The Current State of Education

A few weeks ago, I was listening to the radio and Rev. Al Sharpton was on speaking about this Mackenzie Report that was coming out talking about the state of public education. This report says that Blacks and some Latinos are functioning at least 4 grade levels behind. Now, I didn't need a report to tell me this because I witness it on a daily basis. It is often suggested that many schools need to be shut down, teachers removed, new teachers come in and the same students return in order to see some change. Well, I have some issues with this concept.

I do believe that if it's broke, fix it. The issue here is not just one or two schools, we are talking about a nation full of broken schools. A lot of the "solutions" are no more effective than a band-aid is on a war wound. Many of the students in public schools often miss the fundamentals needed to be successful and they are often promoted to the next grade when they really should be retained. When these individuals enter high school (9th grade) a lot of them are functioning anywhere between a 4th and 6th grade level.

As it relates to removing teachers, I believe teachers who don't have the child's best interest at heart should be removed. It is not the teachers fault when a student fails, especially at that level. Most times the child is not doing any work or coming to school. When and if a school closes and teachers are displaced, I think it may cause teachers to socially promote students who are not prepared. These teachers may decide that it is better to pass the kids than for them to look for a new job. My main concern is when the new teachers come and the old students with their old habits come back. It seems to me like you would want to make some changes with the students as well. Maybe they can be in a school where the students are performing at or above grade level and have a vested interest in their education.

Another issue that plagues public education is the lack of parental involvement. If more parents were involved in their children's education, many of the kids would not fail. It is not rocket science. The more you put into your child, the more you get out.

Networking

There are a number of on-line 'networking' sites available, people don't necessarily have to get together face to face anymore. I've joined a number of them and I can't really keep up with all of the usernames and passwords. (It helps when the site allows you to use your e-mail address as a username.) I'm on www.facebook.com: Http://twitter.com/foxxychica: www.hoverspot.com: www.chocolatepages.com: and on various sites within www.ning.com.

I am not sure how I got started on these sites, but they can become very addictive. I've also come to realize that these online sources are a good medium to network, but when people come together, they often don't know how to communicate with one another because of all of the computer networking they do. I was at a networking event the other day and I noticed that many people (including me) were not actually networking. There were other factors that may have contributed to this, but nonetheless, people were not really networking.

After I left this event, I realized a few things. One of them was the person hosting the event may not have been too sure of what type of things should be done at a networking event so people can actually network with one another. In order for a networking event to be successful, you need to have some type of setting that is going to have people talking with one another. It is difficult for people to communicate when there is music playing and it is not playing softly and it's party/dance music. Also, I think when food is served, it should be finger foods. When people are networking, they don't need a full plate of food. Light snacks are better because people will snack and not eat.

After attending this event, I was inspired to do some things on a personal level. I am currently working on them and I'm excited about my new beginnings.

Resurrection Sunday

This Sunday is Resurrection Sunday. Many Christians all over the world will celebrate the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I have often thought about this upcoming Sunday and how many people don't realize that Resurrection Sunday should not only symbolize that Jesus is alive, but it should symbolize our personal lives.

During this Lenten season, I purposed in my mind and heart to make some personal changes. I wasn't successful in all of them, but I kept (and continue) to strive to do better. I've decided to kill off certain things in my life. Afterwards I'm gonna bury them and do my darnedest not to resurrect them ever again!

I've decided that negativity has to die. This means negative people in my life has to go as well. Life is too short to be around Debbie Downer and Negative Ned. Some people only know negative things so I guess I have to do like Lauryn Hill did in one of her songs and ask my "Father to forgive them for they know not what they do". I've noticed that people will say some dumb stuff and don't realize they've said it until you regurgitate that mess back to them.

The second thing I am killing is procrastination. I read once that "Procrastination is the thief of time". I've been guilty of this too often. It seems like I don't have enough time in the day to do most of the things I need to do, and some of the things I want to do. I am no longer going to put off today for tomorrow because tomorrow is not promised.

I've also decided that control has to go. I'm learning that there are certain things I will never have any control over and the sooner I realize this and let it go, the better I'll be. I can't change people's attitudes and perceptions of me or life. That is their personal battle that I am not going to try and fight. I know I may have strong opinions about certain things, but they are just that, my opinions.

I have more things that I have decided to kill and bury and never to resurrect, but I really don't have the time to divulge all of that information. I think if more people would take a good look at their personal lives and determine what things they need to eliminate, many of us would be a whole lot better.

What does abuse look like?

Oftentimes many people don't realize that abuse can take may shapes and forms. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, abuse is defined as follows: To use wrongly or improperly; to hurt or injure by maltreatment; to rape or molest; to insult; revile; misuse; physical maltreatment; insulting or coarse language.

I think a lot of people view abuse as something that is visible. I've been thinking about this for quite some time and I had to write about it. Abuse generally begins in the form of words. Sometimes people will say things that they may believe are not harmful but in reality they are. I think all people are guilty of this. If we look at the many definitions given, I don't think anyone can say they have never insulted anyone. Now, I know some people may be thinking they did it in fun, but that is how it begins. Remember that lie we were told growing up about sticks and stones. Well, words do hurt and people don't forget them.

