2023 24 Black Pages FINAL 2 - Flipbook - Page 119
The Way Forward To The Beloved Community In
The Macon Middle Georgia Community
Solutions to the African Education Achievement Gap and Black On Black Crime
by: Thomas Duval D.D.S., M.P.H.
The lack of knowledge of local history and culture perpetuates normalized spurious self-identity, and the
idolization of flawed community mentors (thugs), The lack of knowledge of local iconic historic leaders results
in no positive mental mentors for children living in dysfunctional families and neighborhoods. Illiteracy makes
individuals unemployable. Virtually every adult middle income job requires reading at 12th grade level. Adults
who read at 12th grade level, have positive self-esteem, and a purpose for life; are job ready and can pass tests to
be trained and employed. These individuals can obtain middle class jobs, become tax paying contributing
citizens, and afford decent housing. This is the upstream solution to community blight.
The solution strategies to eliminating the epidemic problems plaguing the Macon Middle Georgia Community
are:
1. Use engaging activities to teach local and state African American history
2. Use culturally relevant engaging activities and lesson plans to teach reading at
grade level state proficiency exam skill sets
Sociologist know that adult prison inmates don’t read at 12th grade level. Juvenile justice system students do
not read at the appropriate grade-level. Most of the public-school behavioral bullies don’t read at grade-level.
Furthermore, there is considerable data that indicates that recidivism rates go down for juvenile and adult
offenders that learn to read at grade level. Most of the youth committing violent crimes don’t read at grade
level. The positive attribute that is absent in individuals committing aberrant behavior is reading at grade level.
Every state and local board of education has over time, developed and implemented education strategic plans.
The overarching, but many times forgotten goal of these often convoluted plans is to motivate children to want
to learn. If students don’t become inspired to develop intrinsic motivation to learn; the public school,
especially those public schools with over 70 percent African American students, will not develop a culture of
academic achievement. Without a positive culture of academic achievement, students will not be motivated to
do the work to learn to read, and these schools will
continue to underperform.
Dr. Angela Duckworth has identified this motivation as
“grit”. Students with grit have the tenacity to overcome
adversity and persevere to achieve academic goals. African
American students need to know their local and state
history African American iconic leaders that overcame
almost impossible odds to achieve and give back to their
communities. Our local Linwood cemetery is filled with
these iconic leaders. The senior community griot leaders
have an ancestral obligation to do the research to learn this
local and state AA history, and pass it on to the younger
generation. The younger generation must learn why they
have an African American Ancestral Obligation to learn,
and more specifically to learn to read at grade-level. Young
students, especially African American students must be
introduced and educated about their local and state iconic
leaders for them to develop positive self-esteem and to
have a positive, purposeful, personal identity.
AA students must see themselves in their learning to read
books and media activities.
State proficiency reading and language art exam prep
lesson plans must be engaging and culturally relevant. Knowledge of self and reading at grade level can
ultimately fix virtually everything wrong in the AA community. Children must see their image, their family
image, and their community image in the learning to read books and activities in public schools. They need this
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