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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 2013)
News Let’s Dump “At Risk” and Other Useless Labels By Jazelle Hunt Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Although most today’s headlines focus on Black edu- cational failures, there are many positive achievements by Black students that often go overlooked, according to a new study. A recently released report from the National Black Child Development Institute takes a confident and constructive look at our children. “Being Black is Not a Risk Factor: A Strengths-Based Look at the State of the Black Child” presents a collection of expert essays, national data, and spotlights effective community organizations, in an effort to highlight African American chil- dren’s assets. The report challenges the tone in which our children, families, and aca- demic outcomes are discussed. In the first expert essay, Natasha Cabrera, associate editor of Child Development and Early Childhood Research Quarterly and professor of human development explains, “…We know more about maladaptation than adaptation among minority children. We know more about why minority children fail than we know about why they succeed. The result is an unbalanced picture that overemphasizes the deficits and pays little attention to the assets or strengths that minority parents and children bring to the table.” And those assets are plentiful. For exam- ple, the report points to numerous recent studies that have noted African American preschoolers’ unique aptitude for oral-narra- tive skills, which can be used to promote lit- eracy gains. African American preschoolers and kindergarteners also exhibit strong self-reg- ulation and social-cognitive skills, the kind that allow kids to play well with others and understand proper classroom behavior. In older studies, some dating as far back as the 1930s, Black infants master motor skills (such as head posture and crawling) faster and better than their non-Black peers. Cabrera points out that not surprisingly, children with strong family orientation and White peers. Obviously, they would gain more from being inside the classroom rather than being expelled. According to the 2011 National Assess- ment of Educational Progress, the standard- ized test by which children are nationally measured, the average reading score for Black fourth graders is 205. A score of 208 is the basic level (238 is proficient, and 268 is advanced). Math was not much better – ‘Being Black is Not a Risk Factor: A Strengths- Based Look at the State of the Black Child’ presents a collection of expert essays, national data, and spotlights effective community organizations, in an effort to highlight African American children’s assets cultural pride tend to do well in school. Another essayist, Carol Brunson Day, asserts that, “Being labeled ‘at risk’ is like being voted least likely to succeed. For where there is no faith in your future suc- cess, there is no real effort to prepare you for it.” Black student success is often hampered by unreasonable disciplinary actions. The Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights reports that African American students are three-and-a-half times more likely to be suspended or expelled than their the national average is 225 – above basic (which, for math, is a score of 214), but well below proficient (a score of at least 249). Efforts by educational reformers often fall short. According to A. Wade Boykin, one of the study’s expert essayists, many reforms are based on “benevolent pathology” – in which Black students’ “disadvantaged” life experi- ences weaken the possibility that they can succeed academically, or learn at all. Consequently, these students are labeled and relegated to intervention programs; from there, they are expected to learn to approximate their mainstream-schooled peers. As this approach demoralizes and further hinders “disadvantaged” children, their failure (and that of future children who share their life experience) becomes nor- malized. Boykin writes, “When children fail in school, so often there are no raised eye- brows, there is little outrage and there is no handwringing. It is expected and it is nor- mal. Yet when especially poor Black chil- dren do well in school, it is met with surprise.” So what should be done? Carol Brunson Day calls for an emphasis on cultural knowledge and pride, one that begins with, and is led by, members of the culture. Another contributor, Iheoma U. Iruka, believes that supporting and embrac- ing parents as partners will go a long way toward closing academic achievement gaps. Others advocate teacher training and pro- fessional development programs that embed skills and strategies for embracing and teaching Black children, especially boys. Still, other contributors champion concerted refinements to programs for expecting mothers, early education programs, and pre- K through third grade curricula. As one essayist concedes, some of these recommendations will require generous funding and/or complete revolution of the public education paradigm. But other sug- gestions will only require and change in attitudes and a willingness to be consistent. See LABELING on page 7 We honor the many accomplishments of African Americans It is our primary goal as a labor union to better the lives of all people working in the building trades through advocacy, civil demonstration, and the long-held belief that workers deserve a "family wage" - fair pay for an honest day's work. A family wage, and the benefits that go with it, not only strengthens families, but also allows our communities to become stronger, more cohesive, and more responsive to their citizens' needs. Our family wage agenda reflects our commitment to people working in the building trades, and to workers every- where. In this small way, we are doing our part to help people achieve the American Dream. This dream that workers can hold dear regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, creed, or religious beliefs. The Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters Representing more than 5.000 construction workers in Oregon State. Do you want to know more about becoming a Union carpenter? Go to our website at www.nwcarpenters.org Offices in Portland 1636 East Burnside Portland, OR 97214 503.261.1862 800.974.9052 Page 6 The Seattle Skanner November 13, 2013 Headquarters in Kent, WA 25120 Pacific Hwy., Ste 200 Kent, WA 98032 253.945.8800 800.573.8333
