The Education of the Black Male Student

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The Education of the Black Male Student

• Curtis L. Jones, Jr.
• April 28, 2007

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The Problem

• Black children are more than twice as likely to
  live with one or no parent.
• Black families earn less than two-thirds as much
  as white families.
• Blacks are more than twice as likely to live
  below the poverty line, be unemployed, or be
  victims of rape or robbery- and more than ten
  times as likely to go to prison.
• The national dropout rate for all students was
  approximately 25 but as high as 49.6 among
  Black youth.
• Since the mid-1980s, studies have consistently
  shown that Black and Hispanic youth have been
  suspended from schools at rates generally three
  times that of their White counterparts.
• The proportion of Black men attending college was
  still the largest decline of all racial and
  gender groups.
• Black students graduate from college at 60
  percent the rate of whites.

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Teach Me- I Dare You!

• Understanding those who dare us (a general
  profile)
• They generally are skeptics about life in
  general.
• They are not sure that what schools have to offer
  them matches their current or future needs.
• They disguise themselves well in the current
  dress for the day and fade into the culture of
  their age group.
• They ask and freely give advice to each other
  about solving their problems without the benefit
  of experience or adult consultation.
• They believe that they are indestructible and
  that whatever they will need in the future will
  be given to them with little or no work.

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Teach me- I Dare You! (Cont.)

• Understanding those who dare us (a general
  profile continued)
• They take life-threatening risks with alcohol and
  drugs.
• Some take the opposite position of defiance and
  antagonism.
• They define the counterculture in the school and
  hide within many disguises of themselves and what
  they fear they will become.
• They are both male and female.

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Some Events that Put Students in Jeopardy

• Change in friends or peer group members.
• Change in living arrangements (moving from one
  area to another, changing custodial parents,
  homelessness).
• Change in health and nutritional habits (eating
  disorders, alcohol, drugs, diet).
• Change in family (divorce, remarriage of parent,
  death, birth of sibling).
• Change in role models (from parents to peers and
  pop culture).

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Some Events that Put Students in Jeopardy (Cont.)

• Change in academic success (teacher expectations,
  grades, homework).
• Parental expectations for school and family
  responsibilities (too high or too low).
• Participation in out-of-school activities (time
  management, eligibility).
• Change in school structure (elementary to middle
  to high school).

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Categories of Risk

• Category I Students in Transition- socially,
  emotionally, physically, morally, intellectually.
• Category II Students at Risk from Their
  Environment.
• Category III Students Who Lack Social Skills.
• Category IV Puberty and Social Risk.

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Categories of Risk (Cont.)

• Category V Students Who Are Academically at
  Risk.
• Category VI Gifted Students Who Are Not
  Challenged by the School Curriculum.
• Category VII Students Identified by State
  Guidelines as At-Risk.
• Category VIII Special Education Students.
• Category IX High-Risk Students.

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Category I Students in Transition- Socially,
emotionally, physically, morally, intellectually

• Normal transition from one phase of development
  to the next.
• As children mature, their physical, social,
  emotional, intellectual, and moral development
  are affected by internal and external influences.
• Sometimes the influences are those of heredity.
• Children are exposed to a wider range of social
  ills at an earlier age.

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Category II Students at Risk from Their
Environment

• Both poverty and wealth can create risk for
  children.
• Family structure and attitude toward education
  and parental involvement affect success of
  students in school.
• Being a part of a particular environment means
  that students develop social skills to
  participate in that environment.
• Group interactions include heavy baggage from
  home. You cant be in my group!
• Bullying causes one group to inflict damage on
  another group.

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Category III Students Who Lack Social Skills

• Includes those who lack the social skills to be
  accepted by others.
• The skills used in groups of children for
  communicating with others, sharing ideas, working
  on projects, and taking part in activities are
  generally developed as children grow and interact
  within their family, neighborhood, school, and
  church.
• For those who are shy or abused at home or
  without adequate role models, the transition to
  school can be a nightmare.

