One of America’s most prominent intellectuals recently proclaimed “many teachers are sympathetic destroyers of Black boys’ dreams.” Dr. Tyrone Howard, an internationally-renown social scientist and professor of urban education at the University of California – Los Angeles (UCLA) offered this statement during his recent appearance on Black Minds Matter, a publicly broadcast course.
Howard has spent his career in public schools, colleges, and universities where he has interviewed and documented the experiences of Black boys. Based on this experience, his remarks offered a critique of educators who do more damage than good. He argued schools have, for far too long, ignored educators who destroy the dreams and lives of Black males. Howard noted that “most principals know the teachers who are a culprit” and “students can tell you who those teachers are.” He suggested, if you want to know the teachers who are racist and who ‘target’ Black boys for discipline and neglect in the classroom “just ask the students, they can tell you.” Howard stated efforts to improve the lives of Black boys and men in education must put them “front and center” in the conversation.
Howard further contended Black parents must be actively engaged and involved to protect their boys from mistreatment and damage. He noted “parents are the sleeping giants” who can hold educators and schools accountable. In a call for action, Howard proclaimed “parents should not assume that all teachers have good intentions.” Specifically, he argued that schools already know who the culprits are and do little to address those issues, they are responsible for the outcomes experienced. He connected this mistreatment as a litany of issues facing Black boys in education, including over-placement in special education, referrals for discipline, suspensions, and expulsions.
Prior to Howard’s remarks, Dr. Nesha Savage from San Diego City College offered her perspectives of how colleges can support men who have been formerly incarcerated. Savage is a Dean of Student Matriculation and was the originator of the Parker Scholars program, a support program that aids the college transition of men of color who were involved in the juvenile and criminal justice systems. She noted men who are formerly incarcerated face a litany of barriers that require them to balance more challenges than other students. This includes being a student, being a breadwinner, and also meeting the requirements of their parole. She stated, “The truth is, the probation officers and the parole officers, their priority isn’t necessarily school.” She argued that colleges must partner with officers to change this perspective so that “we [can] get the parole officers and the probation officers to see the value in it.” Like Howard, Savage emphasized talking with students to learn how to better support them.
The final segment included an interview with Dr. Pedro Noguera. Noguera is a sociologist and Distinguished Professor of Education at UCLA. He is among the most widely recognized scholars in the academe. His research examines Black and Latino males in urban schools. Noguera offered extensive advice for administrators, classroom teachers, and parents on how to improve outcomes for Black men. He fervently argued that those who want to improve the lives of Black boys must involve them in the solutions. Noguera noted that many programs and interventions designed to support the population simply do not work because they don’t ask students what are their challenges and needs.
Noguera was also critical of mass incarceration and the role of the school to prison pipeline in fueling this pattern. He stated, “we must make sure that schools are enacting alternatives to punitive discipline”. These punitive practices often remove Black boys from learning environments. He noted Black boys are more likely to experience suspensions and expulsions because teachers are more “alarmed” about and “fear” them.
Black Minds Matter is a public course that seeks to raise the national consciousness about issues facing Black boys and men in education. The course is taught by San Diego State University’s Distinguished Professor Dr. Luke Wood and is being publicly broadcast nationwide to over 10,000 learners. Wood expressed his own criticisms about how Black boys and men are engaged in education (see “Prominent Scholar Calls Growth Mindset a ‘Cancerous Idea’, In Isolation.”