Fighting the war against ignorance

It makes us more proud than we can say to acknowledge and celebrate educators every September at the St. Louis American Foundation’s annual Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship and Awards Gala. The success of this gala and its financial benefits to students would not be possible without the support from a broad range of many generous individuals and organizations, whom we thanked Friday night and thank again here. 

As one of our top awardees for 2013, Ferguson-Florissant Superintendent Art McCoy Jr., said in his deeply personal remarks at the Salute, our teachers (and the administrators who guide them) are fighting on the front lines in an ongoing “war against ignorance.” Teachers are the soldiers in this war, and administrators are their officer corps. From the bottom of our heart, we salute them for their dedication and service to young people. 

The massacre of innocents at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. reminded the nation that teaching can be dangerous work, but in fact educators who serve in the trenches in the city of St. Louis and its inner suburbs didn’t need the reminder. We make it our point to award specifically excellence in teaching and educational leadership that serves primarily African-American students. In the St. Louis region, that means teaching primarily students from lower-income households who face difficult circumstances that impinge on classroom performance in many ways. 

We seek out educators and educational leaders who are effective despite these often-difficult circumstances and award them, not only because they deserve it and we have a special obligation to the community we both serve. We also know that their success in reaching these children and youth is essential to the health and future of our communities, and that includes the wider region beyond the African-American neighborhoods where our children live. Improving academic achievement of lower-income youth is essential to the safety of our streets, the stability of our neighborhoods and the vibrancy of our regional economy. As Art McCoy Jr. said on Friday, “They use fourth-grade test scores to predict how many jail cells to build. By the time those children are adults, they fill them up. That’s my rule for judging how great of an educator I am – if I can be a jail cell closer.” 

It’s a point we find ourselves making over and over again, especially as public education – and the tax base needed to fund it – comes under continual attack by wealthy free-market activists like Rex Sinquefield. We can pay to properly educate our children now, or we can pay to incarcerate a disproportionate amount of them later. We are impressed and encouraged that so many gifted, committed people, who could do so many other things with their talent and energy, continue to dedicate themselves to educating these children and youth now, when they need it most. There are many external factors that effect the well being of our community. Many are out of our direct control, but we ourselves can help enhance the life prospects of our young people by providing well-informed, zealous education aligned with ardent, disciplined parenting. 

However, we must recognize that we are not alone on the battlefield in the war against ignorance. We submit that the forces arrayed against public education are at least content with, if not actively motivated by, a cold, anti-historical social Darwinism. We believe their actions suggest that they are content with not trying to reach every child, because not all children (according to this view) are equipped to succeed. Given the racial dynamics of the student populations in question, we believe their approach is at least consistent with racist expectations, if not actually guided by them. That is why we agree with our 2013 Lifetime Achiever Lynn Beckwith Jr. of the University of Missouri – St. Louis and St. Louis Public Schools, when he sternly declares, “I reject the concept that black children are innately intellectually inferior. If you take that away, then it’s got be something else. Well taught, well learned.”