November 10, 2010

(Trenton, NJ) How many people living in predominately Black inner cities were surprised by number of births to Black, unwed mothers in 2008? Not many. A new government study reports 72% of all births of Black children that year were to single mothers. The number for the entire nation was 41%. Various accounting for Our Town nearly mirrored that Black birth rate a year ago. What was once phenomenon -and got a woman sent “down South” a few generations ago, is now, by all visual and statistical accounts, normative culture. To many, this one statistic draws a figurative moustache and missing teeth on that picture of the First Family; a Black man, leader of the most powerful nation in the free world, his wife and children, with whom he lives, UNDER THE SAME ROOF. The anomaly has reached the other polar now. Also in 2008, 53% of all Hispanic births were to single mothers. Add this number to the another recently-published study showing Black males performing far below their white counterparts in reading and math, and you will understand why urban municipalities across the country are not thinking twice about reallocating dollars from education and recreation to the construction of correctional facilities. Train the social microscope even closer to the issue; you see, in most cases, the woman taking care of the children, the father possibly playing no significant role in the raising of his seed, as they say.

Educators use words like “abysmal” and “self-fulfilling prophecy” when describing how the single parent household, and parents’ diminishing role in the formal learning environment, are intertwined. They hope new attention to this issue, which has grown exponentially with each generation, will shine a brighter light on how the absence of a parent (the father, in most cases) affects scholastic growth. Teachers, principals, counselors, and social workers remind parents that students who come from single parent homes are more likely to perform poorly in school, become involved in drugs, go to jail, and become one half of the team that conceives an illegitimate child. Duh-uh. Very few parents, absent, present or otherwise, are heeding the advice. Once a child falls behind, then sees there is no one in the home environment to help with homework, monitor progress (or lack thereof), or meet with teachers and counselors to find the best learning path for the child, then he or she is left to educate themselves. Such an effort by far too many Trenton Public School students is witnessed by teachers; that is, the student navigating the internet, via a classroom computer, toward everything but a learning resource. It doesn’t happen often. Why? Because the necessary guidance and re-enforcement in the home environment, on which teachers and school districts relied for generations, is disappearing. That change in the social dynamic, among others, is why Dr. Desmon Daniel, a former school administrator and author, feels an overhaul in how we educate is desperately needed. Regardless of economic background, Daniel says being educated is “in and of itself, a challenge”. So add to that challenge the myriad of emotions and issues that come with any kind of dysfunction resulting from one or both parents not being around, for whatever reason, then multiply that by at least 10 students in a classroom, from K to 12, then you can begin to understand the day of a teacher and administrator in the urban school setting. Daniel, and all the teachers who began their careers in the 80’s and 90’s, had to become teacher/surrogates. Refer to the post, titled “Finally, A Teacher Talks” (http://trentonschools.tumblr.com/post/499187976/finally-a-teacher-talks), to see how public school educators in This City deal with various dysfunctions that make it into the classroom.

Let’s take this deeper. How about the way some students view the Black male teacher who is in such demand these days? The education establishment wants this specific employee to teach and act as a model for, primarily, one group of students, someone that student will see and say, “I want to be like that man, not the huddled, hoodied masses -many of them absent fathers, through which I walk on the way to and from school each day.” Eric Felix, a teacher in the New Orleans Public School system more than 20 years, wishes it was that easy. He challenges us to think of some of the things “the momma, grandmamma, and everyone else” is saying about that Black male who is not in these children’s’ lives. Felix says many Black students “come into the classroom with a preconceived image of me because of what they hear about men who look like me”. Felix senses jealously in some students who have no father or prominent male role model because, he says, “in me, they see some qualities that their father may be lacking, so they often enter the class angry at me.” Interviews with some students who come from home with no father reveal their anger manifests itself in the refusal to participate in class and disruption. Dr. Daniel says the novice teacher interprets the behaviors as they are titled, but the seasoned teacher identifies them as cries for attention or prodding to do what’s right which they may not be receiving from the “first teachers” (parents) in the “first classroom” (home environment). Felix adds that the media contributes a great deal to that “picture” students build in their minds of a father which they subconsciously hold next to the reality that is what they hear and see of their own dads. Daniel, Felix, and most teachers you talk to about this issue admit there was no training in the classroom, or during student teaching to prepare them to break this particular barrier. “We weren’t hired or trained to be mom, dad or social worker”, says one public school teacher in Our Town, “but I find myself addressing students’ problems the way a parent would, and that’s because you can tell when the child isn’t getting help in his or her studies, or general attention that parents, especially fathers, give their children.”

