Public education is like a maze through which a child must traverse in order to arrive at a viable and productive career. Nonetheless, it is a maze, with some paths that lead to nowhere.
We keep bumping into dead-end walls, trying to figure our way out.
Which is smarter, a rat going through a maze or a black boy trying to graduate from high school? Right, the rat gets the cheese. The black boy gets life in prison, albeit on an installment plan.
Education is supposed to produce intelligence. The rat traverses the maze because he “learns” from his mistakes. The black male child never learns from his mistakes. Why? Because he rarely gets the chance to make a second mistake. One strike, he’s out.
With public schools preparing to go into session, there is compelling reason to look more closely at why 50% of our black male students do not graduate and why one-of-three wound up in prison. There must be a line from Point A to Point B. But before now, that line has been obscured. We tend to reason that “it just happened overnight”.
When ever time I criticize a teacher or a school administrator, they tell me to shut my mouth and go back to my corner, as if I am a 5-year old. On the other hand, publicly the school system is clamoring for parents and volunteers to become more involved.
Involved, for what? They give us these highfalutin jingoisms and prep talks, promising this and promising that, but the minute a parent or volunteer adds their two-cent worth, they treat us like kids in a classroom.
FIRE ‘EM ALL!
Never start a sentence with the word FIRE. Teachers will fight you, tooth and nail, all the way to the courts. Then the teachers union looks at you, as if to say, “You can’t fire the union.” DAMMIT!
Fire the Superintendent, maybe the rank-and-file will get the message.
The results of our public education system are as unacceptable as teachers and educators are entrenched in conceit. If you leave it to their own self-assessment, of course they are all doing a good job- considering the challenges. And, so are the troops in Iraq. But is the job getting done? That is the question.
PROPOSAL
• Let No Child Be Left Behind because of disciplinary infractions
We detest the coercive use of Zero Tolerance policies that give teachers more incentive to discipline than to teach. This is nothing but a carte blanche means of social control and suppression. And, such policies are have been routinely used discriminatorily against African-American children, and particularly black boys.
• Give us Our Children back if the school system has trouble teaching them
Somewhere in the life of a dropout is the “One Bad Day” that starts the downward spiral to leads to failure. We want to benchmark that “one bad day”. The first time a student is sent to the principal’s office for a disciplinary infraction, we want that child back.
It makes no sense for the student to receive a second, third, or fourth infraction. That would be like tying a child to a whipping post and not allowing him a reprieve. Every child deserves an out, especially if the school system sees fit to remove him from the classroom setting. There is no education outside of the classroom, except that provided in the home or a quasi-educational institution in the community.
Herein is the solution. We can teach our kids better by ourselves. The public school system is only one of many choices, probably more popular to parents because of its convenience as a “babysitter”. If parents were given a better choice, they would use it.
This does not advocate abolishing public education in lieu of charter schools or a voucher system. But, if education money allocated to each student followed that student to an alternative education program, we (in the community) could do much better than a 50% dropout rate and 1 of every 3 black boys going to jail and prison.
We have our own methodologies and pedagogy. The public school system is not the only game in town.
THE BABY MOSES PROJECT
The Baby Moses Project began with the biblical character Moses as a child. The important lesson learned from this character was how the government attempted to destroy all male children of slaves.
This does not suggest genocide or conspiracy to destroy all black male children. It just happens that way. The statistics are impersonal and impartial.
But Moses parents put him into an ark (of safety) and set him upon the waters of the Nile. Why didn’t all the other parents do the same? They must have been convinced that the government had a right to kill their children, just as some people believe the authorities in Jena, Louisiana have the right to prosecute six high school black boys for retaliating against white students who started a racial fracas. The Law is the law, they say. But the administration of justice is not fair.
The same with the public school systems that hold our children hostage and then hold them accountable for their resistance, with threat of punishment and incarceration, compulsive education is the law. But our children do not have to stay in the system, if teachers and administrators put them out of the classroom. This is not a yo-yo situation, where the education authorities throw them out, then pull them back in, only to throw them out again.
LET OUR CHILDREN GO
We are not asking, but demanding: For every child sent out of class to the principal’s office for disciplinary reason, we want that child OUT. We have an educational institution for them- and one that works.
Will they give us our children back?
As long as the student remains on the rolls of public schools, the money allocated to each student goes into the system. There is no financial incentive to place these at-risk students in the care of those who best understand their learning style and are capable of more effectively teaching them. The big scare tactic is this: Taking students out of public schools will destroy the system.
To this, I say FIRE ‘EM ALL and let the bricks fall where they may- ANYTHING, but another dime down the drain.
Showing posts sorted by date for query baby moses. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query baby moses. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Disconnecting Public School from the Juvenile Justice System
An ongoing baby moses project dialogue
The Angry Independent said...
The urban public school systems in this country, especially in areas that are predominantly African American, have been turned into Prisons.
Eddie Griffin says… It is imperative that we disconnect urban public schools from the juvenile justice system. The rash of disciplinary problems in school has led many of our young people directly into prisons. The connections are so strong that the urban school environment has taken the shape of a penal pre-incarceration regime.
Disproportionate punishment of black male students and the concomitant one-in-three black boys going to prison is a correlation that cannot be ignored.
The Angry Independent said...
A small percentage of troublemakers have turned these schools into a living hell for those who are interested in getting a decent education. It is no surprise to me that the kids internalize the negatives in their environment and live up to the low expectations that responsible adults have for them.
Many of these kids (and I used to be one of them) have a hard enough time with their home lives.... then they must get up everyday to endure another bad situation. School should be a positive escape for these kids... someplace where they can look forward to going everyday. That kind of environment is not too condusive to learning...or for any positive development whatsoever.
Eddie Griffin says… I agree that schools should be a positive escape, a place they can look forward to going everyday. This suggests an environmental change in the school setting. We can make our schools more attractive, more accommodating, more hospitable, more humane and sane, less contentious and less grievous.
But in order to even envision such an ideal school system we would first have to do some soul-searching to see if such a vision is even inside of ourselves. People are the problem, not the school as an institution.
If we can teach in the squalid remote parts of the Third World, then we should also be able to teach at home. We say that we love the people of impoverished Third World countries and yet we hate our own impoverished riffraff here at home. There is jaundice in the humanitarian and philanthropic eyes.
About the “few troublemakers” that disrupt our schools, you mentioned their destructive influence and its negative effects. The troublemaker must be co-opted into the education regime, rather than thrown out as an outcast. Expulsions only remove the problem to a different area (such as crime).
The Angry Independent said...
Luckily... I was able to get out of my bad situation right before entering middle school. The high schools that I attended were nothing like what you would find in urban New York, L.A., Chicago, St. Louis, etc.
But the authorities (including the school administrators/school board) are in an almost impossible situation as well. They have to be able to deal with drugs and gang activity in many of these schools...which sometimes involves weapons. If something were to happen, and these measures were not in place... then parents would be up in arms about that... So it's a catch 22 situation.
Eddie Griffin says… School administrators, being paid such exorbitant salaries, should be expected to establish law and order on each campus. The superintendent of Fort Worth ISD should be able to deal with malfeasant culture rather than dodge bullets. For that salary, I would face down a gang banger with a gun in his hand. If America is so fearful of school violence, fire the superintendent and hire S.W.O.T. teams. Maybe in the long run, you would save money.
The Angry Independent said...
But one irony that I need to point out here is this... I mentioned that I never went to an urban big city school. I went to a rural/suburban High school that was racially/economically mixed...but mostly white.... and the other high school I attended was a Federal Government High school...which is a completely different system and environment.
The point is... these are exactly the kinds of High schools where most of the nation’s biggest shootings have taken place over the last decade. (Columbine, and at least a dozen other big cases). Yet most of these schools don't have metal detectors nor do they have such an aggressive police presence where students are herded like livestock. There is no prison environment in those schools (typically).
I have yet to hear of a major shooting case at a Black urban school (although some shootings do happen and guns are often recovered in sweeps). There are cases of 1..2 people wounded... but nothing like the mass shootings that take place at predominantly White suburban schools.
Yet it's the urban students who routinely have to deal with this kind of environment. Why is that? I think that it has to do with socio-economics...& not necessarily security. In other words... poorer parents are less likely to challenge these measures... they don't have the money for legal expenses, etc.
Suburban schools, on the other hand, are full of students from more well-off backgrounds...and the authorities wouldn't dare treat Wally Cleaver in the same manner...because the legal challenges would be fierce. They simply would not be able to get away with it.
Eddie Griffin says… I would be careful about over-generalizing the cause of violence in our schools. The real general problem is the mass production of psychotics- and, it’s not in the water or the gene pool. It’s in the upbringing.
The Angry Independent said...
This is where groups like the ACLU must step in and (at the very least) demand better standards and a system of rights for students. They should take these cases to Federal Court. Females should not have to raise their shirts... there should be a private area and enough female personnel on duty. There should be video of each checkpoint area... and a system where students/parents could complain or appeal their treatment.
Eddie Griffin says… Do we need metal detectors and screeners in our schools? There is a problem here as to who is paranoid and why. If parents better understood the pathological behavior of their children, rather than putting on blinders, much fear could be deflated. If we understood that most gangs are not “gangs” per se, but cliques, then we would use a different model for their organizational behavior problems. Punitive psychology is always inferior to cognitive psychology. Teaching children to understand their behavior, responsibilities, and expectations are best enforced through proactive indoctrination, rather than punishment. We cannot assume that all children instinctively know the difference between right and wrong. They must be taught the right and proscribed the wrong.
The Angry Independent said...
This also has to do with the demonization of Black kids...(thanks to the media). There is this fear that exists & is the undertone for everything else...for every other contact that they have with teachers and police. This fear dictates that Black students are a threat (by default) and must be dealt with accordingly. When in fact, the security should be based on actual (professionally conducted) threat/risk assessments.
All in all... there has to be a balance between security and a decent learning environment. It might be a good idea to put federal observers in some of these schools (some of the worst offenders). I bet many of these police and school officials would moderate their behavior if they knew there were independent observers monitoring their activities.
Eddie Griffin says… There is, indeed, a public fear of black kids, especially black boys. And, security placements are always focused on them. If any child gets caught doing anything wrong, rest assured it is the black child. Others do the same, and when they do not get by as usual, they get slapped on the wrist as punishment, while our children wound up in the pen.
In Texas, Paris Hilton could have gotten up to 10 years for repeated DUI and driving recklessly with suspended license. But then too, even in Texas, she is still Paris Hilton.
Yes indeed, we have noted the evolving militarization of our schools, with metal detectors, armed security guards, and draconian punitive measures. Thankfully, the Texas Legislature saw fit to stop the insane flow of children from the classrooms to the jailhouses, for minor disciplinary actions. And, as we began to examine how we can solve our problems ourselves, internally, without the feds or the state, we must recognize that as long as the public school system exists (in its present form), we will need monitors to monitor the monitors.
We have some basic misconceptions about human nature. We assume that given the choice, people will do the bad thing, especially looking through colored lenses. But people, especially children, are more amenable that we think.
I agree with Fort Worth Police Chief Ralph Mendoza, who said at a school-related forum, that if he had his way, he would not even put police officers inside the schools. But this is Fort Worth, Texas, where we have our children reasonably under control. It probably would not work for New York. (See “Criminalizing the Classroom” in Make It Plain where 93,000 children undergo extreme security measure in New York every day)
Read The Angry Independent blog that made my day.
The Angry Independent said...
The urban public school systems in this country, especially in areas that are predominantly African American, have been turned into Prisons.
Eddie Griffin says… It is imperative that we disconnect urban public schools from the juvenile justice system. The rash of disciplinary problems in school has led many of our young people directly into prisons. The connections are so strong that the urban school environment has taken the shape of a penal pre-incarceration regime.
Disproportionate punishment of black male students and the concomitant one-in-three black boys going to prison is a correlation that cannot be ignored.
The Angry Independent said...
A small percentage of troublemakers have turned these schools into a living hell for those who are interested in getting a decent education. It is no surprise to me that the kids internalize the negatives in their environment and live up to the low expectations that responsible adults have for them.
Many of these kids (and I used to be one of them) have a hard enough time with their home lives.... then they must get up everyday to endure another bad situation. School should be a positive escape for these kids... someplace where they can look forward to going everyday. That kind of environment is not too condusive to learning...or for any positive development whatsoever.
Eddie Griffin says… I agree that schools should be a positive escape, a place they can look forward to going everyday. This suggests an environmental change in the school setting. We can make our schools more attractive, more accommodating, more hospitable, more humane and sane, less contentious and less grievous.
But in order to even envision such an ideal school system we would first have to do some soul-searching to see if such a vision is even inside of ourselves. People are the problem, not the school as an institution.
If we can teach in the squalid remote parts of the Third World, then we should also be able to teach at home. We say that we love the people of impoverished Third World countries and yet we hate our own impoverished riffraff here at home. There is jaundice in the humanitarian and philanthropic eyes.
About the “few troublemakers” that disrupt our schools, you mentioned their destructive influence and its negative effects. The troublemaker must be co-opted into the education regime, rather than thrown out as an outcast. Expulsions only remove the problem to a different area (such as crime).
The Angry Independent said...
