The Achievement Gap Has Been Manufactured
A few days ago I was given a worksheet. This was ordinary,
for I am a 13 year old in a school ... a school that gives out worksheets. But
this was no regular worksheet, it was believe it or not, a true or false survey,
featuring compelling facts like, “15% more white students graduate high school
than blacks in Baltimore.” This had to be false. Right?
As I scrolled through these heartrending facts, I reached
one that burned my insides. “Only 7% of black boys in the 8th grade
read on or above grade level.” FALSE! No way. Ms. Clay had to be just using
this as a hook to give us a lecture about how blacks and whites are still not equal.
She just wanted to see the assumptions we would make. Well, I didn’t believe
it. I knew that we as an entire city, were better than that, and in the end, my
paper consisted of mostly false answers, with a true here or there.
Then, we were given an article from the Baltimore Sun
titled, “Building Strong Children”. This article consisted of all of the
statements that were on the survey. Ms. Clay wouldn’t confirm any our survey’s
answers. She made us read for ourselves. To my dismay, all of the statements
were proven to be true by reliable, sound studies, often conducted by our very
own government. We proceeded to talk about these horrific facts in a Socratic
Seminar, which Ms. Clay asked me to facilitate. I was proud that she trusted me
enough to lead what was about to be one of the most powerful discussions of the
trimester.
The reaction of my peers, these young yet insightful 12 and
13 year olds, was profound. “Could that be me?” “I never want to be a part of
that 93%!” But the response that I found the most intriguing, so real and so
blunt was, “That’s why it’s never good to be normal, to be a statistic. We have
to do better.” My friends, my peers, the kids that I had gone to school with
since kindergarten, had given me something to think on. Not just anything. But
something that could affect all of us. White or Black. “Smart” or “Dumb”. Optimistic
or realistic. Funny or unpopular. This entire experience was, dare I say this
word again, profound.
So you think about it: Would you have believed this? Are you
affected by this? Is this something you want to change? Now our job as the next
generation is to figure out how. How can we be the change that we want to see?
*****
Here are some of the
most “profound” statements of the discussion, along with their coinciding
quotes.
TRUE OR FALSE?
“Some of the most esteemed Baltimoreans attended or graduated from Baltimore City high schools”.
“Some of the most esteemed Baltimoreans attended or graduated from Baltimore City high schools”.
False, it can’t be possible for a black person to get a job
like that because we are labeled as drop outs. –Deandre
….low expectations. – Scott; in response to Deandre.
I think it’s true but people don’t expect successful people to
come from Baltimore because of our reputation. -Payton
True, anyone is capable of getting a good job like that. You
just have to work for it. Hard work pays off. -Eric
True, everyone has untapped potential. –Bishop
TRUE OR FALSE?
“Only 7% of 8th grade black boys in Baltimore
read on grade level.”
“Only 7% of 8th grade black boys in Baltimore
read on grade level.”
I think it’s true because of stereotypes.- Samantha
I think it’s false because I think kids are just being lazy and not
showing their teachers what they can really do academically. They’re trying to
be cool like Wes Moore when he was younger. -Monet
True. Black boys set bad influences every day. It could be a little bit
of music. But we aren’t reading as much as we should, period.- Jeramiah
True. It’s because people don’t read at home.-Eric
I think it is false. People always want to know the bad, they don’t
focus on the good.- Jake
TRUE OR FALSE?
“3 teenagers were all killed
within a 10 day period last month.”
“3 teenagers were all killed
within a 10 day period last month.”
I don’t know if it’s
true but I can believe it because of stereotypes and the current murder rate in
our city. - Eric
I don’t know if it’s
true but I can guess that it is. Nobody, including me sometimes, has any faith
in Baltimore. But I want to believe it can change. -Jeral
I think it’s true and
sad. We’re in a world where nothing is promised. This is why parents have to
support their kids.- Scott
TRUE OR FALSE?
“Black parents whisper their fears for their sons,
then quietly move out of Baltimore
to what they pray are safer neighborhoods.”
“Black parents whisper their fears for their sons,
then quietly move out of Baltimore
to what they pray are safer neighborhoods.”
True. Some people in
Baltimore go to bed scared every night.
But where else are we going to go?
