Black Parents Should Boycott Schools

[Kafi Payne]

I have two sons and I am deeply concerned about their well-being. I try to buy organic food for them to eat. I make sure my older son wears his helmet and pads when he rides his scooter. I hold his hand when he crosses the street. Why in the world should I send him to a school (public, private, parochial, whatever!) that has never served black boys? I am an educator and am committed to improving the education system for all children but in the meantime, I think that as black parents, we should boycott schools until they start serving our children! I'm not radical (for the most part) but very few schools are serving our children and why should they? We're the foolish ones for keeping our children in a system that at best they get through and make it to college and at worst kills them slowly. I don't know how I'll do it but I plan on homeschooling my children (while still working full time). Am I the only one frustrated?

[The Handmade Project]

My heart goes out to you because I'm sure that we can all agree that it hurts when others don't see our children as the precious gifts from God that we know they are. My daughter is only two and I worry about what her experience in school is going to be like. As what many of the mothers have posted, homeschooling is a great option, if you have the time, and there are many homeschooling social groups out there. I am going to make sure to be on the PTO when my daughter is in school and make my face known to the faculty and administrators to let them know that Vee's mama is watching!

[Kafi Payne]

Vee is really lucky to have a mama like you! As mothers, we have to be present and we have to be our child's advocates every day of every school year and then we have to homeschool in the evenings and the weekends on top of that!

[Ann Callegari]

Ladies, please keep brainstorming on the issue of educating our children. I work for a school district (not as a teacher) and my son attends High School in this district. Although I have some education, know a bit about the school system and its processes, I continue to struggle to get the services that my son needs. I pulled him out of this high school (after a dismal 9th grade report card) for three semesters and placed him in a Black Private School ....which helped with his self awareness, confidence and knowledge about our rich heritage. Returning to the public school for Advance Placement classes (colleges love to see them on transcripts...this is a way to reject our children) to qualify for college. THE BATTLE IS AMAZING! My lord, we must realize that schools get money based on attendance, academic performance and economic strength. Many African American children bring additional funds into schools and these funds are used on students who do not need them as much as many of our children. They (schools and school districts) get away with doing this because many of our young parents (most of our AA parents in this district are very young) were educated in this same system and are now busy getting their nails and hair done while the TV babysits their children.

I am aware that there are many AA parents who are busily working to get what their children need. That's what we must do. What impresses me about your conversations is the talk about co-op. Some of us (especially single parents) really need options, and to collaborate with fellow parents to give our children the best education possible.

I applaud you!

[Latrice Fowler]

I absolutely agree with this conversation. This is the very reason my husband and I decided to take our three children out of the public school system. After being on the honor roll for most of the year last year they told us that our oldest daughter couldn't move on to the next grade because she hadn't past the TAKS test which in a bogus standardize test they give these poor children here in Texas from 3 grade to senior year.

They informed us that her overall grades and the fact that she'd been on the honor roll didn't matter. WHAT? They also did that with out youngest daughter. She was in first grade and doing well. However, she was struggling in reading and they wanted to hold her back but she was on the honor roll also...go figure. Needless to say we pulled them all out and haven't looked back since. Even with all the struggling we've been having this first year I will never return them back to the public school system.

[Ebonie]

I'm a single mother of 2 very young sons (ages 2 and 14 months) and I am already worried about the kind of education that my sons will recieve in the future. I'm sure other moms in this discussion have children that are already in school and can fully relate to what you're talking about, but in my case I havent experienced ( the school thing) that yet because my sons are so young. But I understand you all's concearns about this topic. There is an elementary school right across the street from my home, and I know a lot of parents that say theyre child(ren) arent getting the best education at this school and I dont want my children not getting the education and learning skills that they deserve. My 2-year-old will start Pre-K3 next year, and I'm concearned already about his beginning education. Because of me, he already knows his ABC's, can count to 10, recognizes his shapes and colors. I just want the best for my sons once they start school, so I just need some advice from anyone about this.

[Nappykat]

Public schools do not need a boycott. They need help - from the gov but not necessarily from the gov. I support public schools - at least emotionally and mentally because I'm really not doing that much to support it physically.

Boycotts are energy better spent elsewhere, not on public (or private or parochial) schooling.

If homeschooling is your thing because you think thats best - I got no problem with that. But I wouldn't advocate boycotting schools.

[Kafi Payne]

I advocate boycotting public, private, parochial schools (except for African-centered ones that are actually serving Black boys) because it is absolutely criminal what is going on . . . Schools receive money for students that do not get served. I have two boys and I think if I had a girl, I would be more open to her going to school (schools in general are better suited for girls--sitting still, being quiet, raising your hand and waiting patiently for it to be called, walking in straight lines, wanting to please . . . ) but you send your regular, energetic, curious, loving black son to school and they come out on the other end lazy, angry, unmotivated . . . not just because of the structure of schools but also because of the socialization. Even if your child is the "good" black boy, he also learns that the black kids are the bad kids, the stupid kids, the disruptive kids . . . and that is not true either . . . internalized racism is hard enough to combat without being reinforced by school. Even many "successful" black males that are in college have this attitude of just trying to do the minimum or they act like they are some kind of god for doing what they are supposed to do (get a bachelors degree, get a job, take care of their kids).

To me education is part academic, part schooling (how you act in school: raise your hand, take turns, finish assignments on time, follow directions), and socialization. What do we really want in those three areas? and can they be accomplished in a different way?

