A cry in the black education wilderness

Houston Chronicle ^ | April 28, 2003 | ANDREA GEORGSSON

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The great disappointment of my ongoing crusade to foment a revolution in black education has been the lack of a response, and even hostility, from black leaders in this community. Naturally, I expected everyone to drop what they were doing and hop onto my education movement bandwagon.

To be sure, black readers in general have responded positively and in droves to the call for a black education movement along the lines of our historic civil rights movement. They have said they agree that this movement must demand rigorous academic standards and a high level of parental responsibility and community involvement to ensure black children's success.

In a comment typical of many I've received, a reader wrote, "We as black people must begin to create a culture of valuing education ... if we are to ever pull our children out of the river of underachievement in which they find themselves. I believe that this can be done, but it will require a new and different determination on the part of the black community, and every black parent in particular, before it will be achieved."

Another reader wrote, "I am just frustrated at our community's complacency towards education and the willingness of so many parents to allow their children to waste their young years on activities that do not help them become competitive in academia. ... I'm making the effort to convert as many [people] as I can. I think I successfully turned my husband around. He was wiling to buy his children-to-be their first car but would not fund their college education. Now THAT had to change."

But I've heard little from Houston's black leadership.

Of course, many people are doing interesting and important work to promote high standards in black education.

Helen M. Berger runs Houston Preparatory Academy's U-Prep model in which academically promising students from poor northeast neighborhoods are provided four weeks of intensive instruction in reading, writing and math. Afterward, a select few students who meet the high admission and academic standards of some of Houston's best private schools enter those schools with scholarships and the social and academic support of U-Prep to ensure their success.

Sylvia Brooks, president & CEO of the Houston Area Urban League, after reading my columns calling for new black leadership to head a black education movement, called to point out all the work the local Urban League is doing in that field. In fact, the promotion of equal access to education is one of the main goals of the Urban League's advocacy mission, and I applaud that.

Kevin Hoffman, the president of the Houston school board, posed a couple of questions when I complained to him about black leadership on education. "Do you go off and have a public tantrum, or do you work inside the system in which you were elected?," he asked. "Do you want to represent as an insider getting things done or as an outsider making a fuss on the front page?"

Without patting himself on the back too hard, Hoffman noted the significant number of new schools that will be built in black neighborhoods and of old ones that will be renovated under the district's new bond issue. Point well-taken.

My thinking has been that a natural place for the new black education movement to grow could be black churches. I have imagined church leaders organizing tutoring sessions for young members, recognizing and rewarding good grades and bringing in experts to teach test-taking skills and to help parents support their children's educational endeavors.

So, not long ago, I spoke with Rev. Michael Williams, pastor of Joy Tabernacle church. In writing a column afterward, I focused on those issues which he and I held in common, such as parents' major role in early education.

Williams chastised me later for not playing up his other points, such as that "serious and significant inequities" in funding and facilities exist in white and black communities, and that "American institutional life is designed to support white supremacy and public education is no different."

I had chosen to ignore some of his more outrageous statements, such as that "college is overrated for black people" and that many good jobs exist for people without college degrees.

Even if that were true, why would Williams, who also happens to be a trustee of the Houston Community College board, preach that to young people?

People who believe, as Williams apparently does, that black people are powerless to achieve excellence in their lives because they are oppressed victims ought to take a note from all the people who are out there working hard to show black children how bright the future can be. That's real leadership.

Georgsson, an editorial writer, is a member of the Chronicle Editorial Board andrea.georgsson@chron.com

[Temple Owl]

Re#15

You got that right. Afro moms ought to insist on voting for the GOP candidate.

[rdb3]

*

[visualops]

Great post!

only fools refused to read and study diligently. Only fools destroyed their brains with drugs. Only fools physically hurt their brethren. In fact, "being smart" was in. We called it being "heavy." We even expected jocks to be heavy. All musicians, especially the jazz types, were heavy. Black power meant just that: being black and powerful, being armed with education and the drive to improve our lot in a hostile environment where the very concept of racial egalitarianism was still alien to most white Americans. Black power meant sharing the good and eliminating the bad.

