I think you guys misunderstood my point or I didn't make it clear enough. Teaching a child math, language, science, history, etc. of any race/gender by any person is fine. What I am stating is that the idea that Schools should not only teach academics but instead be responsible to completely raise children is where the issue of race/gender comes into place. I could in no way teach a young black boy how to grow up to be a respectable black man even though I could teach him to read and write. These men are angry that their youth are suffering and are only being taught by white women. YES this is part of the problem. They do not have strong male role models in their lives or they would not be only taught by women. I agree with their concern, but they are placing the blame in on the wrong people. It is the men of the black community that are not raising their sons that causes a child to have limited exposure to the teachings of males. I will say that this isn't limited to the black community as absent fathers and dead beat dads are scattered through the races.
Heather
A great post. Will you join and call for bringing back racially segregated schools so that black boys can be taught by black teachers instead of white women who, as you put it, are y "part of the problem."
No, but I would join a movement to enlighten the people of this nation that education starts at home, and it is not the schools responsibility to teach them beyond academics. If parents are active in their child's life then it matters not if their 'teacher's at school are black white or yellow. The point you seem to miss once again is that I see the problem with having mainly white women teachers teach males of any race is ONLY a problem because they have no male leadership in their lives.
Heather,
Young black males do have male leadership in their lives. The problem lies in the fact that too many of those males are bad examples. When I was in college getting my education degree, all of my clinicals were in urban core schools. Other than the teacher, I was the only white person in the classroom. Many of the students wore t-shirts with Ice Cube, Ice-T, X-Clan, Tupac Shakur , NWA and Malcolm X on the fronts. Currently, they have Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson (Jr and Sr), and Cornell West. None of these individuals are positive role models for young black males. You could make an argument for Ice-T at this point in time, as his career has moved from crap-rap to a starring role on L&O:SVU for over 10 years. He is becoming more conservative as he gets older. Don't we all?
The key to restoring the black community is restoring a sense of value and identity. The black community has been fragmented by such racists as Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Cornell West, the NAACP, and the New Black Panther Party. These individuals cling to power solely because they blame everything on whitey keeping the black man down, and all actions have a racial motivation. If these people would stop picking at the scab over the racial wound in our country's history, it would heal.
And, yes, you are correct when you say education begins at home.
ST762