This week’s featured Parents and PGCPS EduSocial Network Educational View

This week’s featured Parents and PGCPS EduSocial Network's Educational View is Nicole Williams “The Importance of Civic Education” 

BIO:

Nicole Williams is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and the University of  Pittsburgh School Of Law. In addition to enjoying yoga and running, Nicole is an active member of the Prince George’s County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., the Kiwanis of Mitchellville, Metropolitan Baptist Church, the Prince George’s County Bar Association and the J. Franklyn Bourne Bar Association.

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Addison By Dr. Elwood L. Robinson

My encounter with an 8-year African American male last Sunday left me with a range of emotions. I met him during a stop to get some very expensive gas in Clinton, North Carolina. He appeared to have been traveling with his family who had also stopped for gas. He was outside the family vehicle roaming around having a conversation with anyone who would listen. He approached my car and asked me if I knew several people who he called by name. In each case I replied that I did not know the person. Following my response he would tell me who the person was and point them out to me. These people were members of his traveling party and apparently his family. “Do you know Shirley Thompson,” he would say. “That’s my aunt,” and he would point to the person in the SUV. He then repeated the names and asked me if I knew the person. I responded “I do now.” He seemed pleased that I now knew the persons that he has just introduced to me. I reminded him that while he has introduced me to several people, he had not told me his name. “My name is Addison” he replied in a strong voice that denoted a sense of confidence. I told him that I thought Addison was a great name. He seemed pleased. I was next in line to pump gas and pulled my car forward to begin the process. As I began pumping gas, I was again approached by Addison who said” hello, I see you again.” The conversation shifted to an area that troubled me, especially coming from an 8-year old.

Addison is a small African American male. He communicates well and speaks in a voice that suggests confidence, strength and poise. Dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, he is the prototype of someone his age in this country. He comes across as very intelligent with a pleasant and pleasing personality. His communicative style was engaging but not overbearing. It has a maturity which suggests his conversational partners may primarily be adults. I can imagine that he is quite a handful at school and home. His energy and inquisitive nature can sometime be difficulty for parents and teachers to handle. He needs and seems to demand attention. I was impressed with his ability to listen.

He asked if I knew that this father had died. He said “my father got shot last night and we went to his funeral just now.” “Last night!” I responded in a voice that denoted surprise and compassion. Addison’s presentation of his father’s death and funeral was void of sadness or emotional connection. He then asked if I wanted to see a picture of his father in the casket. I nodded in the affirmative and he approached his mother who was standing outside of the vehicle on the passenger side. She appeared disinterested in him or our conversation. She reached into her back pocket, removed a cell phone, apparently turned to the photo section and handed the phone to Addison. Addison in turn gave me the phone to view the picture. It was a young, maybe mid-thirties, African American male lying in a coffin who had died as a result of gunshot. This is an all too common story in many part of these United States. I was sad and viewing this picture and talking to Addison about it gave me a strange feeling.

How does an 8-year old deal with losing his father and the graphic representation of his death on a cell phone. Is the gravity of this event, death, minimized or exacerbated by the picture. His face did not suggest sadness. His eyes were bright with a softness of caring. He could not express it but his eyes could not lie. There was something missing and something tells me it was not just the loss of his father. It was as if his soul had been scarred and the manifestation was emotional detachment. The coping strategy is probably age-appropriate; reduce the death to a game or photograph on a cell phone.

 “This is my daddy,” as he spoke with a sense of pride. Or at least he used to be, he left when I was two.” This time he spoke without pride but with a slight sense of anger and disappointment. “He still is” blurted his mother. These were the only words uttered during my brief encounter with Addison. Maybe that explains what I saw in his eyes. Will that memory become a permanent albatross or a source of motivation? Only time will tell.

There was one last conversation to have with Addison. “Where are you going,” he asked. Durham, I replied. “That’s a long ways,” he said. I said “yes it is.” Then Addison with all the sincerity and maturity that defied his youth said “you be careful.” I want desperately to believe that based upon that statement and the manner in which it was delivered, that Addison will be alright.

