For over two years I have taught reading and math classes for grades ranging from K-5th in East Saint Louis Illinois. All my students are black. Just this month I have been given the bird several times (behind my back, I have teacher vision), been called a cracker, heard “I hate white people!” echoing from the hallway of my classroom twice, and had one student throw a book on the floor, storm out of class and called me a derogatory word. There are good days and bad. All my students are different by nature. Some of them like me, others not so much. They are all very talented, and have unlimited potential.
Literacy Scores
I recently administered approximately 40 literacy assessments for my upcoming
reading class. The assessment covers reading fluency and comprehension. I had a 4th grade boy who could not read a word, a 3rd grade girl who has the literacy level of a kindergartener, a 5th grade boy who read a passage as fluently as William Shakespeare but did not get a single comprehension question correct, and another 3rd grader who read seven words in one minute. While many are parading and protesting the streets that black lives matter, there are many black children on a downward spiral towards a lifetime of illiteracy.
Some Alarming statistics
Below are some statistics from US news data mine and PBS:
- “Only 14% of African American eighth graders score at or above the proficient level. These results reveal that millions of young people cannot understand or evaluate text”
- “On average, African-American twelfth-grade students read at the same level as white
eighth-grade students.” - “91 percent of white children aged 3 to 5 who weren’t enrolled in kindergarten were read to by family members three or more times per week, 78 percent of black children were read to with the same frequency”
- “Nationally, African-American male students in grades K-12 were nearly 2½ times as likely to be suspended from school in 2000 as white students.”
- “Black Americans are suspended and expelled at three times the rate of white students.”
- “Black students are nearly three times more likely to be held back as their white peers. They’re also more likely to drop out before earning a high school diploma.”
Who is responsible?
When the children who yelled racists comments down the hallway from my classroom, they did not just wake up one day and decide to act in this manner. They heard it from their parents first. I am not blaming the educational system, the police, or white people. The responsibility falls directly on the shoulders of the parents. If one teaches their kids to not respect authority, it comes as no surprise when they do not respect their teachers. If they do not respect their teachers, this results in them getting expelled, dropping out, or possibly becoming illiterate (refer to statistics above).
How can a teacher help a child who is defiant to all authority?
I want to add that this is not pertaining to all parents. I have met some great parents during my time in East St. Louis. I have some students who are a joy to have in my class. They are going to do incredible things when they grow up and I can’t wait to see it. There is a direct relation between good parenting and how well children do in school.
No more excuses
It is time to stop blaming others and take ownership of this problem in the African-American community.
A lack of resources is not the problem. The same kids who are struggling readers have the newest basketball shoes and tablets.
Again, this does not pertain to everyone. Only a certain demographic. It is not white people or the police’s fault that there are a large number of African-American children who cannot read or write. Men need to be fathers, love your wives, and protect your families. It is crucial for children to have two parents. Be a contributing member of society. Instill the value of hard work in your kids. Read to your kids at night, help them with their homework, and support their teachers. Teach your children to respect authority and be a positive role model for them. Has God only created you in His image to sit back and be a victim? Stop teaching your kids to be prejudice. Take ownership of your life and be who God created you to be. All lives matter, especially His little ones.
caleb15c 
Absolutely, Caleb. Great article. 😉
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Thanks! 🙂
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It can hurt to hear but truth is truth.
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Desegregation happened in the South, in the legal sense, in the late sixties. In many urban areas, it has never really happened at all. My mother was able to delay entering the workforce until after I was enrolled- she had already instilled a love of reading, by holding me as she read to me. How many parents without literacy for themselves, let alone any choice about keeping a roof over their children’s heads by working; as opposed to spending “quality time” with the kids- have any real affection for education and it’s systems ? My great-grandparents only had a third -grade education, they had to go to work during the Great Depression.
