"bringing back" paddling sounds like a bad idea,

no?

but i guess a school district in georgia disagrees. little did i know, georgia school districts actually get to decide whether or not they want to use corporal punishment! also, only 28 states actually have a ban on corporal punishment in schools? really? wow...

this is problematic:

"The Twiggs County school board reinstated its corporal punishment policy this summer to allow students to be spanked to curb misbehavior...Twiggs parents will have to sign a permission slip for their child to be paddled by an administrator, and witnesses will have to be in the room. There also will be a meeting to inform parents of the changes."

hmm. it would seem to me that, as an administrator, i would be somewhat fearful for my life if i went around spanking people in the regular course of my days. what happens when not all parents sign the slip? what happens when a middle or high school student decides spanking isn't for him/her and decides to hook themselves up with a gun?

there are some things about this country that i just can't understand.

never making it

i've copied and pasted a great article on students not reaching 4 year colleges below. the article is from educationweek's "teacher magazine," and is written by renee moore. check it out- some of the facts about the history of public education in mississippi and the many very real barriers to students making it to college. (i'm obviously back to doing not a whole lot of anything at work this week...)

The Maze to the College Doorstep

class="byline"> By Renee Moore

My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge. – Hosea 4:6

A report from Chicago, cited in a March 19 article in the Christian Science Monitor ("Why Good Students Don't Make It to College"), describes a big problem in our secondary schools, and uses big numbers.

In a three-year study, University of Chicago researchers found that 83 percent of Chicago Public School students aspired to a four-year degree, but about 40 percent of those don't even apply to any four-year college. In many instances, these students were the first in their families with college aspirations and lacked the home or school support necessary to face down the daunting college admissions process, including what the Monitor described as "the often-overwhelming Free Application for Federal Student Aid" or FAFSA.

These problems and numbers have names and faces. As a senior English teacher in rural Mississippi Delta high schools for many years, I have seen too many young people who had the potential (and the skills) to be successful in college, but never made it to the college campus. The reasons are as varied as they are troubling.

In every high school I've worked, there was one guidance counselor for 400-600 students. Since the counselor was also the designated building test coordinator, whenever any type of state assessment occurred, the counselor's office became a test-security zone. This took the counselor out of his or her guidance function for huge blocks of time each school year. Add in the required meetings, scheduling hassles, and paperwork demanded of the counselor, and there was precious little time left to actually counsel students.

As part of a partnership, teachermagazine.org publishes this regular column by members of the Teacher Leaders Network, a professional community of accomplished educators dedicated to sharing ideas and expanding the influence of teachers.

What time was available mostly went to serious counseling needs among our high-needs student body. Consequently, getting college planning information out in a timely manner was challenging. Sometimes, all seniors got was a last-minute call during the morning announcements, or a round-up of five or six of the top students just before a scholarship deadline.

Many of my senior students, including some high achievers, never took the college entrance test (the ACT in Mississippi). Most who did take it waited until the second semester of their senior year. Some did not understand why the test mattered; others had not decided whether they would attempt college. Some could not afford the test fee, and the school had run out of fee waivers. One group that we always seemed to have to push to take the ACT were the athletes. I've had so many players argue with me that they really didn't need to take the ACT—'that the colleges really wanted them to play, so the test score didn't matter. They believed their prowess trumped the need to prove academic ability (despite knowing NCAA rules required them to take the exam).

Many students qualified for admission to the nearby historically black college or either of the community colleges that served our county. Unfortunately, they were told by numerous uninformed sources (friends, relatives, even teachers) that these were inferior schools for those who couldn't handle "real" college.

We did have annual College and Career Days with representatives from several colleges in the state. But there was usually more activity around the booths of the military recruiters, especially for Reserves and National Guard. The big lures here were the promises of either training in an employable skill or money for college—promises that were not always kept. More than one of these students would come back later, sometimes in tears, when they learned they were being deployed to a war zone in a foreign country. All they had wanted was a way to afford more education.

One of the best students in my journalism class got accepted at one of the state's private black colleges with a full scholarship into the choral music program. His mother refused to sign any papers and put incredible pressure on him not to go. She had dropped out of school to marry young, only to have her husband leave her with five small boys. This college-bound son was the most dependable and hard-working of all her children. Her great fear was that he would earn a degree and begin to look down on her. She eventually won the battle, and he is now working in a lumber yard.

The Delta has one of the highest adult illiteracy rates in the country (40 percent). It has only been since the early 1970s that black students in the Delta were allowed to attend school for a full year. Prior to that, black schools were mandatorily shut down twice a year for several months, so the students could work the cotton fields with their families. Parents, many of whom have not attended college, are befuddled by the college admission process. One of the most daunting tasks is the completion of the FAFSA, required of all students before financial aid of any type is awarded.

