosen to fight the good fight of education, they
are singular soldiers fighting a losing battle against a culture that could not
have undermined education more insidiously if they had been led by the master
criminals of comic books. Who are the
villains? In no particular order there
are teachers’ unions who are interested only in protecting power instead of
education; there are colleges of education whose professors are latter day
revolutionaries who see themselves as social engineers instead experts in
learning; there is a government that knows ignorant, dependent people are
easier to control than educated citizenry; and finally, there are parents who
don’t want the hard work of parenting but do want to hear that they are
victims.
I have spent 30 years in the
classroom, 5 in administration, and several years as an adjunct professor of
economics and a professional developer, improving the content knowledge and
teaching skills of elementary teachers.
I have loved it all. It has been
challenging and rewarding, but the most fun I have had, was being a classroom teacher. After a life-time of working as a
trench-soldier in the war against ignorance I feel that I know the battle
field.
The students I worked with
were frequently described as, “at risk.”
They were urban students, mostly African-American, mostly poor, mostly
from single-parent homes. They scored,
on average, below the 30th percentile on standardized tests.
Their instruction had been
slowed down, watered down, and stripped bare of anything that didn’t sound like
survival skills—all with disastrous results.
Test scores, discipline and morale were at an all-time low. My students had been short-changed, let-by,
excused from top performance, and, worst of all, given sympathy instead of
rigorous education.
Educators have forgotten
that their job does not stop when they diagnose the problem. They are also responsible for its correction.
The hardest job I have had
in education has been to continuously raise the bar of academic success. This is the success our students
deserve. It is also the success which
they can ultimately achieve, if the parents and teachers around them recognize
four things:
1.
The only thing our students are, “at risk” of is being underestimated.
2.
Our students don’t need, “less,” “slower,” or, “remedial.” They need, “more,” “faster,” and,
“enrichment” because they have more ground to make up.
3.
You don’t make students more competitive in a free market economy by
teaching them survival skills. You make
them more competitive by teaching them superlative skills, so they have
something unique to offer in the market place.
4.
Finally, you hit what you aim for!
Notice that there isn’t a, “feel good” item on this
list. I am in the business of education,
not social reform. Education occurs at
the nexus of three factors: the student, the teacher and the curriculum. Parents concerned about their children’s
education should first look at the product they are sending to the school.
Much of this column is from my book Beating the Bell Curve, 2nd
Edition (amazon.com). Work at
parenting and keep the faith.
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