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Category IV Puberty and Social Risk

• While children develop at different rates, they
  all grow through the same physical changes.
• Risk may be created when puberty brings with it
  expectations that the child will socially be able
  to do things that older students can do and have
  the logic to do.
• For students who want to fit in, to look or feel
  different can be a source of riskness.

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Category V Students Who Are Academically at Risk

• Students who lack foundational basic academic
  skills in reading, math, and writing become
  increasingly at risk.
• Some develop complex coping skills and are passed
  from grade to grade.
• Boys usually outnumber girls in remediation
  programs.
• If student is not identified before high school,
  chances are slim s/he will be.

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Category VI Gifted Students Who Are Not
Challenged by the School Curriculum

• They may not know of their gift until some
  content sparks an interest.
• Their parents may not understand giftedness and
  have low expectations.
• They may be excluded because of social
  interaction problems.
• The lunchroom identification system works well
  with this type of student.

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Category VII Students Identified by State
Guidelines as At-Risk

• Nationally, 25 of all students fall into this
  category and dropout of high school prior to
  graduation.
• Criteria used to identify them include poor
  grades overall, low reading scores, failure in an
  earlier grade, lack of participation in
  extracurricular activities, attendance in four or
  more schools, lack of acceptance by peers,
  frequently tardiness or absentees, and poor
  handling of structured activities.
• They are usually categorized by a specific
  learning problem, disorganization,
  emotional/behavioral action, or physical
  limitation. Also truancy, absenteeism, or court
  orders, or ward of the court.

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Category VIII Special Education Students

• Students who have been identified in elementary
  school or are being tested in middle school for
  learning disabilities, emotional disorders, or
  social disorders.
• Some have physical disabilities or multiple
  special needs.
• Many have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).
• Resources are identified for them.

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Category IX High-Risk Students

• Students who may or may not come to school but
  are unattached to family, friends, and school.
• They seem to lack a conscience and suffer from
  antisocial personality disorder.
• They run the gamut from mildly impaired to
  criminal.
• Parents usually deny the possibility that their
  child is high-risk. Bullying is an example.
• Most middle and high schools have at least one
  high-risk student.

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The Way Ahead

• Understanding the basic psychological needs of
  at-risk youth
• Helping our Boys Grow Into Men
• Reaching Higher Ground

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The Basic Psychological Needs of At-Risk Youth
(CBUPO)

• Competence
• Belonging
• Usefulness
• Potency
• Optimism

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The C of CBUPO

• How would you feel if you arrived at work every
  day, thoroughly prepared and enthusiastic about
  your work if you viewed yourself as incompetent?
• The work of school-age children is encompassed in
  their role as learners.
• Students are asked to work for seven hours a day
  while at school.
• Students who receive feedback that they are
  academically incompetent later decide to withdraw.

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The C of CBUPO (Cont.)

• The C is Competence. We want to know that we
  know or can know what we need to know.
• Mastery Learning can be implemented for all
  students.
• Four variables
• Motivation
• Prerequisite Skills
• Quality Instruction
• Adequate Time
• Teachers can provide extra help
• One on one tutoring
• Additional homework
• Computer simulations
• Alternative materials suited to different
  learning styles
• Small group work
• Timely feedback on work (progress reports, report
  cards).

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The B of CBUPO

• How likely would any of us be to continue to come
  to work if we had reason to suspect that our
  co-workers distained our company?
• Youth are even more dependent on a need to be
  accepted.
• From the first days of kindergarten through the
  senior prom, they are aware and frequently
  consumed by thoughts of in groups and out
  groups who is popular and who is not.

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The B of CBUPO (Cont.)

• The B is Belonging. We have a need to be wanted
  and to part of something bigger than us.
• Organizational behavior should be consistent with
  mission, vision, values, and goals.
• Multicultural education and the hidden
  curriculum.
• Extend membership to All
• Value students by valuing their interests
• Know the students learning style
• Teacher expectations and feelings of belonging.

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The U of CBUPO

• Imagine how you would feel if you believed that
  the world would not be affected one iota by your
  presence. That deep down you believed your daily
  fife provided no meaningful service to anyone.
• We all want to believe that we make a real
  difference.
• This feeling may be why many stick with a job
  before dawn and after dusk.
• Students derive this feeling as teacher helpers,
  student council members, or as athletes.

