Fifty years ago, renowned psychologist Edmund W. Gordon and his wife, Susan, who was a physician, established a children’s health clinic in central Harlem. The Harriet Tubman Clinic for Children on St. Nicholas Avenue provided affordable checkups and vaccinations for families in need. Now, in his nineties, Gordon is returning to Harlem to continue his philanthropic efforts.
Gordon has grand plans for the community this time around. He aims to immerse children in the area, starting within a 65-block radius of his office, in what he refers to as "supplementary education." This encompasses a wide range of educational experiences that take place outside of school and contribute to children’s intellectual development. Examples include parents reading to their children, engaging in conversations during mealtimes, programs by organizations like Boys and Girls Clubs and the YMCA, after-school programs at schools, tutoring services, and music lessons. In affluent families, these experiences are often taken for granted, much like the air children breathe. However, for many impoverished and minority children living in this economically disadvantaged area, such opportunities are nonexistent.
Gordon now believes that what happens outside of school may hold the key to closing the achievement gap between African-American and Hispanic children and their academically high-achieving white and Asian-American peers. The 83-year-old professor states, "I am confident that we now possess sufficient knowledge to educate the majority of the individuals we are concerned about. However, even if we were to do this perfectly, I do not believe it would eliminate the achievement gap." Gordon explains this viewpoint from his new office at the Institute for Urban and Minority Education, where he relocated the institute he founded in 1973 at Columbia University’s Teachers College, eager to be closer to Harlem. Last year, the college responded to his desire by launching the Teachers College Education Zone, an initiative to actively support public schools in New York City regions 9 and 10, encompassing Harlem, parts of upper Manhattan, and sections of the South Bronx. Gordon’s "supplementary education" initiative is now integrated with this project. In the coming year, other Teachers College offices will be relocated to the neighborhood.
Gordon currently occupies the eighth floor of the Theresa Towers Hotel on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard. This hotel, once known as the "Waldorf Astoria of Harlem," offered temporary accommodations to performers at the nearby Apollo Theater during its prime. Although the building now primarily consists of offices and daycare centers, Gordon can still observe the street where the Tubman clinic once stood from his perch as an octogenarian.
To further detail his concepts on supplementary learning, Gordon collaborated with young scholars Beatrice L. Bridglall and Aundra Saa Meroe to publish a new book titled "Supplementary Education: The Hidden Curriculum of Academic Achievement."
Ninti Alfred, a 7-year-old child, warmly embraces her teacher Judith Socarras at the after-school program of Harlem Episcopal School, an institution associated with Gordon’s institute. Emile Wamsteker for Education Week.
Throughout his extensive career in academia, the psychologist has authored over 200 books and articles, and has received seven honorary degrees. Apart from his position as a professor at Teachers College, he also holds the title of professor emeritus at Yale University. He has taught at the City University of New York as well, and has obtained degrees in various fields including zoology, social ethics, social psychology, and child development and guidance. Furthermore, he has played a fundamental role in the establishment of Head Start, a federal program aimed at assisting underprivileged preschoolers, and has served as an assistant dean of men at Howard University, as well as a part-time Presbyterian minister. After closing their clinic, Gordon and his wife decided to dedicate themselves to these ventures. Another renowned couple in the field of child psychology, Kenneth B. and Mamie Phipps Clark, had initiated their own child-health clinic in Harlem. However, Gordon explains that it became evident that there was not enough demand for their services.
Gordon readily acknowledges that his siblings and he were fortunate enough to grow up in a nurturing environment. Born in the racially segregated town of Goldsboro, N.C., Gordon’s childhood differed from that of other African-American children. His father, a physician, and his mother, a schoolteacher, ensured they had a comfortable life. Gordon’s father, who was originally from the West Indies, always held onto his passport as he believed that foreign-born African-Americans were treated better than those born in the United States. In the town they resided in, Gordon, his mother, and their family were the only African-Americans allowed to borrow books from the local library and shop at Weil’s, the town’s most esteemed department store, but only once a week. Gordon reminisces, "Even during the Depression, there was hardly a summer when we didn’t travel or go on vacation. I can’t recall a time when there weren’t books around or when we weren’t expected to read them. We had regular mealtimes and were not allowed to hastily consume our food and leave the table." The renowned scholar and his wife, Susan G. Gordon, have carried these traditions forward with their own four children, two of whom have pursued careers in academia, following in their father’s footsteps.
