Excellent article on the state of HBCU's

[Freeze]

It's long but DAMN is it worth reading. I had similar experiences in teaching my first year at Morgan and I know the same thing is happening at "T".

Source: US News
> >The once and future promise
> >Times columnist and editorial board member Bill Maxwell kept a promise to
> >himself, to become a professor at a small historically black college, to
> >nurture needy students the way that mentors had encouraged him as a young
> >man. After two years, he returned to the Times.
> >
> >By BILL MAXWELL
> >Published May 27, 2007

> >Ebony Horton, a natural-born reporter, landed a full-time job at the Dothan
> >Eagle. She did not, however, have classmates who shared her enthusiasm and
> >gift for reporting. Although Ebony found a good job, Maxwell is certain
> >Stillman College should have done more for her.
> >The conflict between my head and my heart over the future of Historically
> >Black Colleges and Universities is reflected in enduring scenes from my two
> >years of teaching at Alabama's Stillman College.
> >
> >There were the young men who hung out at the entrance gates of the small
> >Tuscaloosa school and had no interest in learning. They represented my
> >frustration with too many students who arrived on campus unprepared for
> >college, who failed to attend class or buy the textbooks, who refused to
> >complete the assignments and who forced professors to coddle them.
> >
> >Then there were those few dedicated students who saw Stillman as their only
> >path to a brighter future. There was the young single mother who worked
> >full-time at night and struggled to stay awake in class, the unpolished
> >journalist eager to improve and find work at a newspaper, the young man who
> >turned himself into an expert on President Bush's campaign speeches and
> >dared to stand out from the hip-hop culture around him.
> >
> >One group leads me to question whether historically black colleges are
> >worth saving. The other is an inspiration and symbolizes why these
> >institutions still are vital for many young people struggling to build
> >productive lives.
> >
> >Nearly a year after leaving the campus, I am only now resolving the
> >conflict in my own mind.
> >
> >Glory years are gone, but ..
> >
> >Undeniably, the picture is bleak for many historically black colleges.
> >There are more options for high-achieving black students, and integration
> >has left these schools with diminished but more difficult roles in higher
> >education.
> >
> >The situation was different before the 1964 Civil Rights Act, when a degree
> >from one of these schools was the primary route to respectability, success
> >and the good life for black Americans. Back then, they enrolled most black
> >college students and were responsible for the bulk of the black middle
> >class.
> >
> >The glory years are long gone, especially at the smallest of the 39 private
> >schools that receive money and other support from the United Negro College
> >Fund. Majority white campuses seeking ethnically diverse student
> >populations are enrolling many of the nation's best black students.
> >
> >Now only 1 in 5 black students earn bachelor's degrees from historically
> >black schools, which have increasingly become dependent upon marginal
> >students from poor families. Two-thirds of HBCU students receive federally
> >funded Pell Grants, aimed at families earning less than $40, 000 annually.
> >More than half of the students receive those grants at every HBCU except at
> >13 of the best schools, such as Spelman, Howard and Morehouse.
> >
> >Studies show schools with a high number of Pell recipients tend to have low
> >admission standards, and the reasons for their low graduation rates are
> >well-documented. Most low-income students have parents who did not attend
> >college, which often signals that their homes have few books or other
> >reading materials. Many of the students never develop a love of learning,
> >and they tend to perform poorly in class and on standardized tests.
> >
> >The statistics reflect my experience as a professor between 2004 and 2006
> >at Stillman, which had fewer than 1, 000 students. Most of my students
> >would not study, regularly turn in their homework on time or read the
> >assigned material. I walked grumbling students to the bookstore to try to
> >force them to buy their required textbooks.
> >
> >These students lacked the intellectual vigor taken for granted on
> >traditional campuses. They did not know what or whom to respect. For many,
> >the rappers Bow Wow and 50 Cent were at least as important to black
> >achievement as the late Ralph Bunche, the first black to win a Nobel Peace
> >Prize, and Zora Neale Hurston, the great novelist.
> >
> >In time, I realized that my standards were too high for the quality of
