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http://www.cleveland.com/education/plain...&thispage=1Wednesday, May 16, 2007 Robert L. Smith Plain Dealer Reporter The achievement gap separating black boys from just about everyone else springs from a powerful, anti-education culture rising in the black community, a local black think tank argues in a new report. Parents who undervalue education, and a mass media that peppers youth with the quick, shallow rewards of hip-hop lifestyle, are steering alarming numbers of boys down a dead-end path, PolicyBridge contends. The report calls for public recognition of a phenomenon crippling the black community and the civic will to fight it. It's to be released today via mailings to civic leaders and on the group's Web site, www.policy-bridge.org. "In our community, family culture has changed, and street culture has changed," said Randell McShepard, 42, an executive at RPM International and the secretary of PolicyBridge. "But the headline now is, Those changes are dragging down the education system.' " McShepard, Timothy Goler and Mark Batson, all local black professionals who attended Cleveland and East Cleveland public schools, founded the nonprofit research center in 2004 to explore issues critical to the black community. They wrote the report with guidance from university researchers and public policy makers, as well as from teachers, principals and Cleveland school students, who are liberally quoted. Some education experts are skeptical about the report's broad conclusions, but they said the topic is critical to Cleveland. "The Rap on Culture: How Anti-Education Messages in Media, at Home, and on the Streets Hold Back African American Youth" starts from a well-known premise. Black youths, and black boys in particular, perform more poorly in school and on standardized tests than white and Asian youths, regardless of income. Almost half of black children attending Cleveland public schools fail to graduate, and only a fraction will ever finish college. What's new is the identification of a leading culprit. The report argues that no amount of money or strategy will close the gap as long as black children are raised in an environment that devalues education. "School is life, and that is the message our kids are not getting, and a lot of this is culture," said Goler, 41, a former schoolteacher who is PolicyBridge's executive director. "We have to reverse this anti-education mind-set that our kids have." The authors trace underachievement to the breakdown of the black family, a trend Daniel Patrick Moynihan publicized in 1965, when he reported that 25 percent of black children were born to single mothers. Today, more than 70 percent of black children are born to single mothers. Absent fathers, and with families weakened, corrupting influences gained power and prestige, the report argues. Rap music, poverty and pop-culture celebrities combine to create an alluring "cool-pose culture of self-destructive behaviors." The report cites research by a social psychologist who found that black youths enjoy the highest self esteem of any ethnic group, regardless of their grades. It quotes a Cleveland boy who said he ceased to be taunted at school when he let his grades fall. And it includes the observations of a youth mentor, who said he has been told by children he is the only adult in their lives excited to see their report cards. "This is sort of a silent killer," McShepard said. "Every day, our community is being chipped away at. And because there's no one big horrible event, no one pays a lot of attention." Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the leader of Cleveland schools from 1998 to 2006, said she has not yet read the report but that its conclusions sound a bit extreme. The black achievement gap results from "a number of variables," she said. "I'm not sure I would classify it in such strong language as anti-education culture." Former Ohio Senate Minority Leader C.J. Prentiss, who is the governor's special representative for closing the achievement gap, also worries the report is too critical of black parents. "That's a piece of it," she said. "How about the role of the churches, the business community, the teachers?" The report indeed calls for multifaceted action. It recommends that the federal No Child Left Behind Act be amended to treat black boys as a distinct category deserving of special attention, including a longer school year. It calls upon black parents and civic leaders to raise their expectations of black pupils. And it urges black men to "step up" as role models for fatherless youths. "We've reached crisis proportions," McShepard said. "We need to do something different." To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: rsmith@plaind.com, 216-999-4024
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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Where's Phillip Morris, I bet he can explain this way better.
I wish to wash my Irish wristwatch......
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Today, more than 70 percent of black children are born to single mothers.
Wow ! That in and of itself means little but....Wow ! Reckon Fathers Day becomes guessing game huh? How many of the 70% of those are repeat offendors?
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Today, more than 70 percent of black children are born to single mothers.
Wow ! That in and of itself means little but....Wow ! Reckon Fathers Day becomes guessing game huh? How many of the 70% of those are repeat offendors?