I knew I wasn't imagining that lol

I grew up in a different world, but it was very visible to me from another angle. I was a ballet dancer, and went to see alot of dance companies and theatre shows that were really cutting edge at the time- Alvin Ailey, Dance Theatre of Harlem (both were founded in '69, I saw them in the early 70's). They were both welcomed as the new avant garde and really blew the doors off the dance world. I guess the point I'm trying to make is there was such promise, not just in the arts, but all over. Obviously things didn't come to a halt, but the atmosphere is definitely not the same.

The real issue, according to Mr. Cherlin, "is not the lack of male presence but the lack of male income." That's a call for fathers to be replaced by a government welfare check.

Not only is that LiberalSpeak but that's a product of the anti-family feminism.
I was appalled by an ad I saw in a girls' magazine a while back, which basically (under the premise of being self-sufficient) put across the message that a girl doesn't need a man. I see so many of today's young women being treated worse by men/boys than I would have ever dreamed, considering the strides we've [supposedly] made in equal rights.
In addition to the lack of personal responsibility from the girls and the guys, there's this odd acceptance of one's crappy spot in life. It's some sort of strange culture of losers.
This is a problem that crosses racial lines, as alot of these couples are interracial.

[visualops]

Someone posted in another thread a list of values, such as respect, compassion, morality etc, and asked the question 'just what values do they object to?'. That really says it all.

[visualops]

You'll appreciate this-
http://www.beverlye.com/perfect-crime_20010317.html

a tidbit:

"Facilitate: That’s what teaching is called now in the field. It entails a whole new curricular experience: "survival and coping skills," "anger management," "conflict resolution," "self-esteem," "sexual diversity," and so on. Little in the curriculum provides insight into our cultural or constitutional underpinnings.
Courses like logic, philosophy, and civics, that once helped kids get a handle on modern issues, are gone. Nothing incorporates the values of self-reliance, property rights, limited government (especially in the context of regulatory power), or the role of religion in our society. Physics, chemistry, calculus, and physiology are reserved for the few with very high IQ scores.

Now, four consequences necessarily follow from this shift of emphasis:

First, both curriculum and testing center on passions.
Secondly, the group is put before individual students.
Today’s "cooperative learning" concept is aimed at turning out "team players," not at supporting individual performance. That means peer pressure is heightened instead of alleviated.
Which brings us to consequence #3: Children flit from one activity to another, with no continuity between skill-bases, distracted and discouraged from the kind of study that results in the ability to make logical conclusions. Post-modern people, you see, are not supposed to be moved by reason, and given the events of the past 8 years, obviously they’re not. So, the endless distractions create both an intellectual and emotional void.
Finally, because group-think and consensus are rewarded over independent thought, the old school cliques we knew have "morphed" into violent, "Lord of the Flies"-style, kiddy subcultures, like Littleton’s Trench-Coat Mafia, indulging in brutal territorial exercises. That’s "mob rule."
So, in effect, children are being "warehoused," not educated. "

It's long, but the best assessment of public education today I've ever read.
The scary part is you get a real good idea of just what we're up against.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Thank you for the LINK. THE PERFECT CRIME: HOW PSYCHOLOGY AND HIGH-TECH MARKETING HAVE "DEFORMED" EDUCATION FIRST PUBLISHED IN VITAL SPEECHES OF THE DAY, MARCH 1, 2001

(Gen. George S. Patton. - "Success is how high we bounce when we hit bottom.")

I think we're close to bottom.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump!

[Susannah]

I just sent the link to this thread to Jack Rudy,RNC Chairman. Hope no one here objects.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as I read what Cincinatus' Wife wrote. You may have no idea how many Black Caucauses and African-American Forums that I've watched on my local educational access tv channel. The Democratic Representatives meet with blacks and remind them where they got their "rights" from and explain the next "rights" they are going after. Of course, then they tell them to find ways to rally the voters for Democrats.

I sincerely apologize if I have posted anything racially offensive in other threads. This is the first time I had any inkling that there were blacks who voted outside the liberal camp...I say liberal because there are Republicans and Democrats who are not with their own parties on key issues.

My son finished his education with GED because he and some friends were continually being beaten up and robbed of their lunch money. When I finally was able to meet with a school counselor and my son identified black students from school photos,,,the school took no action. One thing I did not know until my son told me years later: white students were made to feel like the enemy by teachers and black students during black history month. This was the 80's.

In regards to teachers unions: Sounds like the author of "The Worm in the Apple" may have a point.

