The inequality in America's educational system is one fact that has me worried about the development of real African-American leaders in the future. I know some people probably think that the responsibility for failure, especially in the black community, falls on parents who don't care and children who care even less than their parents do about learning. A small piece of that opinion may be true, but we all know there are several other reasons. The teachers and the students both are victims of a dysfunctional system. Teachers are poorly trained, improperly placed and not adequately supported.
Teachers are underpaid and under appreciated by society.
In being real, I must point out that student underachievement is affected by bad teachers and bad decisions made on the federal, state, district and school level. The simple fact of the matter is that students living in poverty and minority students are the ones who are really suffering. Black kids are three times more likely to be suspended than any other students, and more than half of all black children are now in special education and alternative schools. Most teachers are monocultural when they need to be multi-cultural. Teachers need to be taught how to deal with cultures other than their own.