Luckily... I was able to get out of my bad situation right before entering middle school. The high schools that I attended were nothing like what you would find in urban New York, L.A., Chicago, St. Louis, etc.
But the authorities (including the school administrators/school board) are in an almost impossible situation as well. They have to be able to deal with drugs and gang activity in many of these schools...which sometimes involves weapons. If something were to happen, and these measures were not in place... then parents would be up in arms about that... So it's a catch 22 situation.
Eddie Griffin says… School administrators, being paid such exorbitant salaries, should be expected to establish law and order on each campus. The superintendent of Fort Worth ISD should be able to deal with malfeasant culture rather than dodge bullets. For that salary, I would face down a gang banger with a gun in his hand. If America is so fearful of school violence, fire the superintendent and hire S.W.O.T. teams. Maybe in the long run, you would save money.
The Angry Independent said...
But one irony that I need to point out here is this... I mentioned that I never went to an urban big city school. I went to a rural/suburban High school that was racially/economically mixed...but mostly white.... and the other high school I attended was a Federal Government High school...which is a completely different system and environment.
The point is... these are exactly the kinds of High schools where most of the nation’s biggest shootings have taken place over the last decade. (Columbine, and at least a dozen other big cases). Yet most of these schools don't have metal detectors nor do they have such an aggressive police presence where students are herded like livestock. There is no prison environment in those schools (typically).
I have yet to hear of a major shooting case at a Black urban school (although some shootings do happen and guns are often recovered in sweeps). There are cases of 1..2 people wounded... but nothing like the mass shootings that take place at predominantly White suburban schools.
Yet it's the urban students who routinely have to deal with this kind of environment. Why is that? I think that it has to do with socio-economics...& not necessarily security. In other words... poorer parents are less likely to challenge these measures... they don't have the money for legal expenses, etc.
Suburban schools, on the other hand, are full of students from more well-off backgrounds...and the authorities wouldn't dare treat Wally Cleaver in the same manner...because the legal challenges would be fierce. They simply would not be able to get away with it.
Eddie Griffin says… I would be careful about over-generalizing the cause of violence in our schools. The real general problem is the mass production of psychotics- and, it’s not in the water or the gene pool. It’s in the upbringing.
The Angry Independent said...
This is where groups like the ACLU must step in and (at the very least) demand better standards and a system of rights for students. They should take these cases to Federal Court. Females should not have to raise their shirts... there should be a private area and enough female personnel on duty. There should be video of each checkpoint area... and a system where students/parents could complain or appeal their treatment.
Eddie Griffin says… Do we need metal detectors and screeners in our schools? There is a problem here as to who is paranoid and why. If parents better understood the pathological behavior of their children, rather than putting on blinders, much fear could be deflated. If we understood that most gangs are not “gangs” per se, but cliques, then we would use a different model for their organizational behavior problems. Punitive psychology is always inferior to cognitive psychology. Teaching children to understand their behavior, responsibilities, and expectations are best enforced through proactive indoctrination, rather than punishment. We cannot assume that all children instinctively know the difference between right and wrong. They must be taught the right and proscribed the wrong.
The Angry Independent said...
This also has to do with the demonization of Black kids...(thanks to the media). There is this fear that exists & is the undertone for everything else...for every other contact that they have with teachers and police. This fear dictates that Black students are a threat (by default) and must be dealt with accordingly. When in fact, the security should be based on actual (professionally conducted) threat/risk assessments.
All in all... there has to be a balance between security and a decent learning environment. It might be a good idea to put federal observers in some of these schools (some of the worst offenders). I bet many of these police and school officials would moderate their behavior if they knew there were independent observers monitoring their activities.
Eddie Griffin says… There is, indeed, a public fear of black kids, especially black boys. And, security placements are always focused on them. If any child gets caught doing anything wrong, rest assured it is the black child. Others do the same, and when they do not get by as usual, they get slapped on the wrist as punishment, while our children wound up in the pen.
In Texas, Paris Hilton could have gotten up to 10 years for repeated DUI and driving recklessly with suspended license. But then too, even in Texas, she is still Paris Hilton.
Yes indeed, we have noted the evolving militarization of our schools, with metal detectors, armed security guards, and draconian punitive measures. Thankfully, the Texas Legislature saw fit to stop the insane flow of children from the classrooms to the jailhouses, for minor disciplinary actions. And, as we began to examine how we can solve our problems ourselves, internally, without the feds or the state, we must recognize that as long as the public school system exists (in its present form), we will need monitors to monitor the monitors.
We have some basic misconceptions about human nature. We assume that given the choice, people will do the bad thing, especially looking through colored lenses. But people, especially children, are more amenable that we think.
I agree with Fort Worth Police Chief Ralph Mendoza, who said at a school-related forum, that if he had his way, he would not even put police officers inside the schools. But this is Fort Worth, Texas, where we have our children reasonably under control. It probably would not work for New York. (See “Criminalizing the Classroom” in Make It Plain where 93,000 children undergo extreme security measure in New York every day)
Read The Angry Independent blog that made my day.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Can We Save a Black Boy?
The only way to save a black boy is one child at a time. Today, it is Genarlow Wilson, The Jena Six, and Memory of Ron Pettiway.
Immediate Update:
Memory of Ron Pettiway
From: Cruse Pettaway said...
No Matter whats happens, My brother Ron I will Always Love U, I Miss the Days we spent together. I still remember the days you walk me back and forth to school. Even tho I know I couldn't see you at graduation, I know you were there. Before I go I wanted to say sorry for not making that song that night, not going bowling when u asked, and for leaving u there at Frozen Palace. But when we meet again I promise to make it up. Just know that I'll take everything u taught me and make it happen. But untill then I'm still waiting for you to walk through the front door.
shamaca Pettaway said...
OFFICERS ASSIA WARE AND MICHEAL BERNARD WILSON now have warrant application filed by my brother Roy Pettaway. We are not going to let the murder of my brother Ron die.
Our hearts go out to the Pettaway Family for The Loss of Ron. As reported by Francis L. Holland Blog:
http://francislholland.blogspot.com/2007/04/media-discusses-ron-and-roy-pettaway.html
Ron and Roy Pettaway, Shot from Behind by Fulton County, GA Police
Ron and Roy Pettway, Black men in Fulton County, GA, were partying in a bar when an argument broke out over an insult. Five minutes after the argument ended, the Fulton County Police arrived and ordered Ron Pettaway into the street. His brother Roy followed and saw police beating Ron, and he tried to help his brother. But, police shot Ron Pettaway in the back of the head, killng him, and they shot Roy in the back.
Both black men were unarmed, and both were shot in the back.
We need to ASK the Right People THE RIGHT QUESTIONS:
• Is there a current investigation of this shooting? If so, who is doing the investigating? Where is the Justice Department Civil Rights Division?
Here are the Telephone Numbers for Fulton County Board of Commissioners.
Telephone Numbers for Fulton County Board of Commissioners.
Gloria, Secretary to (African-American) Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard (404) 330-6100, said the District Attorney Howard had "just got the case," and she was unable to readily provide a statement about the status of the investigation.
We must hold law enforcement officers accountable for the actions and culpable to excessive use of force and murder-in-the-name-of-the-law. We have enough proof to show that the State of Georgia has returned to the type of lawlessness and violence against minority like in the days of Dr. Martin Luther King.
Call: Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue: (404) 656-1776
All-White Jury in Jena, Louisiana Swiftly Convicts Black Teenager
(The Jena Six Trials)
JENA, Louisiana -- Tears streamed down Melissa Bell's face Monday as the judge ruled in favor of LaSalle Parish District Attorney J. Reed Walters' motion to continue her son's trial more than a month. (“Racial demons rear heads”, Chicago Tribune, May 18, 2007)
According to the story, the white students guilty of the rope incident were suspended for three days. Black parents, who felt that the nooses signified a greater danger and threat, protested the ruling. It should have been treated as a racially motivated hate crime, in light of these subsequent events and chain reactions:
First, a series of fights between black and white students erupted at the high school over the nooses. Then, in late November, unknown arsonists set fire to the central wing of the school, which still sits in ruins. Off campus, a white youth beat up a black student who showed up at an all-white party. A few days later, another young white man pulled a shotgun on three black students at a convenience store.
Finally, on Dec. 4, a group of black students at the high school allegedly jumped a white student on his way out of the gym, knocked him unconscious and kicked him after he hit the floor. The victim—allegedly targeted because he was a friend of the students who hung the nooses and had been taunting blacks—was not seriously injured and spent only a few hours in the hospital.
But the LaSalle Parish district attorney, Reed Walters, opted to charge six black students with attempted second-degree murder and other offenses, for which they could face a maximum of 100 years in prison if convicted. All six were expelled from school.
Louisiana teen guilty in school beating case
Witnesses provide conflicting testimony
By Howard Witt
Tribune senior correspondent
Published June 29, 2007
HOUSTON -- An all-white jury in the central Louisiana town of Jena swiftly convicted a black teenager Thursday for attacking a white student in an incident that capped months of racial unrest and attracted the scrutiny of civil rights leaders concerned about the application of justice in the town.
Jurors convicted Mychal Bell, 17, of aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy charges despite conflicting testimony from witnesses about whether Bell was among a group of black students who allegedly jumped the victim as he emerged from the gymnasium at the local high school on Dec. 4, knocking him unconscious.
Bell, a former high school football star who has been jailed since the incident, faces the possibility of more than 20 years in prison when he is sentenced July 31…
The aggravated battery charge against Bell involved the use of a dangerous weapon. Although no evidence of a gun, knife or other weapon was introduced, Walters argued, and the jury agreed, that the tennis shoes Bell was wearing at the time of the attack qualified as a dangerous weapon…
Bell's court-appointed public defender, Blane Williams, had urged the teenager to accept a plea bargain on the eve of the trial, but Bell declined. Williams, who is black, did not challenge the composition of the jury pool, which included no African-Americans, and the defense rested without calling any witnesses. He also excluded the teenager's parents from the courtroom.
"Blane Williams did not want to go to trial, he was not prepared to go to trial and he was angry when he was forced to go to trial," said Alan Bean, director of Friends of Justice, a Texas-based civil rights group that has closely followed the Jena case. "So he just sort of plowed ahead and decided to go through the motions."
SAVE A BLACK BOY FROM THIS UNDESERVED FATE:
Sign the Petition
Petition to the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice
This is a petition to request that the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice review events surrounding the prosecution of six Black students in Jena, Louisiana, for evidence of racial discrimination. The six students are reportedly facing prosecution for second degree attempted murder — and possible prison sentences of up to 100 years — for allegedly participating in an unarmed school brawl that resulted in no serious injuries.
The brawl followed months of racial tension after hangman's nooses were reportedly hung from a tree at the students'; school.
The prosecution of these young men represents a gross miscarriage of justice, punishing Black students for opposing segregation of their schools while ignoring the threatening and provocative acts of those engaging in segregation.
From a Chicago Tribune article on the cases:
"There’s been obvious racial discrimination in this case," said Joe Cook, executive director of the Louisiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, who described Jena as a “racial powder keg” primed to ignite. "It appears the black students were singled out and targeted in this case for some unusually harsh treatment."
In view of these facts, we the undersigned respectfully request that the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice launch a full investigation into events in Jena, Louisiana, beginning with the noose incident of August 31, 2006, and culminating in the alleged fight of December 4, 2006 to determine whether the civil rights of Jena residents have been violated.
PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION HERE
THE CASE OF Genarlow Wilson
A Sin, Not a Crime
Friday, June 29, 2007
Once, he was the homecoming king at Douglas County High. Now he's Georgia inmate No. 1187055, convicted of aggravated child molestation.
When he was a senior in high school, he received oral sex from a 10th grader. He was 17. She was 15. Everyone, including the girl and the prosecution, agreed she initiated the act. But because of an archaic Georgia law, it was a misdemeanor for teenagers less than three years apart to have sexual intercourse, but a felony for the same kids to have oral sex.
He's 20 now. Just two years into a 10-year sentence without possibility of parole, he peers through the thick glass and bars, trying to catch a glimpse of freedom. Outside, guard towers and rolls of coiled barbed wire remind him of who he is…
[Who he was] Genarlow Wilson was a good student with a 3.2 G.P.A. and football scholarships across the country. Maybe that is why his story broke into ESPN NEWS.
June 13, 2007 Genarlow Wilson Update
On Wednesday, July 13, Monroe County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson ordered the release of Genarlow Wilson. Calling Genarlow’s eleven year sentence a “miscarriage of justice,” Judge Wilson declared: “If this court, or any court, cannot recognize the injustice of what has occurred here, then our court system has lost sight of the goal our judicial system has always strived to accomplish… Justice being served in a fair and equal manner.” Additionally, Generalow will not be placed on the Georgia sex offender registry.
Unfortunately, Genarlow’s struggle is not over. A few hours after Judge Wilson’s decision, Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker filed for an appeal, meaning that the Georgia Supreme Court will now determine Genarlow’s fate. We asked the District Attorney to agree to bond but he did not, so we have to wait until July 5th to try and get a bond from the Douglas County Superior Court.
[Excerpt]
Civil rights activists work to free Wilson
Prayer vigil planned July 5 at Douglas County Courthouse
By JEREMY REDMON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/26/07
A group of African-American civil rights activists spoke out today in support of freeing Genarlow Wilson from prison on bond pending an appeal of the 10-year prison sentence he got for having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17.
