"Foster
(1997) described a teacher, Everett Dawson, who taught a course
containing content beyond geometry and Algebra II at Horton High
School, a segregated black school in North Carolina. Dawson was the
first teacher to teach this advanced course in the county. However,
when county officials found out, they blocked Dawson from teaching
the course. According to Dawson, "They cut it out until the
white school could establish the course and catch up with us. That's
how determined the white folks were to be better than we were."
Similarly, when Dunbar High School in Washington, DC, added calculus
to its curriculum, the school board eliminated it from course
offerings (Sowell, 1974). In North Carolina, segregated black high
schools had Algebra I as a graduation requirement before integration,
whereas white high schools did not have such a requirement (Snipes &
Waters, 2005).
“After
school integration, Algebra I was no longer a requirement for
graduation. North Carolina created mathematical courses below the
mathematical rigor of Algebra I, which included consumer mathematics,
general mathematics and other less rigorous mathematics courses to
accommodate the perceived lack of preparation of black students
(Snipes & Waters, 2005). From Snipes and Waters' (2005) case
study, Mr. Smith reported, “When we desegregated the schools, the
kids that might have stayed in a Black school and gone through
Algebra I were sent to general math...During integration, Black
children did not have the same access to Algebra I as they did prior
to integration. In segregated schools, many Black children had
mathematics teachers who cared about them as people and expected them
to be prepared for rigorous mathematics studies. However, in
integrated schools, the level of attention and care provided to Black
children was lost; consequently, those children were placed in low-
level mathematics courses, which did little to adequately prepare
these children for rigorous mathematics studies and college.
“The
work of James Coleman coincided with the Great Society initiatives,
and, in 1966, Coleman and colleagues issued a report titled Equality
of Educational Opportunity commonly referred to as The
Coleman Report (Coleman
et al., 1966)....One finding that received significant attention from
policymakers and civil rights activists was that peer effects had a
significant impact on student achievement, meaning the background
characteristics of other students influenced student achievement.
Many interpreted this finding to mean that Black children who
attended integrated schools would have higher test scores if a
majority of their classmates were White (Wong & Nicotera, 2004).
This one finding coupled with the tensions of desegregation was a
catalyst for the implementation of the desegregation busing systems
that occurred in many places in the United States....Interestingly,
Coleman issued a report in 1975 concluding that busing failed largely
because it had prompted “White flight.” That is, as White
families fled to suburban schools, the report concluded, the
opportunity for achieving racial balance evaporated. This implies
that significant thought was not given to understanding black
children within the context of who they are and the resources these
children bring to schools. The Coleman Report only sought to
understand Black Children within the school context and relative to
White children. Consequently, there may be an over-reliance on the
peer effect finding....
“In
schools where significant numbers of Black children were bused, these
child experienced resegregation for their mathematics instruction. In
fact 70% of the school districts had racially identifiable classrooms
as a result of ability grouping resegregation (Doughty,
1978)...Additionally, Black children were more likely to be placed in
special education programs. In fact, Doughty (1978) estimated that
91% of Black children in special education programs during this
period were incorrectly assigned on the basis of low expectations and
inaccuracies in IQ scores...
“While
we are critical of aspects of the Coleman Report and desegregation
efforts, we do not mean to imply that the federal policies, programs,
and legislations enacted in the 1960s and 1970s were ineffective and
unnecessary. Black people ha many economic, political, and academic
gains during this period. During the 1960s and 1970s, median Black
family income rose 53 percent, Black employment in professional and
technical occupations doubled, and the average educational attainment
increased by four years. The proportion of Black families below the
poverty line fell from 55% in 1960 to 27% in 1968 and the Black
unemployment rate fell 34 percent (Mintz, 2007).”
THE BRILLIANCE OF BLACK CHILDREN IN MATHEMATICS; Beyond the Numbers and Toward New Discourse, "A Critical Review of American K-12 Mathematics Education, 1900-Present, Implications for the Experiences and Achievement of Black Children" by Berry, III, Pinter, McClain; Edited by Jacqueline Leonard, Danny B. Martin, (2013) Pp. 31-37
THE BRILLIANCE OF BLACK CHILDREN IN MATHEMATICS; Beyond the Numbers and Toward New Discourse, "A Critical Review of American K-12 Mathematics Education, 1900-Present, Implications for the Experiences and Achievement of Black Children" by Berry, III, Pinter, McClain; Edited by Jacqueline Leonard, Danny B. Martin, (2013) Pp. 31-37
