Students of Color, Expectations and Trayvon Martin

Black, Hispanic and Native American students are dropping out of high school at an alarming rate - almost half of them every year, according to a 2006 report by the Gates Foundation titled "The Silent Epidemic." Why?

One of the answers might lie in the expectations that teachers have for students of color (versus white students).

To further examine this issue, let's look at the case of Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old Florida boy who was shot and killed Feb. 28 while walking home from a store. He was black. The shooter, George Zimmerman, 28, was 1/2 white and 1/2 Hispanic. Here's a good summary of the case so far:

The shooting of Trayvon Martin

After the shooting, outraged citizens have gone crazy on social media. More than a 1/2 million people have signed a petition on Change.org to demand the arrest of Mr. Zimmerman, who was released after being questioned.

It's interesting to connect this case to education since we're talking about our perceptions here. Zimmerman clearly saw Trayvon as a threat. What kinds of perceptions and expectations do we have of certain groups of people?

Here is a thought-provoking article from a guy who says,

White People, You Will Never Look Suspicious Like Trayvon Martin

Do you agree/disagree with the author, Mr. Skolnik?

Here's another really good article that says it's more complicated than black and white.

What do you think?

What does Trayvon Martin have to do with the high school dropout issue we are studying? Maybe there's a real connection, maybe there isn't. I'm not a social scientist and I don't claim to have the answers. But consider the facts about school discipline in this country:

Minority Students Face More Discipline, Data Shows

What should we make of this data? Why are black and Hispanic students disciplined more than their peers? When teachers enforce the rules, do you think they have different expectations for kids based on their color? Might that be a reason for high dropout rates? Or is this just an excuse?

Finally, read more about the idea of a "Color Blind" approach to education.

Is this the right idea? Should teachers then try to disregard the color and background of their students? What are the consequences?

From these readings, what can you take that might help you become MORE INFORMED about the high school dropout issue in this country?