Monday, April 23, 2012

Who's to blame the mother or child?

"I just don't know what to say about this boy...he's not motivated!" I wish parents stop saying that. At some point, we have to look at ourselves and determine if our actions are creating the lack of motivation for learning in our children. Listen to this...*Bill is a ten year old black male in the third grade and reads on a second grade level, with a 25% accuracy in reading comprehension. He never comes to school with any materials. No pencil. No paper. No books. No nothing. Bill's mother claims he has materials when she drops him off in the mornings and something mysteriously must be happening from the time he leaves her car to the time he gets to his classroom. Not to mention he wears glasses that she hasn't seen in over 6 months because she thought they were at school. Surely, he needs to see at home, too. I don't get it. Children are not to blame and should not be held accountable for their parent's inability to parent. He or she cannot properly train or teach themselves to be diligent in their studies without some form of guidance. Children need to be taught how to organize themselves and keep up with important things.

In the parent's defense and being the devil's advocate, parenting doesn't come with a manual. There is no prerequisite course before becoming a parent. It would be nice to believe the art of parenting comes naturally, and it is the innate ability to care for that which genetically belongs to you. At least, it sounds good. Did I mention that Bill's mother is on a court ordered parenting plan? This is her second chance at parenting. Bill and his siblings were once in foster care. When she was granted custody of them this second time, Bill was molested by someone she trusted to mentor him. Now, she still doesn't seem to understand that she needs to slow down and get things in perspective. Instead, she parties like a rock star every night, then oversleeping and forcing her five children to dress and feed themselves for school. It's obvious that Bill's mother needs some coaching. She blames all of Bill's academic issues on his lack of motivation. Does it occur to her that Bill's motivation could be driven from the lack of her involvement? Maybe Bill doesn't see the importance since she never asks about his homework assignments? Bill could feel like he's losing his mom's attention to the different men that are in and out of their lives. Hmmm.....

Mothers, please be your child's best advocate and role model. Don't be selfish. Lay your desires aside and take your responsibility of parenting seriously. Parenting is not an easy assignment, but children didn't ask to come into this world. Be accountable! As parents it is our duty to develop positive self-images and discipline in our children, especially, our boys.

Support groups and consulting groups, such as MOBB, Inc. are designed to share strategies that are proven to give black males the foundation they need to be successful and productive.

*This scenario is just one of many true stories of teachers. However, to protect the identity of the child, the name is fictitious.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Did you know that special education is now a $60 billion industry?

Really??? Sixty Billion Dollars are going to special education?
According to Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu and his researchers, there are six million children enrolled in special education. There are four million males and two million females. Guess how many are black males. If that doesn't frighten you, then...Houston, we have a problem. This billion dollar industry is growing rapidly and is heavily populated with black males. Yes, it is true that some children need the service, but there are also others who are placed in special education classrooms inappropriately. Not every black boy has ADD or ADHD. Most often those overly active boys are on the path to become engineers, chemists, researchers, and other professionals with creative minds. You know him...the little boy who can put together a 500 piece puzzle in no time. These little ones probably started out like sponges, soaking up every ounce of something new. Then when they get to school some teacher does everything in her power to make him sit like a soldier with only two breaks. How many of us can sit still without picking up our cellphones, doodling, or just merely touching something? When this occurs the child becomes a behavior problem. If every day he is being fussed at because he can't be still, then eventually this child will become disengaged from the learning environment and will shut down. Les Brown is an example of this foolishness. He was labeled as mentally retarded and was told that he would never be anything. Someone planted that seed within him and unfortunately, he believed it. At that moment, his light bulb for learning blew out. He made F's and failed twice. Then a teacher in high school took extra time with him, reigniting the flame. He became an honor roll student and now Les Brown is one of the world's best motivational speakers.

Don't get it wrong, school is not always to blame. At home we don't always take the time to talk to our children. They seem to ask a million questions when we are tired. It's okay to answer them politely and not yell at them for asking. Children enter this world with a desire to know more. Home first and then school is responsible.

As mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, or whatever the role, we should never allow school to break a child's spirit. Kunjufu suggests that we should do whatever we can do to fight for our sons.