I read that and wondered if that meant single, or unwed or single. Cause that number just seems astronomical.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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they need to get rid of the hoods and ghettos. that's the main problem. people could blame rap music all tehy want, but it's the ghettos and hoods that are the problems. if these guys got away from each other and lived in a neigborhood where education is valued they might have a different outlook on education and about thug life as well. but when you have 90% of the citizens that think the same, and think what they're doing is ok, then you'll never have change.......Just think about it. the peer pressure of an african american teen living in the hood has to be tremendous. most of their friends, family, etc, think the thug life is the way to go. when your parents probably don't preach education, how in the hell is the kid to no any better. then when you see rappers brainwashing these same kids about the thug life, it's no wonder why things are the way they are.
to get rid of thug life, or at least control it, the hoods and ghettos need to go. but that's not going to happen anytime soon.
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when your parents probably don't preach education,
This is the real problem, period ! Many other things may contibute but it comes back to the parents, or parent in these cases.
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Not true. I work as a counselor/mentor for a juvenile court in a rural area and the kids (almost all the kids I see, not just specifically one race) have these issues where they don't see the purpose of schools. They honestly expect that fame and fortune are going to be delivered to them and school is unneeded. Its not just the hoods and ghettos that are the problem, its the culture itself, IMO.
[color:"green"] "World domination has encountered a momentary setback. Please talk amongst yourselves." Get Fuzzy[/color]
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well that's where the culture is created, in the hoods and ghettos. if these guys lived in a neighborhood where people valued education they would get the message. maybe not in 1 generation, but they would get it eventually. ghettos and hoods = ignorance in most cases.
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I think it's a culture more than a neighborhood, although those from more suburban type lifestyle would be more prone to be yanked out of it when they get too deep. But I see it in the attitudes of kids of all backgrounds.
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Well i dont think this is any kind of earth shateering news. I think it is pretty much common knowledge.
This is also my belief when people say the Cleveland Schools are bad. My kids go to Cleveland schools and thiir is nothing wrong with their level of education. They are learning just as much as any of their cousins or friends who go to suburb schools or private schools. The education is there in the supposedly " bad" school systems. Its not the schools themsleves that are bad it is the parents at home that dont give a damn about education and this translates into how the kids do in school giving the schools a bad rep when they are trying to prvode a good education. My kids go to a Cleve;and school but I stress there schoolwork and grades. My wife works with them every night on gettin gtheir work right and getting their homework done properly. The education is there parents and kids have to use it and stop expecting it to be handed to them.
KING
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My wife works with them
So you're saying that 1+ 1=3?   
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My kids go to Cleveland schools and thiir is nothing wrong with their level of education. They are learning just as much as any of their cousins or friends who go to suburb schools or private schools. The education is there in the supposedly " bad" school systems. Its not the schools themsleves that are bad
Exactly!!!!!! It's not the schools. The problem is, you cannot teach someone that doesn't want to lear. If the kids WANT to learn, public, private, city, country schools all work. If the kids want to learn, they will.
However, that takes "applying" oneself - you know - work. And too many kids today don't see "work" as something they need to do - they'd rather try for the easy money, then when they get busted they say "the man is holding me down", or some such.
What does the state of Ohio do? They throw money at the problem, building brand new schools - as if that's going to change the outcome. 
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Today, more than 70 percent of black children are born to single mothers.
Wow ! That in and of itself means little but....Wow ! Reckon Fathers Day becomes guessing game huh? How many of the 70% of those are repeat offendors?
Sorry to disagree but it means a lot in the context of this article. Divorced white females with one or two kids generally...generally are in better financial shape than unmarried black female mothers. When the clustering of these poor family units occur and become the norm we have a very unfortunate set of circumstances upon which to build.
The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, .
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What it means is....Devorce is to damn easy any more, and that nobody try's to save the relationship!...Very sad! 
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"Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the leader of Cleveland schools from 1998 to 2006, said she has not yet read the report but that its conclusions sound a bit extreme.
The black achievement gap results from "a number of variables," she said. "I'm not sure I would classify it in such strong language as anti-education culture.""
So what would we expect the past leader of these failing schools to say about the failure...might as well blame it on several issues rather than one main reason. That way she can deflect criticism for not being more proactive in resolving the disturbing attitude toward education in the black schools.
The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, .
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What it means is....Devorce is to damn easy any more, and that nobody try's to save the relationship!...Very sad!