[Kim Crouch]

Kafi, I understand your frustration. I appreciate your concern and love for your children. But I would also ask you to think about some of the things i write about below. I would agree that in general many of the American school systems are not great schools for black children or any of our children. They are outdated, based on the agrarian system and just aren't up to par in general and this is true whether it's public, private or parochial. Now I would agree that these same schools aren't designed to necessarily deal with black children, especially black boys. I'm a strong proponent of education and think homeschooling is great, however, many parents can't homeschool so i think as parents, we also need to be very involved in the school systems. Many times, I would suggest that boycotting still won't necessarily make the schools better for our children. What will make it better is to provide alternatives to the current system and while schools may not care about teaching black history they certainly care about funding which they will get less of if fewer children attend. Charter schools are excellent, homeschooling (I wouldn't call it boycotting) is another option. I also think if none of these are options for you then another great thing to do is to be very involved in your child's school. My children attend a suburban school and the African american parents of children at the school meet regularly to discuss as a group the things we believe the school should do for our children. We convinced the school to train the teachers and administration to do a workshop based off the book: Crucial Conversations, we talk with each other about the best teachers and we serve as a resource for issues we may face. When my son also entered the 4th grade, I also met with my son's teacher and provided them a packet of information on the 4th grade syndrome as discussed by Dr Jawanza Kunjufu and discussed how the school could make certain that my son didn't encounter this issue. Many of the teachers in our schools, both black and white, have never heard of this.

Now I will admit my school is very diverse: Asians, Arabs and Indians are in huge numbers but we still have gotten together as parents because we believe there are unique educational needs that black children, especially boys have, and we think there are cultural as well as gender differences to learning that the schools need to be aware of. so i'm not opposed to homeschooling or charter schools but i also think we need to work together because if you're experiencing something in the school probably another African American parent is as well and education for our children should be nonnegotiable and this requires fighting it on all fronts.



Kim Crouch
Author, Mother to Son
www,kimcrouch.com

[Kafi Payne]

Kim,

I appreciate your thoughtful response and I feel that we are essentially saying the same thing. When I say boycott, I don't mean boycott "education." I mean boycott racist schools that don't serve black boys (and not just your black child) but black boys as a collective group. I consider homeschooling as a way to do this. I mean that we as parents of black boys need to own the education of our sons instead of waiting for someone else to do it. This is no easy task. My husband and I both work full-time. This has to be a process that involves entire communities. You don't have to have a masters degree to educate your child. This is why I disaggregated education into three parts (academic learning, schooling, and socialization) so that we can make sense of what we really want from schools. What does it mean to be a young black man that is truly educated?

[Kim Crouch]

Kafi I think that's a great question: What does it mean to be a young black man that is truly educated. I also agree it has to be a process that involves entire communities including institutions in the communities such as churches. I think this is a great question you've raised as I would love to see parents own the education of their children because I will tell you I work a lot with youth and sometimes it's heartbreaking to see some parents not invest in all in their children's education and the schools not invest in it either it's not a good combination. What grade do you teach? Also have you considered starting some type of organization to start focusing on this issue.I know there are many organizations out there but just something to consider since it's clear you are passionate about this issue as many of us are but it's obvious you have some clear thoughts about what should be done.

[tata]

No, you're not the only one. The public schools in my area are run like prisons. Sometimes I feel like that is what they are preparing our young boys for. They don't expect our children to suceed and it shows. My brother is in the 9th grade reading at a 3rd grade level and I know many other children in the same situation. My children attend charter schools and I work with them nightly to ensure they stay at the top of their class. Homeschooling would be the best option but it is unaffordable for me. Wouldn't it be a good idea if there was a network of homeschools within the Black community? For me, charter schools are the next best thing. The curriculum is geared toward the students they serve. My oldest son started kindergarten in public schools and I had to teach him to read myself. With my daughter, who is now in kindergarten in the charter school, she has picked up so much quicker with the school and I working together. Right now, I dream of being able to homeschool my grandchildren, I don't know if homeschooling my children will be an option because I do have to work full-time.

[Lisa]

Now, I have a big question and by no means am I being rude. Why would your brother be in the 9th grade reading on a 3rd grade level. Reading starts at home and how many times has someone read to him before the age of 5. I think that black parents need to step up and take responsiblity for their children instead of using the school system as a scapegoat. Now don't get me wrong there are bad schools and there are teachers in every school that go above and beyond. But if a child gets to 9th grade and has poor reading and math skills then I blame the family. You mean to tell me that f4om k- 9 no one in the family realized that this brother needed a remedial class, summer school or even tutoring. God helps those who help themselves. How many times were your parents in that Elementary school requesting services.
Our people are great for sitting back complaining about others but what do we do to help ourselves.
I can truly say that our young boys are not prepared at home before they get to school. You remember the kids of the 60's were informed from day one that you have to be ten times better then the white man to get the job. We have a generation now that feels someone owes them something. So, we as a people need to get our black males mentored by positive black role models.
taking black males out of public school is not the answer because when they attend activities or perhaps college in the outside world they have to deal with the same people.
Usually in middle school parents return children to the public school and they are so far behind the rest of the children in many skills. The parents will inform us that they received certain test and they are two years advanced. After the child is tested they are usually 2 years lower in Math and Science and many other subjects. The homeschool child has difficulty adjusting to routine and behaviors required for the classroom. Often times they will gravitate to the worst behaved group and the parent is the only one who sees a perfect child because at home they sat with you or four other children.
I encourage all parents to get involved in their school and make the school meet your childs needs. You are the customer and the school is required to provide a service.