MY THOUGHTS AND LITERACY AND BLACK PEOPLE

MY THOUGHTS ON LITERACY AND BLACK CHILD DEVELOPMENT In these thoughts I’m talking about black people here in America; I’m talking about the development of black people as a whole not just a few. I’m talking about our young children in public schools; I’m talking about the behavior of our children that block teachers from teaching and students from learning; I’m talking about one principal cause of disruptive student behavior. I have a master degree in education with a focus in adult education; but I have experience in public school class rooms where the behavior of black students disrupted any possibility of teaching or learning. These experiences were in the Milwaukee public school system. I have educators in my family, and friends who are educators. I have traveled around the country and have found the behavior of disruptive black students to be essentially the same. With disruptive student behavior now becoming physically violent I’m here sharing the thoughts about the why of it. What is the principal, or at least a major contributing, cause of disruptive/violent student behavior in a class room? Frist, I think the behavior is intentional and not just a spontaneous occurrence. Disruptive students get out of bed and come to school prepared to disrupt. But why do student expend all that energy disrupting when it could be used learning? Disruptive/violent behavior is a blocking technique – as used by students the technique is to block teaching from occurring. The consequence of that act is of no concern to disruptive students – their ultimate goal is to stop the teaching process. But why, damn it, why? Here some parents, adult community members, and some educators think the answer is in what is being taught – what’s taught is not about black people so it’s not interesting to black students so they disrupt: there’s some truth to that but not the whole truth. Disruptive black students are afraid they will fail in a learning process – a learning situation scares the shit out of them: a class room makes black students feel they are standing in the middle of a busy street totally naked. I think this is true of many adult black people – they too are scared shitless of having to learn anything new. If this is true, why is it so; it is so because the prerequisite to learning is the ability to read. When one cannot read or read well that person is scared to death of having to read anything. Most disruptive students cannot read well if at all, their parents cannot read well, their grandparents cannot read. Many black adults are functionally illiterate. Many black homes have no books, none. Children never see parents read anything. Some ignorant black adults will boast of not wanting to read anything; others claim with pride they only read the Bible – as thought that makes them less illiterate. If you don’t read and proud of it don’t tell anyone, especially young children – just shut up; don’t tell another living soul. And for black people and your own sake learn to read. Reading is a skill that has to be learned and then practiced; the more you read the better you can use the skill; the better you use the skill the less fear you have of reading; the less fear you have the better you can learn new things. Reading will open new worlds to you. READ damn it READ! http://www.adolphusward.net http://www.amazon.com/Adolphus-A.-Ward/e/B00DSSRC