Affirmative Action (AA) has been a topic of heated debate since its inception. Despite the fact that the greatest beneficiaries of AA initiatives have been white women, AA is still mischaracterized as a race-based legislation that gives an immensley unfair headstart to minorities in the US.
SCOTUS's recent decision in support of 20 white firefighter's from New Haven which ruled the AA initiatives of their employer - conducted in order to prevent a discrimination lawsuit - were unconstitutional. The case has sparked up the AA debate once again further promoting the idea that AA unfairly advantages minorities. Just some general thoughts on AA:
AA is necessary because it's been proven and time-tested that whites or those in power will always support their own over "others" when all other variables are equal or nearly equal. In a world where a black man with no felony convictions gets hired at a lower rate than a white male who does have a felony conviction, we have a long way to go before we can honestly state that AA is obselete.
On the flip-side, there are some disparities in college and grad school exams and in civil service testing that can be directly traced back to substandard educational conditions in minority communities in comparison to the higher educational opportunities that their white counterparts have. Suburban schools have stronger tax bases that give better financial support to their schools. Less minority families who live in urban areas can afford private education. AA is needed in post-secondary education until minority children are carrying grades and the exam scores that aren't so much lower than white children.
BUT....AA aside....I DO believe in academics....minorities bear some responsibility for the achievement gap between minority children and white children. When we were "separate and unequal" we achieved. We achieved with substandard supplies and buildings and staffing. We still did it. Education was paramount in the home. It's not been like that since the 80's. We don't value it anymore. I have to wonder if the "achievement gap" has less to do with discrimination and more to do with lazy, uneducated, unpurposeful parents.
Statistically, our children get lower entrance exam grades. There was a time when we would work with next to nothing to rear a successful child. We don't have family units doing that anymore. Those black and hispanic firefighters should not have overwhelmingly failed that exam. And, quite frankly, I do not want an embicile leading a fire crew when my house is all ablaze. Why did they overwhelmingly fail? It HAD to have had something to do with their education....and whose to blame for that? Maybe the govt needs to do more to outfit our public school system and bring it up to speed....but in the meantime....what are the parents gonna do?
Monday, June 29, 2009
Bill Cosby Was Right!
Dr. Cosby was correct. And, later for those who were hit by the rocks. We have the power to change things and all of the tools needed right now. Take education for example.
We don't have to wait for more funding or even an overhaul of our public school system to begin to reverse the damage that we've done to ourselves. I love that our new POTUS has his eye on an overhaul of the public school system and the No Child Left Behind Act. But, no amount of money funneled into the schools is going to sufficiently circumvent the effects of the lack of support for education in the home. If a mother doesn't value education, then rare is the child who will. (there are some children who are independently motivated from birth...and they are the exception, not the rule.)
Sure, many suburban and private schools are well-funded with state of the art science labs, techonologically advanced classrooms and a laptop at every desk.....BOOKS for every child. :) I submit there are some things you cannot do without - up to date books being vital. However, when a child doesn't have a person in the home consistently taking an active interest in her schoolwork, her homework, her attendance and her participation in class and extracurricular activities, she is less likely to excel in school. Any school.
If you are an eighth grade boy more interested in basketball and girls and looking cool in front of your peers, and your mother doesn't even confirm whether you have homework or not, let alone confirm that you've completed it, or, moreso - checked your work for you, then no amount of school funding is going to change it.
Parents take their child's word for it when he says, "I don't have homework." They allow them to turn in substandard work done at the very last minute instead of keeping ahead of the child's requirements in all of his classes. Helping the child then build a habit of procrastination when it comes to the most important life activities.
There is no effort to teach our children at home how to produce quality work and how to maintain that standard. Junior doesn't have to worry about mama vetoing his essay because it's sloppy and has grammatical errors. He knows she won't even read it. Let alone require him to rewrite it. At the most...she will look at the page full of writing to confirm he did something and turn her attention elsewhere.Mama is not requiring that her children read for recreation and independent education in the home.