Nonetheless, Gordon faced challenges during his time at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Struggling to keep up with his studies, he was ultimately asked to leave. On his way out of the dean’s office, he encountered Alain L. Locke, a renowned philosopher known for nurturing and promoting young black artists during the first half of the 20th century. Gordon recounts the encounter, stating that Locke advised him, "Young man, you have to leave now but, when you come back, the first thing you do is you come and see me."
Locke subsequently became a mentor to Gordon, imparting valuable knowledge on navigating the complexities of academia. Years later, Gordon found an even more esteemed mentor in W.E.B. Du Bois, the prominent black activist, educator, and editor. Residing in New York City at the time, Gordon was among a select group of young African-American scholars who regularly met with Du Bois. During the 1960s, Gordon joined forces with a group of young academics collaborating with sociologist James S. Coleman on a report commissioned by the federal government. The resulting document, known as the Coleman Report, published in 1966, was considered a significant milestone in research due to its controversial conclusion that background factors, such as family income and parental education levels, held more importance than schooling in predicting academic achievement among children. Gordon remarks, "People tended to overlook that troublesome finding. I wouldn’t say I had forgotten it, but I, too, tended to disregard it." Like many intellectuals, Gordon believed that the cultural backgrounds of underachieving minority populations were not lacking, as some theorists had suggested. Instead, he believed the differences needed to be acknowledged and celebrated, rather than replaced by the cultural norms of the middle-class white society. He now asserts, "These days, I have no difficulty insisting that black children learn standard English. Black English should not be demeaned, but rather, one should aim to make black children, in a sense, bilingual."
Gordon’s change of perspective occurred in the 1980s when he conducted a study with L. Scott Miller, examining the career paths of black engineering students. Despite their intelligence and diligence, the students they observed failed to excel academically or professionally.
Gordon engages in a review of marketing materials alongside consultant Pat Hurlock at his institute located in Harlem. This activity is captured by Emile Wamsteker for Education Week.
Enduring criticism is a necessary part of Gordon’s work. The prevailing sentiment in the national education agenda is currently focused on fixing schools as the primary solution. To those who advocate for this approach, Gordon’s emphasis on supplementary education may appear misguided in addressing the achievement gap. Abigail Thernstrom, co-author of the book "No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning" and Vice Chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, states, "I’m not against what he’s doing. My concern is that he dismisses the school hours and implies that parents need to compensate for what happens during the school day."
Another aspect under scrutiny is determining the most effective means of reform. Scholars agree that studies examining the impact of after-school programs on children’s academic achievement have produced contradictory findings. However, Gordon believes that the right studies have not yet been conducted. In his book, he presents some evidence from a study involving 480,000 college-bound high school students. The study, conducted in 1995 by Howard T. Everson and Roger Millsap, revealed that, all other factors held constant, students’ involvement in extracurricular activities proved to be a stronger predictor of their SAT scores than their previous academic performance. Everson, who also serves as the chief research scientist at the New York City-based College Board, which sponsors the college-admissions test, explains, "Students attending schools with no extracurricular activities are likely to be disadvantaged by approximately 100 points on the SAT math and verbal tests compared to those attending high schools offering a wide range of extracurriculars."
However, Gordon and his colleagues at the Institute for Urban and Minority Education acknowledge that promoting supplementary education may pose challenges that are not immediately apparent.
To gather valuable input and foster community support, the institute has assembled a task force consisting of 60 individuals, including national experts and community activists. With their assistance, Gordon aims to develop a social-marketing campaign that will be launched later this year.
Now that these plans are in motion, Gordon himself contemplates retirement, once again. (He first attempted retirement after leaving Yale in 1991.) He intends to write four more books, but feels a sense of urgency as he fears that time is running out. He humorously remarks, "I don’t want to be like George Foreman," alluding to the boxing champion who came out of retirement for an unsuccessful fight. "This initiative is too crucial to solely rely on an 84-year-old man."