We hear many stories about minority youths (I dislike this
term, but is a point of reference) struggling to make it out of high school and
into college. We hear a lot of negative, how the deck is stacked against them,
and that they have no chance.
“Shaun Harper -- director of the Study of Race and Equity
in Education at the University of Pennsylvania -- attracted considerable
attention last year for a
study in which he identified successful black male college students and
examined the factors that led to their success. This new study is in a way the
flip side of that research -- as his focus was on students in New York City
high schools who could succeed in college (although he also included a group of
New York City high school graduates who were in college for comparison
purposes)”.
“An overall theme of the work is
that there are many minority male students who are succeeding academically, but
are doing so off the beaten track of colleges to magnet schools or the suburbs”.
Read the whole thing here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/09/30/new-study-explores-qualities-help-black-and-latino-males-succeed-high-school
Read the whole thing here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/09/30/new-study-explores-qualities-help-black-and-latino-males-succeed-high-school
What this study is telling us is
there is hope, there always has been (just have to focus on it), there is positivity
happening within all the noise, and that there are common characteristics that
propel students to succeed, for example:
·
Parental value of
education
·
High expectations,
expect them to achieve
·
Teachers who were
authentic in caring
It is all about the student, we set the example, and if the example we set as a whole is good, they can achieve.
Dr Flavius A
B Akerele
The ETeam