Joining the Conversation 2

Across the nation predominantly black communities have directly influence the success of African Americans in school. The issues that plague most black communities also have an impact on students from those. Violence, drugs, and poverty, just to name a few, play pivotal roles on the success of their students. Unfortunately African American’s struggle in school has been a historical problem simply because of how complex the situation actually is.

            Black communities generally struggle financially and so have the families within those communities. As a result the parents have to focus more time at work and less time with their child which prevents them from reinforcing what their children learn in school. According to Janice Hale The overwhelming majority of African American children come from single-parent households. African Americans work longer hours often for less money than whites earn (Toppo 2000); often they are minimally educated and have substantial constraints on their time”(Hale, pg. 8). Young children are greatly affected by the way their parents raise them. Parents who are too busy at work send a psychological message, that money is essential to survive not education. That’s why in most African American communities going to college is not the norm. That message is why students don’t see the value of education nor respect the institution they attend.

Most parents do want to spend time with their child and instill all of their values within their child, however because of their love for their child they have to choose between providing for their family and spending time with their loved ones. One might ask how a parent’s involvement directly impact their child in school Well Marcia Caton states “A study of 19 middle schools in the Midwest, found that Black males were sent to the principal office more than their counterparts for more subjective reasons such as “disrespect” and “perceived threat” (Wallace, Goodkind, Wallace, & Bachman, 2008).” (Caton, pg. 4) If most black students are being documented for disrespectful or threatening actions then it would fall onto the parent to correct that behavior. However in a household where the parent does not have time to deal with their child, then that prevents them from disciplining, or rewarding their child based on their academic performance. I personally disagree with the notion that parents have to spend a certain amount of time with their child in order to ensure that they succeed academically. A few of my friends lived in a household where their parents had plenty of time to spend with them and was very involved with their school. However they struggled through school because their parents were so involved and concerned that it almost seemed suffocating. So when my friends got to school they felt free and instead of doing what they needed to do to do well in school they focused on having fun. This example shows how delicate a young child is and how too much is just as dangerous as too less. This is where the communities influence becomes more important on the mindset of the child.

            In a community that is plagued by violence and drugs, the youth are often the ones committing those types of crimes. In a community that struggles people try to survive, which may involve stealing from others or selling drugs. Most people who do not grow up in a community like this believe that the streets seem appealing to the young, when actually the streets are seen as the only option to survive and move forward in life. A simple way to remedy this is to push the belief that education will lead to success. Unfortunately in these communities this is not the case, schools fail to demonstrate how successful students could be if they obtain a good education. Gail Thompson states “This preoccupation with getting rich quickly stems from at least two sources. The first being is the high unemployment rate in urban communities. In many cases, the education system has failed to prepare young blacks for the workforce or for college” (Thompson pg.21). Thompson’s statement connects directly to the communities he talks about in his book. In a community that struggles financially, schools are typically vandalized, and under-funded. The students who attend these schools do not see the opportunities that someone who attended a school in a wealthy community. As a result these students grow up without experiencing the type of exposure that connects the student to life beyond their community. Without getting out of their community they only experience the type of struggle that has consumed their community. School is more than a place of learning it is also responsible for connecting the things they learn in class to the positive aspects of life. That second part is essential because it shows how valuable education is and keeps the student involved.

Another important (shocking but important) aspect of the community’s impact on African American students, is white students. Quite often Black students compared to their White counterparts. For example within most black schools children who show great or high levels of intelligence in ways such as talking with a good vocabulary, or taking a lot of time to study are often told that they are “acting white”. This creates the mindset that students must conform to the white students that they may have never actually been in class with. This leads to the belief that Whites are believed to be academically superior to African Americans. Gail Thompson stated that “In other words, these students infer that they have to reject their home culture to succeed academically” (Thompson pg. 17). That statement is totally agreeable, so often are children told not to be like the people they see in their communities and do not receive a lot of positive influence from the things they experience from those communities.