I remember sitting in the school office with the counselor, trying desperately to convince several mothers that their government welfare payments would not be cut off (a common belief) if they completed the financial aid form. Many refused to give the information or sign these forms, effectively keeping their children out of college. It was also common among athletes who were thinking about college to hold off doing any of the admissions or financial aid paperwork because they believed (and with good reason) that the recruiting coach (who had expressed so much interest in them during the playoffs) was going to take care of everything.

Many good ideas have been suggested—and attempts made—to solve these problems of timing, information, and perception. The addition of technology (and part-time clerical help) to counselors' offices has freed them up to do more one-on-one work with students. Giving teachers more up-to-date information about college admissions and required coursework enables them to advise students earlier in their high school careers. Using college students who have effectively navigated the process to come back and mentor aspiring college-goers has also proven to be an effective intervention. One grant program, Jobs for Mississippi Graduates, is attempting to provide high-needs schools with a full-time person whose job is to teach, urge, and assist students as they work through the considerable barriers along the road to higher education. With such a person in place who deeply cares about their futures and has the time to turn that caring into action, we could really improve the numbers. But what happens when the grant ends?

Even with these improvements, the tremendous need for support among students and families with no college-going tradition can easily overwhelm the available resources. Too many of our students never make it through the maze to the college doorstep. Too many will be stacking lumber or going off to war because they made life-altering decisions based on poor information or wrong perceptions.

Everyone may not want or need to attend college, but those who do should be given the opportunity. What are we going to do about it?

After a 12-year career as a freelance journalist, Detroit native Renee Moore moved to rural Mississippi with her minister husband, earned teaching credentials, and taught high school English for 16 years. She now teaches college and high school students at Mississippi Delta Community College. A former Mississippi state Teacher of the Year, Moore serves on the board of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and the Mississippi Teacher Licensure Commission. Her TLN blog, Teach Moore, can be found here.

i kinda want a greenhouse

i read this article about a new green magnet school in new haven, connecticut, and i have to admit that my first thought was something like "oh, those white kids always get the cool schools!" *sucking teeth* turns out, though, that for once the typical conclusion was an incorrect one-- the kids in the pictures are brown like me! yay! horticulture is awesome, and i love that these students (and really, i would be happy for any students, regardless of race) have the chance to learn how to love the environment.

yay for good school experiments. they don't come along often enough.

what's anti-western?

i'm in shock after reading this, and really scared. russell k. pearce, republican, is afraid of people of color who dare to question the stories they're told about what it means to be american. and he happens to have the power and the political backing to do something about it. my baby sister goes to school in arizona. :( legislation against "anti-western" education? and by that they mean critics of hegemony, domination and oppression are no longer welcome? i'm deeply concerned.

my favorite quote from the news article? check it:

Rep. John Kavanagh, a member of the Appropriations Committee, said he hopes the measure helps return cultural studies in the state's schools to a "melting pot" model.

"This bill basically says, 'You're here. Adopt American values,' " said Kavanagh, a Fountain Hills Republican. "If you want a different culture, then fine, go back to that culture."

want more? article here. i'm quoting the legislation below, after commentary from a poster on the NAME mailing list...

So basically this amendment which was passed earlier today would do the following remove any sort of Chicano Studies, African American Studies, Ethnic Studies, Women's Studies amongst other programs on from any public campus K-12, Community Colleges, Universities, throughout Arizona. It would also make it illegal for groups that empower students culturally from meeting as they could be considered to not agree with dominant western thought. So basically if you don't think like he does your pretty much ******.


PROPOSED

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AMENDMENTS TO S.B.

1108

(Reference to Senate engrossed bill)

Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert:

"Section 1.


Title 15, chapter 1, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding sections 15-107 and 15-108, to read:

START_STATUTE15-107.


Declaration of policy

The legislature finds and declares that:

1. A primary purpose of public education is to inculcate values of American citizenship.

2. Public tax dollars used in public schools should not be used to denigrate American values and the teachings of western civilization.

3. Public tax dollars should not be used to promote political, religious, ideological or cultural beliefs or values as truth when such values are in conflict with the values of American citizenship and the teachings of western CIVILIZATION.


START_STATUTE15-108.


Denigration, disparagement or encouragement of dissent from values of American democracy and western civilization; prohibition; enforcement; prohibition of race-based organizations; definition

A. A public school in this state shall not include within the program of instruction any courses, classes or school sponsored activities that promote, assert as truth or feature as an exclusive focus any political, religious, ideological or cultural beliefs or values that denigrate, disparage or overtly ENCOURAGE dissent from the values of American democracy and western civilization, including democracy, capitalism, pluralism and religious toleration.

B. This section does not prohibit the inclusion of diverse political, religious, ideological or CULTURAL beliefs or values if the course, CLASS or school sponsored activity as a whole does not denigrate, disparage or overtly ENCOURAGE dissent from the values of American democracy and western civilization.

