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If We Don’t Educate, We Incarcerate
Unfortunately, this is the case for too many minority students
Many years ago, when I was working as an engineer, I volunteered to work with underprivileged children. They came in all colors — black, white, Asian, and Hispanic.
The Asian and Hispanic students I tutored in California were the most eager to learn. They had immigrant parents, for the most part, who were pushing them to excel. They knew this was a pathway to success.
The white kids were more indifferent. They were respectful but were not as eager or motivated as the immigrant children. But part of that might have been that they were in rural Appalachia, where a focus on education has not historically been part of the culture.
My most disappointing experience was with the black students.
This was when I lived in St. Joseph, Michigan, and a group of us would travel to Benton Harbor, which was considered a dangerous area. I was told to never go there alone — to always go with a group. My fellow volunteers were all male and were protective of me.
Of course, that made me wonder — what about the 7 and 8 year old children I was trying to help?
Suddenly it made sense to me why they were so indifferent to the schoolwork I was trying to…