> >student I had to teach. Most simply were not prepared for college-level
> >work, and I was not professionally trained for the intense remediation they
> >needed and deserved.
> >
> >Many HBCUs, including Stillman, lack the resources and money to assist
> >these students with effective remediation. These students naturally find
> >friends on campus who share their streetwise, anti-intellectual views and
> >behavior. They lose interest in education or become so overwhelmed they
> >leave school altogether.
> >
> >Only a handful of HBCUs, including Fisk University in Tennessee, Spelman
> >College in Atlanta, Claflin University in South Carolina and Miles College
> >in Birmingham, graduate more than half their students (The graduation rate
> >at Florida A&M is 33 percent). These schools funnel large sums of money
> >into remediation, advising and counseling. They also offer small classes so
> >students have easy access to their professors.
> >
> >Others, such as Southern University in New Orleans, Allen University in
> >South Carolina and Stillman, graduate less than 30 percent of their
> >students.
> >
> >As the number and quality of students drop, historically black colleges
> >cannot depend as they once did on the financial generosity of their alumni.
> >The problem is compounded by the reality that many corporations and
> >foundations scaled back their philanthropic efforts following the 2000
> >economic downturn. Many donors still are not as generous as they once were,
> >and struggling HBCUs have been hit especially hard.
> >
> >Stillman president Ernest McNealey regularly told this joke: "I have a very
> >large tin cup ... and I'm constantly running through airports with my tin
> >cup, and wherever the plane lands; I will go to the tallest building and
> >work my way from the penthouse on down to the garbage unit with my tin cup.
> >And whether it's the CEO or the janitor, I will hear this long story about
> >the declining stock market."
> >
> >It does not help that too many black colleges have serious management
> >issues. The media has regularly reported academic, financial or
> >administrative problems at schools such as Morris Brown in Georgia,
> >Lemoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Grambling State in Louisiana, Edward
> >Waters in Jacksonville and Florida A&M in Tallahassee.
> >
> >The numbers for many historically black colleges are not encouraging.
> >Declining enrollments, loose admission standards and low graduation rates
> >produce ever-tighter budgets, less reliable alumni networks and grimmer
> >futures.
> >
> >Excellence by the handful
> >
> >Yet I cannot turn my back on these schools. I cannot forget what they did
> >for me many years ago, and I cannot forget the handful of dedicated
> >students at Stillman who were determined to succeed even in the face of the
> >school's considerable shortcomings.
> >
> >All of my public school teachers were HBCU alumni, and I admired them. My
> >sisters graduated from HBCUs, Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach and Florida
> >Memorial in Miami. Bernard Irving, my high school football coach, graduated
> >from Wiley College in Texas and was responsible for my attending that
> >school. I went there from 1963 to 1966, when I joined the U.S. Marine
> >Corps. After I was discharged from the Corps in 1969, I went to
> >Bethune-Cookman, where I graduated with a double major in English and
> >history in 1971.
> >
> >Just as those schools provided me with an opportunity, I tried to create
> >the same chances for my most engaged students at Stillman. I had a few
> >successes, but I mostly fell short.
> >
> >A researcher for the Education Trust, an independent policy group, said in
> >2005: "Instead of a certain kind of student dragging down some
> >institutions, we could just as easily argue that some institutions are
> >dragging down a certain kind of student."
> >
> >I found that to be true. I had a handful of excellent journalism students
> >at Stillman who all had SAT scores below 1, 000. Ebony Horton, for example,
> >was a natural-born reporter. She had an eye for a good story, knew how to
> >find the right sources and was a better-than-average writer. She did not,
> >however, have classmates who shared her enthusiasm and gift for reporting.
> >As a result, she bowed to peer pressure: She often cut corners, handed in
> >flawed copy and missed deadlines more times than I liked.
> >
> >Because she had natural skills, Ebony interned at the Tuscaloosa News and
> >after graduation landed a full-time job with the Dothan Eagle as a general
> >assignment reporter. Although Ebony found a good job, I am certain that we
> >ill-served her at Stillman because we lacked a critical mass of motivated,
> >competent students and the right facilities that would have enhanced her
> >skills.
> >
