John Cook : Why do we accept this...?

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Author Message   Tonya "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Tonya Post Number: 372 Registered: 07-2006 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Saturday, August 19, 2006 - 01:47 am:        Posted on Thu, Aug. 17, 2006 Why do we accept this black/white graduation gap? Recently, Minnesotans saw the impact of the achievement gap on our own kids. According to Education Week magazine, only 44 percent of black students received their diploma on time in 2003, while white students graduated at an 80 percent clip. This stark contrast in student achievement represents one of the largest achievement gaps in the country. Short of some community discussions and a few sound bites from politicians, there seems to be a lack of urgency in addressing this crisis. What does this indifference say about us as Minnesotans and as Americans? Some blame the achievement gap on the breakdown of the traditional family; others fault poverty and a lack of opportunities for at-risk populations. Remedies range from school choice programs to increasing educational and economic opportunities for the poor. On the surface, each approach has some merit. Conservatives who say that we African-Americans have to break the cycles that discourage educational achievement and perpetuate broken homes are onto something. Progressives who want the U.S. to invest in those who have the will but lack access and resources to better themselves have a point also. But these viewpoints only address part of the solution. The rest of the answer involves examining the underlying feelings of superiority held by whites as well as the inferiority complex pervasive within the black community. These covert attitudes have become so embedded in the American psyche that we don't ponder or recognize them. This resulting culture of inferiority manifests itself daily through the hopelessness, crime, violence, and educational underachievement existing within segments of the black community. It is illustrated through the apathy Minnesotans, government leaders, and school officials display toward the affected communities. What would happen if last spring's standardized test scores revealed that blacks' scores had surpassed white students', and the achievement gap was suddenly reversed? My guess is that it would be treated as a crisis demanding immediate attention, strategy, and action. Parents, politicians, educators and community leaders would lobby for immediate improvement. Heads would roll. Assuming that we Minnesotans would not tolerate white students failing, we have to ask why. Could it be that deep within our consciences, we believe black students are not as intelligent as white students? Inside, do we really believe black students will always lag behind whites in academic achievement, test scores and graduation rates? Our collective silence about the educational crisis in the black community epitomizes the indifference and covert superiority felt by whites and the acceptance of inferiority felt by many blacks. I contend that the majority of blacks and whites have accepted the American educational divide as status quo. One day, when I was an English teacher in Minneapolis, I called on two average students, one black and the other white, to answer a question. While waiting for an answer, I realized I expected the white student to answer correctly. At the time, I couldn't figure out why. Upon reflection, I discovered that internally, I had bought into the notion that white students were smarter than blacks. I, a black teacher, had harbored feelings of racial inferiority that affected how I taught my students. Sometimes I wonder about the damage I may have caused because I was perpetuating the achievement gap in my own classroom. I was forced to do some deep soul-searching, admit my own "garbage" and change. If we as a state can do the same, we will be better, also. It is easier to propose programs or throw catchphrases at a problem than challenge our beliefs and change as individuals. True progress will occur when we evaluate our attitudes about race and class and become willing to engage one another in a "courageous conversation." It is here where we often find that what we profess to believe and what we really believe are two different things. The achievement gap will cease to exist only when we transform our beliefs, apply the principles of personal responsibility and invest in the underserved. At that point, Minnesota will truly become the educational leader we like to think it is. John Cook is assistant principal at Robbinsdale Armstrong High School, Plymouth. © 2006 St. Paul Pioneer Press and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.twincities.com http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/editorial/15289585.htm Surely this applies to Americans and African Americans nationwide.. ...(and not just teachers).