And to think, these are the numbers from 2008. After all the studies that show its importance, news specials that highlight the cause and negative effects of so many single parent households, regardless of the socio-economic climate, you can count on another wave of students headed to school without that complete training, modeling, love and attention children are afforded when raised by both parents. 

Skip Harrison is a writer, educator and parent residing in Trenton, New Jersey

October 23, 2010

(Trenton, NJ) Last month, the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit against the State of California for asking parents to pay for their children’s supplies (crayons, notebooks, etc.), some textbooks and even classes they will take during this school year. The social stigma a student may suffer because their parents may not be able to pay such costs was one reason, in my opinion, the fees were such a big issue. The ACLU filed the suit on behalf of two families: one in which a student was singled out by a teacher for not having a book purchased by the required time. The other was a student whose family had to choose which items from the list to purchase since they could not afford them all. The ACLU argues that, while it is not a constitutional right, public school education should be available to all, at no cost to taxpayers, since it is funded by federal, state, AND taxpayer dollars. School districts there, and around the country, are simply on the short end of the stick these days when it comes to federal and state funding. The number of pupils per public school classroom across our country is growing, another issue many districts offer as rational for passing some expenditures off to parents.

Parents buying school supplies is nothing new, so is the fact that some parents will not, during an entire school year, purchase not one notebook, pack of pencils or markers. Because of the economy and, in some households, very little emphasis being placed on education and learning, there are more children coming to school without basic supplies. It often leaves the teacher with the added burden of using their own money to buy supplies, to supplement that stipend most receive from their school districts for such extras. Back in the day, it was easy for a teacher to buy a few packs of pencils, erasers and crayons, along with the bulletin board decorations and special projects, for the few in their class who may not have them. The items would easily last the entire school year. Now, a teacher’s paltry salary, coupled with the increasing number of students who come to school without the basic learning tools, makes it difficult to provide extras. Many of them bite the bullet and continue to buy supplies out of love for their vocation, and to eliminate at least one excuse for a student not completing an assignment.

There are some issues within this that has the education community and others taking a closer look at how much education is valued in some home environments. It has been discussed in the teacher’s lounge and among administrators for years. As the dollars and cents of education become more crucial and prevalent, the socioeconomic causes and effects of fees prompting the ACLU suit are making their way into the news and wallets of John and Jane Q. Public. Wondering why now? Ask yourself: How do you think a teacher feels spending their own money on supplies for some children who come to school without even a pencil, while sporting sneakers that cost in upwards of $100? Imagine the look on a teacher’s face as they watch students break crayons they’ve purchased in half and throw them across the room at one another. This, sadly, after the students did the same to the school-issued crayons. What about the students who actually deface and throw textbooks and assigned novels at one another? Have you ever seen and heard a mother who comes to her child’s classroom toting a Coach, or some other expensive bag, to ask the teacher why she must provide some materials for a class project? “That’s what y’all supposed to pay for, ain’t it?” is the question she poses, before excusing herself to take a call on her iPhone. How about the families under the care of a social service agency who abuse or don’t even take advantage of the free supplies to which a social worker has access? After a few generations, teachers and social scientists now see what is important to many families. For many, it is not seeing that their children have the necessary tools become educated. So the days of teachers, social service agencies and, yes, school districts providing all the learning tools a child needs is about to go the way of government cheese and peanut butter. Don’t worry, those who want education and knowledge will get it. That has already been proven. Maybe Social Studies teachers can include in their course outline a lesson on how education is a luxury for the privileged in many countries. Public education, with its free pencils, paper and books, tutoring, lunch, etc. is among the reasons many people leave their homelands to come to these United States. They take advantage of this offering to create a foundation on which they eventually support themselves and their families.