> >The same was true of Cedric Baker. Even before he graduated, the Tuscaloosa
> >News hired him as a part-time sports reporter, where he had a byline,
> >sometimes two, each week. Ironically, he is on Stillman's public relations
> >staff today. I regret that we did not have an environment that could
> >inspire Cedric to produce his best work.
> >
> >Three of my other promising students withdrew after only one semester. One
> >of them, a young man from Mississippi who was a talented reporter and
> >photographer, said: "I can't stand it here, Mr. Maxwell. Nobody's serious.
> >The students don't study. They just bull$h*t all the time, and the
> >administration doesn't care.. It's all messed up."
> >
> >He gave up on an HBCU and transferred to Millsaps College in Mississippi..
> >I pleaded with him and the others to stay. I did not want to lose such
> >potential. Although they came to Stillman with low standardized test
> >scores, they were smart and highly motivated. They were precisely the kind
> >of students most HBCUs were meant to serve: those who otherwise would not
> >see a college campus.
> >
> >These were young people who needed the second chance the HBCU can provide.
> >As I watched these students languish, I knew I was not delivering a quality
> >college experience to young people who deserved better.
> >
> >Because of our lack of money, inadequate services and incompetent
> >leadership, we were not giving these bright young people the same quality
> >of education they would have received 2 miles away at the University of
> >Alabama - which would not have accepted most of them because of their low
> >test scores.
> >
> >Make some hard choices
> >
> >In the end, the numbers signaling the decline of historically black
> >colleges cannot trump my affection for these schools. I appreciate what
> >they did for me, and I appreciate the good they are doing today for their
> >most dedicated students. Despite my disappointment at Stillman and the
> >crises at many HBCUs, these schools still have an important role to play in
> >society.
> >
> >But to continue to play that important role, they must show huge
> >improvement and make some hard choices.
> >
> >The top-tier schools will continue to attract good students and remain
> >vibrant, financially viable institutions. Among those familiar names are
> >Spelman College and Morehouse College in Atlanta and Howard University in
> >Washington, D.C., each a member of the so-called "Black Ivy League."
> >
> >But some schools are so academically inferior and so poorly serving their
> >students they should be shut down. Others, such as Lemoyne-Owen, which is
> >millions of dollars in debt, are in such financial trouble that the
> >operations should be handed over to independent agencies.
> >
> >A few black colleges should merge into regional campuses. In Alabama,
> >Stillman College and Talladega College are notable examples. Together, they
> >could create a well-funded regional campus to serve thousands of students.
> >
> >Because of students such as Ebony Horton, Cedric Baker and others, most
> >historically black institutions still serve a valuable role. Although these
> >students are intelligent, motivated, ambitious and morally decent, their
> >low standardized test scores and low family incomes prevent them from
> >attending most traditional schools. But they deserve a chance to discover
> >their self-worth and mature into responsible adults, just as I did.
> >
> >At Stillman, there were not enough of these dedicated students to overcome
> >my own frustrations. Yet despite my personal disappointments, I am not
> >willing to write off historically black colleges.
> >
> >For the good they still do and the opportunities they still provide for
> >deserving students with few other options, the majority of HBCUs are worth
> >saving. It will take a lot of effort, but it is too important not to try.
> >
> >
> >
> >Two years at Stillman
> >
> >May 13: The first year: Trying to make a difference.
> >
> >May 20: The second year: A bad situation gets worse.
> >
> >Today: The epilogue: Should historically black colleges be saved?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >School
> >
> >
> >6-year graduation rate
> >
> >
> >
> >Spelman
> >
> >
> >74%
> >
> >
> >
> >Miles
> >
> >
> >72%
> >
> >
> >
> >Claflin
> >
> >
> >68%
> >
> >
> >
> >Howard
> >
> >
> >67%
> >
> >
> >
> >Morehouse
> >
> >
> >61%
> >
> >
> >
> >Fisk
> >
> >
> >58%
> >
> >
> >
> >Hampton
> >
> >
> >55%
> >
> >
> >
> >Bethune- Cookman
> >
> >
> >35%
> >
> >
> >
> >Grambling State
> >
> >
> >34%
> >
> >
> >
> >Florida A&M
> >
> >
> >33%
> >
> >
> >
> >Stillman
> >
> >
> >29%
> >
> >
> >
> >Allen
> >
> >
> >23%
> >
> >
> >
> >Southern University- New Orleans
> >
> >
> >22%
> >
> >
> >
> >LeMoyne-Owen
> >
> >
> >18%
> >
> >
> >
> >Edward Waters
> >
> >
> >13%
> >
> >SOURCE: U.S. News

