From: charlie
Date: 10/17/03
Time: 8:50:47 AM
Remote Name: 209.240.198.62
Jasper, I was well aware of the history of African Americans in the former post---but that doesn't tell me or educators what to do now. How to make education (and therefore a more general success in life) a high prority.
I know that there is a "reason" for these things but that does not help bring a large group of people up from their poor living circumstances.
And the part about the language works for everybody. Those poor white Georgia farmers that sound like they have marbles in their mouths when they speak are not going to get to be famous actors or actresses, lawyers, doctors or anything else if nobody can understand a word they say expect another poor white Georgia farmer.
And it is not that teachers were out telling young Black students how wrong they were. There was just an encouraging to get an education--like most of the rest of the class was trying to do.
This is a serious question---no joke--I am serious.
What would YOU have done with a young black kid (male) that I had before I retired. He was in the 2nd grade and he came to school ONLY to eat breakfast, eat lunch, have recess and socialize with his friends.
No exaggeration, the truth. He saw no value in learning anything.
It would be maybe 10AM before it deemed it necessary to even pretend he was doing his school work.
I attempted numerous times to speak to his mother. I never heard from her. She never came for conferences. Offered to talk to her on the phone at night. I NEVER heard from her except one time--when I had the guidance counselor (a young Black man) give him another shirt to wear because the one he wore to school said BLACK BITCH on the front in big letters. This was against the rules--and he is was in the 2nd grade.
She called me pronto over that accusing me of STEALING his shirt (which he just failed to pick up at the counselor's office that afternoon before going home). She was also accusing me of some racial crime that I have yet to figure out. She calmed down ONLY when she realized the words on the shirt broke the rules and he could get his shirt back. She promised we would meet again or talk again about his schoolwork but I never heard from her again. She managed to FIND my telephone number that I had sent home repeatedly.
OK. He didn't do his school work. Made no effort to. I was in the position these days of he could not stay after school---he rode the bus.
He didn't care if he went to in-school suspension because he didn't do any work there either and it would have been every day.
By this time, we in our progressiveness (Out-come based education) did not have GRADES on the report cards.
He could not be retained in school because we had social promotion.
He made no connection between getting priviledges and doing what he was supposed to do--hence, it didn't matter to him if he "won' extra recess or stickers, or books or whatever.
Jasper, I am not talking about growing up to be the world champion lawyer or doctor or businessman. I am just talking about getting an education--so he can get and hold down a good job.
And people will have to get over this attitude of by getting educated and to talk where everybody can understand you, you hate your race and are trying to "act or be white".
Seems to me that Martin Luther King, Jr. was educated and spoke just fine.
These are kinds of behaviors that are against their own best interests. Without some level of education, they couldn't even work as a clerk in a store and run a cash register and without speaking clearly--they couldn't even take orders at McDonald's.
I don't mean to be harsh but when I saw dozens and dozens of your black children --girls and boys--who came to school and saw NO relationship to coming to school (other than socializing and recess) and the purpose of getting an education.
Now I was in the unique situation to talk to Black teachers who had taught in all Black schools prior to desegregation. They were frustrated to no. They said the kids DID learn and behave and seek an education--when it was an all Black school. Somewhere they made the concious or unconcious decision NOT to do the same when it was a desegregated school.
The School Reform is also where the school, the teacher, etc. is "graded" on the improvements of the school and the students. The teacher can be punished--lose their jobs--the school can be put under sanctions...without a certain amt of improvement.
The teacher--or the government--can't go into these homes and Make them value education. That can come from within the Black community.
This movement has to come from within. In my opinion, Jesse Jackson should have stuck to those wildly wonderful speeches to encourage kids to do well in school. But he abandoned that to racial blackmail.
I need to go take care of my Mom right now but in another post I will tell you what happened to the kids in the Black community who did succeed in the past 30-40 years in our city.
charlie