A brute fact of life in 2014 is that black inner city youth are being frozen out of lucrative future high tech careers for lack of early preparation in mathematics. In addition to—not instead of—reading, writing and speaking effectively, early mastery of the basic computation skills is crucial to a child’s future educational development.
Children who fall behind by the fourth grade rarely catch up. Pundits who bemoan the under-representation of black engineers, computer technicians, even C.P.A.’s must look first at the state of elementary schooling.
These are the years when the child’s self-confidence in the ability to perform successfully is internalized, when their view of the world and of life goals and aspirations are established. Negative stereotypical thinking about black children, lack of classroom stimulus or preparation, negative peer pressure, lack of encouragement or example by family or neighbors destroy the prospects of countless inner city children capable of significant accomplishment.
The failure of the New York City public education system to instill in children in their earliest years basic arithmetic proficiency required for later math progress must be acknowledged. The question is what parents or the wider community can do to help those children prepare for the more advanced mathematics required for an increasing percentage of meaningful careers.
All mathematics is hierarchial, with proficiency in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of whole numbers (then of fractions and decimals) the foundation of the geometry and algebra that should be mastered in elementary and junior high school.
Parents and community institutions must fill the gap between what the child needs and what the school provides. Through books, stories, games and toys; building blocks; exposure to cooking recipes or baseball batting averages, children should be encouraged to feel that numbers are important and understandable and that dealing with them can be fun. Thinking of fractions through examples such as a pizza pie divided into halves or quarters, or figuring how many pennies buy a candy bar or make change in a purchase, telling time and determining how many hours until supper—these help preschoolers prepare for “the next step.”
Children whose parents or other adults check their geometry or algebra homework and praise their efforts and success are being prepared for the calculus study that will be crucial for their college admissions and later careers.
The heartbreaking number of youngsters who drop out of high school or who enter college requiring many remedial courses are a charge against our society. That Blacks constitute 12% of the U.S. population but receive 7% of STEM bachelor’s degrees, 4% of master’s degrees and 2% of Ph.D.’s are challenges that must be faced. If only 3% of U.S. high school students in Advanced Placement classes are black, is it surprising that later numbers are bleak?
Inner city children must understand that negative cultural stereotypes do not apply to them, and they must take heart from the knowledge that the world class physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson was advised by his high school teacher to pursue a career in sports rather than in science!
Bright, ambitious inner city students should stretch to prepare for Advanced Placement (AP) and college prep classes that are important for admission to college and universities; they must avail themselves of summer school and after-school programs; they must look ahead and prepare today for the exhilarating, productive careers of tomorrow.
America’s national interest requires all the talented, well-trained innovators and creators we can produce, regardless of skin color. It is in the national interest to see that talented inner city youngsters are in the pipeline.
Self-disciplined, sustained effort; future-mindedness and the planning that goes with it; self-confidence based on a previous record of accomplishment—these are the assets inner city children must be able to bring to the table. If they seek a motto, it can be that of the victorious sailors with Aeneas in ancient Rome: “They were able because they thought they were able!”