Category Archives: EDUCATION

The Dire Plight of the American Teacher

I do not know of a single African-American Professor who does not possess the desire to recreate themselves. Simply put, one of the major by-products of Black graduate students working their way through the snares and traps of academia is a severe desire to make the path more accessible and passable for those that follow. By the time we earn our Ph.D. s, no one in the world can impress upon us that there are enough Black academics and intellectuals to mentor us through the tough times.

When one considers that the rough terrain that Black Ph.D.’s must cross is often made more difficult by Professors who detest our presence for a host of reasons directly tied to white supremacist thought, engagement with one of “us” while in graduate school can serve as a much-needed gust of wind propelling us toward our lofty goal.

Trust me when I say that the pride I experience when yet another of my students crosses the threshold of earning their Doctorate degree is not one of euphoria but rather an occasion to pause for several moments to celebrate the achievement but, more importantly, to bow my head in honor and respect to the ancestors who aided this process in one way or another.

In light of the above, I hope that you can understand my unending pride when several of my students, most recently Ms. Coiette P. Gaston, who now is a colleague working in the same department as myself, cross that final threshold in their chosen field.

Suppose I have achieved nothing else in the academy. In that case, I can proudly state that I have contributed to more than capable Black Professors being available to mentor and teach precocious Black students researching issues of importance to Black America. I took the job of ensuring that the pipeline of Black thinkers continued flowing with the utmost seriousness.

Manufacturing excellent Black students begins well before arriving on a college campus. Those I reference have undergone a K-12 curriculum that has prepared them for higher education. My contemporaries’ dedication to reproducing ourselves will never blind us to the heavy lifting in K-12.

Only a fool fails to see the interconnectedness between teachers and professors—an overstanding of the interconnectedness between educators’ mandates that I closely monitor the matter of teacher shortage.

According to a recent Learning Policy Institute survey, droves of full-time teachers choose to exit the profession via early retirement or more attractive employment opportunities. The most cited catalyst for the above changes is the twin evils of psychological stress and low pay. American teachers have historically been abused, misused, and devalued by the very society they have nobly served for centuries. Data states that one-third of those exiting the classroom report a typical work week of over “56 hours or more.” One-third of current teachers report working a second job to “make ends meet.” According to the Learning Policy Institute survey, “64 percent of respondents said their pay wasn’t sufficient to merit the risk or stress.”

The fleeing of the teacher ranks is so common that many of those I have aided on the path to participating in this noble profession have exited the classroom. The past five years have been ferocious for the brilliant youth whose minds I helped mold in my History courses. So many of these young Black teachers that Charles Hamilton Houston would have considered “levers for social justice” have exited the teaching profession for the same reasons highlighted by the Learning Policy Institute study. The teacher shortage crisis has gotten so bad that the Houston Independent School District that many of my students vacated was marred by over seven-hundred vacant teaching positions during a recent summer, according to the Texas Tribune.

It is past time that the U.S. Government (local, state, and federal) makes a decisive move on behalf of American educators. When you think about it, they are the foundation for this nation’s prosperity; however, they are much like laborers who have been left out of profits. The time for shucking and jiving educators has been over for decades; it is now time for the entire nation not only to agree to pay teachers a livable wage but also allow them a seat at the table when substantive issues impacting their lives are being discussed.

One more thing. If you were able to read this, thank your favorite teacher.

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2023

 

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A Few Thoughts Regarding Why Many Black Men Will Not Be Voting In This Year’s Election: It’s A Missed Opportunity

Y’all telling me that I need to get out and vote, huh, why?
Ain’t nobody black running but crack-kers, so, why I got to register?
I’m thinking of better shit to do with my time!!!!!

Andre 3000 (OutKast)

 

The criticism hurled at Black males always increases during political season. One could set their clock by it. Politically engaged Black men realize they are destined to be blamed when a candidate such as Stacey Abrams loses while receiving little of the celebratory kudos when Barack Obama ascends to the Oval Office.

As with most things involving Black men, the injection of their presence into political discussion problematizes matters exponentially. Predictably, much discussion about Black men and the franchise occurs without their input. We are frequently relegated to lab mice commented upon by political talking heads.

If only the political pundits that speak with unwarranted authority resting on little more than copious amounts of historical illiteracy regarding America’s convoluted racial history abandoned such foolishness, they may learn that Black males’ non-participation is attributable to the perceived irrelevance of American politics. Far too many poor and working-class Black men have been positioned in a “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” situation. OutKast’s Andre 3000 insightful lyric that he is “thinking of better shit to do with my time” sums up many Black males’ view of the worthlessness of political engagement.

It is difficult to argue against well-known data that highlights Black men lagging behind their contemporaries in a host of areas such as:

  • Educational Achievement
  • Life-Expectancy
  • Income
  • Incarceration Rates

When one considers that we are all conversant on the myriad issues facing Black men, it is time that we begin searching for solutions to the above societal maladies.

