Students, alumni address issues at Goldsboro High School
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on March 7, 2017 9:57 AM
A group of Goldsboro High School students and alumni shared their concerns about their school's curriculum and their relationships with teachers at the Wayne County Board of Education meeting Monday, concerns which board members said they are committed to addressing.
The group of speakers, all members of the Akebulan Village M.A.A.T. civic group, included three students and two alumni. Joseph Cox, a GHS sophomore, voiced concerns that his school places too high an emphasis on discipline at the cost of furthering education and that a lack of resources contributes to the struggles that many students may be facing.
"Right now, I have to take an online class, I take Spanish IV online," he said. "I need somebody face-to-face to teach me Spanish. What can I say, our school needs improving."
Shaquila Rouse, who graduated from Goldsboro High in 2009, said that students at the school often feel like they don't matter.
"These kids need to be shown that they're not just a statistic," she said. "There is much more that we can do to make it a better place for the students, and we should do it."
Ms. Rouse also spoke about the frequent fights at Goldsboro High, which she attributed in part to the way African-Americans have been socially conditioned throughout American history.
"A lot of the fights come from a deep programming inside of us, things like the Willie Lynch Letter and Post-traumatic Slave Syndrome that make us not want to like each other," she said.
Post-traumatic Slave Syndrome is a psychological concept originated by Dr. Joy DeGruy. It describes maladaptive behaviors woven into African-American society as a result of contending with hundreds of years of slavery and systemic racism, behaviors which originated as methods of survival.
"It's not because we really don't want to like and love each other, but there's some systematic programming that causes that," she said.
Freshman Azurah Faison said that, in order for students to care about their futures, they first need to see that those in power care for them.
"A lot of people say that the school is the way it is because the kids don't care, but a lot of them don't care because they don't feel like you care," she said, gesturing to the school board.
Ravonda Jacobs, a long-time community activist who leads the Village, challenged the board members to consider the unique challenges faced by the African-Americans in their community.
"We need more parent involvement, we do, but the issue that I need you all to understand is that you do have a district that is 61 percent African-American, and out of that 61 percent, a large majority live under the poverty line," she said. "It's very hard for these kids to form a relationship with a teacher who kind of looks down on them. A lot of these kids are the product of dropouts and of the school system which has kind of ignored them a lot.
"It's time for our leaders to step up, and if you're going to lead 61 percent African-Americans, you need to pay attention to who we are."
Ms. Jacobs reiterated what Cox had said earlier about the availability of classes at Goldsboro High, and called for wider access to technical and vocational classes for students with low GPA's.
By the time the meeting reached the section for board comments, the speakers from the Village had left. Even in their absence, at-large representative Raymond Smith Jr. made it clear that he shared their concerns.
"I want to address the young people. I wish they could have stayed after their presentation, but I want to let you know unequivocally that we heard you loud and clear," he said, to nods of agreement from the board. "We are all on board with what you are talking about, aware of those things, and as a board we are going to address those issues."
Smith said that the board will work with activists in any way that it can, noting that one of his daughters had struggled in on online Spanish class at Goldsboro High in a similar fashion to Cox.
District 4 representative Jennifer Strickland specifically focused on a comment by Jacobs about the shortage of textbooks at Goldsboro High. Students are not able to bring their books home with them, which Mrs. Strickland said is a major issue which needs to be addressed.
Mrs. Strickland recalled how, when she graduated from high school in 1993, she was jealous of the programs available at Goldsboro High. Now though, she said, the board needs to focus its efforts on providing the resources students need to succeed despite challenging circumstances.
"You're always fighting between textbooks and technology, and where do you spend money" she said, "My thing has always been, why are we going to sacrifice the ones today for the ones coming next? We need the access today for these students."
Superintendent Michael Dunsmore will meet with students at Goldsboro High on Wednesday to discuss what they want to see changed about their school moving forward.