Teach them song lyrics as poetry, teach them to read the bible, teach them the “Count of Monti Christo was a black revolutionary in Napoleonic France. Teach them to read from the newspaper, stand on your head and recite the Gettysburg Address. I know you aren’t getting any help, imagine the help these parents and children fought for in Brown vs, Topeka, that still never comes. If no one else sees the problem but you, congratulations! Donors Choose is a literacy and book fund organization you might look into- Sars at @tomatonation runs the Tomato Nation,com Blog that does a lot of fundraising for it. You could visit these sites for ideas on how other communities are brainstorming similar problems, before you reach the burnout point. I wish you success in reaching these children, not just state educational goals. Thanks for listening- Moo
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My husband is a retired teacher and we are Black. When our children were in school I participated as much as I could and I made sure that they’re teachers knew that even though I worked I cared about their education. I was know for telling a teacher, I’m at work when school starts and I’m still at work when school ends, but you have my office number and my home number. If there is a problem with my child and I don’t hear about it until patent teacher conference you and I are go82nd to have a problem. Then my husband started teaching and I saw things from the other side. First let me say he taught in a middle class community but time after time when he contacted some parents about their children it became obvious where the student got their attitudes from. Shoudl 811th girls come to class in car suits? Should students blatantly curse teachers? Whether we like it or not, family is a child’s 11st teacher. Kids will imitate what they see. That does not excuse the racism that we have to endure, but our kids need to be taught to respect authority for their own safety. Most of whit America is terrified of black males, which is one of the reasons that over react. But truth be known, how many of us steer clear of a certain class of black.
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After reading the article and the subsequent comments I feel I need to butt in. I’m white, retired USAF, certified to teach HS math in Illinois and live in a middle class suburb near East St Louis (ESL). Since I moved here in 1992 I’ve spent many thousands of hours volunteering in ESL trying to help the people there, primarily kids, spiritually, academically and physically. What I do is a labor of love. I love the people/kids I work with. God has blessed me and I feel it’s my responsibility, duty and privilege to do what I can to help people who need it.
None of us can walk in another person’s shoes. I will never be able to experience another person’s life. Conversely, someone else will never be able to experience my life. We can only judge by what we personally experience, see, hear, feel, etc. In light of that, what I’ve observed in the ESL community corroborates a lot of what caleb15c wrote. He isn’t indicting a whole race. He’s writing about conditions in ESL (and most, if not all, inner-cities everywhere in America). Many times after spending time with kids trying to help them with school work or some other activity and after I’ve taken them home I’ll be crying while I’m driving home because my heart is breaking for them. They have so much going against them. There’s so many like them and so few people trying to do something about it. In many cases everything is stacked against them. Recently the newly elected Mayor of ESL hired a new city manager who promptly replaced some of the incumbent “old guard” public officials with new honest people who seemed would improve efficiency and effectiveness of city government. A few days ago, the city’s governing board (good ol’ boy network) replaced the new city manager with the old voted out mayor. All that to say, the city government is corrupt. Additionally, the city’s school are terrible (although they get plenty of funding). Burned out buildings everywhere. Strip clubs and bars in abundance. Drugs. Gangs. Inadequate medical facilities nearby. Food (healthy) desert. A culture that discourages academic achievement. Music/media that glamorizes the wrong things and devalues women. Many parents who themselves are ill-equipped to help their kids with schoolwork. Etc. But the big elephant in the room is most of our kids have a lot of siblings with different last names and their dads are nowhere around. It takes a very unusual kid to rise above all that. The odds are very low that these kids will end up someday holding a good job living with a spouse in a nice neighborhood unless they get help of some kind from someone with spiritual, emotional, social, academic and financial resources, someone to encourage them, believe in them, help them dream, help them plan to achieve their dream, do whatever it takes to help them, sticking with them from cradle to graduating from college/trade school and beyond. The laws are already on the books. It’s not laws, white racism or white privilege that’s holding them down. It’s not the police. It’s the moral, financial, educational and cultural mess they’re born into. Sadly, I think we’re too far down the road to rectify the problems. However, I’ll continue pray that God gives us the desire, heart and wisdom to work for solutions. I’ll continue to do what I can and try to enlist help from others but the solution is immensely complicated and simply just plain huge. It will take both the black and white communities to admit culpability and to quit pointing out the speck in the other’s eye while ignoring the beam in their own. There are only joint solutions. We will sink or swim together.
PS I’ve got to ask. Lamont, with regard to police you made the statement, “They will shoot you just so they can know what it feels like to shoot someone.” Do you know any police? Of course there are always exceptions but the truth for the vast majority is just the opposite. The situation is now such that they put themselves in greater danger by hesitating to use deadly force when necessary because of fear of being the next Officer Darren Wilson. (I suggest, if possible, you ride along with a white police officer in a large city to see what they have to endure.) Tragically, it’s a very common occurrence to read/hear in the media about a black person in St Louis or ESL getting killed by another black. It’s rare (although it garners national attention) to read/hear about a white police officer killing a black person. That’s not to say we should ignore rogue police action but shouldn’t we be focusing on solutions for what’s far more likely to occur?
