Inner City Schools: Funding Should be Equal Across the Board

The following is an excerpt from the book, "Black American Money."

I saw some random "expert" on a "60 Minutes" segment discussing the state of the education system. The man was attempting to argue that more resources won't make a difference in the quality of our schools. He went on to argue that many of the pathetic schools in the inner city are run by blacks, implying that not only do African-Americans not care about their own youth, they are shiftless buffoons when it comes to money management. I've heard similar arguments from members of oppressive groups around the world, as oppressor attitudes are shockingly consistent and universal. A friend of mine from India once explained to me that additional government resources being allocated to create opportunities for "the untouchables" were a waste of time, in large part due to the fact that the people were too lazy to efficiently use these opportunities.Stereotypes against historically oppressed groups are quite common, as the world has been trained to believe that when it comes to managing money, white men are gods and black people are idiots. But when it comes to poor money management, few institutions are worse than the Pentagon which has been known to spend $500 for a toilet seat. They also fail to look to the airline and automobile industries, the ultimate welfare queens of American capitalism. These industries consistently seek government bailouts in the form of tariffs and subsidies. I won't begin to discuss the Financial Crisis of 2008 – 2009, as we saw our entire global financial system artificially inflated and subsequently destroyed by individuals who are not black. Rather, people are usually quick to point to black administrators in inner city schools and historically black colleges and universities as the most wasteful individuals in American education and industry.

My response to any individual who attempts to argue that additional resources would not solve the education problem is this: prove it. Create a mandate that all schools receive equal funding, no matter where they are located, and then see what happens. Such a law would surely see a dramatic increase in graduation rates and improvements in the educational outcomes of students. Money is the key to salvation in a capitalist society. Until the funds and resources are equivalent, then all conversations about parenting, culture and individual responsibility are absolutely and unconditionally moot.

Another barrier to progress in many school systems can be guidance counselors. I couldn't help but notice that guidance counselors in inner city schools are far less likely to suggest college as an option than counselors at schools in the suburbs. I am not sure why this is the case, seeing as I teach a lot of idiots who come out of the suburbs. This is not to say that all of my students are idiots, but some of them spend more time in a beer bottle than a text book. What is incredibly sad about this is that if they'd gone through one of our horrible inner city schools, they would have ended up not going to college at all. Instead, they grew up in environments where college was the rule and not the exception. They were encouraged to pursue education by their guidance counselors and not discouraged by them.

In fact, I feel that high school guidance counselors have more power than they should. The idea that you can analyze someone for a couple of years at the age of 16 and make (what you think is) an accurate prediction of what they are capable of for the rest of their life is absolutely ridiculous. I have changed dramatically since I was 16, and if I had accepted the labels placed upon me at that time, those labels would have formed a self-fulfilling prophecy leading me to a life of misery and mediocrity.

When I speak with youth either in person or via email, I start off with the assumption that all black kids should go to college. If George Bush can graduate from the top university in the nation, then every black kid in America can go to college somewhere. The truth is that the default educational choice should start from the top, not the bottom. We should assume each child can go to college and speak to him/her as if college is the expectation, not the exception. Going to high school is an expectation now, but it was the exception at one point in time. It was due to higher standards that we eventually witnessed stronger community performance. We must demand and expect the most from our children, because their economic futures are highly dependent on their decision to become educated.

This was an excerpt from the forthcoming book, "Black American Money," by Dr. Boyce Watkins.