Higher Learning is More Than a Movie Title, It Should be a Way of Life

By Quincy Lewis
 
I was listening to the radio this afternoon, on one of my rare days off, and the topic of discussion on this particular station was education, or lack there of, in relation to young African-American men.  The guest speaker was commenting on the extra effort that needs to be exerted to decrease the number of young black men who, by his account, make up just about 80 percent of America’s special education population.  Of course 80 percent sounds like a ridiculously high number, but it may be more accurate than you think.

The guest speaker, who developed an organization dedicated to the education of young black males, said that students should to be intrigued by the schoolwork.  Then he added that once their attention has been grabbed, that is when the students will be willing to learn.  I can understand that, but at the same time the educational system and the parents who send their children there tend to boggle my mind.

I completely understand the idea that if students can relate to the materials that they are being taught that it will make it easier for them to grasp and learn new things, but at the same time—what is going on?

When I went to school, it was boring.  I was 15 or 16 and would much rather be trying to see what “Keisha” was doing after school than figure out how many oxygen molecules were in hydrochloric acid.  That was my idea of school, but nevertheless, I tread the waters of diversity and came out with a high school diploma.  Through those years I made it through school and the lesson plans never changed.  The teachers never entertained us, or related any of the material to the world I lived every day when I left the confines of King High School and went back to my east side neighborhood.  When are parent going to take a role in this?

I pushed through school because my mom enforced the benefits of an education from day one.  She made me realize that school may be tough and may not seem as though it has anything to offer me, but in the end, it would be more valuable than I would ever know.  Parent involvement in a student’s life is not an option. It is a requirement. Parents should not shift all the blame and initiative on the school. They play the largest role in their child's academic success.

There was no Beowulf in my neighborhood.  I couldn’t realistically answer a story problem about leaving a tip for a waitress at a high-end restaurant when I was more accustomed to ordering take-out at Zorba’s Coney Island, where we didn’t even leave a tip.  None of the schoolwork seemed to involve me or my neighborhood, but the words and urgings of my mother were what pushed me through.  She always would focus on the benefits of having an education.  She set my view for the future, not just the daily task at hand.  Her involvement is what pushed both my sister and I to get an education.

I suppose that I am just a little annoyed with the idea that our generation, our race, our society have come to a point where we have to have extra attention in order to stay focused and receive the education that years of fighting, both politically and physically, has given us the opportunity in which to take advantage.  Instead of relating the scholastic material to what I’m used to on Six Mile and Hoover, let my parents instill the value of an education within me, then let that scholastic information take me to places I’d never think I would be able to go.  I know Six Mile and Hoover and I also knew that my education would be the key to unlock the rest of the world for my exploration.

Of the 80 percent of special education students, who today’s special guest reported to be young black males, I wonder what percentage of those parents and family members have been active in encouraging education as well as participating in the child’s education.  If that percentage rises, there is no doubt in my mind that the 80 percent number will decline.  An education is supposed to get me off the block, not remind me of it everyday.  Catch ya’ on the FLIPSIDE.