Throughout this school year and next, when they receive a list of supplies they must provide for school, I hope parents sit down with their children and review it, then show the child how much they are about to spend, and urge them to take care of these supplies for which they have spent hard-earned money. It may mean a lot to the child, coming from their first teacher. As for the ACLU suit and its purpose, a former teacher laughed when I discussed it with her. “Think about that child who grows up with almost nothing,” she said, “and lucky to have a teacher provide pencils and things the parents may not be able to afford. That person goes on to college, then to law school, and where does that kid end up working? In some cases, the ACLU.” How ironic.

Skip Harrison is an educator, freelance journalist, and parent, residing in Trenton, New Jersey.

October 13, 2010

(Trenton, NJ)In one room, I met a future astrophysicist, psychologist, pediatrician, and forensic scientist. Four students in a Trenton Public School Advanced Placement Biology class. Of the quartet, I was only able to secure permission from three of the parents to be able to identify them, so, even with the principal’s permission, I’m not naming any of them, for to leave one out of this written version of a class photo would be somewhat whack.

They are, in the two and half years I’ve been in the learning environment that is the Trenton Public School System, the most motivated, intelligent, articulate, and confident students with whom I’ve had the privilege of interacting. It was refreshing and, because of what I do in this space, so opportune. I have longed to write about positive, uplifting experiences as an aspiring teacher in a school district on which many have seemingly given up. I must highlight such students for two reasons: 1) because of the numerous accounts of negative deeds and poor scholastic performance of students in our public schools, someone has to applaud and spread the word about the good students whose parents, for whatever reason, don’t have them in a private school outside our city limits and, 2) a normally disruptive boy or girl may hear about these guys and maybe, just maybe, consider changing their agenda at school from seeking attention through bad behavior to being known for academic achievement. It can happen.

First, let me share the reason I learned there are only four students in the class. I was told by a District employee that certainly more students qualify for that and other AP courses, but when Our Town’s School District made class schedules, it set all the Advanced Placement classes at this school FOR THE SAME TIME, leaving students to choose which one they would take. Kudos to the employee for explaining that without laughing. It would be cool if that’s fixed next semester going forward, so students can bolster their GPA’s by taking more AP classes.  They would become legitimately more competitive, academically, when applying to colleges. Freshman courses are more rigorous these days. Achieving high marks in multiple AP classes shows recruiters an ability to handle a demanding course load from day one.

The students’ regular teacher was completing another task in the building, leaving them to navigate the internet on their own to locate enrichment material complimenting the textbook chapter on forms of energy. Together, they read the material and took notes. At no time did any of them try to minimize that screen and open another to surf the internet for songs and pictures of their favorite rapper or clothing. I’ve been in some classes whose computers have been removed because students were repeatedly using them for things that were in no way related to the day’s lesson or assignments. While doing this, the four students shared with me their career goals and college choices. I was further impressed with their ability to take thorough notes on the day’s lesson AND hold an in-depth discussion on the controversial new immigration law in Arizona. It was led by the aspiring psychologist, who researched the issue during the summer and follows it on the news.  

I hope and pray these four students continue to reach for the stars through education and achieve all their goals. I hope all their instructors recognize their thirst for knowledge and continue to challenge them. Students of this ilk will play an important part in re-raising the academic bar in our public schools.

Hovering over all this, in my mind, were two things. First, the makeup of this young think tank: 3 Hispanic females, 1 Negro male. As far as the quantity and ethnic composition of students who walk into any given class in a public school in Our Town, sit down, prepared and ready to follow a teacher’s instructions, it is a picture close to what I have seen in the District in classrooms I’ve worked, from elementary to high school. My friends who teach in other parts of this country see the same thing. The second was this question: how many of these students are going to leave Our Town as it is, go to college, begin pursuing their career goals and, somewhere in there, return to Trenton, buy a home and, possibly, raise a family next to those who, during their scholastic careers, performed the polar opposite of the way these four students did in the Advanced Placement Biology class? Look around, and be assured that there have been some (a Supreme Court Justice, a mayor of New York, to name two) from This Town who have achieved the heights for which these young people are striving. Very few have returned.