The activists also announced plans for a prayer vigil on July 5 at the Douglas County Superior Court, where a bond hearing has been scheduled for Wilson
"Injustice to anyone is a threat to justice to everyone," the Rev. Joseph Lowery, a veteran civil rights activist and former Southern Christian Leadership Conference president, said at an afternoon news conference today.
"And we need to learn that. White people need to learn that. If they tolerate injustice for black folks, it is just a matter of time before injustice puts them on the calendar."
Lowery was joined by several other civil rights leaders and lawmakers, including Sens. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) and Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur) and Reps. Tyrone Brooks (D-Atlanta), Roberta Abdul-Salaam (D-Riverdale) and Rep. Al Williams (D-Midway), chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus.
What Can You Do?
1) Let District Attorney David McDade and other politicians of the state of Georgia know your outrage with the unjust incarceration of Genarlow Wilson. Sign our online petition demanding his freedom and that he not have to register as a sexual offender.
2) Donate to the Wilson Defense Fund. Monies collected will go to legal expenses and when released, an education fund for Genarlow Wilson.
3) Contact Attorney General Thurbert E. Baker
Phone: 404-656-3300
FAX: 404-657-8733
E-mail: agbaker@law.ga.gov
[ref. baby moses project]
Immediate Update:
Memory of Ron Pettiway
From: Cruse Pettaway said...
No Matter whats happens, My brother Ron I will Always Love U, I Miss the Days we spent together. I still remember the days you walk me back and forth to school. Even tho I know I couldn't see you at graduation, I know you were there. Before I go I wanted to say sorry for not making that song that night, not going bowling when u asked, and for leaving u there at Frozen Palace. But when we meet again I promise to make it up. Just know that I'll take everything u taught me and make it happen. But untill then I'm still waiting for you to walk through the front door.
shamaca Pettaway said...
OFFICERS ASSIA WARE AND MICHEAL BERNARD WILSON now have warrant application filed by my brother Roy Pettaway. We are not going to let the murder of my brother Ron die.
Our hearts go out to the Pettaway Family for The Loss of Ron. As reported by Francis L. Holland Blog:
http://francislholland.blogspot.com/2007/04/media-discusses-ron-and-roy-pettaway.html
Ron and Roy Pettaway, Shot from Behind by Fulton County, GA Police
Ron and Roy Pettway, Black men in Fulton County, GA, were partying in a bar when an argument broke out over an insult. Five minutes after the argument ended, the Fulton County Police arrived and ordered Ron Pettaway into the street. His brother Roy followed and saw police beating Ron, and he tried to help his brother. But, police shot Ron Pettaway in the back of the head, killng him, and they shot Roy in the back.
Both black men were unarmed, and both were shot in the back.
We need to ASK the Right People THE RIGHT QUESTIONS:
• Is there a current investigation of this shooting? If so, who is doing the investigating? Where is the Justice Department Civil Rights Division?
Here are the Telephone Numbers for Fulton County Board of Commissioners.
Telephone Numbers for Fulton County Board of Commissioners.
Gloria, Secretary to (African-American) Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard (404) 330-6100, said the District Attorney Howard had "just got the case," and she was unable to readily provide a statement about the status of the investigation.
We must hold law enforcement officers accountable for the actions and culpable to excessive use of force and murder-in-the-name-of-the-law. We have enough proof to show that the State of Georgia has returned to the type of lawlessness and violence against minority like in the days of Dr. Martin Luther King.
Call: Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue: (404) 656-1776
All-White Jury in Jena, Louisiana Swiftly Convicts Black Teenager
(The Jena Six Trials)
JENA, Louisiana -- Tears streamed down Melissa Bell's face Monday as the judge ruled in favor of LaSalle Parish District Attorney J. Reed Walters' motion to continue her son's trial more than a month. (“Racial demons rear heads”, Chicago Tribune, May 18, 2007)
According to the story, the white students guilty of the rope incident were suspended for three days. Black parents, who felt that the nooses signified a greater danger and threat, protested the ruling. It should have been treated as a racially motivated hate crime, in light of these subsequent events and chain reactions:
First, a series of fights between black and white students erupted at the high school over the nooses. Then, in late November, unknown arsonists set fire to the central wing of the school, which still sits in ruins. Off campus, a white youth beat up a black student who showed up at an all-white party. A few days later, another young white man pulled a shotgun on three black students at a convenience store.
Finally, on Dec. 4, a group of black students at the high school allegedly jumped a white student on his way out of the gym, knocked him unconscious and kicked him after he hit the floor. The victim—allegedly targeted because he was a friend of the students who hung the nooses and had been taunting blacks—was not seriously injured and spent only a few hours in the hospital.
But the LaSalle Parish district attorney, Reed Walters, opted to charge six black students with attempted second-degree murder and other offenses, for which they could face a maximum of 100 years in prison if convicted. All six were expelled from school.
Louisiana teen guilty in school beating case
Witnesses provide conflicting testimony
By Howard Witt
Tribune senior correspondent
Published June 29, 2007
HOUSTON -- An all-white jury in the central Louisiana town of Jena swiftly convicted a black teenager Thursday for attacking a white student in an incident that capped months of racial unrest and attracted the scrutiny of civil rights leaders concerned about the application of justice in the town.
Jurors convicted Mychal Bell, 17, of aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy charges despite conflicting testimony from witnesses about whether Bell was among a group of black students who allegedly jumped the victim as he emerged from the gymnasium at the local high school on Dec. 4, knocking him unconscious.
Bell, a former high school football star who has been jailed since the incident, faces the possibility of more than 20 years in prison when he is sentenced July 31…
The aggravated battery charge against Bell involved the use of a dangerous weapon. Although no evidence of a gun, knife or other weapon was introduced, Walters argued, and the jury agreed, that the tennis shoes Bell was wearing at the time of the attack qualified as a dangerous weapon…
Bell's court-appointed public defender, Blane Williams, had urged the teenager to accept a plea bargain on the eve of the trial, but Bell declined. Williams, who is black, did not challenge the composition of the jury pool, which included no African-Americans, and the defense rested without calling any witnesses. He also excluded the teenager's parents from the courtroom.
"Blane Williams did not want to go to trial, he was not prepared to go to trial and he was angry when he was forced to go to trial," said Alan Bean, director of Friends of Justice, a Texas-based civil rights group that has closely followed the Jena case. "So he just sort of plowed ahead and decided to go through the motions."
SAVE A BLACK BOY FROM THIS UNDESERVED FATE:
Sign the Petition
Petition to the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice
This is a petition to request that the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice review events surrounding the prosecution of six Black students in Jena, Louisiana, for evidence of racial discrimination. The six students are reportedly facing prosecution for second degree attempted murder — and possible prison sentences of up to 100 years — for allegedly participating in an unarmed school brawl that resulted in no serious injuries.
The brawl followed months of racial tension after hangman's nooses were reportedly hung from a tree at the students'; school.
The prosecution of these young men represents a gross miscarriage of justice, punishing Black students for opposing segregation of their schools while ignoring the threatening and provocative acts of those engaging in segregation.
From a Chicago Tribune article on the cases:
"There’s been obvious racial discrimination in this case," said Joe Cook, executive director of the Louisiana chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, who described Jena as a “racial powder keg” primed to ignite. "It appears the black students were singled out and targeted in this case for some unusually harsh treatment."
In view of these facts, we the undersigned respectfully request that the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice launch a full investigation into events in Jena, Louisiana, beginning with the noose incident of August 31, 2006, and culminating in the alleged fight of December 4, 2006 to determine whether the civil rights of Jena residents have been violated.
PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION HERE
THE CASE OF Genarlow Wilson
A Sin, Not a Crime
Friday, June 29, 2007
Once, he was the homecoming king at Douglas County High. Now he's Georgia inmate No. 1187055, convicted of aggravated child molestation.
When he was a senior in high school, he received oral sex from a 10th grader. He was 17. She was 15. Everyone, including the girl and the prosecution, agreed she initiated the act. But because of an archaic Georgia law, it was a misdemeanor for teenagers less than three years apart to have sexual intercourse, but a felony for the same kids to have oral sex.
He's 20 now. Just two years into a 10-year sentence without possibility of parole, he peers through the thick glass and bars, trying to catch a glimpse of freedom. Outside, guard towers and rolls of coiled barbed wire remind him of who he is…
[Who he was] Genarlow Wilson was a good student with a 3.2 G.P.A. and football scholarships across the country. Maybe that is why his story broke into ESPN NEWS.
June 13, 2007 Genarlow Wilson Update
On Wednesday, July 13, Monroe County Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson ordered the release of Genarlow Wilson. Calling Genarlow’s eleven year sentence a “miscarriage of justice,” Judge Wilson declared: “If this court, or any court, cannot recognize the injustice of what has occurred here, then our court system has lost sight of the goal our judicial system has always strived to accomplish… Justice being served in a fair and equal manner.” Additionally, Generalow will not be placed on the Georgia sex offender registry.
Unfortunately, Genarlow’s struggle is not over. A few hours after Judge Wilson’s decision, Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker filed for an appeal, meaning that the Georgia Supreme Court will now determine Genarlow’s fate. We asked the District Attorney to agree to bond but he did not, so we have to wait until July 5th to try and get a bond from the Douglas County Superior Court.
[Excerpt]
Civil rights activists work to free Wilson
Prayer vigil planned July 5 at Douglas County Courthouse
By JEREMY REDMON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/26/07
A group of African-American civil rights activists spoke out today in support of freeing Genarlow Wilson from prison on bond pending an appeal of the 10-year prison sentence he got for having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl when he was 17.
The activists also announced plans for a prayer vigil on July 5 at the Douglas County Superior Court, where a bond hearing has been scheduled for Wilson
"Injustice to anyone is a threat to justice to everyone," the Rev. Joseph Lowery, a veteran civil rights activist and former Southern Christian Leadership Conference president, said at an afternoon news conference today.
"And we need to learn that. White people need to learn that. If they tolerate injustice for black folks, it is just a matter of time before injustice puts them on the calendar."
Lowery was joined by several other civil rights leaders and lawmakers, including Sens. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) and Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur) and Reps. Tyrone Brooks (D-Atlanta), Roberta Abdul-Salaam (D-Riverdale) and Rep. Al Williams (D-Midway), chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus.
What Can You Do?
1) Let District Attorney David McDade and other politicians of the state of Georgia know your outrage with the unjust incarceration of Genarlow Wilson. Sign our online petition demanding his freedom and that he not have to register as a sexual offender.
2) Donate to the Wilson Defense Fund. Monies collected will go to legal expenses and when released, an education fund for Genarlow Wilson.
3) Contact Attorney General Thurbert E. Baker
Phone: 404-656-3300
FAX: 404-657-8733
E-mail: agbaker@law.ga.gov
[ref. baby moses project]
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Images in the Mirror
Leadership Training Program
Information Session
When: June 25th at 6 p.m.
Where: Howard Johnson Business Building
3863 South Freeway Suite 110
Fort Worth, TX 76110
Media Contact:
Next Level Enterprize
Andre L. Johnson
(817)657-6519
andrejohnson@nextlevelenterprize.com
For Immediate Release:
Fort Worth, Texas—June 25- Information Session will highlighting features of The “Images in the Mirror” leadership training program, which is a 8 week curriculum designed to educate, motivate and prepare young males, ages 12-19, for success. The course is scheduled to begin July 9th at Community College Campus in Fort Worth. The Information Session will be held at the Howard Johnson Business Building in Fort Worth.
In a bold and strategic effort to reverse the detrimental plight of many inner-city youth, particular the males, Dr. Elizabeth Branch, author and educator and Andre L. Johnson, motivational speaker and co-author, partnered to create an empowerment program and curriculum that would not only be meant to change the negative paths of at-risk young men, but also break the cycles of social issues that could plague future generations by building young leaders today.
“In order to change your behavior, you must first change your mind.”
---Andre L. Johnson, Director of Operations “Images in The Mirror”
For more information call (817)922-5423 or (817)657-6519
Parents and Leadership Training Students welcome
Seating is limited
Scholarships available
www.mitm-faithweb.com
Keyword: Baby Moses Project
Information Session
When: June 25th at 6 p.m.
Where: Howard Johnson Business Building
3863 South Freeway Suite 110
Fort Worth, TX 76110
Media Contact:
Next Level Enterprize
Andre L. Johnson
(817)657-6519
andrejohnson@nextlevelenterprize.com
For Immediate Release:
Fort Worth, Texas—June 25- Information Session will highlighting features of The “Images in the Mirror” leadership training program, which is a 8 week curriculum designed to educate, motivate and prepare young males, ages 12-19, for success. The course is scheduled to begin July 9th at Community College Campus in Fort Worth. The Information Session will be held at the Howard Johnson Business Building in Fort Worth.
In a bold and strategic effort to reverse the detrimental plight of many inner-city youth, particular the males, Dr. Elizabeth Branch, author and educator and Andre L. Johnson, motivational speaker and co-author, partnered to create an empowerment program and curriculum that would not only be meant to change the negative paths of at-risk young men, but also break the cycles of social issues that could plague future generations by building young leaders today.
