Civil Rights Martyrs: Free at last
As I watched Civil Rights Martyrs:Free at last it reminded me of lessons from my family. I remembered stories my grandfather told me of having to move to the back of the bus. Stories of my great-grandmother standing up to white people for mistreating her girls and the fear my grandmother had that her mother would be taken away from her because of it. Those were the stories I remember growing up and those were the stories that helped push me to want to be better.
When I read this story and particular the following comment I was dismayed.
In 2008, state officials in Alabama, Arizona and Washington delayed the start of the exit exam requirement and lowered standards after seeing that many students, including a disproportionate number of minorities, would fail the tests.
I am well aware of statistics which show that minorities underperform. Yet my mind has a hard time processing this information because I know it is not because minorities are intellectually inferior to whites. My personal belief is that families are no longer an integral support system for their children. Whether that is due to absentee parents or parents working too much trying to provide financially at the expense of a child’s emotional and behavioral needs.
We went to school year around in my home. During the summer time my mom found these student desks and we would have class, we would have recess,and even snack time. I even remember her having our room plastered with vowel sounds and numbers. We were very poor my mom was not able to provide financially for us but she invested heavily emotionally in us. At the time the exit exam in Texas was called the TASS Test my brothers and I all passed the test and on the first try.
Lessening the standards does little to prepare students for
college or young adults with productive futures. There are certain basic skills that should not be compromised. I think there is small percentage of people that have learning disabilities that will inhibit them from ever progressing pass a basic level for everyone else it just takes something called desire. A desire that is lacking in the students and administrators who believe that lessen standards is helpful.
