A Brief Note On Educational Leadership Research Seminar

Students that live in a poor community often lack a good education because the community does not have the resources to allow the students to continue a good education. Students that are marginalized often lack the opportunity to a higher education because they are constantly being underestimated and not given the resources they need in order to be successful. In the article “Still Separate, Still Unequal; America’s Educational Apartheid” by Jonathan Kozol demonstrated the way schools in InterCitys are being forced to used methods that are nowhere helpful for students to be able to learn. Students are given many instructions to follow, but often lack the actual education they deserve. In addition, in the podcast “The Problem

Less than 4% of the total student population enrolled in America’s colleges and universities (one of the smallest subgroups based on race/ethnicity and gender.) According to the Schott Foundation, the graduation rate of Black males in CT is between 51%, whereas White males in CT have an 83% graduation rate—a 32% gap. Moreover, the achievement gap between Black women and Black men is the lowest male-to female ratio among all racial/ethnic subgroups. (Strayhorn 1). The disproportionate and devastating failure of Black males in the educational system has further ramifications in our social system as black males are over-represented in the criminal justice system: “African-American males represent approximately 8.6 percent of the nation’s K-12 public school enrollment but make up about 60 percent of all incarcerated youth” (Smith 2005). In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the academic crisis of adolescent black males, one must examine the research findings surrounding the Black-White achievement gap, black male standardized test scores, black male literacy achievement, and the socio-cultural achievement barriers that obscure black males’ self-perception of themselves as readers. “According to many standardized assessments, educators in the U.S.

Ultimately the lack of reliable resources and preparation from underfunded schools leads African American students into being unprepared for college and jobs, once again reinforcing a vicious cycle of poverty within the community. Gillian B. White, a senior associate editor at The Atlantic, wrote a chilling article regarding the systematic racism that is deeply embedded in the American school system. In the article The Data: Race Influences School Funding, White states “At a given poverty level, districts that have a higher proportion of white students get substantially higher funding than districts that have more minority students” (White). In this quote White explains the clear correlation of race and inadequate funding in the American school

This chapter elaborates on how racism has a negative impact on African American education, in which has been happening for many decades and is currently taking place. Furthermore, it speaks about segregation and how it currently exists in different ways. Additionally, it speaks on how segregation not only exist in one school, but it likewise exists across the school districts. It speaks on how segregation in these schools has a negative impact on students’ academic success and future success.

Ever since the establishment of equal education in the United States, there has been a disparity in academic success between children of different races. The education of African American children has become a prime example of this. As discussed in the historical text, A Letter to My Nephew, which was written during the time of the civil rights movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s, African Americans were not given equal opportunities to succeed educationally and could do little to change their futures for the better. They had to work much harder than whites to receive even a portion of the recognition and success that whites achieved (Baldwin 1). Although many today believe America has overcome this problem, it still remains a pressing issue in many aspects of society, arguably the most important being education. The racial achievement gap, an important term to familiarize with when discussing this topic, refers to the disparity in educational performance between students of different races (National Education Association 1). As of now, although the education achievement gap has been narrowing, there still remains a large disparity between African Americans and their racial counterparts. According to a study by Roland G. Freyer and Steven D. Levitt, professors at Harvard University and W.E.B Du Bois Institute, respectively, African American students enter kindergarten already significantly behind children of other races, and their test scores continue to drop

The pressures of racism on today’s society are being perpetuated by socioeconomic shaming against less fortunate black schoolchildren to look to the future of becoming less successful than the more financially stable white schoolchild sitting in the next classroom. The most unfortunate part about the white-black achievement gap is that there is no easy solution to solving it. One large proponent of the achievement gap between all schoolchildren is the factor of wealth and affluence in their homes. The racial achievement gap compared to the wealth achievement gap is quite staggering. Diane Ravitch states that “in contrast to the racial achievement gap, which has narrowed, the income achievement gap is growing…[and is] nearly twice as large

According to research, black student achievement has greatly improved since the desegregation of schools (Strauss, 2014). With the help of proper school supplies and conducive learning environments, students of all races have been able to achieve higher academic goals. The results of this court case extend beyond black students; Brown v. Board of Education opened the door for educational equality for a great deal of other students.