“In order to change your behavior, you must first change your mind.”
---Andre L. Johnson, Director of Operations “Images in The Mirror”
For more information call (817)922-5423 or (817)657-6519
Parents and Leadership Training Students welcome
Seating is limited
Scholarships available
www.mitm-faithweb.com
Keyword: Baby Moses Project
Thursday, June 7, 2007
A Black Boy Accused
In “A Case of Crime: Who against Whom?” Eddie Griffin wrote about an 18-year old black boy arrested for shoplifting. Here was a good kid, family members say, never been in trouble with the law, a recent high school graduate who had been accepted to TCU University. He was an assistant store manager, entrusted with large sums of money. So, why would he steal a pair of shorts with $500 in his pocket? The grandmother mentioned in the story (a great-great aunt who had raised both mother and son), charged the department store security guard with racial profiling.
Readers of the story responded with concern and outrage from around the country. One local reader recalled how she had been followed around a department store. She also felt that she was being watched because she was African-American- likewise, my own 82-year mother.
Plez, of plezWorld, provided this formula for African-Americans who find themselves accused:
Rule #1 for Black People when being questioned by the police: SAY NOTHING!
Rule #2 for Black People when asked by the police to sign a confession: SIGN NOTHING!
But the most elaborate and eloquent of all was the response from Exodus Mentality who writes: If you really want to help Black boys it's not enough to teach them not to commit crimes. Committing a crime is not necessary for a Black man to get in trouble with the law. We need to have classes with young Black boys and teenagers to instruct them on how to handle their inevitable contact with the gestapo police forces that occupy our communities. We have got to teach them not to hold court in the street, because their lives are too precious to waste as street martyrs. (I have often been an advocate of teaching black kids self-defensive living)
Then there came the surprise response from Sergeant Mark Thorne of the Fort Worth Police Department urging me to call him in “reference” to this article. He added, “Would love to help on this”. It was signed with his “blessings”. More importantly, he left a hyperlink to The Clergy and Police Alliance Program, a coalition of pastors who work in partnership with the police department to serve the citizens of Fort Worth.
Somewhere in our phone conversation, we found ourselves on the same page, trying to save a black boy in trouble. This was not my first time working with FWPD trying to help our children. In the past, they have gone into jail cells to locate some of “my kids”. And, on many occasions, they have provided vital information that enabled me to help their parents with regards to charges, bond, etc. Therefore, the intervention of Sgt. Thorne should not have come as a surprise.
The entire Fort Worth Police Department evolves around the philosophy of it chief, Ralph Mendoza- a man I have come to greatly admire and respect for his integrity and caring for our community. Despite my being an ex-Black Panther bank robber, he has never failed me when it comes to our mutual concern for the community and our kids. Strange as it seems, over the years, cop and robber have shed many tears over each other’s loss.
For three straight days of phone tag and off-and-on conversations with family and Sgt. Thorne, I reached one certain conclusion: The Fort Worth PD did its job, according to the books, in a professional manner, and went the extra mile to see that the accused young man was not wronged by the department. With the Chief, every officer must go by the books, because he is very intolerant of officers crossing the line or abusing the power of their badge. And, it is out of this respect for him and his leadership that I give attentive ear to his officers.
Sgt. Thorne had a different story to tell about the shoplifting incident and an education for me about how the FWPD operate on these kinds of cases. They do not always accept the complaint of a shop owner, because they, too, have been duped by fallacious accusations. They ascertain that there is “probably cause” before they lock anyone up. Thus, in the instance of the young black man above, there was enough probable cause for the arrest, besides the signed confession.
So now, I am faced with two stories- the boy and his family, and the store owner and its security guard. The store is prepared to prosecute to the full extent of the law, unless a compromise is worked out somewhere. The family continually buys the boy’s side of the story, that he was wrongly apprehended and coerced into a confession. If the loggerhead persists, the entire matter will be settled in court.
In the meantime, Sgt. Thorne, a religious man, prayed for the youth, that he overcome this incident and, if he’s guilty, to put this mistake behind him and move ahead with his life, go on to college. After all, the sergeant says, “Everybody makes mistakes.” He also prayed for me and my advocacy to save these children at-risk.
On this case, I stretched my hope that the kid was innocent, when, in fact, I will not truly know until it is finally adjudicated. But I will not wait until then to exonerate the men in blue. As I explained to Sgt. Thorne, it is my job to “trouble the waters” and ask the right questions. Whatever the answer is, I can live with. But always, it brings me back to Square One: The Plight of the Black Boy and How to Save Him in this “Land of Egypt”- hence, the Baby Moses Project.
Readers of the story responded with concern and outrage from around the country. One local reader recalled how she had been followed around a department store. She also felt that she was being watched because she was African-American- likewise, my own 82-year mother.
Plez, of plezWorld, provided this formula for African-Americans who find themselves accused:
Rule #1 for Black People when being questioned by the police: SAY NOTHING!
Rule #2 for Black People when asked by the police to sign a confession: SIGN NOTHING!
But the most elaborate and eloquent of all was the response from Exodus Mentality who writes: If you really want to help Black boys it's not enough to teach them not to commit crimes. Committing a crime is not necessary for a Black man to get in trouble with the law. We need to have classes with young Black boys and teenagers to instruct them on how to handle their inevitable contact with the gestapo police forces that occupy our communities. We have got to teach them not to hold court in the street, because their lives are too precious to waste as street martyrs. (I have often been an advocate of teaching black kids self-defensive living)
Then there came the surprise response from Sergeant Mark Thorne of the Fort Worth Police Department urging me to call him in “reference” to this article. He added, “Would love to help on this”. It was signed with his “blessings”. More importantly, he left a hyperlink to The Clergy and Police Alliance Program, a coalition of pastors who work in partnership with the police department to serve the citizens of Fort Worth.
Somewhere in our phone conversation, we found ourselves on the same page, trying to save a black boy in trouble. This was not my first time working with FWPD trying to help our children. In the past, they have gone into jail cells to locate some of “my kids”. And, on many occasions, they have provided vital information that enabled me to help their parents with regards to charges, bond, etc. Therefore, the intervention of Sgt. Thorne should not have come as a surprise.
The entire Fort Worth Police Department evolves around the philosophy of it chief, Ralph Mendoza- a man I have come to greatly admire and respect for his integrity and caring for our community. Despite my being an ex-Black Panther bank robber, he has never failed me when it comes to our mutual concern for the community and our kids. Strange as it seems, over the years, cop and robber have shed many tears over each other’s loss.
For three straight days of phone tag and off-and-on conversations with family and Sgt. Thorne, I reached one certain conclusion: The Fort Worth PD did its job, according to the books, in a professional manner, and went the extra mile to see that the accused young man was not wronged by the department. With the Chief, every officer must go by the books, because he is very intolerant of officers crossing the line or abusing the power of their badge. And, it is out of this respect for him and his leadership that I give attentive ear to his officers.
Sgt. Thorne had a different story to tell about the shoplifting incident and an education for me about how the FWPD operate on these kinds of cases. They do not always accept the complaint of a shop owner, because they, too, have been duped by fallacious accusations. They ascertain that there is “probably cause” before they lock anyone up. Thus, in the instance of the young black man above, there was enough probable cause for the arrest, besides the signed confession.
So now, I am faced with two stories- the boy and his family, and the store owner and its security guard. The store is prepared to prosecute to the full extent of the law, unless a compromise is worked out somewhere. The family continually buys the boy’s side of the story, that he was wrongly apprehended and coerced into a confession. If the loggerhead persists, the entire matter will be settled in court.
In the meantime, Sgt. Thorne, a religious man, prayed for the youth, that he overcome this incident and, if he’s guilty, to put this mistake behind him and move ahead with his life, go on to college. After all, the sergeant says, “Everybody makes mistakes.” He also prayed for me and my advocacy to save these children at-risk.
On this case, I stretched my hope that the kid was innocent, when, in fact, I will not truly know until it is finally adjudicated. But I will not wait until then to exonerate the men in blue. As I explained to Sgt. Thorne, it is my job to “trouble the waters” and ask the right questions. Whatever the answer is, I can live with. But always, it brings me back to Square One: The Plight of the Black Boy and How to Save Him in this “Land of Egypt”- hence, the Baby Moses Project.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
The Empowerment Vessel
“The Black Male Crisis: Building Self Image; part 1”
By Junichi Lockett, Jr.
Response to the Baby Moses Project by Eddie Griffin (BASG)
The issue of the “Crisis of The Black Male” is truly one that is tearing at my heart, and provoking my aggression to cause a change, “by any means necessary.” I recently read an article that quite frankly expressed that we have lost a generation of black boys. It further expressed that the adverse effects of factors such as negative media, gangs, drugs, poor education, unemployment, father absence, crime, violence and death have snatched the unlimited potential that our young black males have inside them. Strikingly, statistics show that young black men are graduating from high school at all time lows, which testifies that the dropout is high. This further connects to the low percentage of black males who attend and complete higher education. In a deeper glance, it is these statistics that gives strong explanation to the causes of the filtration system into U.S. penitentiaries of our black males, which well over 1 million.
As a young black man and a father of a young son, this reality is heartbreaking and scary to say the least. It is clear that as a whole we have to get aggressive about ensuring that we do not lose any more generations of black boys.
As we now take a look into ourselves, and look into the eyes of our black boys to effectively set them on the path to success let’s look at strengthening “Self Image”. It is first crucial that we strengthen not only the self-image of our black boys but also our own self-image. In self-image, I am simply talking about our self-conception or how we see ourselves. It is the emotional and mental view that one has of his or herself. As fathers, mothers, teachers and mentors for these black boys we should have the confidence in our own ability to reach our highest potential. It is just as important for us to express to our young men our goals and aspirations and allow them to experience and be exposed to our journey to reach greatness or our “pursuit of happiness.” The first stage of life for our young black males is extremely educational, through what is seen and heard.
Think about it, if you are a dominant figure in a young brother’s life and what he receives from you is mainly complaints about your life, job, relationships and your should have, could have, and would haves, then the chances that he will connect his self-image to the possibility of success is lowered. Believe me, I know that there are many obstacles that confront us in life and many more come when you are walking in purpose in pursuit of your passion. But complaining and making excuses only perpetuates a cycle of low self-images in those who look to us for guidance.
As a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, I know that before troops can go into a hostile situation they are “Briefed” to make sure that they are prepared, focused and confident about accomplishing the mission at hand. Consequently, saving our black boys is a battle with live ammunition and as fathers, mothers, teachers and mentors, we have to be “Briefed” in which we must get prepared, focused and confident in ourselves and in accomplishing the mission.
AAAAttention!!!
We are faced with the mission of “Saving our Black Boys,” so get into full combat gear and build Self Image…..
Battle Practice 1:
Let’s evaluate and write down our goals and aspirations for our own life and begin to figure out the sources of our happiness as well as our unhappiness. Figure out the sacrifices and additions we must make to begin or future the pursuit of our highest potential. It is key that we include our black males in this process and explain to them the importance of building Self-Image. In addition let’s challenge ourselves to stop complaining and spend that energy finding the solutions to our frustration solutions to our frustration.
The next “The Empowerment Vessel” will continue exploring the importance of building Self-Image in “Saving our Black Boys.”
Always remember that “We were not put here to toss pebbles, we were put here to move mountains.”
Please feel free to forward the “The Empowerment Vessel” E-newsletter to those you care about and invite them to subscribe! To subscribe, send email to junichi@successmovement.org
By Junichi Lockett, Jr.
Response to the Baby Moses Project by Eddie Griffin (BASG)
The issue of the “Crisis of The Black Male” is truly one that is tearing at my heart, and provoking my aggression to cause a change, “by any means necessary.” I recently read an article that quite frankly expressed that we have lost a generation of black boys. It further expressed that the adverse effects of factors such as negative media, gangs, drugs, poor education, unemployment, father absence, crime, violence and death have snatched the unlimited potential that our young black males have inside them. Strikingly, statistics show that young black men are graduating from high school at all time lows, which testifies that the dropout is high. This further connects to the low percentage of black males who attend and complete higher education. In a deeper glance, it is these statistics that gives strong explanation to the causes of the filtration system into U.S. penitentiaries of our black males, which well over 1 million.
As a young black man and a father of a young son, this reality is heartbreaking and scary to say the least. It is clear that as a whole we have to get aggressive about ensuring that we do not lose any more generations of black boys.
As we now take a look into ourselves, and look into the eyes of our black boys to effectively set them on the path to success let’s look at strengthening “Self Image”. It is first crucial that we strengthen not only the self-image of our black boys but also our own self-image. In self-image, I am simply talking about our self-conception or how we see ourselves. It is the emotional and mental view that one has of his or herself. As fathers, mothers, teachers and mentors for these black boys we should have the confidence in our own ability to reach our highest potential. It is just as important for us to express to our young men our goals and aspirations and allow them to experience and be exposed to our journey to reach greatness or our “pursuit of happiness.” The first stage of life for our young black males is extremely educational, through what is seen and heard.
Think about it, if you are a dominant figure in a young brother’s life and what he receives from you is mainly complaints about your life, job, relationships and your should have, could have, and would haves, then the chances that he will connect his self-image to the possibility of success is lowered. Believe me, I know that there are many obstacles that confront us in life and many more come when you are walking in purpose in pursuit of your passion. But complaining and making excuses only perpetuates a cycle of low self-images in those who look to us for guidance.
