I am tired of hearing how much blacks fall behind academically to that of whites or asians. I do not hold whites or asians as the standards for what I should be learning, how smart I should be, or who I should strive to be like.
Just like desegregation and sitting next to a white person in class made me no smarter... how is telling me constantly that I am falling behind whites and blacks gonna make me smarter? Why the hell should I care?
This does a disservice to black students. Since I've been alive long to read and read about how our academic intellect or capability is divided among racial lines - we have ALWAYS been behind whites and asians. After a while, it starts to seep into a black person's head that they just ain't smart enough no matter what, so why try. The whites will always be smarter than us, and the asians will be smarter than both. So what's the point in trying to catch up and be on par with them or even trying to surpass them?
Black children and their parents are tired seeing how friggin dumb we are. Of being told how dumb we are. And that we are dumber than our former enslavers and colonizers.... and this country as a whole are dumber than folks who put lead and toxins into everything they make and ship to us... which really means they don't give a crap about us because they ship shoddy stuff to our shores, and keep the better stuff for themselves... except cars apparently... because they want to surpass us in that area.
There's a better way. Take away the focus of trying to be like people that aren't us, which give the us the indication that they are superior and we are inferior... and concentrate on us and us only.
When you think inner city kids don't want to learn or take school seriously, you are mistaken. When you think black kids think that learning isn't cool and that it is 'weak' you are mistaken. It's not that black kids think that school is 'weak' and not cool.... it's that black kids are jealous of those who look to like they are succeeding in school where it seems most of us are not. You know that how that is..... you don't give praise to the student who is doing well because you secretly envy them. So you make fun of them, put them down, call them a know-it-all, a nerd, push them, harass them.
It's like boy who likes the girl but will never tell her, and will instead make for fun of her.
So many us (my young people) have problems in school and teachers can't relate. White teachers often appear condescending. Black teachers figure they have to be verbally or physically intimidating or aggressive. They don't know how to talk to black students or understand. My young people are in pain.... and you can't even address that pain. Until that pain is address.... we will continue to fail in school. Trying to be like the whites or the asians is the least of our problems... and telling us we don't measure to them is just a personification of failure as students, as young black people, as parents.
Black children aren't trying to take over the school. They don't want to fight the teachers. But their doing so is crying out their pain.... and you can't see it. You can't understand it. You can't touch it.
Instead you demean our children and their parents, tell them to shape up or ship out, and ask superficial questions like 'why are out students so violent.' You fail to make a connection between the larger soceity's views and behaviors (including that of these young people) and why we fail at school or have the behavior issues that we do.
Just like desegregation and sitting next to a white person in class made me no smarter... how is telling me constantly that I am falling behind whites and blacks gonna make me smarter? Why the hell should I care?
This does a disservice to black students. Since I've been alive long to read and read about how our academic intellect or capability is divided among racial lines - we have ALWAYS been behind whites and asians. After a while, it starts to seep into a black person's head that they just ain't smart enough no matter what, so why try. The whites will always be smarter than us, and the asians will be smarter than both. So what's the point in trying to catch up and be on par with them or even trying to surpass them?
Black children and their parents are tired seeing how friggin dumb we are. Of being told how dumb we are. And that we are dumber than our former enslavers and colonizers.... and this country as a whole are dumber than folks who put lead and toxins into everything they make and ship to us... which really means they don't give a crap about us because they ship shoddy stuff to our shores, and keep the better stuff for themselves... except cars apparently... because they want to surpass us in that area.
There's a better way. Take away the focus of trying to be like people that aren't us, which give the us the indication that they are superior and we are inferior... and concentrate on us and us only.
When you think inner city kids don't want to learn or take school seriously, you are mistaken. When you think black kids think that learning isn't cool and that it is 'weak' you are mistaken. It's not that black kids think that school is 'weak' and not cool.... it's that black kids are jealous of those who look to like they are succeeding in school where it seems most of us are not. You know that how that is..... you don't give praise to the student who is doing well because you secretly envy them. So you make fun of them, put them down, call them a know-it-all, a nerd, push them, harass them.
It's like boy who likes the girl but will never tell her, and will instead make for fun of her.
So many us (my young people) have problems in school and teachers can't relate. White teachers often appear condescending. Black teachers figure they have to be verbally or physically intimidating or aggressive. They don't know how to talk to black students or understand. My young people are in pain.... and you can't even address that pain. Until that pain is address.... we will continue to fail in school. Trying to be like the whites or the asians is the least of our problems... and telling us we don't measure to them is just a personification of failure as students, as young black people, as parents.
Black children aren't trying to take over the school. They don't want to fight the teachers. But their doing so is crying out their pain.... and you can't see it. You can't understand it. You can't touch it.
Instead you demean our children and their parents, tell them to shape up or ship out, and ask superficial questions like 'why are out students so violent.' You fail to make a connection between the larger soceity's views and behaviors (including that of these young people) and why we fail at school or have the behavior issues that we do.