These people were never married. They just do what they want, when they want and think about it later.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn. GM Strong ![[Linked Image]](http://www.dawgtalkers.net/uploads/small-gator-chomp.gif)
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Wow, I'm flabbergasted... so the rap and hip-hop cultural message, unwed mothers, and a lack of emphasis on education is hurting black males... who would have ever thought that?  I sure am glad somebody did a study to find that out.... 
yebat' Putin
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How long before Al and Jessie mount a campaign ? Because I am sure that this is somehow the fault of the racist white power structure designed to keep the Black man down.
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This is the real problem, period ! Many other things may contibute but it comes back to the parents, or parent in these cases.
Exactly. Education starts at home - parents need to show interest in a childs education.
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Former Ohio Senate Minority Leader C.J. Prentiss, who is the governor's special representative for closing the achievement gap, also worries the report is too critical of black parents.
"That's a piece of it," she said. "How about the role of the churches, the business community, the teachers?
Critical?  Why is it the churches and business communities responsibilities? They should provide support, but a majority should come from home. Parents must believe in the value of an education for the system to work.
#gmstrong
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j/c
Interesting read. IMO, when you attack the societal problems, that's when things will start getting better. There is still a lot of inherent racism in our culture (still too many cases of people moving because a black family moves into the neighborhood, etc.).
Also, many black kids go to school in inner cities, and inner city schools just aren't as good as the suburban schools which generally have a very low black population.
What's the answer? I really have no idea. I think hip-hop music, etc. definitely contributes, but it certainly isn't the cause. When I was growing up, grunge was the new thing, but that didn't make me go out and do all kinds of drugs. I had good parents, I went to a good school, and I had a good group of friends.
I taught at a school for expelled students, and most of them were black. There were too many kids who were only 17 years younger than their mothers, and were only 34 or 35 years younger than their grandmothers. A lot of them just saw their lives as kind of pointless. They didn't see any success around them, so they kind of adopted the "do what I can before I die at 25" attitude.
Now, I'm not condoning or excusing this at all. There are plenty of people who have gotten themselves out of that situation. But, it just helps explain things.
I hear about all these do-gooders who go to other countries to help build houses and schools, etc. While I applaud them, I often wonder if we shouldn't be sending them into downtown Cleveland, or Akron, or Youngstown.
There are some very deep systemic problems which weigh greatly against black males. When we can give these students a real chance to succeed and see that success is attainable, things will start getting better.
JMHO
I am unfamiliar with this feeling of optimism
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Former Ohio Senate Minority Leader C.J. Prentiss, who is the governor's special representative for closing the achievement gap, also worries the report is too critical of black parents.
"That's a piece of it," she said. "How about the role of the churches, the business community, the teachers?"
Thats a load of BS imo. I grew up in an atmosphere where i was taught by my parents the importance of good grades and that i was going to college. Neither of my parents come from a background of higher education, but it was never an option for me. Teachers, let alone the church or business community, had little if any impact on my ability and desire to do well in school.
It might be critical of the parents, but thats where the blame should be laid. As the parent of a child, it is your reponsibility to do whats best for said child and to push them to better themselves and others around them. Its sad that children have become an unwanted side effect of having sex, rather than blessing and a chance to pass on your wisdom to the next generation.
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So what would we expect the past leader of these failing schools to say about the failure...might as well blame it on several issues rather than one main reason. That way she can deflect criticism for not being more proactive in resolving the disturbing attitude toward education in the black schools.
As the leader of the schools, it is only her job to make the education available... there is little she can do to make the kids want it or more importantly, to make the parents emphasize it...
yebat' Putin
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Today, more than 70 percent of black children are born to single mothers.
Wow ! That in and of itself means little but....Wow ! Reckon Fathers Day becomes guessing game huh? How many of the 70% of those are repeat offendors?
Not funny IRE 45...That comment reminds me of an old black joke that you may be referring to(you watch too much Maury Povich). Many of the single moms know who the father is, but the man is not responsible enough to be a dad or doesn't want to be a dad. My wife was a divorced single white mom(I'm African-American) with four kids(2 adopted) whose ex would rather run the streets then take responsibility for his children.
"Awww Nawww Big Slimdog!!!"
-Eminem, "B**** Please Pt. II"
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How long before Al and Jessie mount a campaign ? Because I am sure that this is somehow the fault of the racist white power structure designed to keep the Black man down.
I hope you are speaking of the thoughts of Al & Jessie because not all African Americans think like Al & Jesse(I surely don't)...
"Awww Nawww Big Slimdog!!!"
