Was it great anticipation, good construction, chance, or the interplay of all three? Were the forefathers that crafty, or did their evil intentions take on a life of it own? Whatever it may be, the condition that African American males are in today is alarming. African American males disproportionately are suffering for many social illnesses, such as school failure, involvement with the criminal justice system, health care problems, crime victimization, and the large of rate of foster care placement (Mauer, 1999). For example, within the traditional K–12 educational structure, African American males disproportionately account for suspensions, expulsions, special educational placements, and dropouts (Polite & Davis, 1999). Furthermore, African Americans account for about 6.7% of the population in California, but 36% of the children in foster care, with males remaining in foster longer than females (Bowie, 2003). As regards the criminal justice system, Mauer (1999) cites the following statistics:
[...] Theoretical Framework The theoretical framework of this paper comes from two different schools of thought in philosophy—pragmatism and reconstructionism—which I believe complement each other, providing a deep understanding of social and the importance of focusing on the human experience in a social context. Pragmatism The basic element of pragmatism is human experience, or what William James (1890/1983), who popularized pragmatism, called the “stream of experience.” Something becomes truth, James contended, if it is made true by events (experience), and therefore truth is not the same for everyone. [...]
[...] Although there are many different perspectives on why most African American males are not getting their educational needs met, I will only discuss a few of these to bring attention to a huge social problem that deserves much more research. Etzioni (1993), who coined the term communitarian school, recommended that schools need to do more than just be vehicles of transmitting knowledge and skills. They must also shape character and provide moral education. the moral infrastructure of our communities is to be restored,” he writes, “schools will have to step in where the family, neighborhoods, and religious institutions have been failing” (p. [...]
[...] Similarly, the marginalization of African American males cannot be solved with simplistic solutions. Corporations in the United States are clever enough to turn the cries of pain in rap music into profits for themselves. There are more African American males in prisons than in colleges, but society doesn't seem to care. Although life has gotten better for all members of society, African American males are still at the bottom of the social and economic ladder. Clearly, there is still much work to be done. [...]
[...] The talented tenth. Available at http://teachingamerican history.org/library/index.asp? document=174/ Etzioni, A. (1993). The spirit of community: The reinvention of American society. New York: Touchstone. Gill, W. (1991). Issues in African American education. Nashville, TN: One Horn Press. Guy, T. C. (2004, Spring). Gangsta Rap and adult education. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education 43–57. James, W. (1890/1983). The principles of psychology vols.). Cambridge: Harvard University Press. James, W. (1899/1983). Talks to teachers on psychology and to students on some of life's ideals. [...]
[...] Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Mauer, M. (1999, April 15–16). The crisis of the young African American male and the criminal justice system. Paper prepared for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Washington, DC. Ozmon, H., & Craver, S. (2003). Philosophical foundations of education (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Polite, V. C., & Davis, J. E. (1999). African American males in school and society: Practices and policies for effective education. New York: Teacher College Press. Pope, N. S. [...]
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