Skip Harrison is an educator, freelance journalist, and parent, residing in Trenton, New Jersey.

October 8, 2010

(Trenton, NJ) If you can remember my inaugural post, one of the aspirations for this blog space was that it would become a place where people would identify what’s wrong with the public schools in Our Town, then intelligently exchange ideas on how to make things better which, in turn, makes a better, stronger city and population. A reader recently shared with me this link, Get Good Grades Now http://www.getgoodgradeshow.com/, offering free tips and guides on how students, with the help of parents and anyone else in their corner, can improve scholastic performance.

I can bring you, the people of This City, to the well, but I can’t make you drink. Please remember and remind your children, your students, and those you mentor, that somewhere, some child IS reading this information, then taking it and running with it. That child has a jump on those who choose not to take advantage of such an offering.

Skip Harrison is an educator, freelance journalist, and parent, residing in Trenton, New Jersey.

October 2, 2010

(Trenton, NJ) As an aspiring Negro male teacher in the Trenton Public School System, I admit to taking certain liberties whenever I find myself before a classroom of boys and girls who all look like me. As a matter of fact, most Negro teachers do, sharing Iife experiences, quotes from famous Negroes from the past and present, rap lyrics, etc., all in an attempt to make a connection with students. It should make learning fun and, hopefully, easier. Personally, I find the students in these situations do open up a little more and, in some cases, actually try to learn, once they realize that I’m “one of them”. Moreover, many of them are visibly shocked and amazed when I do that, AND share with them that I LIVE in This City.

Among the things I tell such classes is one the reasons I wanted to become a teacher: To prevent them, the students who will one day be adults, from becoming lazy Negroes. I usually state that pledge while the students, from 6^th grade on up, are standing in line, headed to their special or to lunch. I often say it as I’m imploring them not lean against the wall, for if it was meant for us to lean, we would have been born with kickstands for those occasions when there is no wall on which to lean. I then tell them the story passed on to me about the Negroes who were leaning on a counter in a social services office, waiting for their “benefits”, and the counter broke. As I speak, I stand tall, evenly, on both legs, and show them how easy it is. Throughout the day, I ask the class if they have seen me leaning against the wall or dry erase board, or sitting atop a desk. Only a few will admit they’ve seen neither. Why do I say it that way, at such times? Because when I’m riding through Our City with my friends, people who live in and around Our Town, who are educated, have families, who own their homes, and we pass through certain areas where groups of Negroes are standing along the side of the streets or on corners, amid the garbage they’ve thrown on the ground, someone will say something like, “Look at these lazy, sorry Negroes.”, or “How can these Negroes sit out here all day and not even try to clean up?” , or “I bet none of these Negroes even tried to look for a job today.”, and my favorite, “I passed these Negroes on my way to work this morning. Now, eight hours later, I’m on the way home and they’re still standing out here!”