C. On request of the superintendent of public instruction or the superintendent's designee, a public school shall promptly provide copies of curricula, course materials and course syllabi to the superintendent of public INSTRUCTION. the superintendent of public instruction, after providing appropriate notice and conducting an appropriate hearing, may withhold a proportionate share of state monies from any public school that violates subsection A. The superintendent of public instruction may take reasonable and APPROPRIATE regulatory actions to enforce this subsection. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to enlarge the authority of the superintendent of public instruction to regulate the CONTENT of curriculum in public schools.


D. A public school in this state, a university under the JURISDICTION of the arizona board of regents and a community college under the JURISDICTION of a community college DISTRICT in this state shall not allow organizations to operate on the CAMPUS of the school, UNIVERSITY or community college if the organization is based in whole or in part on race-based criteria.

E.

For the purposes of this section, "public school" means any of the
following:

1. A school district.

2. A school in a school district.

3. A charter school.

4. An accommodation school.

5. The arizona state schools for the deaf and the blind.

" END_STATUTE

Amend title to conform

RUSSELL K.

PEARCE

it was like i never left

it has been another busy day, and it continues, but i have to quickly take a moment to thank whoever it is that puts us on this earth for allowing me to find my calling in the classroom. i saw my children today and it was like i never left. i sometimes have to remind myself that some of the most profound connections i have had with people were found in a classroom, and that there are very few things that mean more to me than my children. sometimes i forget what it means to love them, and how it feels to receive that love in return, and what my purpose in life is. i forget, but then i see terrell and ruthie and navaskia and the kevins and cliffannie and alexis and they ask me to return, to come to their houses, to hear about their mom and how she lost her job or how grandma is sick and i remember that my calling is to serve them. and i realize that returning to the classroom next year is absolutely the right decision. slowly but surely it all becomes clear.

children draw the presidential candidates

ah, stephen colbert. a white guy i like.



reasons why this video rocks:

1) i love "super obama." he's larger than the earth!
2) ummmm, did you know who the presidential candidates were when you were in 2nd grade? there is something so. amazing. about this race. i can't believe that children who have just learned to write can articulate the positions of different politicians. maybe this means we will have a truly engaged electorate in the future? let's hope, shall we?

there's a lot going on in this post: on mlk and blackness and wanting

jalylah over at hello, babar/she real cool is always teaching me shit. this morning is no exception. her post commemorating dr. king and discussing her own body politic is insightful and feels painfully familiar. the way black women's bodies are simultaneously hyper- and in-visible is one of the most painful aspects of my personal struggle against oppression- sometimes it just feels impossible to change the way people (can't) see you.
anyway, beyond providing an incredible chance for reflection, jb's post also sent me to this link on the kerner report by bill moyers. it's worth a watch. structural racism lives on.
***
on another note, i want to say something about the theorizing blackness conference put on by the africana studies group at the cuny graduate center yesterday. finding the words, though, is the hard part.

i'll start by saying that the 12 pages of notes i wrote speak to the absolute profundity of many of the presentations yesterday. mark anthony neal is amazing. there were two concepts that stand out amongst the many quotes of his that i scribbled during his keynote, and i'll share them here:

1) we need to, when we think about "blackness" in 21st century USA and in the diaspora, think about the distinction between african-american and black.

we cannot continue to assume a shared history around the civil rights movement in the US if we hope to truly galvanize movement toward dismantling structural oppression. our blacknesses are distinct though connected and we have to learn to be comfortable with learning the topography of our differences, not just those between our race and others.

this idea leads to the second i can't really let go of:

2) "unity is a myth. solidarity is a strategy." ~m.a.n.

i think this is so deep. deep! and obvious. and true. but it is also something i think we often forget. standing in solidarity with one another has always been the strategy of successful civil rights movement. there was nothing unified about the american black community in the 50's- there has always been and always will be class/color/location stratification. we never have been and never will be a monolithic, homogeneous group. we have to choose to stand up with one another to make change. solidarity, though, begins with knowledge of one another and ourselves. you have to know who the other is in order to trust her.

as i try to wrap up this post i find myself at a loss. i want to talk about the paper on lauryn hill and madness, the one about transnational translation of black feminism in english, the one minstrelsy and madea, the one on something new and cheryl dunye, the one on racial uplift in the 21st century. i want to talk about bill cosby and oprah winfrey and how they are irrevocably human and how they are rich and how they've been rich for a really long time and how that means they don't know much about the reality of the lived experience of poor black people in the 21st century at all. i want to talk about the ways that tokenism (and the inability for wealthy black people to remember how difficult finding success can really be) works to make solidarity across class lines in the black community almost impossible.

i also want to talk about black women's literature and the importance of our voices. i want to talk about the cute boy i met who i also saw at the black feminism conference. i want to talk about my own ignorance that led me to question the "blackness" of a black man who didn't strike me as being "black enough" at first glance.

i want to talk. to you. and to my former students. and to my family. i want to hear what blackness means to us, and start a conversation about its power.

i want to start a school where visiting scholars come and speak to young students of color about these issues. i want to build the ties between and among black people so we can then start talking with our other allies with confidence.

iwantiwantiwantithinkiwantiheariwantihopeiwant.

that was my day off :).


