Parental pressure was a major part of Walter Broadnax staying in school – and then doing well. He went on to serve as a policy expert for two different presidential administrations.
Success in education is the responsibility of more than just the student, he says now.
His father was the one that was strict about him staying in school, while his mother also usually had some sharp advice.
He recently spoke to a group of Fowler High School students in Syracuse as part of a national effort for African American leaders to give back to schools.
"At the end of the day, the parents are, at least in my life, it’s that final glue that’s there," he said in an interview afterward. "When all else fails, you want them there."
Broadnax is now an education policy professor at Syracuse University. Previously he served in both the administrations of Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
He told the Fowler students that if they commit to their education, it can change their lives. He borrows the old Nike slogan in message: Just do it.
If parents don’t believe in their children’s education, he says, it’s a steep hill for kids to climb up to be successful.
"The parents are very, very important no matter how you cut it. You don’t have to be highly educated. Your dad doesn’t have to be a doctor for you to aspire to be a doctor," he said.
Broadnax says the world of a student is more complex and there’s more distraction. But he says parents need only to put in some effort – which is better than none.
"If the parents haven’t themselves any sort of notion of this and no belief in it and that sort of thing," he said, "I think that’s a steeper hill."