The African-American Education Office Part 2

            In part two of the African-American Education Office, suggestions will be given to decrease the achievement gap among middle and high school youth.  In an effort to build a continuum of services from birth to adulthood, the office should focus on the preparing these youth for careers that will make them competitive in the global economy and achieve the American Dream.

            One area the office should focus on is eliminating the technology gap.  In order to compete in the global economy, African American youth must become proficient users of technology and understand how it can be applied in the global economy and advance the marketplace.  African-American youth must learn the science behind writing code to create video games, how an algorithm captures and sorts data for target marketing, or for investing/trading in the stock market.  African-American youth must also learn how technology is used to advance society.  Advancements in the fields of medicine and medical research, automobile and manufacturing industry, and improvements to agriculture are fields which has been greatly impacted technology.  These are also fields that lack a significant African-American presence.

            Another area the office should focus on is teaching career development and workforce preparation skills.  Skills such as critical thinking, the ability to multitask projects, the ability to summarize larger amounts of information into a report, the ability to work individually and in groups, the ability to effectively communicate, and the ability to be resourceful are skills that should be taught in conjunction with resume writing, interviewing, punctuality, reliability, and appropriate grooming and attire.  These are skills that are not being taught in a majority of middle and high schools and are not taught by many parents.  As a result of this lack of knowledge, African-American youth are uniformed about the skills needed to be competitive in the global economy.

A final area the office should focus on is helping African-American youth understand how to match their strengths and interest to a career.  By failing to teach African-American youth proper career development, they have mistakenly believed a job to be a career.  Therefore, when they see their parent, relative, or neighbor talking negatively about the poor pay, long hours, or how they hate their job, the uniformed youth internalizes these experiences as a definition of a career.  This belief is further cemented as the youth witnesses their parent, relative, or neighbor moving from job to job for minimal salary increases.  The message African-American youth are receiving is that a job and career are synonymous.  Another message they receive is that a job is about making money.  They are not receiving a balance where they see people who love their job because it their career.  They are not hearing as much as they should about the passion, joy, and satisfaction one has for their career.  They are also not learning how a career can lead to the American Dream.

In order for African-American middle and high school youth to become competitive in the global economy, the Office of African-American Education must provide access to knowledge about the business applications of technology.  The office must also provide access to career development and workforce preparation.  Providing access to these crucial areas of need, will eliminate the technology gap, provide them with the tools to competitive and increase the presence of African-Americans in areas of the global economy where our presence is lacking.  It is up to the office to help African-American youth not get left behind in the global economy.