The extant professional literature has extensively evinced that Black male students academically under perform all students throughout the  educational pipeline (See Jerlando F.L. Jackson’s “Toward Administrative Diversity: An Analysis of the African-American Male Educational Pipeline”). Limited research exists on what impact the level of love teachers have for the profession has on Black male students learning outcomes. People will ask how are you going to measure love for the profession. One of the important ways to measure a teacher’s love for the profession is to ask him or her how important of a problem is it to him or her that Black male students academically under perform all students throughout the educational pipeline. Next, one can ask the teacher what is he or she doing to ameliorate this problem. I think that gaining answers from teachers on those two questions are important steps to gaining a qualitative understanding of where teachers stand on the problem of Black male academic underachievement.

 

Given that America has been a historically racist nation and continues to be a racist nation, we contend that it is vital to engage all teachers with queries that seek to understand how they feel about the quandary of Black male academic underachievement. In no way are we trying to call any teachers racists. It’s just a reality that most students are educated by multicultural teachers in America. The existing scholarly literature needs to benefit from qualitative research that examines the perceptions of most teachers about the problem of Black male academic underachievement. We need to understand what percentage of them really view this as a serious problem. We also need to know why most teachers think this problem exists. These questions need to be asked to all teachers because we need to uncover the level of investment they have in Black male students throughout the educational pipeline.

 

It is very possible that one of the foremost contributing factors to Black male academic underachievement could be many teachers’ lack of a strong investment in Black male academic success. As we look to further identify the most significant factors that contribute to Black male academic underachievement, we cannot be afraid to ask questions that might be offensive to people. If people get offended when you are solemnly exploring questions aimed at buttressing Black male academic achievement, then that’s just tough for them. It seems that there are not enough people getting offended about Black males academically lagging behind all students throughout the educational pipeline. That’s what we need to get offended about! Therefore, if you get offended when I start asking you whether or not you really love Black male students, then you will just have to be offended.

 

We are not going to let any teachers or community leaders off the hook either. If you really love the members of your community and are looking to uplift your community, then what are you doing to advance Black male education? What are you doing to support positive educational experiences and outcomes for Black males? What are you doing special for them to meet their special realities? We don’t want to hear about you having to treat them the same as everyone else. If you have that kind of mindset, then you really don’t care about them because they are not just like everyone else—they are the most academically under performing students throughout every grade level.

 

We encourage you to do whatever you can to help to ameliorate Black male academic achievement throughout the educational pipeline. We can keep more Black men off the streets, out of gangs, out of prisons, and off of drugs when we take the initiative to dedicate ourselves more to ensuring that they have positive educational experiences and outcomes. We will continue to posit that the American education system is failing until we see a substantial improvement in Black male academic achievement throughout the educational pipeline. Black boys and men are worth more than the gargantuan profits they can produce for you on football fields and basketball courts.

 

 

A Titus Man

“Growing men of Character.”

Am I My brother’s Keeper?

 

What does this really mean? Are we really our brothers keeper? Yes I am! We all have a moral, civil duty and responsibility to cover and care for one another in whatever way we can i.e., a kind word, deed or gesture can go a long way as it relates to our brothers keeper.

 

In one of our break out sessions during the etiquette training this weekend we asked the young men to breakout in groups, create a circle and lock arms. By doing this it was a sign to show that when you are linked together it is a sign of strength which means nothing or no one can break the link and bond. We all know that there is a difference in being linked than chained, a chain can be broken easily.

 

Let your light shine that others can see and would want to follow your lead. It’s important that you find yourself linked with the right people. That is what my brother’s keeper is all about; surrounding yourself with like minded and positive people that can help you and keep you on “A Pathway To A Successful Life.”

 

 

                    

One would think that the solution to procrastination (not doing it) is its exact opposite: doing it! That the cure is doing the very thing that is being avoided.

 

[Note: We must be careful using the word “cure” in regard to procrastination. We ought to think of procrastination itself as a cure. Trying to “cure” procrastination is identical to trying to cure a fever. Fever is the body’s attempt to “cure” an infection. A physician tries, instead, to eliminate the infection. Likewise, procrastination is an attempt (if misguided) to “cure” a personal difficulty. The underlying problem, for which a person uses procrastination as a solution, must be the focus. Curing procrastination–or concentrating on procrastination, then, distracts and delays an efficacious solution to the true emotional problem.]

 

Well it is, and then some. Since procrastination is the cause of not doing (rather than merely the lack of action), simply doing that which is being procrastinated may not be psychologically possible while the mental obstacle or technical problem causing the procrastination is in place. Also, as explained above, procrastination can be a powerful psychological force in its own right. Therefore, the procrastinator needs to get over, go around, or somehow plow through these mental barriers in order to get on with it. This is dependent upon the very nature of procrastination itself…

 

In essence, procrastination is a form of incompetence. To cure it is to eliminate it. Since incompetence is the opposite or lack of competence, the only way to eliminate it is to replace it with competence.

 

Personal competence comprises five elements: emotional strength, well-directed thought, time-management skills, control over habits, and task completion abilities. Therefore, most strategies for overcoming procrastination are based on improving these five skill areas, and involve: improving emotional control and adjusting one’s underlying attitude, focusing attention and thinking rationally, learning executive (self-management) procedures like planning and scheduling, learning habit-changing methods, and acquiring better task completion and problem solving skills.