As a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, I know that before troops can go into a hostile situation they are “Briefed” to make sure that they are prepared, focused and confident about accomplishing the mission at hand. Consequently, saving our black boys is a battle with live ammunition and as fathers, mothers, teachers and mentors, we have to be “Briefed” in which we must get prepared, focused and confident in ourselves and in accomplishing the mission.
AAAAttention!!!
We are faced with the mission of “Saving our Black Boys,” so get into full combat gear and build Self Image…..
Battle Practice 1:
Let’s evaluate and write down our goals and aspirations for our own life and begin to figure out the sources of our happiness as well as our unhappiness. Figure out the sacrifices and additions we must make to begin or future the pursuit of our highest potential. It is key that we include our black males in this process and explain to them the importance of building Self-Image. In addition let’s challenge ourselves to stop complaining and spend that energy finding the solutions to our frustration solutions to our frustration.
The next “The Empowerment Vessel” will continue exploring the importance of building Self-Image in “Saving our Black Boys.”
Always remember that “We were not put here to toss pebbles, we were put here to move mountains.”
Please feel free to forward the “The Empowerment Vessel” E-newsletter to those you care about and invite them to subscribe! To subscribe, send email to junichi@successmovement.org
Monday, June 4, 2007
Zero for Tolerance
In the Sunday’s edition of the Star-Telegram, the headliner read: “Does Zero Tolerance go too far?” Staff writer Terry Webster examines the net effect of school’s “zero tolerance” policy since the Columbine shootings in 1999, and how school disciplinary practices have actually panned out in the state of Texas, and its impact on minority students.
In “Small breaches, big penalties”, the reporter cites a Texas Education Agency report that shows between the 2000-01 and 2005-06 student discipline reports have climbed from 1.7 million to 2.6 million, which follows a national trend. A sample of the type of disciplinary actions being taken includes a middle school student was arrested on felony charges of making a “terroristic threat” after removing a fire alarm cover, and a high school student sent to disciplinary boot camp after a cigarette butt was found in her car. (Disciplinary boot camps are like prisons).
In a related article, “Minorities are disciplined at a disproportionate rate”, Webster looks also at the case of Shaquanda Cotton, the 15-year old Paris native, convicted of felony assault and locked up for a year for pushing a teacher’s aide. The reporter writes: “Of all student groups, blacks are most likely to be expelled, suspended out of school, or placed in disciplinary alternative education programs, data from the Texas Education Agency show.”
In Fort Worth, black students account for 27.8 percent of the student population. Yet 43.6 percent of students disciplined are black. This report comes amid a hotly debated issue about why 617 students in the district failed to graduate. Fort Worth school Trustee Jean McClung said sadly, “We have failed African-Americans.”
Commentary by Eddie Griffin
The pattern of African-American students being disciplined in disproportion numbers come as no surprise to anyone who has been watching the trend. As for the Fort Worth ISD, in May 2006, we went before the school board to register a protest about the low performance and high disciplinary incidents related to black students. In April 2007, we issued a STATE OF EMERGENCY, calling attention to these problems.
We have many reasons to believe that black students can perform as well others, behaviorally and academically. In other words, there is no mark of the beast on black children to cause them to be treated like lepers. We have too many successful alternative models as proof.
The disconnection may appear to be in the area of cognition. Educators, administrators, and teachers may not be conscientiously aware of this disproportional punishment leveled against African-American students. Or, they take it as something “natural”. Therefore, there appears to be no conscious effort to understand why.
By my estimation, we have already lost half of our young black men, between the ages of 18 to 25. And, there appears to be no interdiction strategy, but rather a playing of the blame game like musical chairs.
There is a solution, even if we consider it as Mission Impossible. Our next assignment, whether we accept it or not, will be to find the best education model and teaching system that work for black boys and implement it- above, beyond, and irrespective of obstacles, debates, and inadequacies.
Keyword: Baby Moses Project
In “Small breaches, big penalties”, the reporter cites a Texas Education Agency report that shows between the 2000-01 and 2005-06 student discipline reports have climbed from 1.7 million to 2.6 million, which follows a national trend. A sample of the type of disciplinary actions being taken includes a middle school student was arrested on felony charges of making a “terroristic threat” after removing a fire alarm cover, and a high school student sent to disciplinary boot camp after a cigarette butt was found in her car. (Disciplinary boot camps are like prisons).
In a related article, “Minorities are disciplined at a disproportionate rate”, Webster looks also at the case of Shaquanda Cotton, the 15-year old Paris native, convicted of felony assault and locked up for a year for pushing a teacher’s aide. The reporter writes: “Of all student groups, blacks are most likely to be expelled, suspended out of school, or placed in disciplinary alternative education programs, data from the Texas Education Agency show.”
In Fort Worth, black students account for 27.8 percent of the student population. Yet 43.6 percent of students disciplined are black. This report comes amid a hotly debated issue about why 617 students in the district failed to graduate. Fort Worth school Trustee Jean McClung said sadly, “We have failed African-Americans.”
Commentary by Eddie Griffin
The pattern of African-American students being disciplined in disproportion numbers come as no surprise to anyone who has been watching the trend. As for the Fort Worth ISD, in May 2006, we went before the school board to register a protest about the low performance and high disciplinary incidents related to black students. In April 2007, we issued a STATE OF EMERGENCY, calling attention to these problems.
We have many reasons to believe that black students can perform as well others, behaviorally and academically. In other words, there is no mark of the beast on black children to cause them to be treated like lepers. We have too many successful alternative models as proof.
The disconnection may appear to be in the area of cognition. Educators, administrators, and teachers may not be conscientiously aware of this disproportional punishment leveled against African-American students. Or, they take it as something “natural”. Therefore, there appears to be no conscious effort to understand why.
By my estimation, we have already lost half of our young black men, between the ages of 18 to 25. And, there appears to be no interdiction strategy, but rather a playing of the blame game like musical chairs.
There is a solution, even if we consider it as Mission Impossible. Our next assignment, whether we accept it or not, will be to find the best education model and teaching system that work for black boys and implement it- above, beyond, and irrespective of obstacles, debates, and inadequacies.
Keyword: Baby Moses Project
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Are Black Boys Expected to Fail?
From the Baby Moses Project
From Tommy La'Pola, Teacer, Seattle Schools:
In those places around the country where black boys are succeeding, to what extent is this the result of “cultural segregation”? In other words are these schools where parents have had to apply or otherwise work to get their children enrolled, thereby indicating a family culture that puts a premium on education and where families are willing to work to assist their child with their education? A follow up question: can a school expect to be able to overcome the influences of a student’s family if the family and school have contradictory expectations of a student?
Michael Holzman:
Some are. Others are not. Those that are can be quite minimally so, with admission based just on application. A school can strive to become as positively influential an environment as possible: open evenings, on weekends and in the summer; offering challenging course with high expectations and a variety of other activities, including sports, field trips and technology.
Eddie Griffin:
Notice how the question is framed: Can a school expect… to be able… to overcome… influences of a student’s family?
Expectation begins in the mind. Ability relates to levels of skills and talents. Overcome signifies the challenge. In other words, do you think that you have what is takes to overcome the challenge?
What is the challenge? We assume, from the question above, that the challenge is a student’s family expectations that contradicts to the school’s expectations.
Instead of a Catch-22 scenario, this is an Escape-22 clause for a teacher’s expectation. In essence, no one expects the schools to do the impossible. The teacher here is absolved of taking on such a challenge, when the challenge is perceived as homegrown. Therefore, any difficulty in teaching a child is chalked up as a problem of poor parenting, poor home life, and socio-economic factors outside of the realm of teaching.
How can schools be expected to overcome these forces?
Maybe we see the problem through a distorted prism. Instead of being a home environment problem, it could very well be a learning problem and lack of socialization skills. A child with a limited vocabulary may not understand as readily as a literate student and his verbal expressions may be a bit cruder. It all depends on how we see the challenge and the expectation to surmount it. Like students, some teachers may perceive the problem as “too hard” and find creative ways to give up. (The dog ate my lesson plan).
Family and school should never have “contradictory expectations” of the student. Contradictory expectation presupposes the one group (parents) has high expectations of the black male child and the other group (school) has a low expectation, or visa versa. Universally speaking, the standard should always be high- therefore, no contradiction in expectation.
In terms of marked academic achievement in “class segregated” schools, this is obvious. The haves have always provided better for their children over the have-nots. It is not a matter of the elite black families placing a higher premium on education, as it is the upper-to-high middle-income families are usually more educated and have more of the financial wherewithal to send their children to better schools. Better schools usually equal higher academic achievement.
The lower-income student may have parents who equally appreciate the value of education and the student may reach the top of his class. However, he will still be qualitatively disadvantaged in not having access to the same resources provided to the upper-income class student.
We note here that the inequality is not necessarily the product of an unequally bias budget for educational materials and supplies. Educational spending must be proportionate, according to law. (No more "Separate but Equal" disparities in education funding). But the high-income parents is able to provide more supplemental resources in their schools, through PTAs and various other charitable and business groups. This disparity in resources makes equal achievement nearly impossible, which leaves us forever trying to close an ever-widening achievement gap.
It must be our conscientious effort to put the black boy ahead of the pact in achievement, by developing his innate skills and talents. The learning style of African-Americans is traditionally different from Middle America. I have found that some black students learn in clips, fragmented, and disjointedly. Simply trying to pound knowledge into the head of a student does not always penetrate. (I have explained this to you 100 times. Why can't you understand?) Therefore, another angle of delivery might be necessary.
Can the current instructional mode of delivery carry a student forward along an individualized learning path? One classroom teacher alone cannot do it. Such expectations are unrealistic because most teachers are too focused on classroom management, behavioral controls, curriculum, testing, staff issues, and a myriad of other distractions. Babysitting and spoon-feeding individualized curriculum is just not in the job description, otherwise the teacher may have bitten off more than he or she can chew. Such a challenge goes far above and beyond the personal expectations of the average teacher.
But then, expectations are relative, and challenges are the way they are perceived. Can it be that we expect more of the students and less of the teachers, or vice versa? If we expect more of the teacher, how can we expect more of them than they expect of themselves? When they expect failure, they can get it without even trying.
From Tommy La'Pola, Teacer, Seattle Schools:
In those places around the country where black boys are succeeding, to what extent is this the result of “cultural segregation”? In other words are these schools where parents have had to apply or otherwise work to get their children enrolled, thereby indicating a family culture that puts a premium on education and where families are willing to work to assist their child with their education? A follow up question: can a school expect to be able to overcome the influences of a student’s family if the family and school have contradictory expectations of a student?
Michael Holzman:
Some are. Others are not. Those that are can be quite minimally so, with admission based just on application. A school can strive to become as positively influential an environment as possible: open evenings, on weekends and in the summer; offering challenging course with high expectations and a variety of other activities, including sports, field trips and technology.
Eddie Griffin:
Notice how the question is framed: Can a school expect… to be able… to overcome… influences of a student’s family?
Expectation begins in the mind. Ability relates to levels of skills and talents. Overcome signifies the challenge. In other words, do you think that you have what is takes to overcome the challenge?
What is the challenge? We assume, from the question above, that the challenge is a student’s family expectations that contradicts to the school’s expectations.
Instead of a Catch-22 scenario, this is an Escape-22 clause for a teacher’s expectation. In essence, no one expects the schools to do the impossible. The teacher here is absolved of taking on such a challenge, when the challenge is perceived as homegrown. Therefore, any difficulty in teaching a child is chalked up as a problem of poor parenting, poor home life, and socio-economic factors outside of the realm of teaching.
How can schools be expected to overcome these forces?
Maybe we see the problem through a distorted prism. Instead of being a home environment problem, it could very well be a learning problem and lack of socialization skills. A child with a limited vocabulary may not understand as readily as a literate student and his verbal expressions may be a bit cruder. It all depends on how we see the challenge and the expectation to surmount it. Like students, some teachers may perceive the problem as “too hard” and find creative ways to give up. (The dog ate my lesson plan).
Family and school should never have “contradictory expectations” of the student. Contradictory expectation presupposes the one group (parents) has high expectations of the black male child and the other group (school) has a low expectation, or visa versa. Universally speaking, the standard should always be high- therefore, no contradiction in expectation.
In terms of marked academic achievement in “class segregated” schools, this is obvious. The haves have always provided better for their children over the have-nots. It is not a matter of the elite black families placing a higher premium on education, as it is the upper-to-high middle-income families are usually more educated and have more of the financial wherewithal to send their children to better schools. Better schools usually equal higher academic achievement.
The lower-income student may have parents who equally appreciate the value of education and the student may reach the top of his class. However, he will still be qualitatively disadvantaged in not having access to the same resources provided to the upper-income class student.
We note here that the inequality is not necessarily the product of an unequally bias budget for educational materials and supplies. Educational spending must be proportionate, according to law. (No more "Separate but Equal" disparities in education funding). But the high-income parents is able to provide more supplemental resources in their schools, through PTAs and various other charitable and business groups. This disparity in resources makes equal achievement nearly impossible, which leaves us forever trying to close an ever-widening achievement gap.
