On page 34, Tatum says: "As long as the focus is on increasing test scores--something that is irrelevant to many of these young men--to the exclusion of the more significant factors described. . . black males will continue to struggle."
On page 35, Tatum says: "Teachers must become personally invested in their black male students in a way that moves beyond the existing curriculum".
Tension is created because of our perceived "lack of time". In addition, a personal investment in students is expensive: physically, mentally, and emotionally.
This tension will never be alleviated, so how do we reconcile it?
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This is where the rubber mets the road... It depends on the motive behind what a person does. Is it just a job or does he/she recognize that students are not inanimate, yet real and the focus of our present and future. I, out of all people, know it is a balancing act, but we must be the igniting blaze to commence and maintain that education presently is holistic,not just academic. One must reach, before you teach (one of my personal philosophies). And in reaching some of our students, that is the key to teaching them...
ReplyDeleteThere must be a "real" investment
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