A Failing System. Who's to blame?

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Because another happening with a young Black man and a Black mother...


I just watched the video of the student who has passed just three classes in four years of high school. Although each year he was promoted to the next grade, his credits place him as a ninth grader, thus he was expected to start over as such. You probably have questions and comments, but here's my take.

What I know as a human is that I can never fully understand anyone else's situation period. I can watch a news story, and form opinions, and it will all still be biased based on what I have and haven't experienced. Each occurrence is unique to the involved individuals ALWAYS! 

I know it's easy to shake our head and give all this insight on who we think is to blame. What's the point? This kid is clearly facing some hardships and is in danger of a downward spiral in life. How can things get better? One immediate action that can be taken is to pray that God will intervene and that this family would be able to have opportunities for the best life they can have. My hope is that in the midst of everyone voicing their opinions, that they find peace and move forward from there. What happened happened. We can speculate all we want but it's their truth. Now that we've heard the story, where do we go from here as a people?

Blaming the father? Asking where is the father? Okay, but in reality, have we forgotten that single parenting is a thing? Seriously? The story included a mother and a son. What's the point of asking about others?

Blaming the mom? Even if you are a single mother with multiple jobs, any statement about what you would do if it were you, or what your mom did and what this woman should have done is sooooo irrelevant. I truly believe it is absolutely possible to go an entire high school career in oblivion to what is happening with regards to grades or attendance. Is it ideal, no; but it's very possible.  Especially if you are working and would never receive calls from the school anyway. Plus, there are plenty of parents that fall back on their involvement for many viable reasons, starting in middle school. We can talk all day about why the mother should take responsibility, blah blah blah. What I can't understand is how only one teacher requested a parent-teacher conference. Whether the mom should have done this or that, the school did not press to help the boy succeed. Did they assume he didn't care and leave him to fail? Did they assume the mom didn't care because she didn't initiate contact? Regardless, here we are with a kid who was failed on many levels but still shouldn't be written off. He's our kid. They never talked about why the mom needs to work so many jobs, they never put the school on the spot for being so negligent. As a former educator, I can't understand how any of his teachers or guidance counselors got away with not reporting on his progress. So this family is on blast and here's another opportunity for the Black community to be divided on an issue. Tearing down a Black woman; is that the truth of Women's History?

Lord I pray for this young man and mother that things would change for them, and that effective opportunities would open up for them to have the community of mentors, finances, and love that they need. I pray that the peace of God would cover them in the midst of the opinions placed on them. 

Amen!

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