Post submitted by Whole Child Blogger Matt Swift
During Baruti Kafele's ASCD Summer Conference session,"Motivating Black Males to Succeed in school and in Life," the former principal grabbed the audience's attention with his commanding presence and no-nonsense discussions about how to help struggling black students. He started the session by asking members of the audience to share their classroom stories to create a conversation and point out common themes the educators shared.
"You guys selected this session because you are having trouble with black male students," Kafele stated. "So, tell me some of these problems."
The audience members talked about how many students had given up on college, so they didn't feel school was important; how many students get suspended or sent home; and how many students had reading issues as challenges they faced. Kafele acknowledged that he had many of the same issues, but he overcame them