-Eminem, "B**** Please Pt. II"
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You're right...My mom worked in a library and my dad was a deputy sheriff for Summit County. Even with what little they made, they still put me, my brother and sister in Catholic grade school,Catholic highschool and doled out for all of us to go to college. My grandmother(God rest her soul) taught 4th grade in Jersey City for 42 years. Instead of playing during the summers in Akron, we all went to Jersey City and went to summer school with my grandmother. We did that from the time I was 10 until I was 17. I know my situation is a little different, but parents need to be responsible as far as the education and well being of their child. My children listen to Rap/ Hip Hop, but I explain what is the difference about the stories portrayed in songs and real life. I know it is hard for a single parent to keep an eye on their child at all times, but it does "take a village to raise a child"...In my neighborhood when I was little, we knew all the neighbors and their children and I got plenty of spankings and good talkings to from my friends parents. Good neighbors are not like what it used to be. People are more afraid to "get involved" and are more into themselves or what they need to do in life.
"Awww Nawww Big Slimdog!!!"
-Eminem, "B**** Please Pt. II"
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Legend
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In my neighborhood when I was little, we knew all the neighbors and their children and I got plenty of spankings and good talkings to from my friends parents. Good neighbors are not like what it used to be. People are more afraid to "get involved" and are more into themselves or what they need to do in life.
That's the societal part of the equation there. Funny, the local news just did a story where they put a car somewhere where people would be present, then had an undercover cop, break out the window and something from the inside and walk away. All the while cameras were rolling.
7 out of the 10 people who witnessed the crime just ignored it, 2 called 911, 1 yelled over and started toward the "thief"
The responses from the 7 were generally, it wasn't my car or my stuff, so I'm not getting involved. That is the motto in our society, "It's not my car/house/kid/problem", add to the fact that currently it seems a kids word is taken over an adults in legal matters, people are afraid if they get involved, the kid will claim the person abused or assaulted them or something.
Parents need to be parents, and if you don't want your child to have a better life than you had, you shouldn't be having kids, but they don't think of that til it's too late.
All these groups out there arguing that giving out free condoms and birth control just promotes sex, don't realize that while it may just slightly increase the chance someone will have sex if they can get free birth control, it will lower the unwanted pregnancies in this country and in the long run have a positive effect in our overall society.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
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j/c
Interesting read. IMO, when you attack the societal problems, that's when things will start getting better. There is still a lot of inherent racism in our culture (still too many cases of people moving because a black family moves into the neighborhood, etc.).
Also, many black kids go to school in inner cities, and inner city schools just aren't as good as the suburban schools which generally have a very low black population.
What's the answer? I really have no idea. I think hip-hop music, etc. definitely contributes, but it certainly isn't the cause. When I was growing up, grunge was the new thing, but that didn't make me go out and do all kinds of drugs. I had good parents, I went to a good school, and I had a good group of friends.
I taught at a school for expelled students, and most of them were black. There were too many kids who were only 17 years younger than their mothers, and were only 34 or 35 years younger than their grandmothers. A lot of them just saw their lives as kind of pointless. They didn't see any success around them, so they kind of adopted the "do what I can before I die at 25" attitude.
Now, I'm not condoning or excusing this at all. There are plenty of people who have gotten themselves out of that situation. But, it just helps explain things.
I hear about all these do-gooders who go to other countries to help build houses and schools, etc. While I applaud them, I often wonder if we shouldn't be sending them into downtown Cleveland, or Akron, or Youngstown.
There are some very deep systemic problems which weigh greatly against black males. When we can give these students a real chance to succeed and see that success is attainable, things will start getting better.
JMHO
yea I agree with your post 100%. to me it all goes back to the enviroment these kids live in. it all goes back to the hood and the ghetto. some may bring up the parents, and that is defintely true, but where did the parents come from??? most of them grew up in that same hood and ghetto. where are most of the rappers from??? 99% are from the hood and the ghetto.
go look at the suceessful ones that made something out of their lives. most of their parents talk about how they had to get out of the hood and ghetto. the hood and ghetto in nothing but a breeding grounds for violence, drugs, failure in school, etc. you put these folks in a more stable enviroment, where education is valued, and thug life isn't, I think you'll see change over a long period of time.
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I hope you are speaking of the thoughts of Al & Jessie because not all African Americans think like Al & Jesse(I surely don't)...
The only dig there was against Al and Jessie nobody else and no it was certainly not a blanket statement.
