Blogpost 3- C. Marcellus Griffin

Blogpost 3 - C. Marcellus Griffin

 What educational technology area/topic would you most like to explore and why? Share what you know about his topic and how this technology can enhance your current and future leadership position.  Note: This topic may become the Literature Review assignment or can be part of your dissertation literature review

The educational technology area that I would most like to explore is the podcasts.  I plan to create an educational podcast featuring experts in the area of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and the achievement gap as it relates to African American students and White and Asian students.  In the podcasts, the experts will espouse their expertise in the area while sharing personal anecdotes, tempered with a sense of urgency, yet humor so that people will connect with the message and be inspired to be a part of the change that needs to occur within the public school systems of America. 

                     Historically, African American students have been under served in the U.S. public education system for decades.  Social scientists have reviewed data and have arrived at many conclusions as to why African American students tend to under perform academically in comparison to their White and some of their Asian American counterparts.   Some of the purported rationales include sociopolitical issues that date back to slavery, the Eugenics Movement, the Jim Crow era, the socioeconomic reasons, as well as reasons related to the lack of culturally responsive pedagogy in public education.

                     It is inconceivable that there will ever be a day that everyone is in agreement as to the root cause of the pervasive problem.  In fact, there remains a population of scholars who do not feel that there is a systemic problem at all.  Some scholars are of the mindset that African American students underachieve academically because they are simply lazy.  Regardless of where scholars stand on the issue, the salient truth is that the status quo for educating students of color has been ineffective.  Thus, it is vital that a new approach is implemented with fidelity, so that this population does not get left further behind in this educational race to the top.  With my podcast project, I want to launch and perhaps monetize a radio show prototype that will both entertain as well as educate America on what needs to be done to improve the achievement of African American students.