I'm not blaming mother but I am blaming mother. (and father) On one hand, her mother didn't instill stronger educational values in her. She never grew up around books and, therefore, there are no books in her home today. However, at some point, as adults and parents, it is time to stand up and begin to seek an internal solution to whatever ails us.
If your child is consistently bringing home D's and missing school and is sure to drop out...search within for the solution. It's not necessarily a government shortcoming. How have you contributed to your child's mismanagement of her own education? When your child dreams of switching to the GED program from 8am-12noon daily rather than regular schooling....and you throw her a party for earning her GED...oh, no ma'am....we reinforce underachievement religiously and it has to stop. (yes, people celebrate them for kids now - feel free to comment and tell me why I should not be so hard on us)
Needless to say, if your mother and grandmother didn't go to college, then they may not necessarily have the awareness to guide you in the application process. They don't perceive higher education as applicable to your family. It's not even an option. This drastically differs from homes where college is a foregone conclusion...and many where even graduate schooling is automatic.
It's not money that the black community needs most in schools but parents. The best proof is in the examples of how we functioned prior to Brown vs Board of Education and desegregation. Prior to that, we never took education for granted and we refused to become victims of circumstance. As a result, people were driven and directed...even in the face of egregiously substandard school facilities....we used what we had and parents supplemented at home and filled in the balance.
Cosby was correct. We are to blame for the low graduation rates of our own childen and the even lower college graduation rates. There is so much we can do at home immediately that could significantly increase the success rates of our children. It's up to us.
We don't have to wait for more funding or even an overhaul of our public school system to begin to reverse the damage that we've done to ourselves. I love that our new POTUS has his eye on an overhaul of the public school system and the No Child Left Behind Act. But, no amount of money funneled into the schools is going to sufficiently circumvent the effects of the lack of support for education in the home. If a mother doesn't value education, then rare is the child who will. (there are some children who are independently motivated from birth...and they are the exception, not the rule.)
Sure, many suburban and private schools are well-funded with state of the art science labs, techonologically advanced classrooms and a laptop at every desk.....BOOKS for every child. :) I submit there are some things you cannot do without - up to date books being vital. However, when a child doesn't have a person in the home consistently taking an active interest in her schoolwork, her homework, her attendance and her participation in class and extracurricular activities, she is less likely to excel in school. Any school.
If you are an eighth grade boy more interested in basketball and girls and looking cool in front of your peers, and your mother doesn't even confirm whether you have homework or not, let alone confirm that you've completed it, or, moreso - checked your work for you, then no amount of school funding is going to change it.
Parents take their child's word for it when he says, "I don't have homework." They allow them to turn in substandard work done at the very last minute instead of keeping ahead of the child's requirements in all of his classes. Helping the child then build a habit of procrastination when it comes to the most important life activities.
There is no effort to teach our children at home how to produce quality work and how to maintain that standard. Junior doesn't have to worry about mama vetoing his essay because it's sloppy and has grammatical errors. He knows she won't even read it. Let alone require him to rewrite it. At the most...she will look at the page full of writing to confirm he did something and turn her attention elsewhere.Mama is not requiring that her children read for recreation and independent education in the home.
I'm not blaming mother but I am blaming mother. (and father) On one hand, her mother didn't instill stronger educational values in her. She never grew up around books and, therefore, there are no books in her home today. However, at some point, as adults and parents, it is time to stand up and begin to seek an internal solution to whatever ails us.
If your child is consistently bringing home D's and missing school and is sure to drop out...search within for the solution. It's not necessarily a government shortcoming. How have you contributed to your child's mismanagement of her own education? When your child dreams of switching to the GED program from 8am-12noon daily rather than regular schooling....and you throw her a party for earning her GED...oh, no ma'am....we reinforce underachievement religiously and it has to stop. (yes, people celebrate them for kids now - feel free to comment and tell me why I should not be so hard on us)
Needless to say, if your mother and grandmother didn't go to college, then they may not necessarily have the awareness to guide you in the application process. They don't perceive higher education as applicable to your family. It's not even an option. This drastically differs from homes where college is a foregone conclusion...and many where even graduate schooling is automatic.