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Many of the single moms know who the father is, but the man is not responsible enough to be a dad or doesn't want to be a dad.
Wouldn't the time to discuss whether or not the guy wants to be a father come before actually getting knocked up and if it didn't work the first time why do some continue to have kids with the same type of guy over and over and over again ? The females do not get a free pass here because it takes two to make a child . I had my share of women ( and maybe someone elses share also ) and I never had a child until I was ready . PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY !!!!
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Wouldn't the time to discuss whether or not the guy wants to be a father come before actually getting knocked up
Exactly.. I don't want to insult anybodys personal situation, and I have ZERO sympathy for guys who father children and then abandon them.. but likewise I get a bit fed-up with the women being treated like victims when they have children by irresponsible men...
yebat' Putin
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j/c
IAlso, many black kids go to school in inner cities, and inner city schools just aren't as good as the suburban schools which generally have a very low black population.
I think the philosopphical issue is this.Are those schools bad or is it the student they have to work with that makes them bad? The teachers in those school who are teaching went to the same colleges and got the same gegrees as the teachers at the suburban school. yhave just as much experience and know how. The probelm is the kids they have to teach are part of the ghetto hip hop culture and it is very difficult to teach them. take the student populations of a city school and a " good " suburb school and sitch them around i bet the suburb kids would stillg et a good education at the city school and I bet it wouldnt be long till the suburb school went to hell.
KING
You may be in the drivers seat but God is holding the map. #GMSTRONG
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I think the philosopphical issue is this. Are those schools bad or is it the student they have to work with that makes them bad? The teachers in those school who are teaching went to the same colleges and got the same degrees as the teachers at the suburban school. They have just as much experience and know how. The problem is the kids they have to teach are part of the ghetto hip hop culture and it is very difficult to teach them. Take the student populations of a city school and a " good " suburb school and sitch them around, I bet the suburb kids would still get a good education at the city school and I bet it wouldn't be long till the suburb school went to hell.
I disagree.
First off, the kids in the suburban schools listen to the hip-hop music, etc. probably just as much as the inner-city kids. So, let's not pin it on that.
Secondly, while the teachers are trying their best in the inner-city, they do not have the resources that the suburban schools do. Go to Hudson High School or Solon High School and just look at the facilities, the computer labs, the classrooms. Now go into Cleveland and East Cleveland. It may not seem like it should matter, but when your school is falling apart, you have really old textbooks and the resources just aren't there, the school system is going to have a really tough time being successful.
And, I think it's apples and oranges to compare the kids in the schools as the problem. Put both sets of students in the same environment (school, home, work, etc.), and you'd have probably an equal number of success stories and failures in each place. But, when you have such drastic differences between the two, it's nearly impossible to accurately compare the two.
Having taught in the inner-city and having done some teaching in the nice suburbs, I got to see that there are goofy jerky kids in both situations and good nice kids who try their best in both situations. The problem is that when they leave school, my kids from the inner city would go home to such things as: not knowing what they'd have for dinner, if anything; not knowing if they'd have heat; not knowing if their house would get shot up (all of these were common where I was teaching). Meanwhile, the kids from the suburban schools were worried about: who should I ask to the dance; does so-and-so like me; should I go to the mall or just over to so-and-so's house (once again, all actual examples).
The kids do have control over their situation, but only so much. Like I said, there are deep systemic problems that have to be solved first, and everything else will start to fall into place.
