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By Michelle Hines, University Relations
Dr. C.P. Gause.
Contact: (336) 334-5371
Posted 8-28-08
GREENSBORO — C.P. Gause went the extra mile to find out why African-Americans, especially boys, still lag behind in our public schools: He followed a gang.
Gause, a former teacher and school administrator, is now assistant professor of educational administration in the School of Education. He lays out his findings on young black males and education in his latest book, “Integration Matters: Navigating Identity, Culture and Resistance,” 232 pages, Peter Lang Publishing.
“I wondered, Do we have true integration? If so, why do we have so many underperforming individuals?” Gause says. “African-American males have not utilized or assimilated a positive self-image that affords them the ability to succeed as a whole group.”
In 2002, black men comprised only 4.3 percent of all students enrolled at American colleges and universities. Black women outnumbered their male counterparts by 27.2 percent.
Gause, who was interim vice principal of a school in Ohio when he began researching “Integration Matters,” observed and interviewed his fellow African-American educators and got to know Raheem, a high school dropout and the leader of a local gang. Raheem eventually got his GED and encouraged other gang members to do the same; his story figures heavily in Gause’s book.
A gang member flashed a gun at Gause as he introduced him to Raheem. “I later found out that if the kingpin had given the order, I would have been shot then.”
Young black males like Raheem are pressured by violent media and a misguided notion of masculinity until they become “victims of anti-intellectualization,” Gause says. “Their identity as men is always attacked. It’s difficult for them to see themselves as wholesome, caring, loving forces of good.”
Whether or not they join gangs, inner city kids have it tough, Gause says. One boy he spoke to had to do his homework before nightfall because his family couldn’t pay the electric bill. Another was often late for school because he had to stand in line for free clothes, which he found humiliating.
“I include a lot of their stories,” Gause says. “These young men talk about the hardships of living in the inner city and trying to do the right thing while just trying to survive.”
In “Integration Matters,” Gause lays out several strategies for working with black males in schools. These strategies include “being a living epistle and role model,” maintaining high expectations, being nonjudgmental and valuing their lived experiences.
Education, he says, is an investment in the future. “I can remember teachers I had who really poured themselves into making viable youth. It’s about investment and return, and I don’t mean that it’s about money. It’s about investing in the lives of students who, in turn, will invest in our society.”