The Journey of Ardro Knight

This Story \The Journey Of Ardro Knight\ Is One Of Stark Reality. It Is A Story For The Millions Who Are In One Way Or Another Involved In The Moral Social Emotional And Educational Development Of A Black Male. This Story Is Not New!! Everybody Knows It But Very Few Want To Talk About It. This Story Is My Attempt To Explore The Prime Factors Of The Mysterious Reality That Fewer Than 40% Of The Black Males Who Enter 9Th Grade In The Us Graduate From High School Four Years Later. Using A Methodology The Authors Say Is More Accurate Than Many States Employ Researchers In A Recent Study \Confronting The Graduation Rate Crisis In The South\ By The Harvard University Civil Rights Project Have Recently Reported Data That Conclude That The Low Rates Of Graduation For Black Males In The Us Are An Educational And Civil Rights Crisis \The Study Tabulates High School Graduation Rates For 16 States And The District Of Columbia. \Black Males Were Half As Likely To Graduate In Four Years As White Florida High School Students. In 2002 Just 38 Percent Of Black Males Finished In That Time\ Other Studies* Have Verified: * That Few School Districts In The Nation That Have 10000 Or More Black Male Students Have Graduation Rates At Or Above The National Average For That Group * That Black Males Are More Likely To Be Placed In Special Education Classes. * That Black Males Make Up The Lowest Enrollment In Advanced Placement Classes. * That Black Males In Most School Districts Have The Highest Rate Of Out-Of -School Suspensions. * That Black Males Comprise Almost 80% Of The Prison Population. * That Black Males Are Much Less Likely To Marry And Form Stable Families And Their Children Are Very Likely To Drop Out As Well. This Story Is An Attempt To Show Through The Fictional Life And Experience Of Ardro Knight How One Individual Black Youth Copes With The Realities Of This Existence-Realities That Are Sometimes Frightening Angering Beautiful Euphoric.. Other Times Frustrating Then Devastatingly Sad And Lonely- Separately And Maybe All At The Same Time. We Meet ArdroS Family His School His Teachers His Peers His Church The Community Service Agencies Law Enforcement Health Facilities Etc.-All Having The Responsibility For Providing And Satisfying On A Daily Basis His Social Emotional Developmental Security Moral Guidance And Companionship Needs. All In Close Communication And Association Are Responsible For ArdroS Management And Control Instruction And For Answers To His Moral Questions. They Also Provide Encouragement Security Roots And Most Importantly Feelings Of Approval Admiration And Love. Not One Of The Characters In ArdroS Story Is Aware That He Or She Is Either Part Of His Great Umbrella Of Support Or A Possible Vehicle For His Destruction. Helene Of Course Wants To Be The Support System But Without Help And Support She Could Easily Become Destructive. As In Real Life Characters Do Not Communicate Their Emotions Anxieties Desires Etc. To Others. Communication Is Nil. Each Tries To Fulfill His Role To Educate Ardro Or Place Him In A Niche Where His Life Can Be Managed For Him-All Without Knowledge Of Each OtherS Efforts. It Is A Wild Pipe Dream That Cap And Gown Manufacturers Would Find A Lucrative New Market In High School And College Graduations For Young Black Men. How This Will Happen Remains A Tantalizing --- Mystery.