Violence seems to follow you everywhere. –Martaeja
But where else are we going to go?
Violence seems to follow you everywhere. –Martaeja
TRUE OR FALSE?
“57% percent of black males
are currently graduating from high school
compared to 81% for white males.”
“57% percent of black males
are currently graduating from high school
compared to 81% for white males.”
True. They can do
better but they choose not to. -Vernon
It’s not true because
of race its true because of the decisions people make.- Jeral
I don’t really care.
As long as I graduate, it’s not my problem. That sounds harsh but that’s pretty
much how our society treats us anyways. - Lealon
“There is nothing easy about “building” strong children, but we do know
that our children require much labor and love to flourish.”
Kids think a strong child is a person with a gun, or a bat.- Hosea
Strength is in knowledge and activism. -Bishop
You could be the smartest child in the world but not do anything to
better the world. We have to help each other, that’s the only way out. -Vernon
It’s the smartest ones that end up in jail.-Jake
You learn from your failures and other people’s mistakes. -Raekwon
You are the sum of your experiences. Key word: YOU. –Martaeja
My father says that he made his mistakes for me so that I don’t have to
go down the same path. I am grateful. – Jeral
It takes a village to raise a child. - Aliyah
*****
Just when I thought we were done and Ms. Clay was satisfied,
she handed me another article. I looked at Scott who shook his head and said,
“She’s never satisfied.” This text was from TheRoot.com titled, “Black Reading Skills: Reports Miss the Mark” by Ivory Toldson, contradicting almost everything
that we previously read. But that’s Ms. Clay for you, always giving us multiple
perspectives. To maintain my obsession over this 2 syllable word, I must say,
it was profound.
Though the 1st article never really talked about
why, this new article was all about how the achievement gap has been manufactured, rather than it being just a
natural occurrence. This article referenced several young men and women who
have for instance, gotten 2 masters, but failed the reading comprehension test
for the state.
A young 3rd grader was a star in his class and earned straight A’s, breezing through tests easily and passing with flying colors. But while applying for a scholarship to a nearby private school, he was declared unable to comprehend 2nd grade texts. The teachers at his school saw the results and this young smart black boy was held back. So, this text forced me to ask, was this more than an “at home” situation? Does it really have anything to do with coming from an unstable home or untraditional family environment? Or are these standardized tests engineered to fail black men and women?
Just recently while studying for the MSA, we came across a question that relied on knowing what the word “din” means. Would the average black kid from the hood know the difference between den and din?! Not to say that I don’t expect them to but let’s be realistic, these tests are just plain biased. And after grappling with the Toldson article, I’m starting to believe that the media’s portrayal of “smart” and “underachieving” is biased too. This is ridiculous and unfair. Is history repeating itself? Are we still living in the 60s? If so, we need to start a riot. Because from what I know about history, making noise is the only way to get things accomplished. So what do I need? Why even take the time to write this? Because I realize that the so called “achievement gap” isn’t going to close unless we, as the Baltimore City kids that they are writing about, work hard and close it ourselves.
A young 3rd grader was a star in his class and earned straight A’s, breezing through tests easily and passing with flying colors. But while applying for a scholarship to a nearby private school, he was declared unable to comprehend 2nd grade texts. The teachers at his school saw the results and this young smart black boy was held back. So, this text forced me to ask, was this more than an “at home” situation? Does it really have anything to do with coming from an unstable home or untraditional family environment? Or are these standardized tests engineered to fail black men and women?
Just recently while studying for the MSA, we came across a question that relied on knowing what the word “din” means. Would the average black kid from the hood know the difference between den and din?! Not to say that I don’t expect them to but let’s be realistic, these tests are just plain biased. And after grappling with the Toldson article, I’m starting to believe that the media’s portrayal of “smart” and “underachieving” is biased too. This is ridiculous and unfair. Is history repeating itself? Are we still living in the 60s? If so, we need to start a riot. Because from what I know about history, making noise is the only way to get things accomplished. So what do I need? Why even take the time to write this? Because I realize that the so called “achievement gap” isn’t going to close unless we, as the Baltimore City kids that they are writing about, work hard and close it ourselves.
Warner B.
Age 13
This is Warne. Thanks for the love and awesomeness! I am even getting to meet THE Toldson! You guys are AMAZING!!
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