From Crisis to Contradiction

The Sacramento Bee recently reported on an educational conference that took as its theme "Is Bill Cosby Right." The article opened with the following statement: "The educational crisis facing black children in the United States is well-documented. Disproportionately, they attend the poorest schools, with the least experienced teachers, the lowest test scores and the highest dropout rates."

As you might imagine, conference participants did a lot of talking. In fact the article goes on to say "We're all doing a lot of talking," said Sacramento City Councilwoman Louren Hammond. "That's what we're best at."

On that point, I could not agree more.

Then there are developments in Maryland as reported by Gina Davis and Liz Bowie of the Baltimore Sun. This article was titled "Blacks in suburbs failing Md. exams (Poor results at some high schools called surprising).

The article further states "An alarming pattern of failure is surfacing: Minority students, especially African-Americans, are struggling to pass the exams in the suburban classrooms their families had hoped would provide a better education."

"It is a wake-up call to African-Americans in Maryland.," said Dunbar Brooks, president of the state school board and former president of the Baltimore County School board. "For many African-Americans, the mere fact that your child attends a suburban school district does not make academic achievement automatic."

Here is my take. Black children are being abandoned. First by parents and second by once very strong community support systems (church, clubs, organizations). They are abandoned to poor urban schools that operate without the essentials for a successful educational experience.

They are abandoned to suburban schools with the thought that by just being there, success is all but assured.

The truth is children must have supportive and involved parents to succeed. This is not a blame game but a statement of what I believe to be a fact. As a Christian, my belief system confirms our Creator set it up that way. Children are a blessing from God and require the care and nurture of loving and supportive parents.

No amount of talk, money or legislation will ever change that fact. Please see earlier posts on culture and parental involvement for my recommendations.

What do you think?