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Great post! The odds are stacked against the kids here. One thing I always want to do as a teacher is encourage them and help them dream. ESTL needs prayers more than ever.
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Yeah, most of these kids don’t understand the amazing potential they have. Many times I’ve marveled at their ingenuity, problem solving, talents, etc. and yet they tend to not have any kind of belief or game plan to break the cycle they’re in. These, and a desire for, and love of learning are gifts of incalculable worth that you as a teacher and I as a volunteer need to keep working toward. Hang in there. Pray hard.
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http://video.foxnews.com/v/4442322171001/dr-ben-carson-blasts-black-lives-matter-movement-in-op-ed/?#sp=show-clips
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🙂
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Stu,
I will address your concerns point by point.
1.) Clarence Thomas and Ben Carson may see damage, but the damage that they see is damage that has been caused by institutionalized racism. I will explain in my answers below. To answer the second part of that question, the answer is: anyone who is African American who turns their back on other African Americans and then goes out of their way to denigrate The African American people, their society, or their people, is an Uncle Tom. So you can apply that definition to anybody on that list that fits the bill.
2.) Let’s talk about my comment about Asians and specifically about the Chinese. There are several major differences between the Chinese experience in America and the African American experience. Her first, the Chinese came here of their own accord to work for a quarter, African Americans were kidnapped and brought here against their will to work for free. Another example of the difference is that when the Chinese came here they have their culture they also had their families back in China. When African Americans were brought here there are purposefully stripped of their culture it was illegal to worship their own god it was illegal to speak their own language they even took their individual names from them and gave them other names none of that happened to the Chinese. The Chinese didn’t have their families broken up, the Chinese didn’t have their children sold, and the Chinese were allowed to separate themselves and have their own part of town hence the phrase Chinatown. Every single time in American history that black people have separated themselves and have their own businesses their own churches their own police the white establishment has come in and burn it to the ground. There is a laundry list of black towns that were raided and burnt to the ground by their white neighbors the very last to be burnt to the ground wasn’t Tulsa Oklahoma in the 1920s the most successful black area in the United States ever and was burnt to the ground by their white neighbors. Let’s go to New York, the Harlem Renaissance that was happening during the same time period in the 1920s Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston the Nicholas Brothers, Josephine Baker and a laundry list of others black bankers black businessmen black poets black singers black producers, it is documented that that area was watched him really by the United States government when was growing cause for concern so they sabotaged it. I’ll post the link later. Let’s fast forward to the 1960s , the civil rights movement the Black Panther Party for self defense, both in Oakland San Francisco New York and in dozens of places across the country. Implementing programs for daycare for the feeding of the populace they’re working with College fraternities and sororities in a go to high school go to college program and what happened? The FBI deemed them dangerous and sent in infiltrators. This is documented, public information. There are literally hundreds of pages of records and files about the FBI operations. They burned operation centers to the ground, they assassinated their leadership and they funneled drugs to the black community in order to break up the movement. This government and its people are responsible for sabotaging the African American community at every turn and then they want to turn around and point their fingers and ask “why don’t you do better”. There is not a thing that I just said that wasn’t true, the problem is these things are buried or the majority of white America just doesn’t care enough to find out the attackers with no information and then we put the information in their face they don’t want to acknowledge it. So no you can’t compare us to the Chinese. The Chineaenever lost their culture, and they always had to tie back home to tell them who they are. The Chinese were allowed to drive within their own communities, African Americans were allowed neither. I will tell anyone that wants to sit and point the finger at the African American community and ask why it’s in the state it’s in to look back and know their history.
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Lamont, I can’t disagree with what you say. I’ll be the first to admit the horrendous things my race has done to yours and I do see the lingering consequences in the black communities. If I could change history (what actually happened) I would. However, what’s happened in the past can’t be undone. The question is where do we go from here? I’ll try to write more later but I have to go now and help some ESL kids in an after-school program. I love those kids. They have unlimited potential and I’m trying to help them fulfill that potential. Later.
