Psychologist to educators: Failure of black males to graduate not your fault

Palm Beach Post ^ | January 25, 2011 | Jason Schultz

[ConservativeStatement]

A noted psychologist told a gathering of teachers, school officials and parents that the reason why black males are struggling to graduate high school has very little to do with the failures of teachers.

It has much more to do with the failures of modern society, he said.

"I'm unwilling to stand up here and pretend that you are somehow responsible for their failures," Na'im Akbar told teachers Tuesday at a symposium on graduation rates at Atlantic Community High School. The symposium was the second meeting of a task force started by the school district to generate ideas to improve graduation rates, particularly among black males.

The graduation rate for Palm Beach County black males is about 65 percent, far behind the nearly 82 percent districtwide rate, according to a letter from Superintendent Art Johnson in the symposium program.

[chuckee]

It is not the teachers’ fault and it is not society’s fault. It is the fault of a disfunctional culture that refuses to be self critical in search of improvement. As long as they assign their failure to reasons outside their culture, they will always be losers at the bottom of the societal totem pole.

[Aevery_Freeman]

LBJ and his "Great Society" program are to blame.

The black kids I was friends with as a child are not the same as the ones I must teach today!

[Graybeard58]

They can always grow up to be a Congressman:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNZczIgVXjg

Congressman Hank Johnson, on the island of Guam, “tipping over into the ocean”.

This is a classic, truly one for the ages and if his opponent doesn’t use it against Johnson in the next election, he’s stupid too.

On second thought, Johnson’s constituents probably think what he said was an astute comment.

[MsLady]

Exactly my sister :)

[boop]

I was looking at those pictures of the black kids in Little Rock 1957 being screamed at by racists who didn’t want them to go to school. I think of all they suffered to get an education. And their modern day “progeny” does everything to AVOID an education. What happened? LIBERALS, who told black kids that no matter what, “whitey” would keep them down, so why try. If I were black, I’d take advantage of everything that is offered to me, scholarships, grants, colleges, etc.

[brytlea]

I think we should just go have a cup of coffee and let everyone else blame everyone else. What say?

[MsLady]

I agree, but, you have to many parents that aren’t engaged with their kids. How many of these kids have fathers that even come around? How many of these kids even know who their father is? And the mom’s of some of these kids are just kids themselves, they don’t know how to raise a kid. Many of them are to busy using drugs and parting. The inner cities are a mess and the parents of a lot of these kids don’t have good parenting skills, or worse.

[Wuli]

ping

[blam]

That guy represents me to the world.

My god.

How did we ever get here?

[Wuli]

"Students will rise or fall to the level of our expectations," Johnson said."

"Black" private schools, from those decades ago in the rural south, to those operating today, have succeeded with Black youth, using that as one of their education principals.

I have some sympathy for individual teachers, in taking all the blame for their students academic performance, but less sympathy for the education establishment itself, in as much as it has taken unto itself (unasked) the mission that IT is going to solve (or have a direct-interventionist affect on) ALL the social ills of society; turning the entire curriculum and mission of our schools into a "social" agenda. (and people wonder why our kids fail at basic academic subjects)

[blam]

"I think there is blame to go around, but people need to take ownership for their own failures, mainly because they are the ones who are most impacted by them. Pointing fingers at someone else for your failure to graduate from high school doesn’t get you a high school degree. It might make you feel a little better, but you still are a high school dropout."

Some years back, my county implemented an 'exit test' that everyone must pass before they can graduate from high school.
One year, so many Black seniors failed the test and would miss the graduation ceremonies that they began protesting and claming discrimination, etc.
The school board finally agreed to let the failed students participate in the graduation ceremonies and march across the stage and receive a 'certificate of attendance' (that looked just like a diploma) so that the Black students could have their pictures taken with cap & gown and avoid the embarrassment of failure.

Anyone that protested or ridiculed this exercise was labeled a racist.

It seemed that the images were the most important thing.

[maiullo2]

65% graduation rate for Black Males when Detroit has a 25% graduation rate is failure? Hey Florida teachers you should be damned proud of your achievements.

[brytlea]

For the most part, people want that piece of paper more than they want the actual education. Sad.

[adeline]

Yeeep!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I don’t think the article addressed this, but I’d like to, b/c it makes me quite sick.

Another problem brought about absent fathers is that the boys get coddled by the mom, in essence the boy becomes a surrogate husband. The single black moms spoil the lil boys and sometimes even let them sleep in their bed into their preteens (or maybe later). So it shouldn’t be surprised that such coddled boys dont want to work hard.

And since a lot of black people believe that racism affects black men, not black women, black women get more pressure to succeed. And black women do succeed, at least in the middle class. And then *some* black women have the idea that “I have a job/house/car so I dont need a man” even when there are kids so the low expectation cycle for black men starts all over again this time in the middle class. Not to mention grabbing hold of a woman who is successful (or has a welfare check) is a disincentive for him to work. It’s almost like he’s the woman and she’s wearing the pants.

Im done but ooooh that felt good!!!

[kalee]

for later

[LightningStriker2010]

The “Acting White” myth.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/12/magazine/12ACTING.html

[Eva]

Obama’s plan for education is to use public schools as a tool for redistribution. They are changing the goal from equal opportunity to equal outcome, increasing graduation rates by handing out meaningless diplomas.

The governor of WA state is ahead of the curve on these goals and has take steps to make 12th grade optional, putting little gang bangers and potential drop-outs directly into union apprenticeships and training them for jobs in the Obamacare industry, without graduating from high school.