The state of black education: What's your take?
OPINION - Next week, we're going to take a look at early education for African-Americans, from working with infants to kindergarten...
Whenever you start a new blog like Young, Gifted and Black, you have to plot out an editorial calendar. What are you going to cover, how are you going to cover it, and how do you keep your readers interested? Since I’m covering education from early education to post-graduate, there’s a tendency to jump around from one issue to another.
That may make for an unpredictable read every time you click on the YGB, but it doesn’t give you any continuity. I’m not going to do that. Instead, we’re going to work our way up the educational scale, from early education to graduate school, devoting a full week in each educational area.
Next week, we’re going to take a look at early education for African-Americans, from working with infants to kindergarten. I’ll take a look at the famous Head Start program, while also searching for other pre-school programs that prepare African-American children for school. I also want to see where our children are coming up short, and whether socio-economics has an effect on our children’s preparation, and if so, what are some of the solutions that can be implemented by parents of all demographics.
And by the way, I’ve received a number of emails from readers (and you can email me at alpha1906@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter at @alpha1906) asking if I will cover home schooling and co-op schooling. As a result, I will dip into those areas and see if there are particular benefits to African American parents and students.
All of that begins next week, but right now I’m digging into a new report from America’s Promise titled, Building a Grad Nation: Progress and Challenge in Ending the High School Dropout Epidemic. Founded by General Colin Powell and chaired by his wife Alma Powell, America’s Promise uses a mixture of community organizations, faith based orgs, non-profits and corporations to come up with solutions for the high drop out rate.
A preliminary read of the report says the U.S. high school graduation rate actually increased from 72 percent to 75 percent, yet African-American high school students are still at a disadvantage. Almost all African-American high school students in low income areas have high drop out rates. I will be writing a more complete analysis of the report on Friday.
So keep the suggestions coming and I’ll see you on Friday!