JMHO
I am unfamiliar with this feeling of optimism
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Just to add to the conversation. This article isn't so much about black kids, but it shows what a lot of these kids have to deal with in inner cities. By Kevin Bohn CNN Washington Bureau PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- Isaac Diaz walks through the toughest parts of North Philadelphia each day on his way to and from high school. But what really scares the 18-year-old senior is lying in his own bed at night. He can hear the gunshots then. "Last year it wasn't so often. Now it's as often as every night," Diaz recently told CNN. "It might be your best friend dying, and you don't even know about it." Out on the street, Diaz said, a casual stroll can suddenly turn deadly. (Watch Diaz explain how he lives with daily gunfireVideo) "You don't know what's going to happen," he said. "You don't know if you're walking in the neighborhood and a guy from middle school sees you and he just had a bad incident with his mother and father and he's walking around with a gun." "I'm afraid every day." Philadelphia is just one of the nation's cities trying to deal with a murder spike. As of Wednesday, 150 people have been slain in the city, compared to 140 by this time last year. The numbers put Philadelphia on a pace well ahead of a bloody 2006, when 406 people were slain by others in the so-called City of Brotherly Love. It was the first time homicides topped the 400 mark since 1990. (Watch a mother grieve over a son shot for his carVideo) Nationally, violent crime is spiking, too. FBI data from December, the most recent statistics available, show murders and robberies rose by 3.7 percent nationwide during the first six months of 2006. Those findings came on top of a 2.2 percent crime hike in 2005 -- the first increase since 2001. Guns plentiful The spike prompted Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to order a study of violence in 18 cities. The results were released earlier this week, when Gonzales announced that the Justice Department would spend $50 million to combat urban violence. The Justice Department concluded that the increased violence is caused by a younger and more violent generation of criminals who have easy access to guns. Many are loosely organized into street gangs and crews. In Philadelphia, police and civic activists point to several factors, including poverty and drugs. But by far the biggest catalyst, they say, is the availability of guns. Young men who grow up angry with few opportunities use guns to win status on the streets, said Greg Bucceroni, of Men United for a Better Philadelphia, which mentors at-risk teens, counsels crime victims and sponsors community events to try to reduce violence. (Watch Bucceroni talk about how why the violence is getting worseVideo) "They feel that's how they get respect, so the level of violence escalates," he said. Bucceroni works for the city but also spends much of his time volunteering to help guide kids who have gotten into trouble. An activist since the early 1980s, he has seen the changes. "In the 70s, I mean, if somebody came up and they had a zip gun -- which was a homemade gun -- that was big time," he said. "Now if, if you don't have an AK-47 or a sawed-off shotgun or a 9 mm, even if you pull out a .38, they laugh at you because, 'Is that all you've got?' That is their mentality when now people are carrying automatic handguns." The city is trying several initiatives to help reduce the murder rate, including hiring police and truant officers, and redeploying police officers to problem areas. 'Hometown security' Police Commissioner Seymour Johnson told CNN the police can't stop the violence by themselves. "The clergy has to get involved," he said. "The business people have to get involved. The politicians have to get involved. The community has to get involved. If you are only going to depend on law enforcement it is not going to change the quality of life." As he speaks, his passion grows. "A 9-year-old boy is killed on the streets of Philadelphia, no one comes forward. Where a 4-year-old girl is shot no one comes forward. Where a house is firebombed, six people killed -- four under the age of 5 years -- no one comes forward. The community has to come to realize by not coming forward they are only hurting themselves," Johnson said. Besides spending $50 million this year to take guns and drugs off the streets, the Justice Department will push Congress to enact laws to let the federal government better investigate and prosecute violent crime, Gonzales said. Johnson welcomes the help, but said cities suffered when federal priorities shifted after 9/11. "Funds coming into the city have been cut -- not just for policing but for education, for jobs, for health care, for all kinds of things," he said. "All of the money is going overseas -- again homeland security is very important, but hometown security is just as important." CNN's Kelli Arena contributed to this report. link
I am unfamiliar with this feeling of optimism
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I don't think you disagree as much as you think you do. In his example, he was stating that the only thing you change in the lives of these kids is where they go to school.. the suburban kids still go home to their suburban lives and the inner city kids still go home to their inner city lives...
Yes, the suburban schools are going to have better facilities and that is worth something... but I think, if anything, you actually helped to make his point... it's not so much what goes on in school as it is what goes on out of school that causes one group to succeed and the other to fail at the rate they do.
yebat' Putin
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I see what you're saying. I guess I just read it as saying that it was the students' fault that schools don't work for them. My argument has been that there's a lot more at work than just the students. But, I see what you're saying, and I concur that I may agree more than I thought.
I am unfamiliar with this feeling of optimism
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Critical? Why is it the churches and business communities responsibilities? They should provide support, but a majority should come from home. Parents must believe in the value of an education for the system to work.
What I think she is trying to say is since most of the parents are not doing their job, its up to the community to help. You know the old proverb “It takes a village to raise one child” I think think that’s what she is saying. Its obvious that the parents are not doing their job so other people such as “churches, teachers, and business community” need to do something. Single males need a father figure in their life and according to the report the father figure is not there so people in the community need to step up and be that father figure.