As I read about the achievement gap (Taylor), I felt a sense of despair. Families of color are positioned between a rock and a hard place. When children enter kindergarten, the racial gap is half of its ultimate size because many children of color do not participate in high-quality programs. How can people of color "catch up" to their counterparts when they are behind at the age of 5? There are also institutional factors that continue this achievement gap and perpetuate racism by consequence. After Brown v Board of Education (1954), white families enrolled their children in private and suburban schools. Since school busing has been discontinued, school assignments based on residential neighborhoods have created racially segregated schools.

Additionally, through recent studies, scholars have discovered that a child’s educational attainment is directly related to the educational attainment of his/her mother. Therefore, to want better for the next generation means providing quality educational environments for our girls now. The challenges Black girls face in their school settings can result in harsh educational and economic outcomes in comparison to their White female peers such as higher unintended pregnancy and early parenting rates, lower on-time graduation rates, substantially lower test scores (Advanced Placement exams, state standardized tests, and college entrance exams), and higher rates of poverty. I hope to contribute research that will help establish well-informed district, state and maybe even national policies that will lead to equitable school reforms and district

Across Amercia, low-income black children’s isolation has increased. It’s a problem not only poverty but also race. The share of black students attending schools that are more than 90 percent minority grew from 34 percent in 1989 to 39 percent in 2007. In 1989, black students typically attended schools in which 43 perecent of their fellow students were low income. By 2007 this figure has risen to 59 percent.(Orfield 2009)ascd.org

The data is definitive that black students are more likely than white students to experience school discipline and are even more likely to be subjected to arrest by school resource officers during their school careers. The data shows that 20% of all black male students receive an out-of-school suspension, while only 6% of white male students receive out-of-school suspensions (11). Faced with a disproportionately high number of suspensions and expulsions, when compared to white students, many more black students are falling behind in classes and missing valuable learning time. If it is unclear how important it is for students to develop adequate reading skills early on and how excluding students from school through suspensions and expulsions

I always thought I would be a teacher and I would make differences in lives and it would be the greatest experience in the world for me, yet being a teacher wasn’t enough, I had a need to expand my education. I decided that perhaps I needed a new career, however, I felt certain education remained my passion. I began to explore new areas of education and I realized I still want to be a member of a classroom, a school and curriculum. I aspire to guide those leading our classrooms.

When African American males who are vastly capable do not reach their academic potential there are not any quick or easy fixes to this social problem. Other than temporary or situational issues there are other factors that have communally taken a toll on the performance and education experience of African American adolescent males (Ford & Moore, 2013). On the mezzo level, he has a negative interaction with his school. His mother receives a lot of negative reports from the school. Not once did his teacher and any counselors make any referrals for professional services in any of his grades. A lot of teachers do not how to engage with him. Often teachers immediately assume because he is 6’9 he is already going to be trouble because

Most of the students come from low income families, which may play a factor as to why these students are not performing well academically. According to Carol Carter, a student success expert reason for the lack of success for low income students are lack of exposure, language barriers, lack of stability, and lack of role models (2013).

There are large social inequalities when it comes to the educational system, where the government funding shifts depending on where the school is situated. Large cities often get high quality materials and take up much of the government spendings, whereas smaller communities are very scarce on materials, and the safety of students is almost low to none. In Bad Boys: Public Schools in the Making of Black Masculinity (2000), Ann Arnett Ferguson describes how the lack of government funding creates a school where the expectation of graduating high school for black males is much lower than the expectation of them dropping out or ending up in after finishing high school or before. She also states that the educational system is “flawed whose goal for urban black children seem to be the creation of “a citizenry which will simply obey the rules of society,” (2000:584). This creates problems where race becomes an impediment and such expectation of teenager,m mainly black male teenagers drive them to commit such acts that make them resemble delinquents and essentially putting an impediment on their dreams and aspirations, creating this terrible