The education gap.  What a neat little phrase. Clean, straight forward, defining. Our Latino and African American students are not learning as much or as quickly as our other students. The phrase gives the impression that all we have to do is give tutoring help in a couple of subjects and all will be fixed. 

If we truly believe that, we are deluding ourselves by the most grandiose proportions. 

We will be ignoring the ugly, and sometimes deadly, truth.  In these communities some children view old age as living past 20; there are children having children; some parents never learn parenting skills, and many don’t see the value of sending their child to a school system that failed them. The system by which we are teaching our children is not working, compounded by the fact that many come from dysfunctional homes. 

In the following program we hear from Omar Khalif exactly what it is like for his community.  It is not pretty; it is raw, troubling and alarming.  It is not a situation that many of us have exposure to but this is Omar’s world. Please have the courage to listen so you can appreciate the challenge our teachers face as our school district and city try to decide what we do next. The education gap from the viewpoint of Omar Khalif.