What does it take for us to realize that we are leaving some children behind? African American males have a dropout rate of over 50% nationwide. In California, African American males overall score lower on standardized testing than students who have been in the country less than 12 months. But don't we already know this. This is not new data. That begs the question, "Does anyone really care?"
The social networking tools of today have allowed me the ability to communicate with my former students. They have agreed that I was hard on them and, only now that they are adults, do they understand why. It is a cruel world. The world consists of the haves and have nots. Education is that continental divide. Those without education limit their opportunities. Once again, this is not new data. We have known this for decades.
We often hear that everyone shouldn't go to college. College is not for everyone. That may be true, but who gets to decide who should go to college. Undereducation of African American males leaves them out of the equation and unable to make the decision for themselves. Maybe college is not for everyone, but shouldn't everyone be prepared for college?
We are not preparing African American males for college, work, or anything else. That is not a new fact either. However, are we prepared to look at these young men as they become adults and admit that we failed them. We failed them because we were scared of them or didn't want them to succeed and our own children to fail. We have to tell them something because they are adults now and they want to know what happened. What are we going to say?
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