Devoted Reader Mike sends along this heartwarming tale of an educational success story for underprivileged student that seems to have been ignored by the local media. Op-Ed writer and associate professor Lucas Morel relays the story:
Leave it to a Florida newspaper columnist to publicize a story about Harlem that should have been treated to a week-long series by the New York Times. Bill Maxwell of the St. Petersburg Times reports on “cram schools” in Harlem—that’s close to New York, isn’t it?—that are changing the lives of students through old-fashioned notions of what it takes to get good grades and, more importantly, instill a love of learning in youth.
In "Black Families Open Up, Cram Education In" (Oct. 22), Maxwell reports that his cousin, despite being a single mom raising two boys in tough circumstances, is devoting hard-earned dollars to provide an education for her boys that is somehow not being provided by the tax-dollar-supported local school.
(Actually, as Joanne Jacobs reports, the NYT did indeed note, a few days ago, a similar trend towards Asian-run tutoring schools. It wasn't a week-long series, but still.)
What follows are excerpts from the Maxwell column that is linked above:
"One tangible payoff is the improvement of the boys’ grades. They went from earning C’s and the occasional B to making all A’s and B’s. The grades are important, but Shirley says she cares more about the boys’ new love of learning: ‘Up here in Harlem, they don’t have a lot of role models their own age. A lot of these kids don’t open a book after they get off the subway. My kids just don’t fit in because they love to study. That makes me feel bad.’
"‘The cram school is different. Those Korean kids study very hard. My boys are the only blacks in the school, but they fit in. I mean, it’s normal to work hard. Nobody says they’re acting white. When they see all these other kids studying, my kids don’t feel weird. The peer pressure is positive. Studying has become a habit—second nature.’"
Like I said - heartwarming. It's sad that it's news when young black kids can study hard without fear of being labeled "white," but I'm very happy for this woman and her sons.
Dr. Morel is happy for her, too, and is relentless in pointing out the implications of her statements:
"The boys’ new love of learning"? "Normal to work hard"? "Studying has become a habit"? Where’s the talk about more money, lower student-teacher ratios, and multicultural learning being the key to bridging "the digital divide"? Instead, her boys take the subway each afternoon to a storefront school, and with 45 other kids study math, English, and science for three hours. On Saturdays they go at it for four more hours. When relatives told her she was pushing her kids too hard, she told them to get lost.
BraVO, woman. Pretty soon, her kids will be able to tell these same relatives to stick a sock in it, using Shakespearean references: "Uncle, [thou] appeareth nothing to me but a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours, so begone. I need to reread Hamlet before my test tomorrow."
Dr. Morel continues:
While others have been blathering about finding new ways to teach America’s untouchables—the so-called unteachable kids of the inner city—more and more parents have decided not to wait for the next "solution" by the education "experts." They are realizing that the most precious gift they can give their children is a proper education, and that this responsibility begins at home with their own decision to ensure that real learning actually take place.
This is not just an American success story in the making. Apparently the majority of children in India are now getting their education from private sources offering the same type of "cram schools" cropping up in Harlem and other American cities. In both cases, parents of little means and making huge sacrifices to get their children a quality (read: real) education.
Not only do these stories shed light on what it takes to teach children, it gives the lie to what is typically referred to as diversity: namely, one’s race or sex as opposed to one’s individuality. Instead of being made to feel their "otherness" due to race, black kids in New York’s Korean and Chinese cram schools are given the opportunity to fit in simply as students and to stand out by their own individual effort. This is what President Bush meant when he said he wanted "to make sure the American dream touches every willing heart." When it came to education, Bush argued that "the soft bigotry of low expectations" was a losing proposition for the least in our education system.
With the recent publication of Bill and Carol Allen’s Habits of Mind: Fostering Access and Excellence in Higher Education and Stephan and Abigail Thernstroms’ No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning, the so-called "racial" gap in American education (better referred to as an "achievement gap") is beginning to receive a long overdue examination. Our obsession with preserving affirmative action in higher education has obscured the disaster that K-12 public schools have produced for the least among us. What Abraham Lincoln called "blab schools," the only formal education he ever got, are making a comeback both here and abroad. Now that’s a story worth blabbing about.
I don't think I can improve on that, other than to quote more of the badass Ms. Shirley's statements about her drive to ensure a good education for her children:
"You can't be selfish," Shirley said. "Blacks have got to start sacrificing for the children. I'm not a saint or anything, but I put my babies first. I don't make much money. Their dad helps out some, about $150 a month. I spend every penny I can on the boys' classes. I don't even think about it."
While in Shirley's two-bedroom apartment on St. Nicholas Avenue, I noticed the boys' many awards for excellence in math, writing and science. Books are everywhere. The boys share a tiny bedroom, and each has a laptop that Shirley bought through a discount program her church sponsored.
"A lot of people, even some of our kinfolks, told me I was pushing my kids too hard," she said. "I told them to get lost. When people don't understand what you're doing, you have to shut them out and do what you know is right. My kids don't complain. They love making good grades. They really want to study hard."
The seventh grader wants to attend the cram school's summer SAT class. Shirley said: "I'll do anything legal to come up with the money. If he wants to get ahead, I'm going to help him."
Hell, I'LL help him. I've already emailed Dr. Morel; time to email Mr. Haskell and ask him for his cousin's mailing address. I'd be happy to send a donation to cover some of the cost of the SAT class. You know, we money-grubbing psychometricians have to spread a little of that cash around now and then.
Posted by kswygert at October 24, 2003 11:34 AM