Thursday, I shared my pledge with a class of 6^th grade students I taught that day as I picked them up from special. When we reached the class, I distributed their work, a reading and comprehension exercise of fill in the blanks, writing, and a crossword puzzle whose answers would come from what they read. That’s when one of the students, a girl who hadn’t done any work up to that point, stood up and said loudly, “You wrong for calling us Negroes! My daddy said don’t ever let nobody call me a Negro!” Then others joined in. Of course, those who joined in protest were those who were told repeatedly to be quiet, stay seated, and do their work for the two days I taught the class. Because of the girl’s statement, I had to ask the class if, during my pledge, they thought I said “nigger”, and not Negro. The girl confirmed it was Negro that I said, then another girl reminded me that I called the class “Black Negroes”, causing me to laugh to myself, for those who know me are aware of my command of the English language and know that I would never be that redundant. Remember, Negro means black. It was then that I noticed the students who, since I began teaching the class, were always quiet, respectful and did their work, were completing the assignment while occasionally looking up to laugh at the “protesters”. I realized that I had simply given the protestors an out, a reason not to do their work. So I went there with them. I let the girl who accused me of calling the class “Black Negroes” to go to the office and notify the principal that I said something they interpreted as racially insensitive.  Before I let her go, though, I had two students, the girl who began the protest, and a boy who had not participated, to write what they heard me say. The girl’s words: “Do not let him call you a black negaw.” (This, after asking me how to spell “Negro”) The boy’s words: “It’s my goal not to let anyone become a lazy, sorry Negro” (BTW I had the boy put a comma after “lazy” and add “sorry”, since that’s how I normally say it). I gave the young lady both papers and a pass to the office. Meanwhile, I continued assisting those who were still focused on assignment, even as the angry students continued, by now letting me know they would be telling their moms and dads, who would then come to the school to “curse me out and make me feel stupid”.  Soon after, school security guards came to the room and passed out complaint forms for the students to complete. The girl returned with both papers and said she showed both papers to the principal. I learned later that she lied. I was not surprised. It all showed me there are children and, in this case, possibly a parent, who may not know the word “Negro” is a proper distinction for a group of people per scientific classification. The principal seemed to understand, telling me she had to tell a group of students the same thing earlier in the day, and that it is good to be able to work such advice into your professional duties as an educator. I set out to fix that by turning this incident into what’s now known as a “teachable moment”. That would be easy. After all, it was science class. Plus, parents would be there since, again, they were all coming the next day to curse me out. They would be able to sit with their children at the computer and see what all the commotion was about then, hopefully, re-enforce what I said. But then again, this is Trenton, New Jersey, where I once heard a teacher who doesn’t live in My City say, “The people in this town are special.” And she didn’t mean “special”, as in “there’s a special place in my heart for you people.” either.

I had it all set up. Friday morning, before homeroom, I brought the students to the library, where the librarian had set up the computers so the students could go directly to some sites I selected. Among them, the Wikipedia definitions for the word “Negro” (literally meaning “black”) and “Negroid”, so they would see how humans are classified (Negroid, Caucasoid, Mongoloid) by historically geographic groupings and see the pictures that go along with each so I could ask, “Which one do you look like?”, and Negro Baseball League, so they could see the word used in an actual title. Also near the bank of computers at which the students sat was The Negro Almanac: a Reference Work on the African American, by James Williams. I brought a 2010 US Census questionnaire, on which the word “Negro” appears with “African American” and “Black” in the race section. I also invited Bruce Boyd, who facilitates an enrichment program for children in some of the public schools in Our Town, just to have another set of ears and eyes on this thing, for when I tell people some of the things I see and hear in some of these classrooms, they don’t believe me. I have yet to get a verbal assessment of his visit to that morning’s learning component, but by the expression on his face I could tell he may have had similar experiences in his efforts to put our children in a position to succeed. By the way, none of the parents showed up.

As I guided the students through the various sites and pages, I reminded them that if they are not aware of who and what they are, misleading them is a cakewalk for those who chose to do so. Sadly, though, even as both Mr. Boyd and I spoke to them about the importance of understanding the meaning of the word “Negro”, and that it is a proper designation for people of color, those who were angry remained angry, standing up and speaking so loudly in the library that I felt it best to end the lesson. Some of them even laughed and made jokes of the pictures of people of African descent under the Wikipedia definition of “Negroid”.  All was not lost, though. One of the students who did not protest, a boy from a nation in Africa, was able to print some information on the Negro Baseball League and ask me about some of the legends highlighted on the homepage. I also noticed the smile on his face as he stared at the pictures of the people on the page defining “Negroid”. Someone learned something and gained pride about who they are. Mission Accomplished. Some may catch on later.