It's not money that the black community needs most in schools but parents. The best proof is in the examples of how we functioned prior to Brown vs Board of Education and desegregation. Prior to that, we never took education for granted and we refused to become victims of circumstance. As a result, people were driven and directed...even in the face of egregiously substandard school facilities....we used what we had and parents supplemented at home and filled in the balance.
Cosby was correct. We are to blame for the low graduation rates of our own childen and the even lower college graduation rates. There is so much we can do at home immediately that could significantly increase the success rates of our children. It's up to us.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Michael Jackson Died Yesterday.
Who would have thought? A man so incredibly gifted and so undeniably important to the world would be taken from us so suddenly?
I haven't cried at all. I'm not sure why. I've spent the last 24 hours watching his videos, watching the coverage, watching home movies he did and reading his lyrics. Some of the most poignant coverage has been through the written responses of his death by those who were close to him. Lisa Marie Pressley's blog entry was particularly helpful. She admitted to loving him and that she wished she could have saved him...and that she had failed to do more. She admitted she agonized over their divorce. We all wondered whether their marriage was "real". Here it is now in black and white. It was.
And, the accounts from his friend Gotham Chopra really got me thinking. He said Michael expressed envy at his ability to have friends to hang out with and that he'd often gotten dressed up in disguise to go and join them on a night out...only to back down or be forbidden by his security team. So, Michael would just pour a glass of orange juice and sit down with an old movie instead.
What must it have been like to be an international obsession? Unable to even go to the grocery store and fill a cart with food unbated by fans and admirers? Michael did a home movie where he explained that he'd always wanted to just visit a grocery store and shop like normal people. He said this was why he loved dressing up in disguises so much because he could just go somewhere public and people watch and hear their normal conversations. He said that if they'd known his identity, then the normalcy of life and interactions would then be compromised. No more regular, everyday conversations and mannerisms. No more casual, authentic presentation of who they really are because everyone who knows it's Michael Jackson always becomes "in awe". Imagine how uncomfortable that must have been for him. So, he had a friend shut down a mall so that he could shop in the grocery store while his staff and close handlers dressed up in disguise and pretended to be regular shoppers. Just the feeling for him of looking at labels and squeezing oranges and browsing the frozen food aisle like a normal person was something he'd longed for.
It saddens me that someone who was born with such an extraordinary gift for the world was not able to ever enjoy the simple things in life. Things that we take for granted like privacy, anonymity, autonomy, love, loyalty, commonality, comradery...peace. Imagine. He was born with a gift that he couldn't likely withhold. He was born to give it. His purpose in life was to express it. And, it brought immeasurable joy to the world. Yet, it was its own curse. It carried such a heavy price. An unforgiving price.
Sure, everyone wants fame and fortune. And, sure celebrities need to be known and appreciated. But, when you really just want to do what makes you YOU, and this self-expression means a self-sacrifice, the likes of which no one could possibly foretell...then where's the fairness in that?
I grew up in the 70's and 80's in love with Michael Jackson. He was larger than life to me. I never got to see him in concert but I made up for it with all of his albums, articles, posters, buttons, t-shirts and jackets. I watched every video he ever made and every performance he gave that was available to me. It never occurred to me that here was this man-child who was locked into a prison with no way out. There was always so much joy on his face and in that brilliant smile when he performed. He was truly beloved world-wide and I highly doubt anyone fathomed how our obsession with him could have been a source of pain for him.
Amidst the stories about his prescription drug use and his strained relationship with his brothers, I cannot figure out how this could have possibly been averted. Suzanne DePasse explained on 20/20 tonight how very early on, there was a wedge driven between he and his brothers because of all the attention Michael was getting. People just adored him from the start. There was no way that he could have been loved less. From the earliest years when he performed with his brothers, he was always extra special and the world couldn't help but be instantly endeared. He was amazing from day one. Even his Motown audition recordings are so profound because it was clear even then that this child was special.