The most crucial question facing Black America should revolve around Black men’s inability to recognize that their past, present, and future plights are inextricably linked to the political arena.

Unlike many of my contemporaries, I place the blame for Black males’ withdrawal from the political arena at the feet of Black America. I fully realize that it is a contentious thought to place the blame for Black male struggles in the political arena at the feet of our kind; however, such an assignment is the only one capable of alleviating the matter. Put simply, if we don’t own this problem, we will never take the definitive steps to mitigate it.

As has been consistently stated by those interested in uplifting Black males, “no one is coming to save you Black man.” Hence, we must educate our own in regard to history, politics, culture, economics, etc. Relevant education is the only path capable of reversing the unfortunate pattern of Black men ignoring the political process. I am sure that you agree that an absence of understanding regarding politics guarantees Black America will continue to reap the worst things this society has to offer.

The onus is on Black educators to teach, re-teach, and teach important life-saving material to their brethren. Yet, those in desperate need of such illumination also have a responsibility to listen and learn from those experts who are willing to teach.

We must never forget that “WE ALL THAT WE GOT!!!!!”

 

Kanye???? What The Fuck Was That?: Kanye Confirms What We Already Knew

Although each of us hates to admit it, something is alluring about an automotive accident or unexpected incident that causes us to strain our necks to capture a glimpse of what is occurring. Unfortunately for those of us who love Black people, one of our own has managed to turn himself into a twenty-car crash or, better yet, a living conundrum that offers not an inkling of there ever being a solution to this walking human problem. The individual that I am referring to is Mr. Kanye West.

Not a week goes by that Mr. West does not position himself as a veritable sideshow for on-lookers to gawk at and shake their heads in disbelief. If nothing else, Mr. West deserves credit for drawing the attention of fans and critics alike via physical appearance, public statements, or outrageous personal and business relationships. My parent’s generation would dismiss Mr. West as “just a hot mess.” Mental health clinicians consider Kanye a classic example of what happens when mental illness is left unchecked for too long. A process that is exacerbated when the mentally ill can surround themselves with enablers seeking to profit financially by allowing their misery to continue.

In the latest episode of this fool is crazy for real. Mr. West is publicly proclaiming, proudly, I might add, that he “has never read a book.” This declaration comes to the chagrin of Black educators who strive daily to push against the negative impact that illiteracy has on Black America. Making matters worse, Mr. West’s declaration indirectly mars the legacy of his beloved mother, Donda, an English Professor.

As if Mr. West’s prideful declaration of having never read a book were not enough for this week’s Kanye tragedy, he doubled down on his idiocy by informing the world of his plans to open a school, the Donda Academy, on land owned by hip-hop artist Young Thug; a figure currently imprisoned due to a host of criminal charges too numerous to list.

Unfortunately, one of the foremost consequences of Kanye West losing touch with reality some time ago is that he has lost any understanding of collectivism. Somewhere along the way, Mr. West, and those of his ilk, abandoned the classic hip-hop mantra of “we all, we got” in favor of a self-centered “I gotta get mine’s, you gotta get yours” self-serving Capitalist ethos. A position that weakens us all in the end.

I have tired of questioning if figures such as Kanye West understand how an utterance such as “I have never read a book” impacts, Black children. I refuse to spend a moment of my time analyzing why Mr. West felt the need to avoid reading or felt compelled to reveal this cavernous flaw for all to see. My efforts are better served by being aimed at making the world a better place for our children to flourish than seeking to unravel what is in Kanye’s mind.

Unfortunately, a portion of Black America has made the conscious decision to travel the same road that Kanye has chosen, meaning to avoid reading or illuminating the mind through something beyond a conspiracy-laced YouTube video or lowbrow podcast devoid of much substance. It is time that someone labeled such individuals as enemies of our people and efforts to liberate Black America. You know those I am speaking of; they are not indifferent to education but hostile to learning.

Trust me when I say that those who choose to travel down the road that Mr. West has admittedly traveled by shunning the gifts/talents and the work needed to hone those gifts will regret their choice. Unbeknownst to such people, the fact that America moved away from a manufacturing economy to a service and technology economy long ago is lost on them. The decision of segments of Black America not to adapt to these changes will be their death.

I am ultimately left with nothing more to say to Mr. West than the words of DeRay Davis in his best Bernie Mac voice,

Kanye, what the fuck was that…

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2022

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Reflections on the Middle School Students Attack on a 73-year-old Substitute Teacher from Cardi B and Me

It is difficult to believe that Black America has no idea of the educational crisis that has enveloped our people in the post-Brown v. Board of Education (1954) period. The voluminous interlocking problems are too numerous to list in this short space. However, it is safe to say that a non-representative curriculum and teacher force and the lack of parental involvement are near the top of the list of issues afflicting our schools. There may not be a more actionable item on this list than the wild and often criminal behavior of some Black children and their parents toward educators. After all, every one of us has attended some school and should therefore not be shocked by what can be best termed decades-long piss-poor behavior of some, certainly not the majority, Black students in our learning centers.