I immediately began thinking about Addison and his future. What are the consequences of seeing your father as an 8-year old in a casket after being shot. What message does this event send to Addison. How much of this does he really understand. I pray that Addison will grow up to be a strong black man with the courage and conviction to make the world a better place. I hope he achieves greatness. His spirit is strong and pure. Thank you for allowing me to see the kindred spirit that binds us all together. And I say to you as you said to me as I drove off on that beautiful Sunday afternoon. BE CAREFUL.

Kimberly K. Parker: PERFECTLY IMPERFECT

            

           One of my Facebook friends recently posted a picture of her three year old daughter’s artwork.  Her comment read: “My daughter colors inside the black lines PERFECT…she's still 3 years old...Remember that.”  While my mantra is, “Until further notice…celebrate everything,” my stomach dropped just a bit when I scanned the word “PERFECT.”

            I clearly recall being a young stay-at-home momma who was driven by perfectionism.  Frankly, my behavior was borderline obsessive compulsive.  My home was cleaned from the basement to the bedroom level, the laundry was washed, dried, and put away, and every single toy and wooden block was in its rightful place.  In short, everything was perfect.

           

            Unfortunately, this mentality spilled over into my role as a homeschooler.  So, by the time my son was two years old, he was legibly writing his name, alphabets, and numbers, counting to 100, had mastered his shapes, address, and telephone number,  and…yes…coloring inside the lines.  Anything short of this, I felt, was a poor reflection on him and his family.

            It would be years before I realized that I was disillusioned and had no clue of what true learning entailed.  In fact, my mission to present this “perfect” picture had everything to do with pleasing the masses versus instilling sound educational principles into my children.   I fed into the lie that if my children did not reach various milestones outlined in those infant, baby, and toddler books that I was missing the mark. 

            In her article “The Pitfalls of Perfectionism,” Jennifer Drapkin, a writer for Psychologytoday.com, pointed out a few pitfalls to perfectionism:

1. Perfectionists never feel satisfied.
2. Perfectionist cannot tolerate flaws.
3. Perfectionists lead a life of continual anxiety and fear of failure.
4. Perfectionists feel as though the world expects them to be impeccable.

            As a result of my behavior, my children began to display some of the traits listed above.  Erasers were used incessantly and crumpled sheets of paper filled my trash bins.  The straw that broke the camels back was when one of my sons said he felt stupid because he did not understand a math concept.  I knew then I had to stop the madness.

            It’s been many years since I’ve lived the life of a perfectionist.  The major shift in my behavior has fostered a more tolerant mindset in my children.  They are not hard on themselves anymore and have learned to embrace both their style of learning and overall achievements.  As Jennifer stated in her article, we all have learned to accept our flaws and live a more loving and satisfying life.

Kimberly K. Parker is the President and CEO of Writing Momma Publishing, LLC. (www.writingmomma.com). To date, she has written three books and has helped nine children between the ages of nine and nineteen write and publish books of their own.  This summer, she is offering “The Ultimate Writing Experience!”  For more information visit www.writingmomma.com and click on Writing Programs.  Kimberly is a professional writer, author, publisher, and blogger living in Maryland with her husband and three children.

Just Because They Are Unemployed Does Not Mean They Are Unskilled

For the past two years the national conversation regarding unemployment in America has focused on the need for those without a job or under-employed to obtain more skills and more training.  This has become a rallying cry for justifying why the unemployment numbers remain high, especially among populations of color.  

The purpose of this article is to dispel or to an extent change the direction of the conversation about the traits of the unemployed. I am especially targeting those who use an uninformed description of the unemployed and under-employed to frame discussions on the rate of joblessness in America. First, I want to make it extremely clear that I agree education and training has a place in reducing under-employment and yes it can impact unemployment. However, it is the broad brush by which the concept of training and skill attainment is discussed that gives me pause for alarm. I have seen the over-reliance of the belief that those unemployed or under employed simply lack the skills of those that have employment. Typically this is used as a means to justify why we see double digit unemployment rates in segments of the population like African Americans and Hispanics.