[Gator]

So much generalization. Plus, Alabama is at the bottom in public education. It's just a reflection of a poor education system within the that state. I feel sorry for the frustrated author.

[Freeze]

gator2 said:

So much generalization. Plus, Alabama is at the bottom in public education. It's just a reflection of a poor education system within the that state. I feel sorry for the frustrated author.

Naw brother...its real in the field. You can take your rose colored glasses off on this one. This was my experience (almost exactly) at Morgan this year. I had a handful of students who were really good, but the overwhelming majority struggled mightly with basic skills. BASIC skills!! Let me put it where you can get it. 80% of Morgans freshman class this past year were admitted at the remedial level. Couple that with a new culture that makes learning and education uncool and you have a bleek future for instutions that were founded to train the best and brightest of Black America. Dont feel sorry for the author, be concerned and pledge to do something in the future of our children.

[aggiejazz]

Gator, look at what is happen in the state of NC secondary schools. A lot of NC public schools are in a below national average state at best. Improving education for grades K-12 is a big task and a big deal.

I hope that the two-alarm management and financial fire that A&T had will lead to better management at the university and better results so that in six years there will not be a four-alarm fire.

[Aggie77]

gator2 said:

So much generalization. Plus, Alabama is at the bottom in public education. It's just a reflection of a poor education system within the that state. I feel sorry for the frustrated author.

Based on the grad rates the kids from Alabama must be the majority of student in FL, GA, SC, NC and VA.

We can continue to make excuse or we can all help in our own way. But, if something isn't done on a lot of levels HBCU's will become dinosaurs.

[Bornthrilla]

we can all help in our own way

What would you suggest?

[Aggie77]

I dunno, that's an individual thing. But it starts at the lower grades levels. Things I have done in the past are Big Brother, volunteer at the after school program (helped with homework, taught kids to play chess, etc., I even taught a class (on Tues. at North High Mpls) as part of a Company inner city out reach program. I participated in a high school mentor program. When I was in Mpls I felt part of the community, here I'm not involved in the community at all. I guess my community here is too diverse. I now focus almost exclusively on A&T. The bottom-line is the kids aren’t motivated to learn, it’s not that they aren’t capable.

[Gator]

I don't think I'm under some blind mat. Again, this article is one mans opinion, and his generalizations confirms that. What really pisses me off is that he's encouraging giving up on our institutions rather than saying we need to stay and turn things around. Where are suggested solutions to the challenges. What about people holding each other accountable, students holding each other accountable, mandatory study groups...

Also, is this a result of the hiphop culture? What?

We talk about national averages, each states status is dealing with similar and different circumstances. I still see more kids going to college in NC than a lot of other states, why is this? Is it access?

My point is that the author is trying to make a lot out of 2 or 3 situations. It just does not add up to generalize the entire HBCU community.

[Bigboy]

Amen Gator!!!!!

[Freeze]

Man yall just dont get it. I have friends and colleagues who teach at HBCU's across the country and guess what...all of our stories are the same. It is a problem...A MAJOR PROBLEM, and it is only going to get worse with folks such as yourself suggesting that these are exagerations and generalizations. No they're not. It is real in the field and the corruption of our educational values and the continued marginalization of the poor and unprivileged is leading to the widening chasm between the haves and the have nots.

But I guess I am trying to convince folks who believe the state of Aggie football is on the right track too. Carry on if you wish, but as De La Soul said...the stakes are high.

[Bornthrilla]

Personally I am growing tired of all this doom and gloom, glass half empty crap.

I am a man of action. What are some solutions to these issues? Tell me that and together we can roll up our sleeves and make things better. Hell, anybody can pick up a newspaper and find 100 things that's wrong with the world.

You guys are starting to sound like AJ Soprano.

[Freeze]

admin said:

Personally I am growing tired of all this doom and gloom, glass half empty crap.

I am a man of action. What are some solutions to these issues? Tell me that and together we can roll up our sleeves and make things better. Hell, anybody can pick up a newspaper and find 100 things that's wrong with the world.

You guys are starting to sound like AJ Soprano.

You need to find your own space to make a difference. Hell everyday I come in contact with the future of Black America in the form of my students and thats how I make a difference. I am sure that you can find ways to give back. Aggie 77 listed many ways that you can get involved and give back. What did you think about that?? Volunteer Mr. Man of Action...volunteer.

