My name is Barbara Phillips, Executive Director of the Community Network Council (CNC). I raised two Black boys and was actively involved with my sons' education and schools. I was even the President of the PTA. So, I understand the struggles Black boys face in schools. I also understand some of the struggles teachers endure while teaching Black boys. It's usually because they don't understand one another. This lack of understanding diminishes the potential for Black boys and White teachers to respect and connect with one another. The Cultural disconnect can partially explain the disparities and disproportionality Black Boys experience: lower attendance rates; the highest discipline rates; higher dropout rates; and other kinds of disproportionality that lead them from school to prison. I asked my friend, Melvin Tate, MA Ed, a career educator and my advisor, for the best way to change the culture of schools. His response was not to attack but to offer training on how to teach Black boys. He created and taught the course, "Teaching Black Boys" which supports educators, students, and families. Based on participant evaluations in several schools taking the course (testimonies below), the course has been very well received in the Kent School District.

Cindy Prescott

My name is Cindy Prescott and I am an instructor for the course “Teaching Black Boys.” When Melvin first asked me to be trained to teach the course for the Community Network Council (CNC) I had several reservations. One concern is that I am a White female teaching a course about Black Boys. Melvin said that by the time I finish with the training I will know more about Black boys, Black families, and the Black community than most people. He said the real issue is one’s disposition and perseverance to continue learning. Of course, anyone who knows him know that he said a lot more. During the conversation he shared that 85% of educators in the nation and in many local communities are White, the overwhelming majority of which are White women. Plus, it is mostly White women who continue to choose teaching and education as a career. Melvin made another point as well. If it is good for students of color to have people who look like them teaching courses, why wouldn’t the same principle apply to teachers who are students in some of the courses offered by the CNC? This, especially if the instructor can share the transformative experience many teachers will have as they continue to learn about Black boys and other cultural groups.

He continued; you are not there to present yourself as all-knowing regardless of how well informed you are. The course is not a lecture but rather an inquiry and discovery process. Having over 70 contributing authors (primary sources) the textbook is well suited for the inquiry/discovery learning process--even a critique, he said.

At that point I was ready to give it a try, but he went a little further. He said my experience as a career teacher and Union President should assure educators that I am well aware of education issues as well as the experiences of many individual educators. finally, I just wish I would have studied the contents of the textbook at the beginning of my career. I have a much better understanding of myself as well as Black boys and their families. Also, the basic framework of the textbook; Understanding, Respecting, and Connecting, are principles that can be applied to any group or culture.