Why You Deserve Better From Public Education
In my work, I specialize in supporting Black families in getting the most out of public education. It is a broken system where we [read: Black people] far too often shoulder the brunt of this system’s shortcomings. The hardest part of my job is convincing our people they deserve better than what they are getting.
Here is a short case study of two Black mothers that exemplifies what I am saying.
The first mother is my own. My parents struggled with addiction. We lived in abject poverty to the point where we were chronically homeless. My mother at the time did not have a high school diploma. Both of my parents cared deeply about my education even though they did not have “the language” to advocate properly. My father was the disciplinarian while my mother was the advocate. So every time she stepped into those schools to advocate for me, she had her own levels of inadequacies to juggle in her head. Every time a teacher called her about my behavior, it was another notch to her failure as a parent. School meetings were not a space of collaboration for my mother’s eldest son, it was a battlefield where she fought for her own dignity while also battling addiction in her life.
Premise number two is a Black mother I worked with years later and worlds apart from where I started. This woman was married to a very supportive husband. She had a graduate-level degree and was firmly middle class. However, she had similar struggles in the school building to my mother’s. This woman also struggled to get the most out of the education system while protecting her son from a place that was constantly committing what I like to call Education Malpractice. Her experience also became a battleground. One thing to remember is that people that find themselves caught on a battlefield without knowing war is happening is effectively a casualty. We can no longer afford that.
We do not want this to be a war, but we require our people to be properly prepared regardless, and that preparation starts by us all understanding that WE DESERVE BETTER. That starts with the individual. You are worthy of great things. I do not care if you are a high school dropout or have multiple degrees and a good salary. Black children deserve more from the broken system that thrives off them regardless of if it does right by them or not.
The common denominator between these two mothers is that they are Black and they are both doing whatever it takes to ensure a bright future for their children--a future that includes a quality education. And this isn’t an isolated incident; this is happening all across America where Black children are being pushed out of public schools because educators don’t know how to deal with them or see them as anything other than disciplinary problems.
Black children deserve better than what they are currently getting from public education and it’s time we start demanding more from our schools, teachers, administrators, and elected officials. We have to start holding them accountable for our children’s education.
It’s time for a change in our public education system. We need to demand more from our schools, teachers, administrators, and elected officials. It’s up to us to hold them accountable for our children’s education if we want future generations of Black children to succeed in life beyond school walls.
If you are going to take the education your child(ren) deserves, it starts with your own sense of agency. It does not matter if you have a Ph.D. or a 6th-grade education; you and your advocacy are required.
To put it simply, AGENCY is discernment + action for you and your family’s well-being. You don’t have to be perfect. In fact, you won’t be. You have to know and own that you are the captain of your child’s journey. Accept and welcome that task. Don’t worry, I got your back. Before getting to your kids, we have to put your mask on first.
Here are 3 things you must know that will help you with your own sense of Agency:
You deserve better/great things
You are the expert on your child
No one else is coming to save us so you must be the catalyst of your child(ren)’s education
AVAILABLE SOON: My newest resource for Black Parents “The Black Agentic Parent ebook” is an ebook includes resources for Black Parents who want MORE from public education.
What’s in it?
✅ Modules to help you to know what you need + how to ask for it
✅ 9 Agentic Tools: Worksheets that will lead you to success
✅ Accountability Methods & Practices
✅ Vision + Goal Setting Worksheet
✅ Parent/Teacher Communications Strategies
✅ Teacher Introductory Letter Templates
✅ Parent/Teacher Communications Tracker
✅ Letter of Formal Complaint Template
Available for FREE download on December 15, 2022.