In an effort to address this issue of untrained Americans, President Obama has set-a-side in his budget plan of nearly eight billion dollars for community colleges to serve as America’s Re-Training Academies, while continuing to serve as the primary gateway to postsecondary access and higher education attainment. President Obama’s funding of the new, but well established traditional mission of community colleges is both daring and noble. The president’s support of America’s community colleges continues in a long line of POTUS who understood the value community colleges bring to our nation, one community at a time. However, new money for the expansion of postsecondary opportunities will mean little if at the end of the re-train/educate pipeline there are no jobs.

            My concern and that of many I have spoken to over the years is a straightforward one. It is grounded in the fact that each and every unemployed person is some how locked in this universal description of being untrained, unskilled and to a large measurement lacking a strong foundation in today’s technology. This is especially placed at the feet of those unemployed who happen to be people of color. These assertions and hyperboles are frequently uttered from the political pundits, talking heads, and political contributors for this network or that network. 

            My retort to those political pundits, talking heads, political contributors and political leaders on each side of the isle, “you really have no clue as to the skills of the unemployed.” I apologize for being so direct, but it seems in this season of non reason, to steal a line from an upcoming book by the same name, written by M. Shelly Robinson, political leaders and the media really have not wanted or dared to examine the depth of the issue of the unemployed and their inability to secure employment.

I met a woman several years ago, who was laid off from a mid-level university in 2005. She held a prominent management position at the university and at the time had years of experience in personnel, project management, IT and a host of others. She possesses a master’s degree in Human Resources, from a top university in the state of Maryland.  She has been unemployed for seven years. That is right seven years.  She was able to secure one part-time job, a seasonal position with a large retailer where she was responsible for cleaning restrooms after store hours on the 11pm-8am shift. Now given the definition often used by those in the media to justify why a person like the one described above cannot secure employment, hinges on the fact she lacks skills that suggest she can compete in today’s job market.

The fact is their contention that she is without skills would be completely and utterly wrong. Since the time of her unemployment, this mid 40, highly educated minority woman has gained the following skills through her attempts to start her own business and volunteering at local organizations.

Since the time of her unemployment in January 2005, she has gained the following skills:

·  Entered doctoral studies (Higher Education)

·  TV production

·  TV editing

·  Filming

·  Radio Producer “Talk and Music”

·  Script writing

·  Event planning

·  Guest development

·  Social Media

·  Story board writing

·  Publishing

·  Publication layout

·  Interviewing of program guest

·  Writer

·  Blogger

Prior to being laid off in 2005, this unemployed educated mother of three and the wife of an educator had skills in the following area:

• Management
• Labor Relations
• Custom Services
• Staff Development
• Finance Management
• Personnel
• Computer operations
• IT
• Project Management
• Student Advisement
• Inventory Management
• Call Center Management
• Policy and Procedure Development

I could go on listing her many qualifications, but I am sure you get the point. This woman who is a minority possessed skills that do not become obsolete, but are typically needed by most organizations seeking to maintain a strong and viable infrastructure.  So, why has this person been unable to secure employment beyond a part-time seasonal position cleaning toilets?  

It is my declaration that there are other factors behind the high rate of unemployed and under-employed minorities. There is little empirical evidence to show that the unemployment rate for educated and skill minorities is less for uneducated and be unskilled majority populations.  Populations of color have found the job market to unfriendly to them especially to those who are educated and skilled.

Prior to completing this article, I contacted the woman who had been unemployed for seven years to see if her employment status had changed. She indicated it had not. She also stated she had spoken with a state unemployment counselor who suggested she enroll in a Medical Billing/Coding program at the local community college. The counselor believed it was her best and only chance to ever work again.

Dr. Mike Robinson is the creator of the National Men Make A Difference Day for Student Success and the host of Parent Talk Live. Dr. Robinson is a leading voice/expert on parental engagement and community outreach in education. He is also the CO- CEO ofForest Of The Rain Productions, an Internet communication company, whose mission is to expand the voices in and about education.