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The U of CBUPO (Cont.)

• The U is Usefulness
• Usefulness is derived or denied as a direct
  result of both the quantity and quality of the
  interactions we have with others.
• Standards based reform focus has forced out the
  process recommendations that include
• Cooperative learning
• Problem based learning
• Student Directed Inquiry
• Social Utility is important
• Accountability and Roles
• Community Service

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The P of CBUPO

• Imagine that you are unwanted by friends,
  unneeded by society, and powerless over your
  life. Why would you behave positively and
  continue to persevere at school?
• Many believe that people can be placed on a
  continuum of causal attribution, called a locus
  of control.
• On one end are those who believe merit and hard
  work provide adequate explanation for their
  successes and /or failures (internalizers).
• On the other end are those who attribute their
  victories and /or shortcomings to luck
  (externalizers).

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The P of CBUPO (Cont.)

• The P is Potency
• 7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey
• Habit 1 Be proactive
• Habit 2 Begin with the end in mind
• Habit 3 Put first things first
• Habit 4 Think Win Win
• Habit 5 Seek First to Understand, then to be
  Understood
• Habit 6 Synergize
• Habit 7 Sharpen the Saw
• Love and Logic for follow up

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The O of CBUPO

• Now imagine a youth whose mental tape recorder
  plays a tune that says, At school I feel like a
  failure, I feel like an outsider, and no one
  seems to need me here or me when I am absent.
  There is nothing fI feel I can do about it, and I
  have no reason to believe it will get any better
  in the future.
• Would you come to school under these conditions?
  Would you try your best?
• You would mostly likely develop a pessimistic
  view of the things.

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The O of CBUPO (Cont.)

• The O is Optimism. Some believe that if they
  complete school, attend college, and stay away
  form trouble, their future will be bright.
• For others, Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow
  we die.

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BOYS INTO MENRaising Our African American
Teenage Sons by Nancy Boyd-Franklin and A.J.
Franklin

• You Must Act As If It Is Impossible To Fail
  Challenges In Raising African American Teenage
  Sons
• If We Stand Tall It Is Because We Stand On The
  Backs Of Those Who Came Before Us African
  American Families And The Manchild
• No One Can Uproot The Tree Which God Has Planted
  Spirituality And Religion In Raising Our Sons
• The Bell Rings Loudest In Your Own Home Positive
  Parenting, Love, Communication, And Discipline

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BOYS INTO MEN (Cont.)

• Education Is Your Passport To The Future, For
  Tomorrow Belongs To The People Who Prepare For It
  Today
• When I Discover Who I Am Ill Be Free Black Kids
  In White Schools And Communities
• Our Future Lies Chiefly In Our Own Hands The
  Journey To Manhood And Peer Pressure
• We Cannot Silence The Voices That We Do Not Like
  Hearing Rap, Media Influences, And Hoop Dreams
• And Chapters 9 14 continue the journey!

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Higher Groundby Leah Latimer

• A guide for Black Parents to chart a successful
  course for their children from kindergarten to
  college
• 2004 Salute to Excellence Award from the National
  Association of Black Journalists
• www.genesis-press.com or call 1-888-Indigo-1

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What is a Parent to Do?

• Know the risks.
• Help your child navigate schooling.
• Learn more about Learning While Black.
• Be your childs advocate and be effective.
• Make CBUPO positive for your child.
• Hold your school accountable.
• Network with other parents. Form a Parent
  Learning Community.

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Additional Resources

• Teach Me I Dare You! By Judith Allen Brough,
  Sherrel Bergmann, and Larry C. Holt.
  www.eyeoneducation.com or call 1 [phone]
• AT-RISK STUDENTS Reaching and Teaching Them by
  Richard Sagor and Jonas Cox or call 1 (914)
  833-0551.

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The Education of the Black Male Student

• Curtis L. Jones, Jr.
• April 28, 2007