Tag: Black Boys in Crisis Series

In this series, appropriately titled “Black Boys in Crisis,” I highlight the problems facing black boys in education today, as well as provide clear steps that will lead us out of the crisis. For good or ill, education in the United States is at the whim of the governing party. A new president can usher in sweeping changes that can influence the educational system for a decade or more, as we saw with George W. Bush and No Child Left Behind. For this reason, it is imperative that a reliable, nonpartisan US Department of Education composed of a broad spectrum …

Continue reading “Black Boys in Crisis: What Can the Government Do?”

In this series, appropriately titled “Black Boys in Crisis,” I highlight the problems facing black boys in education today, as well as provide clear steps that will lead us out of the crisis. When it comes to solving the black boy crisis, schools and educators are the first lines of defense. Why? Because children spend a significant amount of time in our country’s schools. Also, teachers have more influence than they realize. There are a myriad of issues surrounding the black boy crisis that schools can help mitigate. In this article, we will discuss these opportunities, one by one. One …

Continue reading “Black Boys in Crisis: How Schools Can Help”

In this series, appropriately titled “Black Boys in Crisis,” I highlight the problems facing black boys in education today, as well as provide clear steps that will lead us out of the crisis. When they are functioning optimally, communities can be extremely powerful forces in nurturing children. They provide safe, friendly spaces, where a child feels welcomed and loved; where he can play without fear and stretch his wings without hindrance. Far too often, communities, where black boys live, are dangerous, uninviting places. A child growing up in a place where gunshots are common, and there is no green space …

Continue reading “Black Boys in Crisis: It Takes a Village”

In this series, appropriately titled “Black Boys in Crisis,” I highlight the problems facing black boys in education today, as well as provide clear steps that will lead us out of the crisis. The family is where it all begins. The importance of a strong, supportive family environment cannot be overemphasized in the education of the black boy. I have seen this firsthand, both when I attended elementary school and when I taught it. If a student was unruly, rude to teachers, unkempt, or slacking off, I often discovered that he came from a family that had been broken in …

Continue reading “Black Boys in Crisis: How Families Can Help”

In this series, appropriately titled “Black Boys in Crisis,” I highlight the problems facing black boys in education today, as well as provide clear steps that will lead us out of the crisis. The story of Kalief Browder caught the attention of the nation. In January 2016, then President Obama used his story as an opener for an article in the Washington Post entitled “Why We Must Rethink Solitary Confinement,” in which he said, “The United States is a nation of second chances, but the experience of solitary confinement too often undercuts that second chance. Those who do make it …

Continue reading “Black Boys in Crisis: Fixing the Faulty Justice System”

In this series, appropriately titled “Black Boys in Crisis,” I highlight the problems facing black boys in education today, as well as provide clear steps that will lead us out of the crisis. It’s important to understand that the problematic behavior students demonstrate in school is rooted in what is happening in their lives outside the school walls. Therefore, reactions should not be to push children back out into that environment and expect them to fend for themselves. If you do, you are punishing the child for something that they have no control and exacerbating their problems. So what should …

Continue reading “Black Boys in Crisis: Restorative Justice Works”

In this series, appropriately titled “Black Boys in Crisis,” I highlight the problems facing black boys in education today, as well as provide clear steps that will lead us out of the crisis.                              Educators can certainly strive to reduce suspension and expulsion rates with better intervention and strategy. But what about the students who choose to walk away from their educations when they drop out of high school? In his essay “A Broken Windows Approach to Education Reform,” Forbes writer James Marshall Crotty makes a direct connection between dropout and crime rates. He argues that if educators simply take a …

Continue reading “Black Boys in Crisis: Making Dropping out More Difficult”

In this series, appropriately titled “Black Boys in Crisis,” I highlight the problems facing black boys in education today, as well as provide clear steps that will lead us out of the crisis. If removal and zero-tolerance policies don’t help black male students in the long term, what is the best way to discipline students when they do misbehave? In this article, we will discuss two of the most effective ways. Early Intervention The best answer is found long before the moment when discipline is necessary. Prevention and intervention tactics need a place in all teaching pedagogy, and those tactics …

Continue reading “Black Boys in Crisis: Alternatives to the School to Prison Pipeline”

In this series, appropriately titled “Black Boys in Crisis,” I highlight the problems facing black boys in education today, as well as provide clear steps that will lead us out of the crisis. If you’re reading this series, you are likely in the socioeconomic elite. You’ve probably completed at least high school, and probably have a degree or two under your belt. Why you might ask, should the school-to-prison pipeline matter to you? Surely taking less-desirable elements out of the community has advantages . . . Outside of caring about the quality of life for other individuals, which is something …

Continue reading “Black Boys in Crisis: Why Care About the School-to-Prison Pipeline?”

In this series, appropriately titled “Black Boys in Crisis,” I highlight the problems facing black boys in education today, as well as provide clear steps that will lead us out of the crisis. Looking beyond the disciplinary ramifications of the school-to-prison pipeline, minority students have other disadvantages when it comes to reaching the high school graduation stage (remember, high school dropouts are more likely to end up incarcerated, even if they never encounter behavioral problems in K-12 settings). Consider this: Black students tend to have fewer teachers who are certified in their degree areas. A US Department of Education report …

Continue reading “Black Boys in Crisis: Inequality in Educational Access”