Long ago, I was ensnared in a conversation that most of you have participated in. You know the type of conversation that I speak of, one that is “about everything and nothing at all.” A verbal exchange filled with unexpected twists-and-turns that neither participant expected.
My foremost recollection of the conversation was the statement that “Losing is contagious. If you find a student losing inside the classroom due to a lack of effort, I guarantee you that they are emanating from an extended tradition of excuse-makers and procrastinators. I would bet my life on it.”
In all likelihood, this portion of the conversation sits so prominently in my mind because it encapsulates the inherent flaws of so many of my students; those that I speak of flounder, while their peers capitalize on opportunities. Instead of recognizing opportunity, many of my students see unconquerable obstacles that are not to be engaged. This matter is so common among my students that I combat it by including the following James Baldwin quote on my Syllabus.
Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.
It never fails those languishing in my class possess a perspective that allows them to avoid all responsibility for their failures and shortcomings.
Where hard work is needed, they make excuses.
Where commitment is required, they seek escape routes.
And when the fruits of their dereliction arrive, they cry foul and seek to escape with lies, innuendos, excuses, and flimsy explanations. Predictably, they never realize that they have sown seeds of laziness that will never sprout into success.
During a recent engagement with such a person, they bristled at the notion that there has never been a better moment to be “young, gifted, and Black” in America. Instead of carefully weighing these words, they chose an oppositional stance that communicated the limits that they placed on their future.
If you have read Manhood, Race, and Culture for any period of time, you realize that I am neither an apologist for discrimination and racial bigotry, nor am I a denier of institutional racism, however, there is an even more sinister enemy afoot in the lives of far too many African-American youth. This enemy resides in homes that place limits on the potential of Black children via a regimen of unwise counsel, devotion to social media/reality television, and a dizzying lack of planning for the future. In many ways, the alluded to students have been groomed to live in the present as tomorrow is not promised. Obviously such a flawed worldview does nothing to buttress against the reality that tomorrow will arrive. They are unprepared for that occurrence.
It is of supreme importance that the daunting narrative of blackness being synonymous with a “hard knock life” be ceased immediately as it invariably limits the imagination of African-American youth, an occurrence that certainly diminishes both intellectual curiosity and effort levels within the realm of education. Although such an alteration within Black America is not a highly-charged political issue, it is one that holds significant promise for those interested in uplifting Black America. Unfortunately, it appears that far too many are not willing to invest their efforts in such ways.
Dr. James Thomas Jones III