Although this is nothing new, there is a growing trend among American teachers to leave the noble profession after only a few years of exposure to the students and the entire educational system. On their way out the door, many teachers cite the deplorable behavior of someone’s child and marginal wages that render them the working-poor as reasons for their exit and vow to never return to any classroom.

It is difficult to argue against the assertion that many within our midst have placed no value on education, educators, or their children’s future. To the surprise of many, I can tell you that this lack of focus on education does not magically disappear in the wake of their high school graduation. Many of these students bring their poor study habits and inability to adhere to stated deadlines in the syllabi they receive on the first day of class into their collegiate lives.

Although it is a frightening thought, I fear that segments of Black America have gone beyond a tipping point where cultural formations that devalue the utility of education are nearly irreversible. I shudder to think that a part of Black students somehow equate the ignoring of educators and a disdaining of learning as the personification of what it means to be Black. They were not born with such a daunting perspective. Many embrace a complete ignorance couched in vulgarity and anti-social behavior best taught by a pack of unthinking hyenas. In the world that they live in, this disruptive minority of Black students has been guided by their environs to believe that decency and politeness are signs of weakness. At the same time, the pursuit of intelligence and proper diction is a sign of a repudiation of Black culture.

So, I was neither surprised nor amused when I witnessed middle school students from DeSoto (TX) ISD throwing a metal chair at a 73-year-old substitute teacher. Left to fend for himself, the discombobulated teacher had little choice than to throw things back at the rabble-rousers.

If I were not eternally committed to elevating Black youth, I would probably agree with others who charge these types of kids are too far gone to be retrieved.

Such a brazen attack on a teacher signals both a failed socialization and the reaffirmation of a culture incapable of sustaining Black America during these turbulent times. The trouble I speak of occurred across several generations. The solution will take longer. Although frightening to consider, the advancement of such lawlessness could result in the severe curtailing of the existence of a particular class of Blacks. In many ways, it appears as if many of my people whose ancestors survived slavery, Jim Crow, the Black Codes, racial segregation, or institutionalized racism have succumbed to a materialistic culture that values things over, people. Ironically, it is the so-called great emancipator Abraham Lincoln whose words best voice my perspective during this tenuous moment.

(Black) America will never fall due to an external aggressor.  

She will fall from within.

If parents, teachers, and other adults in their immediate surroundings cannot reach these kids, who can? Such a question brings us to yet another cultural malady of who does this segment of Black youth values. The influence of rappers, athletes, and social media influencers trumps parents, teachers, and loved ones.

The socialization process within some segments of Black America has gotten so bad that rapper Cardi B has emerged as the leading voice addressing the students who attacked the substitute teacher in Desoto, Texas. After viewing the taped assault of the substitute teacher, Cardi B chimed in with the following tweet.

Disgusting this generation is really lost … I went to school wit a lot of gangstas and no matter what they never put their hands on a teacher …Kids this is not respected, not cool, not funny, not tough, not gangsta ….

— Cardi B (@iamcardib) March 11, 2022

I applaud Cardi B for stepping forward with a denouncing statement. The following does not disrespect Cardi B or any other public figure; however, Black America is in serious trouble if the foremost role model for our children is some figure they know, such as parents, grandparents, or family members.

In actuality, I would like to amend the above statement. Black America remains in serious trouble if the foremost role model for our children is some figure other than family. Although it is a frightening thought, this phenomenon that some strangers will have more influence over a child’s development than those in their immediate environs is nothing new in Black America. As a group historically marginalized from mainstream culture, it was to be expected that we would cheer for Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers over the Larry Bird led Boston Celtics or be glued to the television when a new show prominent featuring a Black cast (Sanford & Son, The Jefferson, The Cosby Show, A Different World) aired. However, the enjoyment of popular culture, even identifying with notable Blacks who had made it big, is different from allowing such figures to be your primary or only socializing agent that shapes your goals, priorities, and worldview.

Yet, non-elite Blacks have always tended to allow famous people to disproportionately influence how they order their lives and the things that they consider markers of success. This unwise choice led to the 1993 Nike campaign, nearly three decades ago, featuring Charles Barkley that sought to deemphasize the role of professional athletes in the lives of children. The commercial focused on Charles Barkley repeatedly stating that “I am not a role model” to any of the millions of viewers watching an NBA game.

If only Black America had listened closely and taken heed to Barkley’s admission regarding his proper role in their lives.

James Thomas Jones III, Ph.D.

©Manhood, Race, and Culture, 2022

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