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Stu, to be honest there is nothing that is going to make any long term meaningful gain for African Americans in this country. The system is so ingrained in the fiber of every citizen nothing short of its destruction will ever even the playing field. But, let’s for arguments sake say the government actually decided to a dress the problems. I say first thing they need to do is try to make up for that 400 year economic head start that white America has. I’m not talking reparations. You can’t just give people checks, the money runs out and their lives aren’t changed. African Americans need a package like the Native Americans, special scholarships to go to college, our own land( we never got our 40 acress and a mule), some casino licencing , somr low interest business loans, and most of all, a fixed income tax rate of 1% for the next 200 years(half of slavery). Being poor is a cycle if you want to break the cycle you have to make it so one generation has enough to actually leave something to the next one.
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“I want to add that this is not pertaining to all parents. I have met some great parents during my time in East St. Louis. I have some students who are a joy to have in my class. They are going to do incredible things when they grow up and I can’t wait to see it. There is a direct relation between good parenting and how well children do in school.”
I have witnessed how much you love your students and how much they love you. You are making a difference in their young lives. Keep focusing on those students that are receptive and diligent learners. I’m sad that there are many who are not taught to obey their teachers and think it’s okay to be disrespectful. How sad for them. Those who choose not to respect authority and not follow the rules are choosing a difficult path. Keep teaching and making a difference to those little ones who have a heart and desire to learn and have parents and families that do care. Those are the students that will excel and do well. You’re a wonderful teacher!
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Stu,
I think this proves my point.
http://deephousepage.com/forums/showthread.php?t=260737
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Lamont. I watched the short video clip of the framed black shop owner. No doubt that goes on. Sadly, there are also other examples of police breaking the law. Some of the “targets” are white people. I’ve tried to be optimistic by suggesting ways we all could work together to fix the problems but tonight I’m pretty beat down. The kids tested my patience today. Some days they seem to take a few steps backward, although overall they are making progress. I also get discouraged when I think about how few people there are who are actually trying to do something. I live near a major AF base with many middle class black people employed there and living in the surrounding areas. In fact, just a couple of days ago the new commander of TRANSCOM was sworn in and became the highest ranking man on base. General McDew, a black man (I used to work for him before he got all his stars). So few people, black and white, from the affluent suburbs are involved in trying to help in ESL and the other areas along the river (Mississippi). Some people, black and white, are afraid to go down there. Many think the people living in the impoverished areas could get out “if they wanted to”. But most seem to not care enough to actually do something. So many fail to understand the huge deficit from which so many ESL people are coming from. Everything is stacked against them. I can’t even get my own wife to fully understand. You seem to be an intelligent, educated, experienced, reasonable, thoughtful, caring, etc., guy. And yet you’re pretty pessimistic in how you view the situation. You stated that in your opinion nothing short of the destruction of the current system will ever even the playing field. I’m afraid you will get your wish. I just read two books. One is “The Crash of 2016” by Thom Hartman (a liberal) and the other is “America 2020” by Porter Stansberry (a conservative). Both books predict a coming collapse of American society. How it will all play out no one knows but American society will fundamentally change. Many others are predicting the same. Of course, there’s also the possibility of other events that could cause a collapse, such as an EMP attack that could knock out our entire power grid for years. Short of a mighty miracle from God that will change the hearts of millions of Americans, I believe the collapse of America is coming, no matter what party is running Washington. I don’t think it will turn out well. All that said, I can only control my own actions. As a Christian, I am supposed to love (as an action, not necessarily an emotion) God and my neighbors (everyone). I do my best to do just that. I believe it was Mother Teresa who once said something like, “Don’t let the immensity of a problem prevent you from doing something”. Working with a few people in ESL, in light of the thousands there who need help, is kind of like the little boy who was walking on a beach right after a strong storm had washed thousands of starfish ashore. They were dying out of the water. The boy was picking up starfish as they walked along and throwing them back into the water. The old man asked why the boy was doing that; he couldn’t save all those starfish. The boy responded as he was picking up one starfish and throwing it back into the water, “No, I can’t save them all but I can save this one”.
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For those people who think that #BlackLivesMatter Movement should be quiet because its members are making things worse, this is what members of the white establishment do to Black lives; they use us for profit. Then and now, nothing will change unless we make it change.
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2011/08/11/139536686/pa-judge-sentenced-to-28-years-in-massive-juvenile-justice-bribery-scandal?sc=tw&cc=share
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Fellow Teacher, I went to the link you had in your comment. My observations: Criminals come in all forms. He got caught, tried and sentenced. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison which at his age (61) will make him a very old man when he gets out. Justice served. I didn’t see anything that indicated the race of his victims. My guess is that they would be of all races. I fail to see how any “Black Lives Matter” activity would change anything in this case.