 When we arrived in homeroom to begin class, the same students continued their tirade as I passed out their work. It escalated when the girl who walked out of class the day before let me know somebody said I called her “stupid”. Sadly, none of them remembered what I said the day before about that word when that same girl used it in reference to a classmate. I had to ask the security guards to escort her and two other students from the room so those who were doing the assignment could work in peace.  I gained some comfort from it all, though, when one student, a follower who tried to fit in with those protesting, came to me and said quietly, “I know what that word means. They were just mad. I know you was tryin’ to teach us somethin’.”, then returned to her seat.

At the end of the day, I made sure the principal knew I was interested in continuing with that class, the course outline and textbook in my backpack so I would be prepared to discuss the solar system come Monday. That’s when she notified me that about 10 parents contacted the Board of Education to complain about the teacher who called their children Black Negroes. I said I couldn’t help that, and that those who disrupted the class even after my attempt to enlighten were removed, so there was no longer a problem as far as teaching the assigned lesson. She said that she was only the principal and there was nothing she could do as far as me being able to return. That, plus a bunch of parents who chose to call the School Board to complain instead of coming to a school to see what made their children so angry may help us understand why things are the way they are here.  

Skip Harrison is an educator, freelance journalist, and parent, residing in Trenton, New Jersey.

September 12, 2010

(Trenton, NJ) We’ve done it.

In an attempt to adequately educate our children, and save some money to apply toward future educational and enrichment endeavors for which my wife and I aspire instead of private school tuition, we have placed a child in the Trenton Public School System. First grade, to be exact.

The blessing that allowed us to place our child in the best possible environment within a school system I’ve heard called everything from “broken”, to just “flat-out f*%#ed up”, offers a sad glimpse of the state of education in My Town. Because the Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) of the elementary school closest to us has been so small for a certain number of years, we are afforded the opportunity to shop those elementary schools that have performed well in recent years, then make a formal request to the Board of Education to allow our child to attend that school we’ve chosen. For a few weeks this summer, my child was a scholastic free agent. My wife, the advocate/agent, meeting with teachers, administrators and anyone else who offered advice in this area based on experiences and opinion, then retelling it all to me. The more my wife researched, visited and discussed this choice, the more I realized how many parents in This Town don’t even know they have this privilege, to opt their children out of a public school in their neighborhood, to which the child assigned, that has perennially failed to adequately educate and prepare them during the most important stage of learning, kindergarten to 5^th grade, and place their child in a public school that is more academically productive. If they only read their mail.

So not only am I working toward becoming certified to teach, I now have a child whose first day in a public school here was one of pride and angst for him and the rest of our family. My mom came to town to walk her grandson to school on his first day. My child had his own paparazzi, his mom, dad and grandmere, capturing it all via photo and video. From the time he walked into the cafeteria of his new school, he had this happily bewildered look on his face. I think he shed some light on that expression later that day.

Let me say I’m proud of the number of fathers who brought their children to school, both at my child’s school, and the school where I worked. Some fathers looked happy to be there, others didn’t. Some held hands with their wives and baby’s mamas, some walked a few steps away with little interaction between them and the woman with whom they concieved the child as the principals or Before/After School Program persons spoke. Doesn’t matter on days like that. The father or male guardian was there. That physically minute act of parental involvement means the world to the child. Gentlemen, it didn’t matter if you didn’t remove your hat when you entered the school, or if you wore jeans sagging- part of the reason your son wears his that way. You were there. In the coming year, I hope to pass you on the way to Parent/Teacher conference with my child’s teacher, get a chance to meet you at a PTO meeting, or maybe combine parenting skills as chaperones on a field trip.

