Racism 70's Style

Book Description RACISM - 70S STYLE

This is my Seventh book about life in public school classrooms that I have published through Xlibris. It is actually the first one I wrote because it was published in 1970. Rereading it I can recall my passion and anger as I wrote it. I saw first-hand how the Black children were mistreated and poorly educated.

Each chapter describes how that group or entity systematically destroyed or seriously impaired the chances of the Black children to get an equal education.

I begin with how our superintendent in his yearly pep talk to all the district personnel informed us that we should not accept on our shoulders the fact that Black children were not learning as much as the Whites were. He relieved us of guilt and responsibility and placed the blame firmly on the shoulders of the Black parents.

The minority parents, no longer so cowed by "Whitey" or convinced their children were being properly educated placed the blame squarely on the shoulders of the teachers. They were backed by many militant Black organizations such as CORE, Congress Of Racial Equality.

The city of San Bernardino was a simmering cauldron of anger, hate, and fear. The power structure never had to deal with the outbursts and organized protests and the city was a powderkeg ready to explode. Racist feelings and racism were obvious, but neither side could admit that it was racist. I had developed contacts and friendships on both sides and I attempted to create communication channels between them. Even the superintendent met with me and I served on a committee to ease tensions.

The Black children were being used as soldiers on the front line, just as they had been in the South when forced integration began. I know the parents and the militants didnt want it that way, but there was no other way to get through to the "establishment." Children lost their fear and respect for their teachers and the classrooms in the minority schools were like prisons, but he inmates were now running the show.

Teachers in the minority schools, mostly excellent teachers in their other assignments, were at a loss about what to do. Violence was ongoing before school, in the classrooms, on the playgrounds, and after school. As it also had been, the violence was mostly directed Black against Black. It did spill over and teachers were realistically afraid of their own students.

At Muscott, a target school of the militants, we finally managed to clear away many of the people who didnt want to be there and we gradually developed programs that included the parents and childrens input. Utopia didnt happen, but more children became successful and they went on to better lives.

I brought the book from out-of-print status because I believe that reading this book will be a wake-up call for many. It is also an excellent gauge to measure how far we have come.

What are my suggestions to improve education?

1. Teachers need to understand who they are. By writing their philosophy of education they will began to understand what they believe. They should then take this philosophy and examine how it affects how they see the different children, how they view the curriculum, and how it defines their teaching approach or style.

2. Teachers need to understand that their growth as a teacher is dependent on how they deal with their mistakes and failures. If they can accept their mistakes as learning opportunities rather than failures, they will learn from them. As important, they will then be able to model this concept and to teach the children to realize that learning is not regurgitating facts correctly, but is exploration and discovery. In that process, making mistakes is the normal and critical feedback in gaining skills or understanding content.

3. Making mistakes will become equated with growth and teachers will be making many mistakes depending on how many different things they attempt.