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No, I don't think he was blaming the students all that much.. There is a lot more at work than just the students and it's naive of anybody to sit back and say, "Well it's up to the kids to succeed or fail." God knows it's hard enough coming out of the teenage years unscathed, but with all of the odds stacked against you the way it is with some inner city kids, it's somewhat amazing that there are any success stories at all...
yebat' Putin
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So what would we expect the past leader of these failing schools to say about the failure...might as well blame it on several issues rather than one main reason. That way she can deflect criticism for not being more proactive in resolving the disturbing attitude toward education in the black schools.
"As the leader of the schools, it is only her job to make the education available... there is little she can do to make the kids want it or more importantly, to make the parents emphasize it...
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Come on DC...this is the same lame ass "pass the buck" response I normally hear from "professional" teachers. I did what I could but I can't make them listen or perform, they say.
Give me a break if these people were judged upon the results of their responsibilities they would starve
The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, .
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You're right...My mom worked in a library and my dad was a deputy sheriff for Summit County. Even with what little they made, they still put me, my brother and sister in Catholic grade school,Catholic highschool and doled out for all of us to go to college. My grandmother(God rest her soul) taught 4th grade in Jersey City for 42 years. Instead of playing during the summers in Akron, we all went to Jersey City and went to summer school with my grandmother. We did that from the time I was 10 until I was 17. I know my situation is a little different, but parents need to be responsible as far as the education and well being of their child. My children listen to Rap/ Hip Hop, but I explain what is the difference about the stories portrayed in songs and real life. I know it is hard for a single parent to keep an eye on their child at all times, but it does "take a village to raise a child"...In my neighborhood when I was little, we knew all the neighbors and their children and I got plenty of spankings and good talkings to from my friends parents. Good neighbors are not like what it used to be. People are more afraid to "get involved" and are more into themselves or what they need to do in life.
It "takes a village to raise a child" if the parent or parents of the child instill pride of self and pride of neighborhood in a child.
It takes a very special single parent to raise a well mannered well educated and well thought of kid today...whether the child is from the 'hood or from some tony school district.
Back in the 50s,60s and early 70s a lot of us remember many sets of eyes would be on us when we were out and about. Was this because we were "a village"???? More likely we had pride in our families and neighborhood and our personal property values. Neighbors didn't want some punk ass kid pissing on their flowers or drinking beer and throwing the cans on their lawns at night.
Pride of ownership is the motivating force in communities...not simply income level or percentage of single parenting...if Mom and Dad have no pride in themselves and their home or apartment then the kids won't be expected to treat any property with respect.
The same situation with educational opportunities...if a kid isn't exposed to the importance of pride in education they will surely not have any pride in their education.
The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, .
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j/c The "schools" don't have as much to do with it as some of you are saying. The attitude of the students has almost EVERYTHING to do with it. You don't need to have the latest and greatest computer lab. You don't NEED the latest textbooks. I guarantee, take some "poor" school district, give them the newest text books, and say, 1000 brand spanking new computers - the latest and greatest. Give it one year, and many of the books will have "disappeared", computers won't compute, and the students will still be as bad as they were prior. Reverse the situation: remove the latest texts from a "privileged" school, downgrade them to, say, 1 computer for every 20 students. The success/graduation/learning rate will not decline at all. Why? It's called "desire". The desire to learn. The ability to realize that education is what gets your foot in the door of endless possibilities. Too many of the inner city schools have kids that could'nt care less - or perhaps it's better to say "too many inner city schools have too many kids that couldn't care less". Throw money at the inner city schools - give them each $10 mil extra per school year, and you won't see different results than you get now. Technology is good, but it does not create results in and of itself. The desire has to be there. Take the best teacher in the country, give him/her students that don't care, and all of a sudden it's the teachers fault for poor results? Our school district (small, well funded - at least well funded for ohio - is now buying some stupid video game thing for gym class - the kind where you have to jump around on a mat to move your creature, or whatever - ya'll know what I mean. The reasoning behind this is: we have to use technology in order to get the kids moving. B.S., is what I say. Gym class - move around. Make them run a few laps in the gym, then have them do some situps and pushups, then throw a ball or 2 out there and have at it. For those that don't want to play, after the laps and situps and pushups, they can walk the rest of the period. What I'm getting at is technology is okay - but it sure as heck doesn't beat actually DOING - be it in gym class, or science/math/english class. You don't need the latest and greatest - you need the DESIRE. Unfortunatley, the desire is not there in too many places.
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