In my attempt to stay abreast of issues that socio-economically affect Our City, one way or another, I have a preconceived opinion about its public school system. Looks like a child can easily fall through the cracks if they don’t, at some point (hopefully sooner than later), apply themselves in pursuit of knowledge through education and, with the support and guidance of parents, teachers, mentors, etc., develop a plan whose end result is an educated young adult, well on the way to becoming an adult who can live and think independently. Hopefully, they will live and raise families in This City, the state’s capital. Its citizenry then predominated by people who respect themselves, their neighbors and their environment. Homeowners who vote and stay involved because, while in middle or high school, a much larger percentage of these now-grown men and women learned about the effort of those who gave life and limb so that they can own a home AND not worry about a cross being burned in the yard. Respect would have developed, which would result in a prouder, stronger, more vibrant municipality.

But, after at least three generations (I’ve only been here 10 years, but that’s what “more seasoned” residents of My New Town tell me) of talk, dependency on aid from any source that’s giving, and more talk, that hasn’t happened. That said, I  pray that constantly reminding our child that he is God’s Child, we love him and are very proud of him no matter what, along with reinforcement of basic math and other learning principles at home will get my child through whatever amount of time he spends matriculating through the Trenton Public School System. I pray that everyone, from the school security guards to the principal, recognize my child’s respect for all life and zest for learning so he can connect what he learns in the classroom with the visits to the zoos, museums, and aquariums, then share it all with any classmate, teacher, paraprofessional, or lunch lady at his school who will listen.

There were some tears on the first day, during that initial meeting between teacher and pupil, but my child sucked it up and went on to have a great day. He was proud to know the questions the teacher asked during reading and math, proud that he followed the teacher’s directions all day.  He looked forward to the coming school week. My wife and I were beside ourselves to see him display a demeanor the polar opposite from his first days of kindergarten in a class where he was the only child of color and, on some days, pleaded to stay home. Then, while further discussing his day with my wife, he dropped it, what I feel was the reason for that look on his face when he saw all his new schoolmates that morning. “There’s more brown people there than at my old school”.

Skip Harrison is an educator, freelance journalist, and parent, residing in Trenton, New Jersey.

June 17, 2010

Trenton, NJ - First things first: Someone please describe what an authentic diploma for Trenton Central High School’s Class fo 2010 should look like, then offer an opinion on how the one to be conferred upon those finishing 12-years of academic study without showing they have developed- and can display in the learninig environment and beyond, some type of apitude -should look.

If I were designing it, it would read across the top, FOR WHATEVER REASON, YOU FAILED THIS TIME. When they look at it later, they may be reminded it’s never too late to really focus and start learning.

Now, remember that, following the Trentonian’s coverage on the news a few months ago that around this same percentage of students had been informed they had not passed the required standardized test before getting that authentic document which, these days, by percieved value of public school education in Trenton, amounts to verification that you are able to write a complete sentence and, speak in a way that can at least convey opinion and active thought process, there was no more word on those students’ academic status.

I wrote about it in this space, talked about it on http://jahyummy.com, where I join WES WILL on TUSDAYS AND THURSDAYS, FROM 8pm TIL 10 (shameless plug, but check us out.), but there was very little response from neither side; teachers offering some solutions on how students could improve their performance for the next go-round, or administrators who should have been monitoring their progress and letting folks, especially parents, know where the students were regarding their chances to graduate.

Now, there may be more than half of an entire senior class headed out into the world without the some of the necessary skills to legitimately survive. By the way, did I tell you this is about the national average for urban areas now?

You knew that, though, didn’t you?

Skip Harrison is an educator, freelance journalist, and parent, residing in Trenton, New Jersey.

May 18, 2010

Trenton, NJ - It’s been a while since I’ve shared musings, facts and/or quotes concerning our public schools in this space. Ironically, so much has transpired during this lapse of time. Right now, the biggest story is security guards, employed by Trenton Public Schools, learning they will be among the city’s unemployed, as The School District has formally decided to privatize security in an effort to keep its fiscal head above water.

Their response? Monday’s walkout by the majority of those responsible for the safety of many children. That’s great. Parents who can’t afford private school tuition, settling for placing their children in -they think- a subpar learning environment that is the Trenton Public Schools, now have greater safety concerns when their child walks INTO the schoolhouse.