It must be our conscientious effort to put the black boy ahead of the pact in achievement, by developing his innate skills and talents. The learning style of African-Americans is traditionally different from Middle America. I have found that some black students learn in clips, fragmented, and disjointedly. Simply trying to pound knowledge into the head of a student does not always penetrate. (I have explained this to you 100 times. Why can't you understand?) Therefore, another angle of delivery might be necessary.
Can the current instructional mode of delivery carry a student forward along an individualized learning path? One classroom teacher alone cannot do it. Such expectations are unrealistic because most teachers are too focused on classroom management, behavioral controls, curriculum, testing, staff issues, and a myriad of other distractions. Babysitting and spoon-feeding individualized curriculum is just not in the job description, otherwise the teacher may have bitten off more than he or she can chew. Such a challenge goes far above and beyond the personal expectations of the average teacher.
But then, expectations are relative, and challenges are the way they are perceived. Can it be that we expect more of the students and less of the teachers, or vice versa? If we expect more of the teacher, how can we expect more of them than they expect of themselves? When they expect failure, they can get it without even trying.
Saving the Black Boy: Performance Based Litmus Test for Educators
From the Baby Moses Project
From Lorraine forte, Deputy Editor, Catalyst Chicago:
What teaching strategies are most effective with young black men? How do you get a large urban system to address the needs of these youth on a significant scale?
Michael Holzman:
Dr. Rosa Smith has suggested that making the success of African-American male students "the litmus test" for the success of the entire system is one approach to systemic change. We could take a leaf from the corporate handbook and tie administrative compensation to the value they add in this regard.
Eddie Griffin:
When educators focus as much importance on the bottom 10% of the student body as it does the top 10%, we might see a shift in resources and more concerted and collaborative educational effort, especially if administrators pay is tied to performance.
If an administrator lost 50% of his or her compensation for a 50% dropout rate for African-American male students (the “litmus test” group), there would probably be a shift in administrative priorities, policies, and strategies. But if failure is as well compensated as success, why succeed- which may be why we keep getting the same results.
Pay for Performance should be part of the overall reward strategy. As we reward our students for their performance, we should also reward our teachers and administrators, based on performance. In a school system with high expectations, our expectation of education professionals should also be high.
Merit base pay in Texas should be viewed from the financial standpoint that each student is allocated about $6,000 a year for the purpose of public education. The pro rata breaks out at so many days per year a student is enrolled in school. There is a hidden financial incentive to keep dropouts on the enrollment books, long after they have disappeared during the school year. The school still gets paid as if the child were present.
The school should be paid only for the days that the student attends classes, and whatever hours the student miss in school or class should be deducted from the school’s allocation. Maybe there would be more a financial incentive to lower the dropout rate.
From Lorraine forte, Deputy Editor, Catalyst Chicago:
What teaching strategies are most effective with young black men? How do you get a large urban system to address the needs of these youth on a significant scale?
Michael Holzman:
Dr. Rosa Smith has suggested that making the success of African-American male students "the litmus test" for the success of the entire system is one approach to systemic change. We could take a leaf from the corporate handbook and tie administrative compensation to the value they add in this regard.
Eddie Griffin:
When educators focus as much importance on the bottom 10% of the student body as it does the top 10%, we might see a shift in resources and more concerted and collaborative educational effort, especially if administrators pay is tied to performance.
If an administrator lost 50% of his or her compensation for a 50% dropout rate for African-American male students (the “litmus test” group), there would probably be a shift in administrative priorities, policies, and strategies. But if failure is as well compensated as success, why succeed- which may be why we keep getting the same results.
Pay for Performance should be part of the overall reward strategy. As we reward our students for their performance, we should also reward our teachers and administrators, based on performance. In a school system with high expectations, our expectation of education professionals should also be high.
Merit base pay in Texas should be viewed from the financial standpoint that each student is allocated about $6,000 a year for the purpose of public education. The pro rata breaks out at so many days per year a student is enrolled in school. There is a hidden financial incentive to keep dropouts on the enrollment books, long after they have disappeared during the school year. The school still gets paid as if the child were present.
The school should be paid only for the days that the student attends classes, and whatever hours the student miss in school or class should be deducted from the school’s allocation. Maybe there would be more a financial incentive to lower the dropout rate.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Will Dual Enrollment Help Black Boys?
Baby Moses Project looks at possible solutions
From Annie Pettway, Director Community College of Allegheny County:
Can High Schools integrate college course requirements for African American Males in the 9th grade? Allowing them to come to a college campus on a daily basis.
Eddie Griffin:
Allowing black boys in the 9th grade to visit college campuses on a daily basis is a grand idea, as far as socialization and acclamation into a post-secondary academic environment. Maybe it would affect their motivation and post-graduation aspirations. But every child is not cut out for traditional college and too many African-American boys are financially insecure… (There is no reason to go into debt in seeking a college education when there is no guarantee of post-graduation employment). Most of their needs are centered on the immediate future.
Since a technical and vocational education promises a more immediate reward of a 2-year technical degree, AA, or certification, it would seem that African-American boys should begin building foundational trade and career skills as early as possible. Dual enrollment and daily excursions to technical colleges and schools can become a “wonder world” experience for them.
Seeing also, that there is declining support for affirmative action and the Top 10% Rule, race-balancing education pushes black boys away from classic academicals careers toward hands-on trades, such as electronics over English Literature.
Since their needs are immediate, then we should also introduced them to early certification trades and professions, so that by the time they graduate high school, their accounting certification (for example) can lead them directly into internships and apprenticeship programs with an accounting firm.
Henry M. Levin:
I have seen many examples of dual enrollment programs that have shown effectiveness for black males. It is not only the content of the college courses, but familiarity with expectations for success and college role models seem to have very positive results on aspirations and behavior that lead to educational success. My colleague, Melissa Karp at the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University has done considerable research on the development of successful dual enrollment programs.
Melinda Merchur Karp
Research Associate
Community College Research Center,
Teachers College, Columbia University
Box 174, 439 Thorndike Hall
525 West 120th Street
New York, NY 10027
Phone: 212-678-3430
mjm305@columbia.edu
Dear Melinda Karp:
I read about your “dual enrollment” program idea designed for high school students from an online chat between Dr. Henry Levin and Annie Pettway, Director Community College of Allegheny County- although your name was misspelled in the article. (See Q&A Dialogue)
The discussion centered on Dr. Levin strategy for saving African-American male students from a life of poverty and self-destruction. Pettyway suggested that African-American boys should be acclimated to the college environment as early as the 9th grade.
Traditionally, African-American strengths have been in vocational fields, such as dress-making, cooking, woodshop, and metal shop, which are still very good vocations today. However, we, as a society, have not gone back and updated those vocational curricula at the high school level. Neither have we successfully integrated the high tech business world into today’s high school environment, nor explored technical curricula leading to student certification and immediate employability. We have not expanded office literacy skills and professional development courses at the high school level.
Here is where I believe daily excursions into the wonder world of a technical, vocational, and career development colleges can come into the picture. These trades and vocational schools, like DeVry Institute and others, can provide a different mode of educational delivery- the Over-the-Shoulder method of teaching and learning.
These schools cut away much of the academic rigor that impedes African-American boys whose aptitude could be more mechanically or artistically inclined.
I thought that this would be the perfect model for African-American boys. Not only would the child benefit, but the public school system and the vocational, trades, and professional development school with campuses could be well served by such a dual enrollment.
In fact, it would be best for middle or high school students to start the day on the college campus, where punctuality can be regimented. From there, students could be bussed back to their individual schools, for a half-day of high school academic curriculum required to pass state mandated testing.
In this scenario, the young student acquires safety net skills to fall back on. In case all else fails, he can still be a certified welder or plumber making better-than-average wages, even if he drops out or fail to graduate from high school.
What are your thoughts on the issue?
Eddie Griffin (BASG)
From Annie Pettway, Director Community College of Allegheny County:
Can High Schools integrate college course requirements for African American Males in the 9th grade? Allowing them to come to a college campus on a daily basis.
Eddie Griffin:
Allowing black boys in the 9th grade to visit college campuses on a daily basis is a grand idea, as far as socialization and acclamation into a post-secondary academic environment. Maybe it would affect their motivation and post-graduation aspirations. But every child is not cut out for traditional college and too many African-American boys are financially insecure… (There is no reason to go into debt in seeking a college education when there is no guarantee of post-graduation employment). Most of their needs are centered on the immediate future.
Since a technical and vocational education promises a more immediate reward of a 2-year technical degree, AA, or certification, it would seem that African-American boys should begin building foundational trade and career skills as early as possible. Dual enrollment and daily excursions to technical colleges and schools can become a “wonder world” experience for them.
Seeing also, that there is declining support for affirmative action and the Top 10% Rule, race-balancing education pushes black boys away from classic academicals careers toward hands-on trades, such as electronics over English Literature.
Since their needs are immediate, then we should also introduced them to early certification trades and professions, so that by the time they graduate high school, their accounting certification (for example) can lead them directly into internships and apprenticeship programs with an accounting firm.
Henry M. Levin:
I have seen many examples of dual enrollment programs that have shown effectiveness for black males. It is not only the content of the college courses, but familiarity with expectations for success and college role models seem to have very positive results on aspirations and behavior that lead to educational success. My colleague, Melissa Karp at the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University has done considerable research on the development of successful dual enrollment programs.
Melinda Merchur Karp
Research Associate
Community College Research Center,
Teachers College, Columbia University
Box 174, 439 Thorndike Hall
525 West 120th Street
New York, NY 10027
Phone: 212-678-3430
mjm305@columbia.edu
Dear Melinda Karp:
I read about your “dual enrollment” program idea designed for high school students from an online chat between Dr. Henry Levin and Annie Pettway, Director Community College of Allegheny County- although your name was misspelled in the article. (See Q&A Dialogue)
The discussion centered on Dr. Levin strategy for saving African-American male students from a life of poverty and self-destruction. Pettyway suggested that African-American boys should be acclimated to the college environment as early as the 9th grade.
Traditionally, African-American strengths have been in vocational fields, such as dress-making, cooking, woodshop, and metal shop, which are still very good vocations today. However, we, as a society, have not gone back and updated those vocational curricula at the high school level. Neither have we successfully integrated the high tech business world into today’s high school environment, nor explored technical curricula leading to student certification and immediate employability. We have not expanded office literacy skills and professional development courses at the high school level.
Here is where I believe daily excursions into the wonder world of a technical, vocational, and career development colleges can come into the picture. These trades and vocational schools, like DeVry Institute and others, can provide a different mode of educational delivery- the Over-the-Shoulder method of teaching and learning.
These schools cut away much of the academic rigor that impedes African-American boys whose aptitude could be more mechanically or artistically inclined.
I thought that this would be the perfect model for African-American boys. Not only would the child benefit, but the public school system and the vocational, trades, and professional development school with campuses could be well served by such a dual enrollment.
In fact, it would be best for middle or high school students to start the day on the college campus, where punctuality can be regimented. From there, students could be bussed back to their individual schools, for a half-day of high school academic curriculum required to pass state mandated testing.
In this scenario, the young student acquires safety net skills to fall back on. In case all else fails, he can still be a certified welder or plumber making better-than-average wages, even if he drops out or fail to graduate from high school.
What are your thoughts on the issue?
Eddie Griffin (BASG)
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Early Intervention: Before the First Step
The Baby Moses Project Examines the Black Boy Crisis
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
From barry.golden@dpi.state.wi.us
To what extent do you think early intervention might help Black male students at ages: 0-3 working with families 3-5 working with families and classroom 3-5 just in classrooms
Henry M. Levin:
I think that early intervention is any extremely important part of the solution of addressing the needs of black males. Precisely what this looks like and at what ages is open to discussion. The Abecederian experiment provided unusually strong positive educational results that extend into adulthood. Further, pediatric neurologists such as Jack Shonkoff have written extensively on the evolution of brain development that supports the empirical evidence on learning. However, this does not mean that it is "too late" to begin at ages 3-5. My best guess is that earlier is better, but that development in the 3-5 year old age range can be very significant as we have learned from many evaluations of "high quality" programs in this age range (not only Perry Preschool or Chicago Child and Parent Centers).
Eddie Griffin
Let’s slip hairs between “early intervention” and “early childhood development”. I wish to concentrate first on Intervention. The primary objective is to save the black boy’s life. Therefore, all intervention must focus primarily on the preservation of life, and secondly, on the quality of the child’s learning experience.
A child born into a barren environment is not going to develop neurologically as fast as a child born into an enriched environment. Being born into a healthy environment is also a key factor. Malnutrition can slow the growth rate of a child’s brains. There are other economic factors that impede a black boy’s optimal growth, but a nurturing environment is paramount.
Of course, it is the primary responsibility of the parent to provide a nurturing environment to the child. But that is usually the first and last good advice given by would-be do-gooders. If the parent is incapable of nurturing the child- whether because of economic distress, mental stability, age maturity, or whatever- the child must still be provided for, independent of the parent’s situation.
Here, we tend to leave this gray area in the hands of the Child Protection agencies. And, this is where the major failure occurs in terms of neglected children- children who fall through the cracks of social services. Like Gypsies, they and their parent(s) wonder from charity to charity, trying to survive, where survival is measured day-by-day. These unstable homes are the subjects of most child abuse cases. What is amazing is that few people see the correlation between the child abused at home and the bruised attitude he brings to school.
