Educational Proficiency of Black Students Lags Behind

age old questions there.

http://www.educationequalityproject.org/what_we_stand_for/achievement_gap

Among others, Geoffrey Canada stuggles to implement these and other findings at agencies such as the Harlem Children's Zone, as well as teachers at public and charter schools throughout the nation.

www.hcz.org

http://www.kipp.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_Is_Power_Program

Research has shown that despite their claims, the success of these programs have been mixed.

Such schools have been shown to reach motivated parents and students, however.

....but if there was a magic bullet, we'd use it.

Bank Street has open discussions on this stuff pretty regularly

http://www.bankstreet.edu/www/

....so much proposal writing to be done.

Yup, Mr. Met. It's primarily the parents. It is very hard to compensate for a parent's lack of knowledge, especially since they are a child's first teacher. I don't think it matters how motivated the parent is. If said parent has a limited vocabulary, doesn't read much, and doesn't expose their children to much outside of their home/community there isn't a whole lot those programs can do for those kids.

Whynot_31, thanks for posting that. Everyone has been on the charter school bandwagon like it's the answer. It's not the only answer and we really need to do a better job of informing people about what is working and what isn't.

Historical note: Blaming the parents, when taken to the extreme, resulted in Residential Training Schools and mass foster care placement. Perhaps needless to say, but such efforts ended very badly.

The movie Rabbit Proof Fence is a must see, if you haven't seen it already.

The answer "parents" works when class is considered, but it doesn't address the issue of race.

“There’s accumulating evidence that there are racial differences in what kids experience before the first day of kindergarten,” said Ronald Ferguson, director of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard. “They have to do with a lot of sociological and historical forces. In order to address those, we have to be able to have conversations that people are unwilling to have.”

One possible factor is the percentage of single-parent vs. two-parent families. I've seen statistics to the effect that higher percentages of black babies are born to single moms, than of white babies.

It's got to be harder for a single parent to read to her (or his) kid, make sure the kid does his or her homework, help the kid with homework, etc.

Also, how middle-class are the respective families? Solidly, or hanging on by their fingernails? Is there extended-family support?

Actually, I cited a lot of things before that on this thread re "the bigger picture":

....like the ability of charter schools to help motivated parents and children

...and work of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity.

...but, yup, I believe the fear of "acting white" is also one of factors that keeps the gap firmly in place.

However, I do agree with MHA in that the belief in a social contract is key. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_contract

Any one know where we get one of those? Any one know how we get folks to belief in it?

If there was only one factor that caused the achievement gap, we'd have made more progress toward closing it.

As this list of signatories indicates, and 10 minutes in any MA in Education program will tell us, it's not like we have a lot of professionals "for" the gap...

http://www.educationequalityproject.org/what_we_stand_for/achievement_gap

It's kinda like poverty. Unless we try to cop out and accuse each other of "blaming the victims", it is safe to say that 99% of folks are against it.

....it's just that no one knows "the solution" because there are many solutions to a complex problem.

Those education folks seem to have put a lot of thought into this....

This article is pretty good. It puts forward the various theories....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achievement_gap_in_the_United_States

the reader then:

1. prints it out.

2. circles their favorite theories

3. crosses out the ones they don't like.

and then decides whether they want to become a teacher or throw rocks at the building while listening to Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall. http://www.guntheranderson.com/v/data/anotherb.htm

(damn, I've gotta get better music references ....preferably some Hot 97 Gangsta and Hip Hop, as opposed to my 104.3)

From the article: Those include “conversations about early childhood parenting practices,” Dr. Ferguson said. “The activities that parents conduct with their 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds. How much we talk to them, the ways we talk to them, the ways we enforce discipline, the ways we encourage them to think and develop a sense of autonomy.”

I don't really know what the differences might be, and I'm not comfortable speculating. As Whynot seemed to be pointing out, this seems to be a cultural problem.

Some sociologist believe it's a hold over from slavery and Jim Crow. We have to remember that a lot of black Americans are barely two generations out of the south. Both of my parents grew up in segregated communities and spent their early years dealing with Jim Crow and segregated schools. What was taught then and still to some degree is not to question authority. You do what you are told and don't bring undue attention to yourself. It was part of "training" in dealing with hostile environment that would condemn blacks for any perceived wrong doings. A key part of learning is questioning the things around you, including authority. In general, this isn't encouraged among black parents.

Some people think that was a long time ago, but it wasn't. I think it will take a VERY long time to undo these things.

Also, a disproportionate percentage of black Americans are middle class because of "good" government jobs and union wages, neither of which require(d) very much education. All that needs to be taught is show up on time, follow directions, and get your work done (see Jim Crow training). Very little in this learning process involves learning to take the lead in the work place, seek out opportunities to learn, etc. I think this is a contributing factor to so many middle class black males performing about as well as their poor white counterparts.

I absolutely agree, whynot_31.

Related, but not really...

The downsizing of government will come pretty soon, if the recommendations of the Deficit Commission are enacted.

http://www.epi.org/analysis_and_opinion/entry/deficit_commission_leaders_are_not_addressing_the_root_causes_of_the_l/

They want to decrease the federal workforce by 200,000 by 2020. The federal government is the largest single employer of blacks. This could be a major setback for black families still trying to climb the socioeconomic ladder. These types of jobs have helped a lot of blacks put their children through college, which many people see as a way of preventing poverty (of course many of us know that college isn't the answer for everyone, but being competent is).

