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Teacher's Pledge to Educational Excellence for African American Students
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In America today, African American students continue to lag behindEuropean American students, Asian American Students, and other ethnicgroups on tests at the state and national levels. Further, a recentreport published by the Ann Arbor Public Schools' Research Servicesindicates that on the MEAP (Michigan Education Assessment Program), atest based on the essential goals and objectives set by the MichiganState Department of Education, African Americans are at the bottom ofthe scale in Reading, Mathematics, and Science. This pattern seems tobegin as early as fourth grade and African American students seldomrecover from this educational deficit. Moreover, according to aChildren's Defense Fund report, African American children are fourtimes as likely as European American children to live with neitherparent, to be supervised by a child welfare agency, to die asteenagers, and to be sent to jail between the ages of 15-19 years.

African American children are twice as likely as European Americanchildren to be born prematurely, suffer low birth weight, die in thefirst year of life, be born to a teenage mother, be suspended fromschool and to some from a home where their parents are unemployed, andoften are socially isolated. Any combination of these debilitatingfactors can produce socioeconomic risks that impoverish the AfricanAmerican child's world so that the child lacks the basic social andpsychological necessities of life (Gabarino, 1992). Bronfenbrenner(1970) reminds us that children provide the building blocks of humansociety; and that one important clue to understanding the values androbustness of a society is to look at how it does by its children. Hefurther states that "When children are suffering, we are seeing asociety in trouble." (Garbarino, 1992)

As I take my teaching responsibilities seriously, and dedicate myselfto the task of effectively educating all children, I here and nowcommit myself to a pledge of Educational Excellence for AfricanAmerican Students.

Therefore, as a teacher in the educational system of this country, I pledge to do the following:

  1. I will set and maintain for myself . . .
    the highest possible level of educational competence.

  2. I will set and maintain for myself and promote among my colleagues, . . .
    the highest possible level of ethnic competence. In so doing, I willseek to understand the uniqueness that African American students bringto the classroom in terms of their history, coping strategies, values,traditions, and learning styles

  3.  will . . .
    make my classroom student and parent friendly.

  4. I will reach out . . .
    to the parents of children in my class and bridge the gap between homeand school, making the school environment a safe and supportiveenvironment for students and their parents.

  5. I will periodically . . .
    review and modify my teaching approach, curricula, and teaching styleto make certain they meet the specific needs of African Americanstudents.

  6. I will personally . . .
    advocate for the best interest and well being of my students.

  7. I will hold high expectations for my students.

  8. I will strive . . .
    to promote high self-esteem and a belief in the personal competence in my students.

  9. I will maintain ongoing personal contact with the parents/guardians of my students
    via telephone calls and/or personal visits in the students' homes or at school.

  10. I will support NAAPID . . .
    and its ongoing commitment to educational excellence for African American students.

I, _______________________________, make this pledge after carefulconsideration of my role and responsibility as a teacher; and mycommitment to join hands with NAAPID in its efforts to make thissociety a safe place for all where hopes and dreams can be nourishedinto rewarding realities.
 

Signature: _________________________________ Date: ________

School district: __________________________________________



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