It may be of interest to study these efforts for academic improvement- i.e. Abecederian experiment, Perry Preschool, and Chicago Child and Parent Centers- to discover new methods of early childhood development and find which tools work best for small African-American male children.
The fact that pediatric neurologists have discovered a correlation between early education and the brain’s development comes as no great surprise. This suggests that our head-start childhood development strategy must begin at the initial stage of cognition. In essence, when a child wakes up in life, what does he find himself surround by? Is it dark, bleak, and barren, full of angry voices and shouting and cursing and fighting, like with children born to parents on the skids? What happens when these kids go to school? Or, does the child wake up in life and finds a surrounding of a loving mother and father, plenty of good nutritional food, pictures and hangings around the wall, television, and games? What becomes of these children in comparison to the former?
There are small enrichments that can have a great impact on small children. Besides having basic food staples, being surrounded by books can generate curiosity and a desire to learn and read at an early age. Game Theory suggests that mind-building toys and challenging games enhances the complex neurological webs inside the child’s brain. Walls full of pictures can give a child a sense of identity must better than a mirror.
We, as educators, look more upon the macro things and ignore the significance of the micro things.
I have found in the case of my own “challenged” (step) children that providing an environment enriched with educational supports tend to supplement and reinforce what they learned in school. I subscribed to Popular Science and Popular Mechanics for my son, who was diagnosed with ADHD. For my daughter, with low self-esteem, I subscribed to Seventeen Magazine to help raise her level of literacy and boast her self-image. I also subscribed to a book club, purchased a set of encyclopedias, and bought a computer, reasoning that maybe a book would accidentally fall off the shelf and open, and maybe one of them might accidentally see and read something. It worked. They became readers well enough to get them out of high school and into college, otherwise they would never been considered college material, academically.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
From barry.golden@dpi.state.wi.us
To what extent do you think early intervention might help Black male students at ages: 0-3 working with families 3-5 working with families and classroom 3-5 just in classrooms
Henry M. Levin:
I think that early intervention is any extremely important part of the solution of addressing the needs of black males. Precisely what this looks like and at what ages is open to discussion. The Abecederian experiment provided unusually strong positive educational results that extend into adulthood. Further, pediatric neurologists such as Jack Shonkoff have written extensively on the evolution of brain development that supports the empirical evidence on learning. However, this does not mean that it is "too late" to begin at ages 3-5. My best guess is that earlier is better, but that development in the 3-5 year old age range can be very significant as we have learned from many evaluations of "high quality" programs in this age range (not only Perry Preschool or Chicago Child and Parent Centers).
Eddie Griffin
Let’s slip hairs between “early intervention” and “early childhood development”. I wish to concentrate first on Intervention. The primary objective is to save the black boy’s life. Therefore, all intervention must focus primarily on the preservation of life, and secondly, on the quality of the child’s learning experience.
A child born into a barren environment is not going to develop neurologically as fast as a child born into an enriched environment. Being born into a healthy environment is also a key factor. Malnutrition can slow the growth rate of a child’s brains. There are other economic factors that impede a black boy’s optimal growth, but a nurturing environment is paramount.
Of course, it is the primary responsibility of the parent to provide a nurturing environment to the child. But that is usually the first and last good advice given by would-be do-gooders. If the parent is incapable of nurturing the child- whether because of economic distress, mental stability, age maturity, or whatever- the child must still be provided for, independent of the parent’s situation.
Here, we tend to leave this gray area in the hands of the Child Protection agencies. And, this is where the major failure occurs in terms of neglected children- children who fall through the cracks of social services. Like Gypsies, they and their parent(s) wonder from charity to charity, trying to survive, where survival is measured day-by-day. These unstable homes are the subjects of most child abuse cases. What is amazing is that few people see the correlation between the child abused at home and the bruised attitude he brings to school.
It may be of interest to study these efforts for academic improvement- i.e. Abecederian experiment, Perry Preschool, and Chicago Child and Parent Centers- to discover new methods of early childhood development and find which tools work best for small African-American male children.
The fact that pediatric neurologists have discovered a correlation between early education and the brain’s development comes as no great surprise. This suggests that our head-start childhood development strategy must begin at the initial stage of cognition. In essence, when a child wakes up in life, what does he find himself surround by? Is it dark, bleak, and barren, full of angry voices and shouting and cursing and fighting, like with children born to parents on the skids? What happens when these kids go to school? Or, does the child wake up in life and finds a surrounding of a loving mother and father, plenty of good nutritional food, pictures and hangings around the wall, television, and games? What becomes of these children in comparison to the former?
There are small enrichments that can have a great impact on small children. Besides having basic food staples, being surrounded by books can generate curiosity and a desire to learn and read at an early age. Game Theory suggests that mind-building toys and challenging games enhances the complex neurological webs inside the child’s brain. Walls full of pictures can give a child a sense of identity must better than a mirror.
We, as educators, look more upon the macro things and ignore the significance of the micro things.
I have found in the case of my own “challenged” (step) children that providing an environment enriched with educational supports tend to supplement and reinforce what they learned in school. I subscribed to Popular Science and Popular Mechanics for my son, who was diagnosed with ADHD. For my daughter, with low self-esteem, I subscribed to Seventeen Magazine to help raise her level of literacy and boast her self-image. I also subscribed to a book club, purchased a set of encyclopedias, and bought a computer, reasoning that maybe a book would accidentally fall off the shelf and open, and maybe one of them might accidentally see and read something. It worked. They became readers well enough to get them out of high school and into college, otherwise they would never been considered college material, academically.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Baby Moses Project: Solving the Crisis of the Black Boy: Part III
Part III – What is behind Instructional Intent?
From Connie Collins, Program Specialist K-12, Fort Wayne Community Schools:
Are there specific methods or classroom practices that motivate students to perform to their potential? For example, do small groups work better than whole group discussions, or does the instructional intent still play a large role in method choice with diverse students.
Henry M. Levin:
I am not sure that one can generalize about group size and pedagogy for black males since it depends upon the subject, teacher skills in different instructional modes, and the use of balancing different approaches rather than relying on a single one.
However, any approach that more nearly personalizes instruction is helpful.
Personalization can be based upon small group or even tutoring approaches. But, it can also draw upon guided independent study on topics of interest or of curiosity to the learner. My own experience suggests that personal mentoring has a very positive effect for the education of black males. If we can get members of the school staff or the larger community to take on mentoring tasks for individuals or small groups (advice, friendship, guidance, connections to employment and other opportunities, assistance with homework and assignments), we can get some very good results.
Eddie Griffin:
Well said by Levin, insofar as addressing Collins’ ambiguous reference to “instructional intent”. There is an implied recognition the some teachers motivate some children and de-motivate others in one and the same process, by selective delivery of educational content.
It’s as if you cannot please everybody; you cannot teach to everybody’s style; so, the style of teaching is more comparable to the bias of suburbia middle-American children, not inner-city. Where a teacher may motivate one student in a particular subject with a certain delivery system, it may completely turn off an African-American student… hence, reference to “balancing different approaches”.
Where the teacher fails to “personalize” instructions in an effective discernable mode for the African-American male student’s digestion, Levin suggests that mentors should help bridge that learning gap, rather than the teacher change the mode of instructional delivery.
Of course, there are other modes of instructional delivery, more effective than the tools and systems we now use. For example, there is less need for hardcover books nowadays, because there are CDs, DVDs, Podcasts, and online curriculum loaded with quality curricula contents, some are interactive in a way that reinforces learning. But book publishers would block any effort if public schools starting utilizing multimedia learning tools (except the ones manufactured by book publishing companies).
Different students need different amounts of reflective time to absorb information and arrive at a comprehension. Some students may need to divert to an online dictionary for the meaning of a word that will unlock meaning on a subject. African-American male students need more leeway and freedom in exploratory learning. The process of teaching changes into a guidance mode of instructional delivery.
Essentially, an African-American boy should be “guided”, rather than “taught” (in the old traditional sense of the word). Through guidance, he is able to preserve his self-esteem from the embarrassment and humiliation of being stigmatized as a “slow learner”, when it may be a problem a delay in processing information in a particular subject matter. For students that come to school hungry, it may be hard to impossible to concentrate on an empty stomach- a symptom a trained-eye professional should be able to detect.
Teacher training should include multi-tasking and individual observation techniques, so that he or she can tell when a child is not absorbing classroom information and following instructions. That a child is often lost in the middle of a class and diverts his attention to some other distraction is not always disciplinary offence.
From Connie Collins, Program Specialist K-12, Fort Wayne Community Schools:
Are there specific methods or classroom practices that motivate students to perform to their potential? For example, do small groups work better than whole group discussions, or does the instructional intent still play a large role in method choice with diverse students.
Henry M. Levin:
I am not sure that one can generalize about group size and pedagogy for black males since it depends upon the subject, teacher skills in different instructional modes, and the use of balancing different approaches rather than relying on a single one.
However, any approach that more nearly personalizes instruction is helpful.
Personalization can be based upon small group or even tutoring approaches. But, it can also draw upon guided independent study on topics of interest or of curiosity to the learner. My own experience suggests that personal mentoring has a very positive effect for the education of black males. If we can get members of the school staff or the larger community to take on mentoring tasks for individuals or small groups (advice, friendship, guidance, connections to employment and other opportunities, assistance with homework and assignments), we can get some very good results.
Eddie Griffin:
Well said by Levin, insofar as addressing Collins’ ambiguous reference to “instructional intent”. There is an implied recognition the some teachers motivate some children and de-motivate others in one and the same process, by selective delivery of educational content.
It’s as if you cannot please everybody; you cannot teach to everybody’s style; so, the style of teaching is more comparable to the bias of suburbia middle-American children, not inner-city. Where a teacher may motivate one student in a particular subject with a certain delivery system, it may completely turn off an African-American student… hence, reference to “balancing different approaches”.
Where the teacher fails to “personalize” instructions in an effective discernable mode for the African-American male student’s digestion, Levin suggests that mentors should help bridge that learning gap, rather than the teacher change the mode of instructional delivery.
Of course, there are other modes of instructional delivery, more effective than the tools and systems we now use. For example, there is less need for hardcover books nowadays, because there are CDs, DVDs, Podcasts, and online curriculum loaded with quality curricula contents, some are interactive in a way that reinforces learning. But book publishers would block any effort if public schools starting utilizing multimedia learning tools (except the ones manufactured by book publishing companies).
Different students need different amounts of reflective time to absorb information and arrive at a comprehension. Some students may need to divert to an online dictionary for the meaning of a word that will unlock meaning on a subject. African-American male students need more leeway and freedom in exploratory learning. The process of teaching changes into a guidance mode of instructional delivery.
Essentially, an African-American boy should be “guided”, rather than “taught” (in the old traditional sense of the word). Through guidance, he is able to preserve his self-esteem from the embarrassment and humiliation of being stigmatized as a “slow learner”, when it may be a problem a delay in processing information in a particular subject matter. For students that come to school hungry, it may be hard to impossible to concentrate on an empty stomach- a symptom a trained-eye professional should be able to detect.
Teacher training should include multi-tasking and individual observation techniques, so that he or she can tell when a child is not absorbing classroom information and following instructions. That a child is often lost in the middle of a class and diverts his attention to some other distraction is not always disciplinary offence.
Solving the Crisis of the Black Boy: Part II
Baby Moses Project: Solving the Crisis of the Black Boy
Part II – Reading the Questions
Monday, May 21, 2007
Frame the question in the direction of a solution, not toward a scapegoat. The questions below seem to sincerely seek an answer to the crisis among young black boys. It is important to look at the situation through the eyes of the one who asks the questions. Sometimes there are subtle implied assumptions that may or may not be true.
Martha King:
Can you compare the success of African American boys with that of Latino boys and Asian American boys? Key differences, similarities.
Henry M. Levin:
Asian boys do better than Latino or African American boys on all educational measures. Latino boys show higher dropout rates than African American boys, the exact numbers depending on which of the many competing measures of dropouts are used. The consequences of dropping out are greater for black males in terms of the probability of being employed, annual earnings, and crime. For example, only about half of black males who are high school dropouts are employed compared to about 70 percent of the other dropout groups (white, Latino, Asian). Partially, as a consequence, African American male dropouts receive only about $13,500 in average annual earnings compared to about $ 22,000 for the other male dropout groups.
Eddie Griffin commentary:
Notice there are “many competing measures of dropouts”… The issue of defining the problem of Drop-Outs is nobody really knows when a black boy drops out of school. At what point, do we say, this child has completely withdrawn from school, and why are so many GEDs showing up after drop-out? Is it 50% absences?
Fact is: Dropouts slip away, as if through our fingers. The Big Question is: Why didn’t we see them slipping away from us?
This past winter I appeared on a panel at Tarrant County College with the Fort Worth ISD new head of the Dropout Prevention specialist, Dr. Danna Dia Joseph. The panel was shared with the three high school dropouts. The 21-year old young (white) man described how he “just slipped away”, out of the school system, as if nobody cared.
