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Originally posted by SummerChild
Oh my fault Phasad, I didn't catch your initial post. When you say educational fold, is that the same as increasing the numbers that are educated? I would love to change the image of ourselves projected to kids. Of course we can all do this by being role models ourselves. Do you have another approach?
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When you say educational fold, is that the same as increasing the numbers that are educated?
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Yes, but in addition, I also mean developing a culture that values education and the rewards of being leaders in the academic arena and not just artistic, musical and entertainment arenas. I know that there are plenty of Black people who love, value and live for their educational goals and pursuits, but that isn't much of the culture that is being touted to the youngsters. I think this goes hand in hand with the deterioration of Hip Hop and Black music that we talk about now and again on here. There needs to be more of a balance of what the kids are being mentally fed. In the thread that dealt with "The Whisper Song', I said that I think one answer would be to listen to what Sharpton is trying to say when he says the FCC needs to deal with the state of the radio and what is put out over the air waves just as they pounded Janet Jackson for her superbowl fiasco. He is concerned about the heavy flux of gangster life, sex, drugs, crime and misbehavior that is spat out all day long on the radio infiltrating the innocent minds of the children. We need to replace that influx of being musically and sports talented with promises and positive rewards of being academically talented. With the kids I work with, most of what I see is school being a pass-time and something that they just have to do. They pay no attention to the broader picture of their future paths being mapped out through the hard work that they should be doing and the learning that they need to do. I hate it. An entire generation of young black youth is, yet again, being swepped by the wayside and if this continues to happen, many of the gaps that exist now won't close. It's not as simple as saying, ok, you're complaining, so what do you propose we do about it, because these issues are very complex. If the answer was one that could be articulated over greekchat, I think the problem would have been solved a long time ago. I do think, however, that somewhere in all of this that I have said, a suggestion or two can be found.