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Showing posts with label Common Currency. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Common Currency. Show all posts
Monday, February 7, 2011
Monday, November 29, 2010
Priority Impact Matrix (PIM)
Left click on the image for viewing,.
This is my Priority Impact Matrix (PIM). It helps organize my thoughts around those factors I deem to be critical to improving student achievement. Factors in the More Important/More Impact section are where I think most of our time and effort should be spent.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Frederick Douglass (a black male role model)
I have just finished reading "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave."
Of course I have read other material about Mr. Douglass in the past, but this experience was quite different.
In this case, I was reading his first hand account of his life as a slave, up to the time of about 1845 which would have made him all of 27 years old.
To briefly illustrate the eloquence and tone of the book, note the following:
"I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute!"
"You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man."
"My long-crushed spirit rose, cowardice departed, bold defiance took its place; and I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact. I did not hesitate to let it be known of me, that the white man who expected to succeed in whipping, must also succeed in killing me."
Frederick Douglass, born into slavery, taught himself to read and write. Remember, a slave who could read was considered a danger to the very system of slavery.
This volume should be highlighted to black males. He is truly a role model for the challenges facing black males discussed on this site and others.
Low academic achievement, high unemployment, low graduation rates, etc., are but a few of our modern day issues.
I believe a close read of this book and seeing the world as Mr. Douglass saw it, would do wonders to motivate today's black males to conquer the world now as we see it.
Your thoughts?
Of course I have read other material about Mr. Douglass in the past, but this experience was quite different.
In this case, I was reading his first hand account of his life as a slave, up to the time of about 1845 which would have made him all of 27 years old.
To briefly illustrate the eloquence and tone of the book, note the following:
"I was broken in body, soul, and spirit. My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute!"
"You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man."
"My long-crushed spirit rose, cowardice departed, bold defiance took its place; and I now resolved that, however long I might remain a slave in form, the day had passed forever when I could be a slave in fact. I did not hesitate to let it be known of me, that the white man who expected to succeed in whipping, must also succeed in killing me."
Frederick Douglass, born into slavery, taught himself to read and write. Remember, a slave who could read was considered a danger to the very system of slavery.
This volume should be highlighted to black males. He is truly a role model for the challenges facing black males discussed on this site and others.
Low academic achievement, high unemployment, low graduation rates, etc., are but a few of our modern day issues.
I believe a close read of this book and seeing the world as Mr. Douglass saw it, would do wonders to motivate today's black males to conquer the world now as we see it.
Your thoughts?
Friday, July 18, 2008
Excerpts from Sen. Barack Obama's Speech to the NAACP
The selected excerpts track closely with the focus and philosophy of this site. However, Sen. Obama makes the points with such passion and precision. Now, Barack in his own words:
" ...the fight for social justice and economic justice begins in the classroom."
"But I'm not going to stop talking about it (personal responsibility). Because I believe that in the end, it doesn't matter how much money we invest in our communities, or how many 10-point plans we propose, or how many government programs we launch-none of it will make any difference if we don't seize more responsibility in our own lives."
"I know that Thurgood Marshall did not argue Brown versus Board of Education so that some of us could stop doing our jobs as parents. And I know that nine little children did not walk through a schoolhouse door in Little Rock so that we could stand by and let our children drop out of school and turn to gangs for the support they are no getting elsewhere.
"...we have to do more in our own lives, our own families, and our own communities. That starts with providing the guidance our children need, turning off the TV, and putting away the video games; attending those parent-teacher conferences, helping our children with their homework, and setting a good example."
"It starts with teaching our daughters to never allow images on television to tell them what they are worth; and teaching our sons to treat women with respect, and to realize that responsibility does not end at conception; that what makes them men is not the ability to have a child but the courage to raise one."
Our thanks to Sen. Obama for framing this issue so clearly.
" ...the fight for social justice and economic justice begins in the classroom."
"But I'm not going to stop talking about it (personal responsibility). Because I believe that in the end, it doesn't matter how much money we invest in our communities, or how many 10-point plans we propose, or how many government programs we launch-none of it will make any difference if we don't seize more responsibility in our own lives."
"I know that Thurgood Marshall did not argue Brown versus Board of Education so that some of us could stop doing our jobs as parents. And I know that nine little children did not walk through a schoolhouse door in Little Rock so that we could stand by and let our children drop out of school and turn to gangs for the support they are no getting elsewhere.
"...we have to do more in our own lives, our own families, and our own communities. That starts with providing the guidance our children need, turning off the TV, and putting away the video games; attending those parent-teacher conferences, helping our children with their homework, and setting a good example."