I have seen dropping out in process, myself. I have seen elementary school (black) boys riding their bicycles in front of the schoolhouse when they should be inside. They were truant, and there were no truant officers to rein them in. Whose neglect? And, why can’t we arrive at a common measure for “dropout”.
In the work world we can track workers in and out of industry by a time clock. Ringing bells are for cattle. Time clocks are for measuring productivity. Dropping out should be defined as a loss of measurable productivity. We can know a dropout by the number of man-hours (or lack thereof) that they put into school. But man-hours alone do not measure productivity. And, hour units of productivity can be transferred and shouldered by other education or training institutes, such as dual enrollment.
“African-American male dropouts” (now an average of 50%) will earn only about $13,500 in annual earnings”… At current minimum wage, working day labor, he would earn roughly $10,000 before taxes.
Even dropouts become fathers. How can they bear fatherly responsibilities on this kind of earnings? Even the currently proposed minimum wage hike would raise him up to about $14,000 a year, at max.
The solution is high paying jobs for highly trained dropouts. But poring in quality resources to train and empower, post-dropout programs channel youth to the lowest end of the wage scale. A retrained, reeducated, re-socialized African-American child can reinvest their time best by trying to get ahead in the job market and through certified trades and entrepreneurship.
Part II – Reading the Questions
Monday, May 21, 2007
Frame the question in the direction of a solution, not toward a scapegoat. The questions below seem to sincerely seek an answer to the crisis among young black boys. It is important to look at the situation through the eyes of the one who asks the questions. Sometimes there are subtle implied assumptions that may or may not be true.
Martha King:
Can you compare the success of African American boys with that of Latino boys and Asian American boys? Key differences, similarities.
Henry M. Levin:
Asian boys do better than Latino or African American boys on all educational measures. Latino boys show higher dropout rates than African American boys, the exact numbers depending on which of the many competing measures of dropouts are used. The consequences of dropping out are greater for black males in terms of the probability of being employed, annual earnings, and crime. For example, only about half of black males who are high school dropouts are employed compared to about 70 percent of the other dropout groups (white, Latino, Asian). Partially, as a consequence, African American male dropouts receive only about $13,500 in average annual earnings compared to about $ 22,000 for the other male dropout groups.
Eddie Griffin commentary:
Notice there are “many competing measures of dropouts”… The issue of defining the problem of Drop-Outs is nobody really knows when a black boy drops out of school. At what point, do we say, this child has completely withdrawn from school, and why are so many GEDs showing up after drop-out? Is it 50% absences?
Fact is: Dropouts slip away, as if through our fingers. The Big Question is: Why didn’t we see them slipping away from us?
This past winter I appeared on a panel at Tarrant County College with the Fort Worth ISD new head of the Dropout Prevention specialist, Dr. Danna Dia Joseph. The panel was shared with the three high school dropouts. The 21-year old young (white) man described how he “just slipped away”, out of the school system, as if nobody cared.
I have seen dropping out in process, myself. I have seen elementary school (black) boys riding their bicycles in front of the schoolhouse when they should be inside. They were truant, and there were no truant officers to rein them in. Whose neglect? And, why can’t we arrive at a common measure for “dropout”.
In the work world we can track workers in and out of industry by a time clock. Ringing bells are for cattle. Time clocks are for measuring productivity. Dropping out should be defined as a loss of measurable productivity. We can know a dropout by the number of man-hours (or lack thereof) that they put into school. But man-hours alone do not measure productivity. And, hour units of productivity can be transferred and shouldered by other education or training institutes, such as dual enrollment.
“African-American male dropouts” (now an average of 50%) will earn only about $13,500 in annual earnings”… At current minimum wage, working day labor, he would earn roughly $10,000 before taxes.
Even dropouts become fathers. How can they bear fatherly responsibilities on this kind of earnings? Even the currently proposed minimum wage hike would raise him up to about $14,000 a year, at max.
The solution is high paying jobs for highly trained dropouts. But poring in quality resources to train and empower, post-dropout programs channel youth to the lowest end of the wage scale. A retrained, reeducated, re-socialized African-American child can reinvest their time best by trying to get ahead in the job market and through certified trades and entrepreneurship.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Baby Moses Project: Solving the Crisis of the Black Boy
Part I – The Intellectual Challenge
Friday, May 18, 2007
I believe that there is a place in the world for black boys if we teach them the right things and allow them to develop their natural aptitude, skills, and talents.
One of the most interesting and intelligently written questions came from a stakeholder in Bell Curves LLC:
The Supreme Court of the U.S., arguably, seems to implicitly concede that there are barriers to entry at prestigious institutions that require the use carefully tailored affirmative action policies/preferences to redress. To the extent that any given standardized test represents such a barrier, how, in your opinion, does the current climate of increased standardized testing exacerbate the discrepancy in performance between African-American male and female students? Between African-Americans and other racial groups?
[Re-Edit]
The Supreme Court seems to “implicitly concede” that there are barriers to entry… To the extent that any given standardized test represents such a barrier, how… doe the current climate of increased standardized testing exacerbate the discrepancy in performance between African-American male and… other racial groups?
Eddie Griffin ANSWERS:
Standardize testing is not one of the “barriers” for which affirmative action was created. The fact the African-Americans score lower on standardized tests and are helped into prestigious institutions, despite their white counterpart scoring higher, does not supplant the fact that African-Americans are still trying to make up for past discriminations. Affirmative Action college entrance programs were created to overcome the age-old practices of keeping blacks illiterate and uneducated.
The Supreme Court has consistently upheld this principal. But some would pull the early plug on Affirmative Action like the abrupt end to antebellum Reconstruction. The African-American family is still only two generations removed from total illiteracy.
Does standardized testing widen the performance gap between African-American male and other racial groups? Of course!
Now if the standardized test was basketball and performance measured by how many shots you make, then the performance levels would be reversed. If performance were based upon how well you read and understand Shakespeare, then the aristocratic child would have the advantage. And, I believe this is where the disparities come in.
Put a child in a classroom with a teacher that spoke ghetto slang with a Jamaican accent, then it would be easier to see and understand how an African-American child might struggle to understand Euro-Germanic dialect with $10 words. Disparities are manufactured through inadvertencies and misreads and misunderstandings.
Whose responsibility is it to insure that every child understands instructions?
A technician sometimes makes a better teacher because the tech is hands-on. Most public school teachers take a hands-off approach to teaching. With techs, the level of engagement is higher and there is a greater appreciation for learning because the some students learn better by See-Do learning.
The methodology now being used for teaching African-American boys is different from the way they learn at home. Even the vocabulary is radically different.
What is the greater potential for this African-American young generation?
Cutting-edge Nanotechnology, Multimedia design, micro-science and system modeling are skill sets of tomorrow, which many black boys now have the mechanical and creative aptitudes for. Applied math and physics should conjoin with their natural knack for inventing, tinkering and discovering. For example, more useful information can be learned in musical science (sound waves, amplitude, sine waves, trigonometry, etc., than by simply listening to the classics and guessing at the author. A study in spatial science, computer drafting, graphic arts, and animations are new and exciting fields that many African-American kids would probably enjoy if offered such a curriculum.
After watching how easily they adapt to new technology and how they explore the computer in the idle time, gives an indication of their interest, aptitude, and latent skills. Core curriculum, such as reading, writing, and math should be integrated into the technical and professional development program, not the other way around. Abstract learning and memorization skills (as now required by the public school system for standardized test taking) cannot build a foundation inside the head of Africa-American boys in the same way as with other children who have reinforcement support by more educated parents. The first major hurdle in learning for many African-American children, I found, was the concept of abstraction when the child first encounters Algebra and no one at home can help him.
Henry M. Levin (partial) response to the Question
African-American male students do not do as well on the tests as African-American females. My guess is that much of this is attitudinal. It seems more difficult for African-American males to accept the regimen of middle schools and high schools, and some of the influences in inner-city communities such as gangs encourage resistance to school demands.
Eddie Griffin reflections on the Statement Above
What middle school and high school regimen? That is the problem: There is no regimentation or discipline. Most middle and high schools are ruled by chaos. Teachers are not trained in multi-tasking, nor can they orchestrate multiple learning challenges, whereby he or she can track all students’ progress at the same time.
The public school teacher uses one of the following ineffective delivery systems: The dictator approach where the teacher stands in front of the classroom and pounds the knowledge into the kids’ heads, or jumping from student to student in the over-the-shoulder guidance mode. In both scenarios, the teacher is disengaged from the student, which allows for the student to disengage with the teacher.
If there is an attitudinal divide, then it is due to alienation between student and teacher. In the case of black boys, alienation precedes a 50% dropout rate.
Henry M. Levin concluded:
I think that the deeper and more meaningful improvements will come only from a focus on the quality of instruction and learning, and not the present focus on test scores.
On this, I agree.
Friday, May 18, 2007
I believe that there is a place in the world for black boys if we teach them the right things and allow them to develop their natural aptitude, skills, and talents.
One of the most interesting and intelligently written questions came from a stakeholder in Bell Curves LLC:
The Supreme Court of the U.S., arguably, seems to implicitly concede that there are barriers to entry at prestigious institutions that require the use carefully tailored affirmative action policies/preferences to redress. To the extent that any given standardized test represents such a barrier, how, in your opinion, does the current climate of increased standardized testing exacerbate the discrepancy in performance between African-American male and female students? Between African-Americans and other racial groups?
[Re-Edit]
The Supreme Court seems to “implicitly concede” that there are barriers to entry… To the extent that any given standardized test represents such a barrier, how… doe the current climate of increased standardized testing exacerbate the discrepancy in performance between African-American male and… other racial groups?
Eddie Griffin ANSWERS:
Standardize testing is not one of the “barriers” for which affirmative action was created. The fact the African-Americans score lower on standardized tests and are helped into prestigious institutions, despite their white counterpart scoring higher, does not supplant the fact that African-Americans are still trying to make up for past discriminations. Affirmative Action college entrance programs were created to overcome the age-old practices of keeping blacks illiterate and uneducated.
The Supreme Court has consistently upheld this principal. But some would pull the early plug on Affirmative Action like the abrupt end to antebellum Reconstruction. The African-American family is still only two generations removed from total illiteracy.
Does standardized testing widen the performance gap between African-American male and other racial groups? Of course!
Now if the standardized test was basketball and performance measured by how many shots you make, then the performance levels would be reversed. If performance were based upon how well you read and understand Shakespeare, then the aristocratic child would have the advantage. And, I believe this is where the disparities come in.
Put a child in a classroom with a teacher that spoke ghetto slang with a Jamaican accent, then it would be easier to see and understand how an African-American child might struggle to understand Euro-Germanic dialect with $10 words. Disparities are manufactured through inadvertencies and misreads and misunderstandings.
Whose responsibility is it to insure that every child understands instructions?
A technician sometimes makes a better teacher because the tech is hands-on. Most public school teachers take a hands-off approach to teaching. With techs, the level of engagement is higher and there is a greater appreciation for learning because the some students learn better by See-Do learning.
The methodology now being used for teaching African-American boys is different from the way they learn at home. Even the vocabulary is radically different.
What is the greater potential for this African-American young generation?
Cutting-edge Nanotechnology, Multimedia design, micro-science and system modeling are skill sets of tomorrow, which many black boys now have the mechanical and creative aptitudes for. Applied math and physics should conjoin with their natural knack for inventing, tinkering and discovering. For example, more useful information can be learned in musical science (sound waves, amplitude, sine waves, trigonometry, etc., than by simply listening to the classics and guessing at the author. A study in spatial science, computer drafting, graphic arts, and animations are new and exciting fields that many African-American kids would probably enjoy if offered such a curriculum.
After watching how easily they adapt to new technology and how they explore the computer in the idle time, gives an indication of their interest, aptitude, and latent skills. Core curriculum, such as reading, writing, and math should be integrated into the technical and professional development program, not the other way around. Abstract learning and memorization skills (as now required by the public school system for standardized test taking) cannot build a foundation inside the head of Africa-American boys in the same way as with other children who have reinforcement support by more educated parents. The first major hurdle in learning for many African-American children, I found, was the concept of abstraction when the child first encounters Algebra and no one at home can help him.
Henry M. Levin (partial) response to the Question
African-American male students do not do as well on the tests as African-American females. My guess is that much of this is attitudinal. It seems more difficult for African-American males to accept the regimen of middle schools and high schools, and some of the influences in inner-city communities such as gangs encourage resistance to school demands.
Eddie Griffin reflections on the Statement Above
What middle school and high school regimen? That is the problem: There is no regimentation or discipline. Most middle and high schools are ruled by chaos. Teachers are not trained in multi-tasking, nor can they orchestrate multiple learning challenges, whereby he or she can track all students’ progress at the same time.
The public school teacher uses one of the following ineffective delivery systems: The dictator approach where the teacher stands in front of the classroom and pounds the knowledge into the kids’ heads, or jumping from student to student in the over-the-shoulder guidance mode. In both scenarios, the teacher is disengaged from the student, which allows for the student to disengage with the teacher.
If there is an attitudinal divide, then it is due to alienation between student and teacher. In the case of black boys, alienation precedes a 50% dropout rate.
Henry M. Levin concluded:
I think that the deeper and more meaningful improvements will come only from a focus on the quality of instruction and learning, and not the present focus on test scores.
On this, I agree.
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