Too Important to Fail

Tavis Smiley hosts this PBS special focusing on the state of education among minority youth in America and what can be done to improve it, specifically in inner-city schools, where the dropout rate for African-American males is approaching 50 percent. Traveling to Philadelphia, Chicago, Oakland, and Los Angeles, Smiley finds that black male students are held back by low expectations, absence of role models, violence on the streets and at home, poor reading and writing skills, and a general lack of identification with characters and situations in the books they do read. Smiley interviews educators working against long odds and limited budgets, and he hangs out with the kids, inquiring about their hopes for the future. He visits Philadelphia's elite “promise academies,” which supply discipline, structure, and inspiring male examples; however, lack of funding limits the number of enrollees. The need to earn money often encourages students to drop out, so the Los Angeles Conservation Corps has a “transitional green jobs” program that supports kids working while also staying in school. Many of the problems come down to a question of commitment and the distribution of resources, but the consequences become clear when Smiley visits detainees in an Oakland juvenile detention center. Recognizing that no single effort can solve all of the challenges, Smiley nonetheless emphasizes the need for caring adult mentors, and correctly notes that this is an urgent matter that should concern all Americans. Hard-hitting and insightful, this is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)