Option B: An Educator's Story

'Dr. Luck' and Dr. Luck
 on Black History Hero Day 

During Black History Month this year, Dr. Phillip Luck invited his students to dress up like their favorite Black History Hero.  One young man came to school, dressed in a suit and tie, and proudly announced that he was dressed as his favorite black hero-- Dr. Phillip Luck.  Aside from feeling old, Dr. Luck was honored that this young man saw him as a hero.  There are dozens of other young people in Atlanta, GA that he has had the same impact on during his fifteen years as an educator.  Phil continues to stay in touch with many of his former students after they leave his classroom, serving as a role model and mentor.  Yet Dr. Luck, the Principal and Black History Hero, are far from the young Phillip Luck, who once brought home a report card that listed his GPA as a 0.7, and was on the verge of being kicked out of school.  Dr. Luck's journey highlights some of the challenges and shortcomings of our education system and leaves you humbled by the man who used his failures as a boy to become a leader as a man.  Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?" For those of us who know Dr. Luck we can answer that question in unison, "saving lives."

Most of my childhood was spent in the "inner-city" of Cleveland, Ohio.  I went to school, I did school, but I never knew how to play the game of school. I was always getting in trouble for being too active and running my mouth, trying to impress my friends--all the things boys usually do in school. That behavior went on from elementary school all the way through high school. My mom tried putting me in an all boys Catholic school to get me out of the madness of my neighborhood, hoping that would make a difference, but it didn't stop my struggles with school. But through it all, my mom never stopped believing in me.  She was always saying, "you know you can do this, you are  better than this."  She constantly challenged my behavior and asked why I was falling for peer pressure.  Even the semester I got a 0.7 grade point average, she never stopped telling me that she believed in me.  I very clearly remember her, after she saw that report card, sitting at the table, putting her head in her hands and just crying--but she didn't give up. It was not until the latter part of my high school years when I moved to a suburban area of Cleveland and transferred to another high school that I started to think seriously about my future, although by then, the damage had been done to my academic record.  I graduated from high school in 1989 with a 1.6 grade point average.  My poor performance throughout school was not because I couldn’t or wasn’t smart enough to be successful, but because I didn't know how to 'do' school.

After graduating from high school, I went to live with my dad in CA and enrolled in a junior college.  I didn’t know anyone there and I didn’t have to worry about peer pressure because no one knew anything about me or expected anything from me. During this period I focused on school, got myself together and decided that I was going to college.  I went to visit Tuskegee when I was in the 5^th grade and was really impressed by it--it had always remained in the back of my mind.  I decided that going to college in the south where none of my friends were would allow me to keep focusing like I had done at junior college.  A chance meeting with the dean of the school of education during my first year on campus resulted in my becoming an education major.  He and I talked and he said if you think about education, I have a scholarship for you.  I always had a love for working with kids so it seemed like a natural fit. With a clear plan, role models and guidance, I did very well at Tuskegee. 

Straight from undergrad I went to the University of Minnesota teacher education grad program because they were focused on engaging more black teachers.  I finished that graduate program in one year because I was so well prepared from my studies at Tuskegee.  During my grad program I interned at local elementary schools where I really connected with the boys. I think they gravitated to me because they knew that I understood them, that I understood the feeling of being penalized for being a boy in school. 

Boys and girls are very different in school. Girls are able to play the game of school, sit still/listen and those are the things teachers look for in the classroom to determine success.  We, educators, treat boys like they are defective girls, meaning the measurement of success in school is girl’s behavior—so when boys aren’t able to do that, boys get in trouble.  I’ve always understood that because that was how it was for me in school.  We don't understand how boys are wired and it costs our boys dearly.  This disconnect between the education system and the specialized needs of each population within it have been a driving force in my career as an educator. 

I worked as a classroom teacher, stay at home dad and principal over the next ten years, and also began my doctorate work.  My doctoral thesis focused on the perception of educators and why boys are referred to special education at a much higher rate than girls. 70 percent of the special education population is boys and almost 90 percent of teachers are female who may not necessarily get how boys think, feel, and learn.  When you look at statistics on boys and school achievement, you can see that there is clearly a systemic issue.  60 percent of boys are more likely to repeat a grade level.  80 percent of the discipline issues in schools involve boys. 80 percent of the children on ritalin or similar drugs for hyperactivity and focusing issues are boys.  Yet, we never touched on the impact of gender differences in college, or even graduate school. Obviously, there are students who don't fit the gender molds of learning, but once you learn that there are differences for many and learn that there are different things to do to encourage success, it helps both the boys and the girls.  There is research that shows that schools that tackle this issue have better academic success rates for boys and girls.  I've found in my own school, after educating staff and implementing strategies that tackle the gender differences in learning, the boys are less distracted and the girls don’t have to shrink in their own smartness. With my son, a 4^th grader, it’s already considered cool to slack off, show off and be the class clown in front of your friends. So I have to stay on him with my expectations of him--being clear to him what his mother and I won’t accept academically.  

I think a 'Smart Guy' is someone who is very comfortable with themselves and who knows that they need to lead by example.  I always say that you can't choose option B if all you know that exists is option A.  I think I serve as an example to my students of someone who grew up in a similar, challenging environment and made something more of myself than what I saw.  I pride myself on being a role model, their option B.  I think 'Smart Parents' and 'Smart Teachers' are those who know that peer pressure is very real.  Many young people spend more time with their peers than with any adult.  Kids need good role models around them, people who can show them options and good choices in order to combat that peer pressure.

A 'Really Smart' Smart Guy,
Phil

Dr. Phillip Luck earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Tuskegee University and a Master’s degree in elementary education from The University of Minnesota. In 2009, he earned his doctorate degree in School Improvement from the University of West Georgia. Dr. Phillip Luck has worked as an educator in Atlanta, GA for 15 years. Currently, he is the principal of Parkside Elementary in the Atlanta Public School System.  Phil also works as a educational trainer for the Gurian Institute, delivering workshops to educators, parents and stakeholders of schools regarding the impact of gender in education.  He has served on the Board of Directors for The Center for African-American Male Success, Research and Leadership, Image Charter School of Mableton and Create Your Dreams, Inc.  Dr. Luck encourages Smart Guy readers to learn more about Create Your Dreams, Inc. and find out how you can help support this innovative and effective youth development program for inner-city students in the Atlanta, GA area.  Dr. Luck lives in Mableton, Georgia with his wife Leslie, and their two children Jasmine and Jordan.