Addressing the many unique academic challenges that face black males--from low self-esteem, absenteeism, fatherlessness, and gangs to not accepting middle-class values, the impact of hip-hop culture, and drugs--this book provides answers and hope to teachers and the afflicted students and their families. With more than 75 solutions for educators to implement in their schools, including mentoring programs, rites of passage, internships, motivational speeches, counseling, and cooperative learning, this helpful resource shows how issues of retention, illiteracy, special education, and dropping out are simply symptoms of a much larger disease, and, if left unaddressed, will continue to stunt the education of black students.

In this groundbreaking and timely volume Vernon Polite and James Davis have brought together the perspectives and research findings of eminent scholars who study the educational and social lives of African American males. The result is a volume that brims with new outlooks and viewpoints, a refreshing departure from pervasive and oftentimes stereotypical literature about the African American male experience, and gives the reader access to prevalent issues affecting this population today. Thoughtful attention is paid to broader outcomes such as educational attainment, job procurement, and quality of life. These topics are discussed against the backdrop of student background and schooling with an overall aim to improve the academic and social outcomes of this population . Chapters range from explorations into identifying giftedness and responsive teaching styles, to educating African American males in the suburbs. The contributors to this volume offer differing methodologies and foci to document how the social and educational worlds of African American males cross, and the editors suggest policy implications that derive from these studies. This eloquent, engaging, and accessible volume has much to offer its readers and is especially important to people concerned with the well-being of African American boys and men.

One of the most vexing problems confronting educators today is the chronic achievement gap between black male students and their peers. In this inspiring and thought-provoking book, veteran educator Baruti K. Kafele offers a blueprint for lifting black males up and ensuring their success in the classroom and beyond. Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life offers proven strategies for getting black male students in middle school and high school to value learning, improve their grades, and maintain high standards for themselves. The author shows how simple but powerful measures to instill self-worth in young black males can not only raise these students' achievement, but also profoundly alter their lives for the better. This book will help you to help students * Reverse the destructive effects of negative influences, whether among peers or in the popular culture; * Surmount adverse conditions at home or in their communities; * Participate in mentorship programs with successful black male adults; and * Take pride in their heritage by learning about great figures and achievements in black history. Whether your school is urban or rural, all-black or mixed, you'll find this book to be an insightful resource that addresses the root causes of low achievement among young black males and offers a clear path to overcoming them.

A major premise of the book is that teachers, school leaders, and school support staff are not taught how to create school and classroom environments to support the academic and social success of Black male students. The purpose of this book is to help champion a paradigmatic shift in educating Black males. This books aims to provide an asset and solution-based framework that connects the educational system with community cultural wealth and educational outcomes. The text will be a sourcebook for in-service and pre-service teachers, administrators, district leaders, and school support staff to utilize in their quest to increase academic and social success for their Black male students. Adopting a strengths-based epistemological stance, this book will provide concerned constituencies with a framework from which to engage and produce success.

This critical analysis looks at the disproportionate number of African American males in special education. Arguing that the problem is race and gender driven, questions covered include Why does Europe send more females to special education? Why does America lead the world in giving children Ritalin? Is there a relationship between sugar, Ritalin, and cocaine? and Is there a relationship between special education and prison? More than 100 strategies to help teachers and parents keep black boys in the regular classroom, such as revising teacher expectations, increasing parental involvement, changing teaching styles from a left-brain abstract approach to a right-brain hands-on approach, redoing the curriculum, understanding the impact of mass media, and fostering healthy eating habits.

In his new book, the author of the bestseller Why Race and Culture Matter in Schools examines the chronic under-performance of African American males in U.S. schools. Citing a plethora of disturbing academic outcomes for Black males, this book focuses on the historical, structural, educational, psychological, emotional, and cultural factors that influence the teaching and learning process for this student population. Howard discusses the potential, and promise of Black males by highlighting their voices to generate new insights, create new knowledge, and identify useful practices that can significantly improve the schooling experiences and life chances of Black males. Howard calls for a paradigm shift in how we think about, teach, and study Black males. The book: examines current structures, ideologies, and practices that both help and hinder the educational and social prospects of Black males; translates frequently cited theorectical principles into research-based classroom practice; documents teacher-student interactions, student viewpoints, and discusses the troubling role that sports plays in th lives of many Black males; highlights voices and perspectives from Black male students about ways to improve their schooling experiences and outcomes; and identifies community-based programs that are helping Black males succeed.

The Education of Black Males in a ‘Post-Racial’ World examines the varied structural and discursive contexts of race, masculinities and class that shape the educational and social lives of Black males. The contributing authors take direct aim at the current discourses that construct Black males as disengaged in schooling because of an autonomous Black male culture, and explore how media, social sciences, school curriculum, popular culture and sport can define and constrain the lives of Black males. The chapters also provide alternative methodologies, theories and analyses for making sense of and addressing the complex needs of Black males in schools and in society. By expanding our understanding of how unequal access to productive opportunities and quality resources converge to systemically create disparate experiences and outcomes for African-American males, this volume powerfully illustrates that race still matters in 'post-racial' America. This book was originally published as a special issue of Race Ethnicity and Education.