I.C.K.,
I saw one night of the show (I think it was the second night) and was crying tears of frustration at the end! Some of those kids were trying really hard and others had just given up and replaced studying, etc. with a hard shell, anger, fighting, etc..
How do we build their self esteem.....whew that is a hard one. I think the first place you start is with parenting classes. I wish we could make parenting classes mandatory for EVERYONE ('cause it ain't just poor black and brown folks that can't parent!) On the show that I watched one of the little girl's bio dad came to the school and humilated her in front of the entire class and told her he was going to spank her in the cafeteria during lunch if she continued to do what ever she was doing. Now I'm all for a good spanking from time to time, but if you kid is acting out in anger, talking about killing other children, then you need to get to the root cause of the problem and a spanking is not going to do it! Also, what was up with the kids that were outside playing at 9 o'clock at night?!?
We (young, black professionals) need to spend more time mentoring and volunteering with this students. My husband is a Junior Achievement volunteer. I went with him to his site on one of my off days and it was amazing how the kids responded to him and the program. Kids need to see others that look like them in postions of authority up close and personal. They also need to know that someone cares about them and is going to challenge them to do and be their very best.
The standardized testing issue is going to become an even bigger deal soon, especially with the upcoming presidential elections. Several states are inacting a merit based pay program for teachers. On the surface, I think that is a good idea, however so many factors contribute to whether or not teachers will be successful. What kind of support is she getting from the parents? Do they have adequate supplies? Did the children eat breakfast that morning? did they stay up all night watching TV or listening to the neighbors fight? The controversy here is GA is will teachers get more $$ because they are doing a better job at teaching or because the students come to school with a wealth of knowledge already? What do you do with a good, dedicated teacher like to one on the show who, despite her best efforts, still have the majority of her class 'fail' these test? Do you fire her or is she encouraged to leave the inner city and go to a surburban school where her job will be easier?
There are no easy answers, but we certainly need to be asking the questions!
[This message has been edited by Eclipse (edited August 25, 2000).]
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