Elements of a 21st Century Movement for Excellence with Equity

Abstract

The first major trend is that many Asian and European nations have surpassed the U.S. on both achievement and years of schooling. Not one racial group in the U.S. ranks among the top dozen nations on math problem solving for fifteen year olds (OECD, 2012). Second, twenty-first century jobs will require academic skills in a way that 20th century jobs did not. Standard predictions are that most jobs will require postsecondary preparation, built on a foundation of basic skills developed during childhood and adolescence (Camevale, Smith & Strohl, 2010; Symonds, Schwartz & Ferguson, 2011). Third, huge numbers of poorly educated young people are going to prison instead of work or college. Among incarcerated males aged 20-34 in 2010, 52.7 percent of Whites and 61.8 percent of Blacks were high school dropouts (Ewert, Sykes & Pettit, 2013). And fourth, the nation's racial identity is changing. People of color are swiftly becoming the majority. The U.S. Census reports that 50.4 percent of children younger than one-year old were people of color as of July 1, 2011 (U.S. Census, 2013). There is no turning back. Only among the very old do Whites remain the vast majority. Therefore, as never before, there are grounds for a shared national interest in academic excellence with racial, ethnic and socioeconomic equity. A national movement for excellence with equity will focus on providing high quality learning experiences from birth through early adulthood for children from every background. First, however, a few words about the personal significance of Howard University and how it relates to the broader theme of this article.Legacy and ResponsibilityI vividly recall a moment one Saturday afternoon. 1 was twelve years old, riding my bicycle on route to collecting payments for the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper that I delivered seven days a week between the hours of 5:30 and 7:00 a.m. That afternoon-and that moment-was the first time it ever occurred to me that I might someday teach at a university. I was wearing a Howard University sweatshirt. It was such a big idea! I was thinking, What do I want to be when I grow up? And I thought, Well, I like school, so maybe I'll be a First, I thought about high school. But then I thought, Why not college? For a Black kid in 1962 whose father was a bus driver and house painter-a child who had never set foot on a college campus-teaching at a college was a jolting thought. I remember standing still, staring at that Howard sweatshirt. Somehow that shirt made it seem like a real possibility.But it was not just the sweatshirt. I had teachers and relatives who encouraged and believed in me. My grandmother Nana taught special education in elementary school and was truly a master teacher. She used to say, You want to be somebody! with an emphasis on be. She lived to be 100 years old, one year less than her own mother, who we called Little Mother. Little Mother's third husband was Mr. Freeman. A conversation with Mr. Freeman inspired me to write the following poem, Sacred Words from a Great-Grandfather. It was 1975.1 was 25years old and studying for my PhD in economics at MIT. He was 94 at the time, bom in 1881. Almost literally, what he said was,When I was in my twentiesLike you,There was a lot'a thingsThey wouldn't let a black man do.Now that things have changed,My life is nearly over.But I'm not sad about it.Your soul and mine are one.And we're still gonna make it.I want the best for you;And I want youTo want the best for yourself.Don't stop tryin'.Don't stop believin' in yourself.Don't stop scratchin' and clawin'And pullin' and sweat'nAnd above allDon't stopDon't stop rememberin'-That I love you.© 1975, Ronald F. FergusonSo, when I think about why we are here today and what the agenda is, I am aware that it's not just about us. …