I know I've been guilty of being abusive to others and I've had to go back and rectify that situation. I believe the reason many of us are abusive is it's all we know and have been taught. Hurting people hurt others. We need to learn how to speak words of encouragement to one another and keep our little snide comments to ourselves. In the words of my mother and grandmother "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". I think if a lot of us learn to live by that creed, we wouldn't walk around abusing people on a daily basis.

I quit.

I've been thinking about eliminating this blog. I blog on another site and I get more feedback and traffic on that site. I've had this blog for a little less than a year (I think it'll be a year next month) and it's been slow going. We'll see what happens.

The five-paragraph essay.

Silly me. I thought many of my students would know how to write a five-paragraph essay, but boy was I wrong. Since our school received the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grant to improve the quality of education, we are required to test the students 4 times throughout the year. Well, the second assessment was given and after reading the written parts, I realized the majority of my students didn't know how to write a 5-paragraph essay.

The topic they were given was about standardized test. Are they good or bad? So, I started with the basics. I told them before they can write, they need to plan. I told them this will help them with their writing. The first thing we did was created 2 columns. One for the pros (good) and the other for the cons (bad). I told them whenever they are required to write a paper, this is what they should do first. Depending upon the number of paragraphs required, they should have that same number of items listed. For example, if you need a 10-paragraph paper, you will need at least 8 pros and 8 cons (the first paragraph is the introductory paragraph and the last is the concluding paragraph). If they can't think of that many for both, it is a good idea to argue/present based on the side they have the most evidence for, even if they don't agree with it.

Once we did that, I had them to use a graphic organizer similar to the picture.



The circle is where they should list their subtopic. Everything they listed under the pros or cons. On the web extenders, they should write down what they want to say about the topic. For example, if the subtopic is: Test are a waste of time. I would put that in the circle. In the extenders, I would list all of the reasons for stating that. Many of them understood this concept. After they have listed their reasons in the extensions, those serve as the basis for their sentences. One student I'll call "Jack" said to me "It's that simple?" I replied "Yep, just like that. Depending on how many parapgraphs you need to write, that determines how many of the little webs you need." That comment made my heart leap. I was so elated that someone finally got it.

After we went through that, I showed them how to state their position without restating the prompt. I want them to become skilled writers and I explained to them restating the prompt is not bad, nonetheless, they are high school sophomores and we are going to prove to people that we know how to write like we are going to go to college. I also told them that all of their essays should have an attention grabber to get the readers attention. If everyone starts out with "In my opinion" or "I believe that" and my all time favorite "Yes, or No and then restate the prompt", they have not captured my attention.

I worked with a few of them on an individual basis and they seemed to be progressing well. I am excited about reading their revised essays on Monday.

How do I reach the lost children?

I teach in an inner city/urban school. Many of the students receive free or reduced lunch. A lot of them come from less than stellar homes and in addition to poor home lives, they are way behind in school. I don't think many people realize the correlation between poverty and performance. I could name a number of books and studies that outline this, but you can research this on your own time. There is a correlation that children who come from poor environments tend to perform less in school and in life. Now, I know there are exceptions to the rule, but those are few and far in between.

A friend of mine often gets upset when I mention this because she grew up poor and on public assistance. I grew up poor, wore hand-me-downs (from a neighbor on the same block) and ate commodities (government handouts). I know and understand what it's like to not have. I think the difference for me (I don't know about my friend) was i was exposed to people who didn't live like me. I was able to interact with people from all socioeconomic backgrounds and ethnicity's. I was able to know and understand that it is possible to make it out. Many of my students do not have these opportunities and I think this hurts them. Whenever I try to tell them there is a way out, they think I am making it up or acting white.

How do I reach a group of children who's expectations have been lowered or non-existent? How do I compete with parents, friends, and a community that has accepted mediocrity? What can I do or say to encourage these kids? I am not sure if there is a solution. I believe there has to be some type of push from within at this point. The children have to want to have more for themselves. I often pose this scenario to them: Imagine it's twenty years from now,, you are 35/36 yrs old. The only knowledge you have is what you have learned thus far. The only money you have is what is in your pocket today? You have nothing more and nothing less. Is this how you want to live? Many of them say no, but they don't try to change their actions. I don't think many of them have gotten angry enough with their current situation to try and change it.

I often tell my students to listen and pay attention to what I am trying to teach because it will help them in life. A lot of my students feel like college is not an option and they are wasting their time. I try to tell them that it may not make them famous, but an education is something no one can take from them. Once you have the knowledge, it's yours forever.

I often feel like I am wasting my time with these children and feel like quitting. I am tired of being their only cheerleader. Then I often wonder, if I quit, who will cheer for them? But what about me, who's cheering for me? Why do I keep feeling empty, unfulfilled and miserable? I think I like teaching, but I don't like the apathy that I have to deal with.