The Les Brown Story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oN01-B3oshg&feature=related

For more insight pick up a copy of "Keeping Black Boys Out of Special Education"  by Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Why MOBB, Inc.?

Why Mothers of Black Boys, Incorporated? Is there really a need for such organization? Is it really that big of a deal?

As an eleven year veteran of urban teaching, it sometimes feel like it is not getting any better. You would think that with technology growing so rapidly and resources at the finger tips of our children, the academic achievement gap between black males and their counterparts would be decreasing. Instead, it is growing with no means to an end. Mentoring and after school programs are packed with hardly enough adult assistance. Something must be done!

After giving birth to my eldest son, Justen in 1999, who is now twelve years old, I saw the world differently. I became concerned  for how people treated each other. I knew that the odds were against Justen from the moment he took his first breath. For one, he was black and the other reason he was a boy. At that moment I took education very serious. Just enough wasn't good enough. I wanted Justen to beat the odds, so I took everything serious. I had to be an example to him. During that time I also went back to college to finish up my bachelor's degree. How could I tell Justen that education was important when I didn't finish school? When I went back to finish, I had only my 12 credit hours to complete. I was a nontraditional student with a family...I had to be an example for my son. Getting a bachelor's degree was no longer an option. Justen was my motivation.   

Shortly after I received my bachelor's degree, I got a job as a teacher in an urban school. I spent countless hours preparing to educate what researchers and statistics proved to be the most difficult subgroup of students. At times I would feel overwhelmed and unsuccessful at proving that black boys are intelligent. After all, their own parents didn't seem interested or concern. They didn't show up for conferences. They didn't help with homework. Only came out to the school if they thought someone mistreated their child. This was disheartening and stressful. The demands for holding me accountable were getting on my nerves. It seemed as if parents were not taking their responsibilities and duties as a parent seriously. I was getting sick and tired of it. All I wanted was for them to understand that they were their child's first teacher. If they sent their children to school with the basics (how to spell their names, knowing their ABC's, etc), it wouldn't be so difficult for me and their child's success would come easily. Now because of the way I was feeling, I added extra elbow grease to make sure that my son was not going to be a statistic. I became proactive and optimistic. I researched the best daycares, talked to other parents whose children were around the same age as my son, and I made sure that made sure that his caregivers understood how much we valued education. And of course, some of them found me overbearing but my son was on track and ready for public school kindergarten.

Three years after I started teaching I couldn't stop educating myself, so I enrolled in Columbia College's Master of Education program. I was one busy woman. Still teaching. Moved to a new house. Initiated to my sorority and was expecting baby #2. Running in the opposite direction of hard work was not me. It seemed like I was running in to hard work. Within that year, I gave birth to another male child and took the responsibility of caring for and educating him serious as well. While my sons had a very good father in the home with them, I took the assignment God gave me extremely serious. There was no way that I was going to allow them to be a statistic. Today my oldest son is continuing to be an honor student. He has been invited to study abroad with People to People Ambassadors in Australia and in other states as a National Young Scholar.

 None of boys' successes wouldn't be possible without setting high expectations, proper educational planning, and consistent collaboration with other mothers. It has proven that black boys can be successful. My son is continuing to excel academically by earning excellent grades in school. As a sixth grader, he is a Duke TIP scholar and is well on the way to obtain other scholastic accolades. It is my sincere belief that if mothers, who play very important roles in the lives of their sons, are equipped with appropriate strategies, resources, and a strong support system, their sons will beat the odds.

In 2009 while completing my dissertation, I found that research was conducted decades ago and is still being done as an attempt to close the achievement gap between black boys and their counterparts. As a means to change the image of black boys, God gave me a vision to form a support group for mothers raising black boys that would provide assistance and support, encouragement and resources to mothers whose sons looked like mine. I believe that it can be done. My efforts and the unknown efforts of parents who go above and beyond the call it is evident that BLACK BOYS ARE SMART, TOO!

Dr. Jacquetta M. Chatman
Founder/President
Mothers of Black Boys, Incorporated