Declaration

In The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander argues that dependency paves the pathway to the "School-to-prison pipeline." Dependent learners are more disciplined, reprimanded, singled out and isolated. They are the students who do not ask for help, view grades as a punishment and fail to interact with others in fear of being judged. If left unattended, we are perpetuating the achievement gap. Therefore it requires us to have:

1. thorough knowledge about the cultural values, learning styles, historical legacies, contributions and achievements of different ethnic groups;
2. the courage to stop blaming the victims of school failure and to admit that something is seriously wrong with existing educational systems;
3. the will to confront prevailing educational canons and convictions and to rethink traditional assumptions of cultural universality and/or neutrality in teaching and learning;
4. the skills to act productively in translating knowledge and sensitivity about cultural diversity into pedagogical practices;
5. the tenacity to relentlessly pursue comprehensive and high-level performance to [students] who currently are underachieving in schools.

Inspired by Geneva Gay