"Commencement at Morehouse College is a time of tradition and celebration - but perhaps more so this year. Amid lamentations about the dearth of black men in higher education, Morehouse graduated its largest class ever - nearly 600 educated African American men. No other institution in the world can match this impressive number" (Morehouse College 2006).
What has created this success story? How does this academic institution continue its legacy of excellence for over one hundred years? And how is this institution able to produce such impressive alumni as: Martin Luther King, Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Lerone Bennett, Shelton "Spike" Lee, Dr. David Satcher, Maynard Jackson, Attorney Tyrone Means, Julian Bond, and James Nabrit from every strata of society.
Perhaps the difference is that someone had a dream for each one of these men before they could dream. That someone might have been a teacher. And once the student reached Morehouse, "From the first day on campus, he was told he was destined for greatness and could achieve no less," said Errin Hehmen Assistant Principal of Morehouse.
There are teachers today, who like pioneer Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1950), have "invested in a human soul knowing that "it could be a diamond in the rough." Because true educators know that diamonds, like our students, come in every hue.
Michael Lomax of the UNCF believes in the myriad possibilities of making miracles happen in classrooms. Also when he said: "There is this beacon out there that says if you create a challenging, demanding, yet nurturing and supportive environment, if you show these young men the possibilities and you discipline them to realize those possibilities, you can turn these statistics about black men around." It is obvious that the "bigotry of low expectations" and "benign neglect" have no place in our classrooms or nation.
Surely, there are programs which earnestly address the Plight of the African American Male in Education: Programs which provide residents with a stone of hope toward removing the growing mountain of despair which plagues our nation. These programs provide our nation with the process for change worthy of much praise and emulation. And that new trend: an infusion of exemplary programs, which are already in place within Westchester High Schools which work daily, toward ameliorating an insidious problem, which if left unchecked, negatively impacts society.
The Woodlands Individualized Senior Experience; Ossinings' High Hopes Expectations College Track; Byram Hills' Intel Science Program; and Mount Vernon High School's Business Club, are positive proof that there are already solutions to the heightening dropout rate among African American Males in Westchester public schools. These programs should be replicated nationwide.
Peter Goodman of the UFT cites the following : "A Report issued by the Education Trust, (Teaching Inequality: How Poor and Minority Students Are Shortchanged on Teacher Quality) a major research institution, said: "...research shows ... that good teachers can have an enormous impact on student achievement."
Yes, we know good teachers do have an enormous impact on student achievement. The teachers are the keepers of the dreams. And that fact is exactly what educators have known all along as they strive to teach often against the ever rising insurmountable odds. And, there are many success stories in New York City as students reach their goals and realize the dreams that they can now call their own.
Yes, "...teachers are the single most important factor in how much students learn ....", according to the Education Trust. So we say:
"Bring me all of your dreams,
you dreamers,
Bring me all your heart melodies,
that I may wrap them in a blue cloud cloth,
Away from the too rough fingers of the world."
Langston Hughes "The Dream Keeper"
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