I just wish, from the bottom of my heart, that before he died, he had been able to experience true love, loyalty and support from someone he could share his life with. I wish he hadn't died alone. I wish he hadn't been in so much emotional and physical pain. I wish he'd had the opportunity to experience other sides of life. But, alas, there was not a corner on this Earth where Michael Jackson could go and just be. God bless his soul and God bless his family.
I haven't cried at all. I'm not sure why. I've spent the last 24 hours watching his videos, watching the coverage, watching home movies he did and reading his lyrics. Some of the most poignant coverage has been through the written responses of his death by those who were close to him. Lisa Marie Pressley's blog entry was particularly helpful. She admitted to loving him and that she wished she could have saved him...and that she had failed to do more. She admitted she agonized over their divorce. We all wondered whether their marriage was "real". Here it is now in black and white. It was.
And, the accounts from his friend Gotham Chopra really got me thinking. He said Michael expressed envy at his ability to have friends to hang out with and that he'd often gotten dressed up in disguise to go and join them on a night out...only to back down or be forbidden by his security team. So, Michael would just pour a glass of orange juice and sit down with an old movie instead.
What must it have been like to be an international obsession? Unable to even go to the grocery store and fill a cart with food unbated by fans and admirers? Michael did a home movie where he explained that he'd always wanted to just visit a grocery store and shop like normal people. He said this was why he loved dressing up in disguises so much because he could just go somewhere public and people watch and hear their normal conversations. He said that if they'd known his identity, then the normalcy of life and interactions would then be compromised. No more regular, everyday conversations and mannerisms. No more casual, authentic presentation of who they really are because everyone who knows it's Michael Jackson always becomes "in awe". Imagine how uncomfortable that must have been for him. So, he had a friend shut down a mall so that he could shop in the grocery store while his staff and close handlers dressed up in disguise and pretended to be regular shoppers. Just the feeling for him of looking at labels and squeezing oranges and browsing the frozen food aisle like a normal person was something he'd longed for.
It saddens me that someone who was born with such an extraordinary gift for the world was not able to ever enjoy the simple things in life. Things that we take for granted like privacy, anonymity, autonomy, love, loyalty, commonality, comradery...peace. Imagine. He was born with a gift that he couldn't likely withhold. He was born to give it. His purpose in life was to express it. And, it brought immeasurable joy to the world. Yet, it was its own curse. It carried such a heavy price. An unforgiving price.
Sure, everyone wants fame and fortune. And, sure celebrities need to be known and appreciated. But, when you really just want to do what makes you YOU, and this self-expression means a self-sacrifice, the likes of which no one could possibly foretell...then where's the fairness in that?
I grew up in the 70's and 80's in love with Michael Jackson. He was larger than life to me. I never got to see him in concert but I made up for it with all of his albums, articles, posters, buttons, t-shirts and jackets. I watched every video he ever made and every performance he gave that was available to me. It never occurred to me that here was this man-child who was locked into a prison with no way out. There was always so much joy on his face and in that brilliant smile when he performed. He was truly beloved world-wide and I highly doubt anyone fathomed how our obsession with him could have been a source of pain for him.
Amidst the stories about his prescription drug use and his strained relationship with his brothers, I cannot figure out how this could have possibly been averted. Suzanne DePasse explained on 20/20 tonight how very early on, there was a wedge driven between he and his brothers because of all the attention Michael was getting. People just adored him from the start. There was no way that he could have been loved less. From the earliest years when he performed with his brothers, he was always extra special and the world couldn't help but be instantly endeared. He was amazing from day one. Even his Motown audition recordings are so profound because it was clear even then that this child was special.
I just wish, from the bottom of my heart, that before he died, he had been able to experience true love, loyalty and support from someone he could share his life with. I wish he hadn't died alone. I wish he hadn't been in so much emotional and physical pain. I wish he'd had the opportunity to experience other sides of life. But, alas, there was not a corner on this Earth where Michael Jackson could go and just be. God bless his soul and God bless his family.
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