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Stu,
Stu justice was not served. Yes the guy was tried and convicted in prison. But how does that help all those victims? These children’s lives were disrupted by going to juvenile detention the odds are now that they will never finish high school. What about the kid that went to juvenile detention and got raped while he was there? What about the kid who really wasn’t a bad kid but you just sent him around a bunch of real criminals and made him even worse you’ve ruined his life. What about the people that brought them and the corporations that made money off of them? Do they get away scott free? I can’t believe that this candle stopped just with the judge I have to believe that there was some law enforcement officers in order too. This is the child version of this. I know for a fact that in Canyon California police habitually randomly stop black man in black neighborhoods when the prison population gets too low. They pray on ex cons because when you are on probation any contact with you and police regardless send you right back to jail and that includes being randomly stopped. Let’s not get started on the whole prison industrial complex and how prisons are actually the new slavery, about prisons are used to victimize minorities and the poor and the using for free labor and at the end to take away their right to vote. Do you think it was a coincidence then felons lose their right to vote? Or do you think they did it on purpose because they knew that poor people and minorities have a higher chance of going to jail? If the same things with student loans and how certain types of convictions will make it so you can never afford to take a loan out so you can go to college to improve yourself. I said it before and I’ll say it agan This whole system is dirty from the bottom to the top. People in this country need to stop worrying about Kim Jong Un and his EMP, they need to start worrying about Leroy and Tyrone finally getting fed up and wanting to do something and that ISIS recruiter who is seeking Americans to help him.
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Lamont, sadly, once again I agree with at least a lot of what you say (not sadly because I agree with you but that what you said has so much truth in it). Another sadly; there always has been and always will be evil people and activity in all systems of government, countries, ethnic groups, etc. It’s ingrained in human nature. A new system or arrangement will also have it’s abuses and abusers. Of course, that’s not to say we should throw up our hands and not try to correct it. Please don’t say the whole system is rotten. There are many good people trying to make things better. For example, my county’s State’s Attorney is a good friend of mine and has and is doing a lot to clean things up. He’s of impeccable character and is doing everything within his power to bring justice to everyone. He’s done some very difficult things in the process (like prosecuting his friend, one of the good ol’ boy judges in the County, for drug distribution). He and his wife also have a habit of taking in ESL kids to be part of their family on weekends. Some of the cops in this area are also friends of mine. They are honest, fair and do a great job. There are businessmen that do a lot of socially responsible activity to help people out. The WHOLE system is not bad.
I have absolutely zero knowledge with regard to some of what you say so I’ll believe it. I think you would like to read a book I previously mentioned, “The Crash of 2016” by Thom Hartmann. I think he’s oversimplifying causes but it’s his contention that it’s the uber rich, the people he calls the “Economic Royalists” that are driving the US into a cataclysmic financial meltdown…for their own profit. They cause all sorts of evil in the process.
You probably won’t agree with me but I think our problems are less directly about race than instead about class, culture and stereotyping. I don’t care what color the people of my neighborhood are and neither does anyone else here.. There are a number of black households on our street but a casual observer wouldn’t be able to tell which houses they are. However, none of us would want someone, of any race, to move in if they didn’t take care of their property, if they disrupted neighborhood peace, etc. The two houses that are the least kept up on our street belong to white guys. There are many black guys I know that I would love to have as my neighbors. I would prefer not having those two white guys as my next door neighbor and the house beyond his (but I do try to “love my neighbors” anyway). Friends have daughters that married black guys who are educated, talented, hard working, etc. GREAT! They pick great guys for spouses. I also have friends, and a sister, whose daughters married white dirtbags BAD! It’s not about race at the core. It’s about character and culture. No one in the “suburbs” want inner-city culture to infiltrate their neighborhood but nobody (in my experience) cares if a person of a minority race moves in if they blend in with their lifestyle and activity. Unfortunately blacks tend to get stereotyped so that they’re assumed to be of the inner-city culture. I don’t know if I’m making any sense. I hope so.
I would also add that an EMP attack may not be imminent but it’s a distinct possibility in the future. It could come from N Korea, China, Russia, Iran, etc. If it happens, the carnage will be on a scale never before seen in history. Most of the US population would die. If it happens, the state of race relations in the US won’t matter one bit.
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