"It starts with teaching our daughters to never allow images on television to tell them what they are worth; and teaching our sons to treat women with respect, and to realize that responsibility does not end at conception; that what makes them men is not the ability to have a child but the courage to raise one."
Our thanks to Sen. Obama for framing this issue so clearly.
Monday, December 31, 2007
2008 and Beyond (The need for common currency)
On the eve of a new year, it is a good time to assess, wish and recommend. This site must take advantage of the season to express some of our hopes and dreams for the future of our race and by extension our country.
Our focus in this post on a "common currency" reflects a dream that black Americans will come to recognize and pursue a basic set of values and principles that we can collectively rally around.
This site continues to believe that knowledge (education) is the secret weapon for the uplifting of not only our race but also our country. Education is the vehicle that will allow the participants in this great democracy to reach their full potential.
Education( not just a diploma or degree, but achieving academic excellence) is the means for taking advantage of the opportunities offered by our nation. Blacks must move to a mental model of personal responsibility and self-improvement if we are to break free of poverty, disease and down right misery.
Recent polling by the Pew Research Center seems to point to a fracture within the black race. For example, 37 percent of blacks feel we can no longer be viewed as one race because of a continuing class divide. Think about that!
Henry Louis Gates in a recent article said "Why can't black leaders organize rallies around responsible sexuality, birth within marriage, parents reading to their children and students staying in school and doing homework? Imagine Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson distributing free copies of Virginia Hamilton's collection of folktales The People Could Fly or Dr. Seuss, and demanding that black parents sign pledges to read to their children."
We must also begin to focus on economics in terms of net worth vs. income. Gates sites work by economist Edward Wolff that is truly astonishing. According to Wolff, in 2004, the median net worth of non-Hispanic black households was $11,800 as compared with a figure of $118,300 for non-Hispanic white households.
It is fairly common knowledge that in America the bulk of our net worth is locked in home equity. Notwithstanding the recent crisis in sub prime lending, blacks must understand the importance of property ownership ( buy a house and not a car) and take care to maintain the property once you own it.
Americans fund a significant portion of their "privilege and advantage" from wealth or otherwise net-worth and not income. Blacks must identify asset classes that help build net-worth (stocks, bonds, 401k's, Ira's, rental property, and savings accounts) and move to acquire and build these types of assets. Good credit, in my view, is also something that should be viewed by blacks as a valuable asset class.
With these thoughts, I bid you and yours a happy New Year! As always, we invite your views on any topic or position raised on this site.
Our focus in this post on a "common currency" reflects a dream that black Americans will come to recognize and pursue a basic set of values and principles that we can collectively rally around.
This site continues to believe that knowledge (education) is the secret weapon for the uplifting of not only our race but also our country. Education is the vehicle that will allow the participants in this great democracy to reach their full potential.
Education( not just a diploma or degree, but achieving academic excellence) is the means for taking advantage of the opportunities offered by our nation. Blacks must move to a mental model of personal responsibility and self-improvement if we are to break free of poverty, disease and down right misery.
Recent polling by the Pew Research Center seems to point to a fracture within the black race. For example, 37 percent of blacks feel we can no longer be viewed as one race because of a continuing class divide. Think about that!
Henry Louis Gates in a recent article said "Why can't black leaders organize rallies around responsible sexuality, birth within marriage, parents reading to their children and students staying in school and doing homework? Imagine Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson distributing free copies of Virginia Hamilton's collection of folktales The People Could Fly or Dr. Seuss, and demanding that black parents sign pledges to read to their children."
We must also begin to focus on economics in terms of net worth vs. income. Gates sites work by economist Edward Wolff that is truly astonishing. According to Wolff, in 2004, the median net worth of non-Hispanic black households was $11,800 as compared with a figure of $118,300 for non-Hispanic white households.
It is fairly common knowledge that in America the bulk of our net worth is locked in home equity. Notwithstanding the recent crisis in sub prime lending, blacks must understand the importance of property ownership ( buy a house and not a car) and take care to maintain the property once you own it.
Americans fund a significant portion of their "privilege and advantage" from wealth or otherwise net-worth and not income. Blacks must identify asset classes that help build net-worth (stocks, bonds, 401k's, Ira's, rental property, and savings accounts) and move to acquire and build these types of assets. Good credit, in my view, is also something that should be viewed by blacks as a valuable asset class.
With these thoughts, I bid you and yours a happy New Year! As always, we invite your views on any topic or position raised on this site.
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