NPR:
In the past few weeks, more than 400,000 young black men entered American high schools as freshmen. Four years from now, fewer than half of them will get diplomas.
That’s according to a new study from the Schott Foundation for Public Education. It found that only 47 percent of black male students entering high school in 2003 graduated in 2008. For white males, the graduation rate was 78 percent.
Dr. John Jackson, the foundation’s president and CEO, tells NPR’s Guy Raz that those numbers are dismal largely because of the lack of resources in schools with high black populations. He says that when young black men are given opportunities to learn in schools with more resources, they perform well.
Not Necessarily Black And White
This low graduation rate of African Americans in urban schools is a very complicated issue….so many variables involved. The issue is in reality not all black and white-a lot of gray exists. Seems one such large variable is inarguably economic class…the way a school district looks at it’s student misconduct and discipline(teaching) of it’s students. Many variables exist within the inequities of our student populations…there are an enormous number of penal codes verses health and healing/teaching codes. One such policy is the Zero Tolerance Policy or as some refer to it as “The Pipeline to Prison” policy. It was adopted across our country after Columbine in the 90’s. So many negatives involved with this-when we know that human beings learn more from positive reinforcements verses the negative reinforcements. Their needs to be assistance, not just a system of Special Education that excuses behaviors and inserts them back into a cross catagorical general education realm. Advocation for all students with drug/alchohol, family disfunction issues(and a safe place to educate those students who time and time again solve their problems with serious violent measures and disruptions) have verses the rule of law to expel a student from the only “thing”, the positive hope- education – that can give any child a step up to success in our society. Expulsion or the taking of ones basic right to be educated is truly wrong and it serves to create more negativity, and more fiscal resposibility overall. Lets all take a close look at the way our schools discipline(the meaning of discipline is to teach)our greatest resource-our children-and make some positive changes of an over reaction(Zero Tolerance policy overall increased drop=out rates-increased prison populations across this country) to an outrageous and terrifying incident. We can work at making sure all our students are safe while offering positive educations to all segments of our communities and populations. Zero Tolerance and Expulsion can and does happen to students from every part of our student population-any race, any economic class but EXPULSION happens primarily to lower economic classes overall, and thus african american populations-more so than any other population segment-it is a fiscal issue of haves and have nots. Expulsion is akin to the disabling of any student’s future potential. Making an example of a student – through isolation and ostracism verses application of understanding and teaching-we are a nation based upon principles of freedom. Unfortunately our most vulnerable yet most valuable resource – our kids and their futures-our futures-are at great risk of such basic principles-freedom to earn an education is what this society is all about! Learn about how your school district handles student misconducts-look closely at offences and consequences-do they hinder or help? Also look at whether your district/BOE actually applies the adopted Code of Conduct or if they are applying a no-nonsense approach more cost effection-across the board type of consequencing? Some of us do not understand things such as expulsion can happen to us until it does happen to us-then it’s too late for that child.