A Letter to All Volunteers for the Parents Assisting Teachers Program

Dear Volunteer:

Our community is very fortunate to have thousands of citizens who are dedicated to supporting both our students and our schools. Each day, these volunteers display selfless acts of service to assure that all Prince George’s County Public School students receive a quality education in a safe and secure learning environment. We are very proud of this commitment to quality education and appreciate your interest in joining as our partner in providing the finest education possible for our students.


The goals of the Parents Assisting Teachers (PAT) school volunteer program are to:

• Establish a school-community partnership for quality education.
• Provide individualized educational assistance to students.
• Relieve the teacher of some non-instructional tasks and duties.
• Enrich the curriculum.
• Improve students’ self-worth by increasing the opportunity for educational achievement.
• Stimulate community interest, concern and support for the educational system.
• Enhance all aspects of the educational process.
  

As you volunteer in our schools, your varied life experiences and training will enhance the education of our youth and have an impact on their lives. The role you have selected is both exciting and challenging and will provide you with opportunities for personal enrichment and fulfillment.

Your personal interest and desire to help is welcomed and appreciated. Youth are our most important natural resource and their education will form the foundation of the future. Thank you for investing your time, talents, heart and soul in our future.


Sincerely,
Department of Family and Community Outreach

An Interview with Parent Liaison Jose F. Alonso of Paint Branch Elementary

Q. How do you define parental engagement as it relates to education?

A. Parental engagement in education can be defined as the active participation of parents in the affairs of the school and its community. When the parents are actively involved in the school it also benefits the home/school/community partners.

Q. What are some of the major barriers to parental engagement today versus years ago as it relates to education?

A. Essentially, there is a need for the families to adjust to today’s societal dynamics. That is, most parents work and some more than one job. Therefore, they are no longer at home to assist the children with their school work. Children spend a substantial amount of time after school away from home, often along in the house without adult supervision or interaction.

In addition, as our neighborhoods become more and more diverse, language and cultural barriers inhibit the needed communication between the school, the students and the families. Very often the level of academic achievement of the parents can be a barrier to communicate with the students and the school. This problem precludes many parents from assisting their children with school work. Living in poor urban settings and with many families in one household, does not provide the appropriate climate for learning and schooling. Many of those urban settings do not have adequate schools that offer quality educational programs to meet the needs of the diverse populations.

Q. What are some of ways parents can become more engaged with their children around school?
A.
Parents and community members joining the PTA
Volunteering to assist in school functions
Engage the teachers in discussions related to your children academics
Visiting the classroom on regular basis
Assisting the community in events that benefit the school

Q. What do you believe the school system has to do in order to increase parental engagement?

A. Maintain “Open Schools” and keep the lines of communication open. Keep the school open year around by providing extended school hours after the regular school day. In this setting schools can offer programs during those extra hours for parents to increase their knowledge and well being. For example, literacy classes, adult education courses in computers, math, household finances, general history knowledge of the country and practical courses in parenting and health. One potential component of Open Schools is the ability to offer tutoring programs year around for those students in need of academic support.

Other ways to increase parental engagement is: (a) keep the parents informed about the school and community happenings; (b) use all the lines of communication available (Data bases, internet, SCS, Internet, School Newsletter, Letters, Flyers) in at least English and Spanish language as we are a culturally diverse schools; (c) provide assistance as requested and as much as possible using the information available in the school and the school system; (d) coordinate with other agencies to offer parents information and workshops about the community and available resources and (e) foster the parents/school and community relationships.

The goal is to make the school a place where parents feel that “the school is theirs and is there for their families.”

Q. In your opinion, do you believe active parental engagement has an impact on the persistence of students at the secondary and or postsecondary level?

A. Yes, parental engagement is capable of providing guidance, confidence and support to the secondary and post--secondary students. Students like to feel that their parents are engaged in their schooling. Parents should encourage good study habits and instill the desire to achieve success and foster the need to continue pursuing their educational goals. These qualities will remain for the entire life of their children.