Little Black Boy Lost

This picture touched me. The photo is from this story in the NY Times about a new program for struggling students in Spring Valley, New York. Kids are held back in school if they can't meet the requirements and then placed in a special class, called the "Gift of Time", where the teacher concentrates on basic skills. The kids are promoted if they reach certain benchmarks. Check out the story if you have the time.

Then look at that little boy's face again.

He doesn't seem like he received a gift. In the story, educators, experts, parents and students discuss the program and give it mixed reviews. They talk about its pros and cons and the article is very balanced. Yet, when I looked at that little boy, at his expression, his clothing, at his eyes, well I knew everything I needed to know.

It's very clear how he feels about his gift.

I remember the kids who flunked in elementary school. Maybe it was because I went to public school, but I don't remember there being a huge stigma associated with flunking, although everyone was aware of which kids were one or two grades behind. Shoot, a lot of the "cool" kids in elementary school and middle school were kids behind in the classroom.

I wonder now if those kids were embarrassed about being behind. Did they view school as some sort of torture chamber where all of their weaknesses were exposed? When I constantly raised my hand to answer questions (Yeah, I was that kid.) did they view me with jealousy or hatred? What went through their minds when teachers said "this is the reason why you always fail!?"

I can't really decide if this program is good or bad. We all know that whenever institutions start grouping folks based on perceived intellectual ability black folks get the shaft. Some people would argue that is because black folks keep effing up, but y'all know what I think about that.

I know that school systems have a history of labeling black children, particularly black boys, as being "special needs" children in an attempt to remove them from regular classes and warehouse them. These children often are very intelligent, but have other emotional problems that can make them harder to educate. Often, by labeling these children as being "special needs" school systems can avoid having their test scores count on the same scale as the scores of children in regular classes.

Yet, hasn't it been proven that smaller class sizes and individual attention help children learn? If programs like this one give children the type of instruction that benefits them, can the program really be bad? Sure, there is a potential for things to go awry, but is that potential enough to invalidate the entire enterprise?

I grappled with those questions when I read this article, when I read these people's comments. And I kept coming back to that little boy's picture. To me, his picture says that this program has an effect on the psyches of these children, that something vital is lost inside them even as an education is gained.

My past experiences say that children don't have to be outcasts if they are removed from regular classes, but looking into that boy's eyes, I'm not so sure. That little boy looks like he's already lost, like he's already decided that this education thing isn't for him. His eyes seem to say that he's not one of the smart kids and he never will be.

I know that's not true, but I'm not sure he ever will.