[Bornthrilla]

Seriously dude, if you are as concerned about this issue as you claim to be then you should be able to outline a specific course of action and offer some clearcut ideas on what needs to be done to reverse this trend.

Telling me to "find my own space" and just "volunteer" sounds like empty rhetoric to me. Volunteer to what organization? For what program?

I mean, you are the one who brought this to our attention, so follow through with it and lead the revolution. I'm not saying it is not something we need to be aware of ... but if you are really losing sleep over this at night then surely you have thought about some solid methods to fix this problem.

Right?

[Bigboy]

HBCU's are not the only schools with issues. I was looking at CNN and they had a report on how cheating is running rampant at major colleges, even the Ivy League. At some schools the cheating rate was as high as 80% of the students were cheating. Appalachian State was #3 of the top 50 cheating schools. I know HBCU's are having serious problems but so are others. I don't have a solution to the HBCU problems except to say that if you have kids, make sure you hang in there with them and make sure they get their education. Don't give up on them.

[Freeze]

admin said:

Seriously dude, if you are as concerned about this issue as you claim to be then you should be able to outline a specific course of action and offer some clearcut ideas on what needs to be done to reverse this trend.

Telling me to "find my own space" and just "volunteer" sounds like empty rhetoric to me. Volunteer to what organization? For what program?

I mean, you are the one who brought this to our attention, so follow through with it and lead the revolution. I'm not saying it is not something we need to be aware of ... but if you are really losing sleep over this at night then surely you have thought about some solid methods to fix this problem.

Right?

Okay "dude." You seem to have a very myopic view of what "revolution" means. Take this website for instance. You were partially paranoid that folks was looking in on Aggie business at MEACFANS and partially motivated to create a website exclusively dedicated to Aggie football so you got off your a$$ and you did it. You saw a problem and you were dedicated to it, so you did it. Nothing revolutionary about that at all but it addressed what you defined as a problem.

I have wanted to make a difference for my people since my days at A&T and I wanted to do that by one day helping to shape and mold young men and women via higher education. Aggie 77 has said that he has tutored, and volunteered, and worked with children because he wants to make a difference. Black folks (particularly those in a post civil rights era) seem to always look for the MAJOR event to get behind or the MAJOR leader to lead the way when in reality change begins with small and simple steps. (just ask the Greensboro Four). Would you rather me tell you that if you go pull that lever or push that button that the problems and dillemmas confronting Black America for centuries will magically disappear?? Wake up from that dream brother. The question remains...what can you do to make a difference.

Bigboy suggests that the same thing is happening at white schools. I taught at Ohio State for 6 years as a graduate student and I have friends and colleagues who teach across this country at both white and black institutions. I can tell you from experience that the problems confronting OUR kids at OUR institutions pale in comparsion to what mostly privileged white kids deal with at white schools. Hell go talk to teachers at the secondary level if you dont believe me. Talk to counselors and educators who work in the war zones that we call public education and they will tell you that alot of our kids and sadly alot of our parents are totally aloof and totally disconnected when it comes to the importance of education. This is systemic in nature and the best advice I could give someone wanting to make difference (like you claim you want to do) is be concerned about educating more than just football players and Aggie athletes. Take that small step and get involved at your local church or community center. Start a tutoring program for young troubled men. Go over to Dudley or Smith and ask the teachers what needs to be done over there. These kids need to see strong Black men who represent something more than a thug, drug dealer, or star athlete. Because believe it or not, thats what many of them are idolizing. I had my students debate alot of these issues in my course at Morgan and they arrived at some of these same conclusions.

But hell, yall can believe what you like, and I will hold fast to what I know. I will sign off with this quote I used from my dissertation. It was written by a woman named Onezimae Clark who was a student at Jackson State in 1945. This is how she saw her role in the future of Black America....maybe you can try to emulate her:

“Grant us O’ God the ability as prospective teachers to inspire instead of discourage, to give light, where there is darkness. To help where it is needed, and to fight for justice for all. Unless O’ God we are able to do these things there will be so few leaders and great men and women of tomorrow that the progress of our race will be impeded. Today we launch, O’ God, teach us how to sail and where to anchor.”

You have to find your own launching point. You have to discover for yourself where you want to sail to and where you want to anchor. Define the problem. Find your own solution. Dedicate yourself to that cause.