School is underway!  The kids are learning their schedules, becoming acquainted with new and old friends, teachers and courses.  Every academic year is a challenging one in that it requires some new list of responsibilities for our children.  Some are entering a new school and have much to look forward to, others are getting re-acquainted with their friends and teachers from the previous year.  Whatever the scenario, it's time to get back into the swing!

For parents who have seniors in middle and high school, it's a new year but also the beginning of a journey to find the next school that your child will spend the next four years.  That requires a lot of decision-making, meetings, tours and visits to the placement counselors.  This is both exciting and scary!  Exciting because your child is going to the next level, starting anew, getting set to brave new adventures.  Scary because, for the parent, it's a daunting prospect to think about your part in helping to choose this new setting, this new locale, this new school!  After having gone through this process just last year, I would like to share some of my insight, experience, resources and yes, my opinion! (Did you really think you could get away from that last one!)

Okay, here goes!  The truth and nothing but the truth.......  so help me!

At the start of my journey to look for a new school, my first instinct was to listen to the placement team at my child's school.  This was a great place to start, but by no means did I intend to leave it all to them.  After all, we shared the same agenda (getting my child into a "good" school), so why leave all the work to them.  First, I created a table of schools and listed the qualifications that were important to me and compared the schools side-by-side.  It didn't take me long to realize that for most of the college prep schools, they all (at least the ones I was comparing) offered the same core courses as well as advanced (AP) courses.  I went down the list of qualifications to find that the things that made one school different from the other and applied in the order of most to least favorable.  The thing I came to realize is this:  most schools will offer the same core courses, a few clubs and sports.  When you start comparing the differences, you begin to look at student-teacher ratio, the specific variety of clubs and sports being offered, school size, location and reputation.  But.... at the end of the day, you have to make a decision that will make YOU AND YOUR CHILD happy! 

While this process is somewhat overwhelming, one thing to remember is this:  worst case scenario - after all the research is done and the decision is made - there's always the option to transfer!  If what your final decision was, turns out not to be not to be the right one or not what you thought it would be, you could do it again next year! (*big cheesy grin*)

What is a "Good" Education?

This question annoys me a great deal!  Even when it is stated as a declaration:  "I got a good education," or "I want a "good" education for my son or daughter."  It is phrased as though one would actually ask for a "bad" education or a less than quality education.  I mean really, a "good" education?  As opposed to what?  Why do people use this phrase and furthermore, why do they use it as if it qualifies their social status. In my opinion, when I hear people say, "I want my child to get a good education," I translate it into, "I want my child to attend the best school," often meaning private or parochial.  Rarely are they talking about public school!  And the ones who know that they can send their kid down the street to a public school knowing that they are sending their child to a "good" school, don't need to boast about it.

What I am trying to get at here is this:  Education SHOULD ONLY be good!  It should only be of the best quality, superior and excellent.  When did we begin to settle for anything less?  When did this divide, this gap in education between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have-nots become so acceptable.  When did cherry-picking and busing become the new normal, the new status symbol.  And why are we okay leaving the "others" behind?

I think it's time for a real discussion in our communities about the privatization of schools, allocation of funding, equal access to resources and what we, as parents, can do to help our children -- ALL of them!  Educational policies have not gotten it right yet, obviously!  Not if we can increasingly quote high statistics for drop-out rates, low enrollment for college and low reading and math scores. There is much to discuss including teacher's pay, parental involvement, the high school selection process, standardized testing, the absence of enrichment and cultural programs in our schools, etc.  Maybe we can't wait for the city, state or federal authorities to get it right.  Maybe WE need to assess the situation and see what WE, the parents, can do to make it better.

If our children are falling behind in math, science and reading, then WE are ALL failing them.  That means WE ALL need to put our heads together and come up with a plan to help our children succeed, find the resources that they need to succeed.

Won't you please, join me in the discussion.  Share your thoughts and your stories and I will scour the internet, newspapers and social media outlets to bring you articles of interest, resources that will (hopefully) help families with school-age children as well as my personal experiences, and thoughts and opinions on the state of education in our communities.

I Dare You!

I can't deny that I am passionate about politics and my community.  My passion for and growing involvement in these interests have been escalating now for a several years.  In my earlier years, I was not as focused as I would like to have been, especially looking  back.  But my education came late as did my personal growth, thirst for knowledge and the desire to share it.  Nonetheless, this is where I am!  I am aroused, I am hungry and I am aware.  But most of all, I realize that I care and I dare you to do the same.

I dare you to forgo shopping at Macy's and instead shop for a way to improve and become an active partner in your community.

I dare you to be as interested in your community as in keeping up with The Joneses.

I dare you to teach your children appreciation for the black image and respect it!

I dare for your support of black business to equal your support of other businesses.

I dare you to realize that in order for African-Americans to improve our image, our communities, our economic, political and social status - with increased unity - we must become more involved in the political process and be more aware of what's going on in and around our neighborhoods.  It's time for us to stop looking the other way while there's so much work to be done.

I dare you to be aware.

I DARE YOU TO CARE!

Blurt it Out!!!

This blog is something that I am truly passionate about, but can't seem to discipline myself long enough to write on a consistent basis.  However, when I do find the time, everything that I wanted to say somehow slips my mind or I can't find the right/correct words to adequately convey what I'm feeling or going through about a particular issue.  To that end, I have decided that I will just "Blurt it Out!"

I believe that by doing this, one, it will get me in the habit of writing consistently and two, it will help me focus on the issues that are important to me.  I can't write if I'm not paying attention to what's going on around me.  I can't write if I put it off until my shows go off, my child goes to sleep, or I find "quiet time" to reflect on my emotions about a particular issue.

See, the thing is this!  I have become interested in life, more importantly, my life, what surrounds me, circumstances that cover me like a blanket, purpose, desire, and happiness.  Granted I got interested a bit late, but I think that the good thing is that I got interested at all.  I could have gone through life, got a job, bought a house in the suburbs, vacations with the kids, traveled with the spouse, made home movies and took pictures of the dog.  I believe if that was what my life was supposed to be about, it would have been.  I spent my earlier years doing things that satisfied my quest for fun, but could not sustain my happiness in the years ahead.  What's done is done!  That was then, and this is now!  Now, more than anything, I have purpose.  And if I fulfill nothing else, that purpose must be realized somehow because I feel like that is the mark I want to leave in this world.  I want to know that I've contributed to the greater community, my community, and that in some way, I've given back more than I took away.

In my warped way of thinking, if you live in a community, learn and grow in this community and then leave to continue your journey upward, chasing things, then you're as bad as the ones that you think you're better than because you got "out" and they didn't.  That's what we learn in this country.  Always want more!  Don't settle for less!  As long as more is what "they" say is important, meaningful and fulfilling.  There is someone sitting in a room right now thinking of a way to get you to understand that more is what you want, more is what you need and that you can't get by with what you have.  You need a big house, a new car or diamonds.  You need STATUS!!

This, in my opinion, is the source of the great divide.  Status is fine for those who can afford to spend the money to obtain or gain it.  But there are many more on the lower end of the food chain who desire it as well, but don't see it as a frivolous quest.  To those people it is real; it is something that makes lives better, more worthy.

I'm in this fight and blogging my trials, to help change that way of thinking.  There is so much more to life.  So much more to do, see and be of service for.  Stick with me and let's see if we can't do more to make our communities stronger, through resources, ideas and entertainment!