Leave it to the bureaucrats and the politicians to get it wrong again.
The state of Alabama has gone to the Philippines to recruit math teachers in hopes it would help close the achievement gap. Washington state has taken a different route. For less than the cost of a roundtrip ticket to Manila, they have decided to have another commission — the 200th commission, at my count, to work on closing the achievement gap. They have also decided to have teachers take more diversity training. I guess they assume if we all hold hands and sing “Kumbaya,” the gap will magically disappear. Let’s just give everybody a “C” and call it a done deal.
That is their answer to deal with the tragedy of a 50 percent dropout rate for Native Americans and blacks. I was under the mistaken impression that hard work, sacrifice and practice was the answer. Clearly, I was wrong.
Erin Jones, director of the Center for the Improvement of Student Learning, said white Americans are taught to look at a person in the eyes when they are being reprimanded. She also said that Asian and black kids are trained to look down. I guess my father never got that memo because when I got in trouble and didn’t look at him, he would say, “Boy, look at me when I’m talking to you.”
I guess the way to solve that problem is to have gang members who get pulled over by the police look them straight in the eyes and say, “Oops, my bad.”
I have a prediction. This idea will not work and should not work. We are paying these people $100,000 a year, and that’s the best they can do? I’m demanding a refund. When I found out that was Olympia’s answer to this tragedy inflicted upon children of color, I became incensed. I called a couple of administrators and teachers to get their take on this new program. However, I had to wait until they quit laughing to get an answer.
The answer they gave me came out in two letters: B.S.
I have tried to use my columns to be an advocate for four things I believe in. When it comes to children and their education, especially children of color, I have no time for this foolishness. Olympia’s answer is always to have another commission — talk, talk and more talk, while the tragedy continues to get worse.
We all know what these children need. We have always known what these children have needed. Here are some ideas that are guaranteed to work:
• Real parental involvement with school districts taking the lead. No more spaghetti feeds. Too much garlic.
• Adequate resources.
• A society that gives children a vision of who they can be.
• A message to these children that they are made in the image and likeness of “you know who.”
• Teachers who have a passion for children. Teachers who look at children not by their color, but by who they really are — just children.
• A society that will work on being fair to those who don’t have.
How long must we wait for enough people to say “I care” and demand meaningful action? I am not an expert, just a father who cares. I will continue to be an advocate for these children, who want nothing more than to learn and to be loved. Will you join me? No excuses.
Walter Backstrom’s columns appear in the Bellevue Reporter twice a month. Readers can contact him at wkbackstrom@aol.com.