One parent, already concerned about the gang influence making its way into  schools in this area, said her child was frightened upon hearing there would be “no security at school”. This mom feels ”more kids are gonna become disruptive, and the teacher’s gonna have to stop even more times now to keep the bad kids in line”.

Then there are the teachers, whose classrooms are predominated by students who give up easily and don’t see the need for education. They must now grasp the reality that, for the rest of the school year, it may take even longer for a security guard to arrive when called upon to remove the student who has just cussed them out, or break up the fight that has taken everyone’s focus away from the lesson on Crispus Attucks’ role in the Revolutionary War.

School security guards, who contacted me soonafter recieving formal word they would be laid off, have offered no reason for the walkout or point they were trying to make by the move. They only reiterate their anger for being led to believe their jobs were safe. As one guard put it, “They (School District officials) knew they were gonna lay us off all the time”. The guards don’t think it will get better any time soon, either. One of them who has seen the District’s Request for Proposal (RFP) issued for private security services on School District property, said no one will bid on the services because its responsibilities are ”too difficult” for a company to perform, whatever that means.

So the questions lingering now are: 1) how safe are the schools now that school guards may or may not be on their posts in and around schools, and 2) will their be any security guards on the job during summer school?

Stay tuned.

Skip Harrison is an educator, journalist, and parent residing in Trenton, New Jersey.

April 23, 2010

Trenton, NJ - John Harmon is a businessman who wants to be mayor of Trenton. He is the first candidate, mayoral or council, to go on the record, here in Schooled…, with his position on education, and changes he would employ if elected May 11th. The changes, he says, will result in a more inclusive learning environment. He also wants students who do achieve in our public schools to stay or return to Trenton after college to help facilitate change. 

Harmon is a product of the Trenton Public Schools, using the auto mechanics training it offered at Trenton High back then to become an educated, self-supporting citizen of the community. He wonders why that vocational education program was moved from this city and shipped to the suburbs, taking away yet another opportunity for job training and, thusly, prosperity for young men and women in Trenton.

Watch and listen, then respond.

Skip Harrison is an educator, freelance journalist, and parent, residing in Trenton, New Jersey. 

April 21, 2010

Trenton, NJ - Dismal. Failing. Deplorable. Sad. These are the adjectives mayoral candidates have used to describe the Trenton Public Schools during the recent debates. While it isn’t the first time I have heard our city’s public schools characterized as such, the timing seems all too common. That is, people seeking our votes and using whatever strategy they can to get the voter’s ear and attention. In this case, it’s using harsh words to shine light on a problem of which most parents of school age children are already aware.

In the most recent debates, the men and women who want to become the next mayor of New Jersey’s capital have offered methods they plan to employ if elected. The two of the most noteworthy and, possibly, controversial ideas came from John Harmon, Tony Mack and Keith Hamilton.

Harmon would like to change the way we build our School Board. He would allow the city council to appoint three members, then allow the voters to elect three more, with the mayor making the final call on the District’s superintendent.

Mack wants to bring back the vocational education within city limits, specifically to Trenton High’s main campus, where it was housed originally. Many older Trentonians can remember when the high school was a place where students honed their auto mechanic, carpentry, and electrical skills, before making those vocations their careers.

Why was it taken away, and why has there been no exploration into re-establishing that part of school curriculum? Mack, and many voters wonder why, especially when we see the results when a city takes away, almost all at once, any opportunities for young people to pursue sports or develop a skill: a town rife with violence perpetrated by uneducated and undereducated young people.

Hamilton wants to simply clean house and make changes, from top to bottom, in the way the school district is run. What those changes are, he did not elaborate. It sounded good, though.

Readers, please have your mayoral or council candidates weigh in right here with their thoughts on the direction our public school leadership should take now. We always talk about how a quick fix isn’t always the best remedy. Right now, in Trenton, it is the only remedy, since the next group of leaders we elect May 11th will have an almost penniless school district, with poor performing students in crowded classrooms staring them in the face as soon as they are sworn in.

Skip Harrison is an educator, freelance journalist, and parent, residing in Trenton, New Jersey.