[Susannah]

I've added myself to the "conservative black" PING list.
Looking forward to viewing more of the "political" black "rebels".

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The magic elixir crowd will always be with us selling poison to thirsty people. And news as usual is sensational and negative. But despite the push to use hate to win, they are losing their grip.

Here's a story about a school that teaches kids to "care." It's so like a Clinton "feel-your-pain" moment, it makes me cringe.

Upscale school revives a satire about race*** But for cast members, "Day of Absence" was the most real drama they'd ever done. For two months, tense moments in rehearsals precipitated regular breaks to sit on the floor in a circle with Freeman and discuss matters of race. Even with those talks, though, none of the students wanted to play the one black role, for fear of appearing to mock African-Americans. So Freeman played that role herself.

When it was all over, the students said they'd learned not only about race, but also about the challenges of conveying a message. "The moral is [whites] need the black community, and without them, the white community will collapse," said seventh-grader Caitlin Cassidy. "We are kind of preaching to them," eighth-grader Katharine Sargeant added. "But I think it's done in a more creative way so they won't really feel it's that message."***

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I'm very sorry about what happened to your son.

[visualops]

I think we're close to bottom

Agreed.
This this discussion prompted the reflection on my current tagline: That disarming the public intellectually is another goal of those who would destroy the Republic.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

That disarming the public intellectually is another goal of those who would destroy the Republic.

And like the collapse of the twin towers, more effective than they ever imagined.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The new face of home schooling - More and more, African-American families redefine 'homeroom'*** It used to be predominantly Southern whites who taught their kids at home rather than sending them to integrated schools. But today, what's happening in this well-groomed, mostly black subdivision points to a new reality: Thousands of African-American parents are home-schooling their kids in a growing backlash against America's public-education system - schools that many parents deem too dangerous, too judgmental, or just bad fits. And they're confronting Pythagoras and Shakespeare in venues far beyond the living room: De facto districts are springing up from suburban churches to YMCAs.***

[Susannah]

"I'm very sorry about what happened to your son"
Cincinatus' Wife

Thank you for caring. My son and I don't blame blacks for what happened, because he could have been abused by whites too. The SHOOL did nothing! Had this happened when I was in high school, the students involved would have been suspended, parents would have to wrestle with the school to get them back in, and they would have been shunned by their classmates.

Sometimes good comes from bad. My son learned a lot outside of school. Some people even have asked him what college he went to.
Self-education may be the answer for some.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I know. So many from our generation believe schools to be what they were when we went (I graduated from high school in 1965). But they aren't and they haven't been for a long time.

[Susannah]

"So many from our generation believe schools to be what they were when we went (I graduated from high school in 1965). But they aren't and they haven't been for a long time."

I graduated in 1968 in a small town, so think I missed the change that occurred.

Here's a silly idea I was thinking of:

What would happen if parents in a school district organized and told their children to always check "African-American" when asked about race? If they are 'palefaces', and get questioned by doing this...they should say "check my mitachondrial DNA, I came out of Africa".

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Ha! That would throw a wrench in the multi-culturalism gears!

[Susannah]

The mitachondrial DNA was a topic when 'The Real Eve' aired on Discovery channel. At first, I thought it is against religious beliefs, but after watching it again I realized it really disproves the Darwin theory. And, scientifically, it does make sense.


Speaking of multiculturalism, there are some interesting articles on the topic at http://www.aynrand.org . I just found that website, so haven't read all that's there yet. Interesting article about the Senator from Ohio.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Illegitimate children face harder time (Hey! That was Dan Quayle's line) *** Andrea and James are right that black children can learn just as well as any other children. They are right in urging black parents to get more involved in their children's education. They are right in calling on the educational community to increase its academic expectations of black children. All of those things will serve to improve test scores of black children.

But most of all, stable families are needed -- black, white and brown. Families with moms and dads who devote themselves to the care and well-being of their children; parents who see to their children's needs and who encourage them to excel in school. Unfortunately, life is messy and complicated. People change. Families split apart for various reasons -- some truly serious, some incredibly shallow and silly. One wonders, "Why did they get married in the first place?"

On a personal level for millions of children, it is a terrible, hurtful situation not of their making. On the whole, it is a national tragedy of untold consequences. With increasing numbers of out-of-wedlock births, how long can the nation last? ***