**funny last note- i google image-searched for "black enough?" and the first twenty images were all barack obama (dr. nassey-brown of hunter college had some awesome things to say about barry at the closing plenary yesterday, btw. keep your eye out for the journal of af-am studies, because some of the papers from the conference will be published there?)! oh wait, you're not surprised :).

maybe one day, one of my/our students

will thank me/us as eloquently as this young person has thanked their teachers (some of whom may be my old cali colleagues!).

appreciation never gets old, and i, for one, prefer it out of the mouths of the children than from anywhere else. read afika khan:



Thank you, teachers

An L.A. Unified grad gives some gratitude during a hard time for schools.
By Afika Khan
April 1, 2008
After reading "With jobs on the line, teachers explore their options," regarding layoff notices teachers are receiving, I wanted to say thank you to teachers who have stayed in the educational system, however bad it may be.

Your resilience is very impressive to say the least. Year after year, you get thrown around because of budget cuts in the education system. Budget cuts have encroached on every aspect of your careers. Thoughts of simply surrendering to this supposedly admirable governor and getting a job that is less agonizing must have crossed your minds, but you persist and remain dedicated to public schools. On behalf of myself and probably all the students whose minds you have nourished with hopes of a successful future, thank you.

I wish thanking you was enough. This year will be especially hard on you. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger expects to cut billions of dollars out of the education system in California. There are prospects of teachers getting laid off. However, the Los Angeles Unified School District has decided not to lay off any teachers. A burden of insecurity has been removed from these teachers' backs, but an even larger one has replaced it: dealing with larger classroom sizes, inadequate school supplies and even salary cuts.

You teachers have developed a hard shell because of these inconveniences. As the governor keeps taking money away from the system every year, your shell grows thicker. It is not right that you to have to conform to such intolerable measures. Managing such inconsistencies and frustrations is a noble and honorable act in itself.

Having grown up in the L.A. Unified system from kindergarten through my senior year in high school, I remember seeing countless teachers exhausted and frustrated. However, when it was time to teach, they came in the classroom with conviction and amazing strength. I could tell they loved their work, but it was as if they were fighting a war that they were too drained to fight. Thank you for not giving up. I would not be at a four-year university were it not for your dedication.

We cannot keep treating teachers this way. California has one of the largest economies in the world, yet it ends up being one of the worst states in education funding. According to Education Weekly, our school finance is worse than that of Louisiana, even after Hurricane Katrina. It is ironic that although the governor could risk his life to save a class of kindergartners in a movie, when it comes to real life, he is hurting kindergartners by continually neglecting the teachers who help them learn and develop. Someone needs to tell him to stop terminating teachers and fix this problem.

In May, the governor might make revisions to the budget plan. To save schools from budget cuts, the state could increase taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, or on sales of concert tickets, CDs and DVDs. He can even tax the distribution of candy. Maybe then he can redeem himself at the "May revise" and start saying he "will revise."

I do not know when Schwarzenegger is going to realize that investing in teachers and the education system would be most beneficial for California. If he does not do it soon, the education system could very well start to crumble, and there will be even more instability than there is now. Such deterioration could lead to a ripple effect in the economy. Without knowledgeable teachers guiding society, the very ideals of democracy could be jeopardized.

So I thank teachers for having the strength and patience to continue teaching.

Afika Khan, a USC sophomore studying political science and international relations, attended schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District for 13 years.

a damn shame

have you heard about this? an entire school district is on the verge of losing its accreditation? is anyone surprised that the district is "predominantly black"?

choice quotes-

"For the county's nearly 53,000 public school students, loss of accreditation would mean they would not be eligible for state scholarships or be accepted at many universities. They also would have difficulty transferring to other high schools."

"According to the report, Clayton County Public Schools' nine-member school board is so "dysfunctional" that it has had difficulty recruiting a superintendent, teachers and bus drivers. It accuses board members of nepotism, conflicts of interest, micromanagement, lax fiscal responsibility and failure to audit school attendance."

so nine people can take away 53,000 black students' chances at higher education, but we don't hear about it in the nightly news. we don't read about it on blogs. it's tucked away in the LA Times Education section and swept away in the midst of election frenzy. if this country were to do right, these would be front-page stories.

and geraldine ferraro refuses to be sorry for suggesting that barack obama is lucky to be a black man.

does anyone want to go start a quilombo with me? anyone?