I am reading The Mis-Education of The Negro by Dr. Carter G. Woodson for probably the 20th time and the information is as relevant today as it was in 1933 when the book was written.
First of all, many people are probably asking, “Who is Dr. Carter G. Woodson?” even though there is a library named after him on 95th and Halsted in Chicago. He is the Father of Black History. Also, he was the first black person with slave parents to receive a PhD. And he conducted extensive studies and documented the education and accomplishments of Black people in America.
Carter G. Woodson wrote:
We should not close any accredited Negro colleges and universities, but we should reconstruct the whole system.
Okay, I know that Dr. Woodson was referring to black colleges and universities in the 1930s, but this statement can easily apply to the mass school closings in Chicago’s mostly black and brown communities in 2013.
While I understand that some schools probably needed to close for various reasons, has it ever occurred to the decision makers that the ENTIRE system might be flawed? Well, at least where black and brown children are concerned.
Also, do the children of the people making these decisions attend CPS? Or, have they ever attended themselves?
Can the people making the decisions really relate to the people they are serving? Probably not. I can’t see North Shore relating to Englewood, except for charitable or exploitation purposes.
I wanted to share this for three reasons:
1. The education of black students in America has not changed much since Dr. Woodson wrote that book in 1933.
2. The ENTIRE public education system in the United States needs to be revamped.
3. The system is not going to change or improve until parents get more involved BEFORE they announce that schools are going to close or become turn-around schools.
So, what do you think?
Have you read The Mis-Education of the Negro? If you are over 30 years old and attended public school, do you think the system has changed? Why or why not? Also, what can be don differently to improve it?