Hence the public's embrace of charter schools....

The public hopes Charter Schools will be free from the burnt out teachers (such as the one you describe), the unmotivated students (such as the ones the teacher describes) and the unsupportive and perhaps unequipped parents (as we've described). [time will tell whether they are correct]

--Of course, most public schools (teachers, students and parents) don't meet this dire description, but you have to exaggerate problems when you are proposing public policy solutions as different as Charter schools. You have to convince the public that the present traditional "public school" system is completely broken. ....um, it isn't.--

BTW, once charter schools cream the motivated teachers, parents and students from the worst districts, I'm of the belief that things are likely going to get even worse for those kids, teachers and parents left behind. The zoned schools may turn into mere police supervised, School Lunch and School Breakfast centers ....no education may be possible.

[but, damn, I would like those motivated folks to have a choice and a chance to escape some of those really bad schools! ....and that is the true promise of Charter schools]

Homeowner, that burnt out teacher should find a new line of work. Surely some of the kids in his school can be reached by a non burnt out teacher and administration ....surely the teacher could drive a cab or something.

(I fear lack of intonation will soon crash this thread)

and Pink Floyd won't leave my head: All in all, your just another brick in the wall....

Ah, Alienation and Anomie are always close at hand ...social change less so.

absolutely.

....and many argue that the public schools could achieve success if they weren't so, how do I put it: "public".

Although they put their arguements more eloquently then I'm about too, public school teachers and principals argue that their success is hindered in that they have no ability to discipline or exclude students who are destroying the learning environment.

...detention isn't allowed

....suspensions are rare

....explusion only is granted for felonies.

....even in the "worst" schools, they argue that most of the problems were caused by a small percentage of the children.

In response, they:

a. Sometimes simply the test results better http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2009/05/08/2009-05-08_city_test_numbers_too_good_to_be_true_hide_achievement_gap_of_poor_students_some.html

b. created the various special education programs and District 75: The dumping grounds for black and hispanic kids (usually male) labelled learning disabled and emotionally disturbed.

You, know, the ones who are beleived to be "slowing the class down", and/or "beating the crap out" of the other kids.

But now that the feds and state have become justly wise of our over use of such porgrams (and their associated expenses), the teachers have even fewer resources.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/education/29schools.html

No one likes to give up on a kid, but should schools have a greater ability to get rid of a "the worst" so that "the rest" can have a chance to learn?

As long as it isn't your kid, do we all agree it is time to isolate a few to save the masses?

P.S. These people do excellent work on behalf of kids in Special Ed: http://www.advocatesforchildren.org/

yes. In true-life-of-a-third-grade-teacher::

Last week were Parent-Teacher Conferences.

I have 27 kids. 18 kids had someone show up. I had the most of all of the 3rd grade classes. Of those 18 people, 3 were cousins who were barely 18, 2 were STONED dads, 1 was a grandma who doesn't live with the kid, and 1 was an older brother.

That means that of 27 kids, only 11 had sober parents attend conferences. At PTC they get the kids' report cards, find out how they're doing, and learn about the NYS tests. I get that parents work, are busy, etc. But it's tough to convince a kid that what you're teaching is important if their parents can't take the time to sign a test paper or who up to conferences. They see that their parents don't care so why should they care?

That said...my biggest issue teaching? Not that most of the kids don't want to learn. Not that I don't have books/materials. Not that I don't have standards/curriculum. Not that I am required to do 4 hours of paperwork every day on top of teaching and lesson planning. Not that I am treated like a moron by the powers-that-be in the system certainly making my self-worth as a teacher fall.... But that I can't remove kids who need to be taken out of my general-education classroom.

There are kids in most classrooms in the city that are making it very very difficult for the other kids to learn.

This is either because they are in need of special education services and parents won't allow it (stigma, etc.) OR our school can't offer what they need (we don't exactly have $$ to hire extra 1-on-1 paras or special ed. teachers).

Or because they are a behavior issue (unlike charter schools, we can't give out-of-school suspensions, detentions, or kick kids out). Imagine trying to teach while the one kid runs around, tearing up the room, screaming, hitting, etc. and when you call home or you tell them they'll miss out on things their response is "I don't care. Call home. No one is there anyway. Who cares? You can't touch me." We really can't do much and if parents don't do anything they are somehow still our problem.

It is down-right unfair to the other kids in the room.

I have 27 kids. 18 kids had someone show up. I had the most of all of the 3rd grade classes. Of those 18 people, 3 were cousins who were barely 18, 2 were STONED dads, 1 was a grandma who doesn't live with the kid, and 1 was an older brother.

That means that of 27 kids, only 11 had sober parents attend conferences.

My good friend is a high school teacher in the city and has told me countless stories like this one. He busts his ass every single day, but there is only so much he can do. Sadly, by the time high school comes around, it's already too late for many kids. It's important to recognize the sociological and historical roots of these problems, and no one can deny that they exist. However, that won't turn things around. Personal life decisions and personal responsibility are the biggest factors that can bring about change. That's just my opinion. Easier said than done, of course.