Simply Build Relationships And Provide Quality Education
By: Suhaylah Mustafa
Okay I get it, students have to show responsibility and hold themselves accountable for their own education.. blah, blah. There has to be another group who should also be accountable for the reason students are being pushed out of their schools .
School Pushout is something I’m thankful is being addressed, and I’m quite sure we all know what group of youth is the direct target. According to “The Complexity of Non-Completion: Being Pushed or Pulled to Drop Out of High School”, it is more likely for black students to drop out of school due to being pushed out. School Pushout is a topic that should be discussed more often amongst students so that we are all aware of the attacks against our educational experience.
Though there are proficient black educators, communities, and organizations such as Dignity in Schools combatting School Pushout with effective solutions, here are a few I thought of based on my school experience:
For Students:
- Take initiative to form relationships with your teachers. Tell the teacher if you’re having difficulties understanding something. Doing this helps you and the teacher in so many ways. If I need help with my work, but the question I have needs more attention than the assigned class period, I will request to come during a scheduled time confirmed by my teacher. Not only did it help me academically, but it also showed the teacher that I valued my education, and was a great opportunity for my teacher to get to know me. Trust me; it works.
For Educators:
- Allow students to feel comfortable around you. When a student feels comfortable around you, they might tell you troubles they could be having at home that might be causing them to not do their work or show out in class. I notice that a lot of people who have issues at school are usually the students who have the most troubles at home, and are too afraid to share. Therefore, it results in them falling behind in school and participating in things that get them in trouble. It’s the teacher’s job to form a relationship with all of their students. This plays a vital role in student behavior, therefore, teachers have the choice and ability to alter certain situations.
- Do not overload your students with work. You might be thinking giving them an enormous amount of work is helping them understand the subject better, but I can confidently agree that it’s not. It’s causing students to have mental breakdowns daily, especially if they are already behind from suspensions or being sent out of class. They might be mentally drained from something that might have happened at home or school and become more stressed, which may lead to misbehavior in the classroom or even skipping class.
On another note, educational access and educational justice has been a tool for liberation among people of African descent. Education has always been important to African Americans; just never had as much access compared to the white educational experience. Quality education is something I feel needs to be closely examined. Many schools lack the resources, funds, and even effective educators to reach certain requirements to have a quality education. Lack of equipment, books, etc.. In other words, the basic needs to receive a quality education. Therefore, is School Pushout totally on the student, or is it due to the lack of access to a quality education?
