The absence of a sturdy and contributing male parent in a major percentage of black families denies the black male child a readily accessible male model to positively influence his development. The black male child experiences perplexing and frequently transitioning relationships with females that challenge identity formation and influence development from a number of angles at home and in school. The black male child seems more directly at risk developmentally in the school setting than his counterparts. The public school setting presents specific challenges likely to attack him in his most vulnerable areas. As an example, adjusting to culturally different female, in most cases in kindergarten and throughout the elementary grades, is a major challenge for this child.
Academic achievement occurs in stair-step progression.
Sequential and continuous skills development is frequently interrupted for the black male child as he struggles with the dynamics of development. Too frequently the black male adult is unprepared, unwilling, or not available to assume the responsibilities of manhood. He is disproportionately represented in the shadows and places of wasteful existence in our society. It is this imagery that frequently beckons to the developing child from the environmental mirror. Rehabilitation is not the answer in this case.