In the majority WHITE school districts in Michigan we have:
ACLU finds black pupils disproportionately punished
Yet in the majority BLACK school system of Prince Georges County Maryland we have:
Proposal Tackles Pr. George's Schools' High Rate of Suspensions
There are few other places in the blogesphere that will dare to take the claims made by the ACLU about schools in Michigan and map this with the known problems in other areas, CONTROLLING FOR RACE of the "judge" with the goal of identifying the real problem.
Unfortunately there is a large force that operates upon the currency of RACISM and thus they are disinclined to seek out patterns which may undercut their assumptions.
For the ACLU in Michigan the goal was to point out the exception. This is the disproportionate number of suspensions for a population of students that grossly overrepresent their numbers. Yet as we look at the majority Black student population in Prince Georges County that also have a large number of Black teachers and administrators doing the suspending of the Black students - clearly such a fact undercuts a good portion of the assumptions that the ACLU has entered the study with in the back of their minds.
Indeed if the problem is that "the White teacher just doesn't understand the Black student" and thus she/he suspends them for the smallest infraction - then how does one explain the situation in Maryland with its "Black on Black" situation?
How curious will the observers in both states inspect the one common denominator that is present in both of them? THE BLACK STUDENT and the cultural references that they enter the classroom with. Of those who dare consider this angle - how many of them will point to "derivative behavior" rather than notating the impact of today's incubation of this resultant behavior? "Derivative Behavior" is a theory that has been vocalized by Democratic operative Dr Ronald Walters to explain away the "bad behavior" that is seen today in high proportions within the Black community. It puts forth the notion that the residue of SLAVERY has a greater influence upon our behavior today than does the molding by the parents, the community and those who control the key institutions over these people today.
From this common pattern we are unlikely to see an inspection done upon the culture that is shared among these students. This would mean too much of a self-indictment upon those who seek to shift the blame over to the general society. For so long we have heard the defense "What does the music or dress that a young person chooses have to do with his academic progress?". Thus it is left up to the critics to prove their case lest the degradation go on unchecked absent having the justification to hold the line on any particular standard.
Increasingly we are seeing a pattern of disturbing results - from suspensions of Black students to the disturbing "social promotion" policies of Philly and Chicago. None of this proves to be enough to shake loose the ideological bindings that many of the operatives who defend these systems (and redirect the blame elsewhere).
Absent the change in consciousness which has them defining an endpoint and then REVERSE ENGINEERING the steps from this ideal back to where they stand right now - these outrages in results and consciousness will continue.
1 comment:
Although there shouldn't be, it seems to me that there is a large chasm between the nostalgic, idealistic views of Black people that many of our "leaders" hold and the actual reality on the ground. Many Black "leaders" who are in their 60s or older came up during a time when we enjoyed a much tighter community, one in which "bad behavior" actually came with a stigma and could be grounds for embarrassment if an adult in the neighborhood caught you in some wrongdoing. They grew up during a time in our country when this reaction on the part of adults toward the improper antics of children/young adults was expected. They seem to still be operating out of this historical perspective when thinking of the youth today, despite the 10-fold increase in the viciousness and calousness of the crimes being routinely and widely committed by too many of our troubled children/young adults today. There's definitely some denial going on here.
Their time would be put to better use by engaging in and encouraging others to engage in some seriously critical analysis of what brought us to this point, with a focus on the personal and intrapersonal dynamics that we've allowed ourselves to steep in for far too long. Holding traveling townhalls on the topic, à la Bill Cosby, might be one approach to this difficult dilemma that we find ourselves in. The real catcher is that some of the underlying pathologies that we've allowed to creep into our thinking and way of life are not easily remedied without a personal commitment to do something about it (i.e. no more out-of-wedlock births, maintaining two-parent households, earning at least a high school diploma, taking charge of our offspring, to name a few). There are some things in life that can not be mandated by anyone; they must come from within. To pretend otherwise can only lead to more empty and endlessly frustrating blame projection. Bottom line is that we need to take charge of what we have control over in our lives as a first objective in the fight to better ourselves in this society. It continues to be an awful shame that too many of us squander opportunities in this culture, opportunities that, search as we might, do not present themselves as generously anywhere else in the world.
Post a Comment