I Lived the Struggle of Black Boys in Special Education
It’s your first year at a new middle school and your name is RaQuan. Immediately on the first day of school, you are judged. Your skin color, name, clothes, learning ability all determine if the school’s focus is on your academic or your discipline record. Like many other black boys, RaQuan is immediately grouped, separated, and singled out as a perceived problem and a threat to the learning environment. Too often, black boys are pushed into special education programs because of their behavior challenges that impact their ability to achieve academic success. I have both lived and witnessed the struggle that black boys face with being in special education programs. It’s difficult having to be pulled out of class for special support, especially in middle school years. Black boys would much rather risk becoming a statistic than be viewed as a sped, or Special Ed kid. I understand the stigma of this word and the cruelty kids show to those who are labeled as having a special need...
