Commentary : Where is Public Outcry for Black Students? : Education: The public has grown accustomed to accepting a percentage of failure for African-Americans that would be totally unacceptable for others. We must ask ourselves why.

Of all the ethnic groups in America, the white student is the one experiencing massive underachievement in school.

At the end of the first grade, almost 75% of all white children are behind in reading.

Dropout statistics show overall improvement in San Diego City Schools. However, white students are the only group experiencing a marked increase in dropouts, going from 26% to 30%.

Over 25% of all white males between the ages of 20 and 29 years are under the control of the penal system, and of the remaining 75%, 10% will die of homicidal violence.

Due to the continuing decline in the achievement of white students, the gap between white students and African-Americans and Latinos is increasing.

The white race is in danger of extinction.

Clearly, the above information is not true relative to white students. However, it is true for African-Americans in San Diego.

I offer the above twist of information because I have often wondered what type of public outcry would occur if the media made this kind of Orson Welles “War of the Worlds” report. If the current response from the public concerning lesser issues (bell times, transfer of teachers, etc.) is any indication, the response would be overwhelming. Parents and other citizens would fill the school board rooms and storm the offices of elected officials calling for massive resignations of school personnel and demanding a reversal of the trend in a short period of time. No three-year pilot programs. No test runs. Only results would appease the public.

The irony of this is that this condition has existed in our school system and many other urban school districts for African-Americans (and Latinos) for years, and yet there is no public outcry. In fact, when community groups such as the San Diego Urban League and the Committee for the Education of African-American Children express a sense of urgency and demand some positive results, they are severely criticized for being unrealistic, overreacting, “not helping the situation,” and unjustifiably attacking school personnel. Some even wonder why the African-American community held a summit on education and issued a “Blueprint for Action” to correct the inequities.

If the above statistics were true for white students, we would consider the condition critical. However, our response concerning the plight of African-Americans is not viewed as critical. The public has grown accustomed to accepting a percentage of failure for African-Americans that would be totally unacceptable for others. We must ask ourselves why.

We say, “All children can learn and will learn.” That’s our motto in education. Yet, when African-Americans experience such massive failure, we do not do a thorough analysis of the educational process to determine where the system has failed to educate these children who we say “can learn.”

Could it be that we believe that African-Americans cannot learn? Or is there some other more disturbing reason?

Further, we advocate worldwide the idea that education is the American equalizer. Thus, the American education system should not be designed for the privileged few. It must be geared to elevate the “everyman” regardless of his or her social, political or economic status.

However, despite all our platitudes, we rationalize that African-American failure is a result of socioeconomic factors. The African-American parent and community are seen as the primary reason for the failure of their children. While parents play a major supportive role in the education of their children by insuring that they are prepared for school each day, it is the school that has the child in an instruction setting for six hours each day, and must take the responsibility for the quantity and quality of instruction.

It is imperative for parents to be more involved in their children’s school. Nonetheless, we must be honest and recognize that African-American parents have often been rejected from schools. Parents who are involved, concerned and demand quality and fairness for their children are seen as “pushy parents.” I have experienced that type of response when I have advocated for my children.

The ironic thing is that when my white counterparts make the same statements, they are viewed as concerned and involved, while I am seen as “pushy” and demanding. In a recent survey of San Diego County schools, African-American parents were the only group to grade the public schools with Ds and Fs, which expressed their distrust of and alienation from the system.

Recently, someone rationalized the underachievement of African-Americans by stating that the African-American community does not believe that education is the key to success. Conversely, they argued that the Asian community places a greater value on education and therefore experiences greater success. While it is not my intent to attack any other community, I must defend the African-American community because it is this type of faulty reasoning that allows others to believe that African-American failure is acceptable because it is not a priority in the African-American community.

In response, I only offer evidence. What group in America has developed the most colleges that are ethnically based? Are there Chinese-American colleges? Latino-American colleges? On the other hand, the more than 100 African-American colleges in this nation are powerful evidence that the African-American community’s love for education was, and is, so strong, that they erected colleges to ensure the continued education of their children.

Clearly, we must examine our attitudes and expectations of African-American children. Any perceived barriers cannot be reasons for teachers and school officials accepting less of our children.

When I reflect on my education, the teacher played a key role in establishing rapport with my parents and demanding the most out of me. Because we were poor, African-American, and living in the projects of Southeast Los Angeles, we knew we had to run faster, jump higher, and work harder to excel. So, our teachers, girdled in love, rolled up their sleeves and demanded excellence.

As a school board member, I realize that I can write policies and expectations that help the situation, but everything we do is dependent on teachers who are willing to give all they can to open doors for children. Many are doing that now, and we must duplicate their efforts throughout the system.

When accountability discussions arise, they often remind me of a scene where the parents, teachers, administrators and community leaders are standing around debating whose responsibility it is to shepherd a small child across a busy intersection. While this discussion occurs, the child wanders into the busy intersection and is killed. This sounds irresponsible and ludicrous. However, figuratively, this happens every day in our schools.

The education of African-American students and all students is the responsibility of all of us. The massive failure of any group is a direct attack upon the American way of life. No free nation can endure when the future of its young is bleak. Although the issues may be complex with multiple intervening circumstances, the failure of African-Americans is an alarming embarrassment in this country and is a challenge we cannot afford to avoid.

Abraham Lincoln once said that this great nation cannot endure half slave and half free. The same is true today. We cannot endure half literate and half illiterate. We are at war. We are in crisis. Our response should be no less than urgent.