Common Knowledge

A Step Toward An Education Rebirth

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”

--Andy Warhol--

“The strength of the United States is not the gold at Fort Knox or the weapons of mass destruction that we have, but the sum total of the education and the character of our people.”

--Claiborne Pell--

Last Friday about a thousand people marched from Walter Payton College Preparatory High School on the near Northside of Chicago to the Federal Plaza in the Southside of downtown Chicago to begin an organized effort to get the mayor of Chicago to improve public education in Chicago, particularly in the underserved parts of the city. This effort was spearheaded by State Senator James Meeks. During the rally at the Federal Plaza volunteers gathered index cards with rally attendees’ contact information in order to build a data base to continue with the organized effort to put pressure on the mayor. It seems that this effort may be in part the product of a report that was released by a Washington, D.C. based think tank that essentially asserted that the schools with the most needs tended to receive the least qualified teachers. Although some of the speakers during the rally demanded that the mayor “fix” the public schools in Chicago, one of the specific requests made prior to the rally was that Chicago Public School teachers receive better training. I think this organized effort is a great idea, however I hope this organized effort will not end once a few issues are addressed. The issues that were raised in the report by the think tank and the issue of equitable funding are all connected to the root of the problem in creating and maintaining a public education system that provides a globally competitive education. That root issue is that the Chicago Public School System as well as any other large city public school system must throw out the old book of operating a public school system and start writing a new one.

What am I talking about? Well, think about it. People always talk about improving public education by getting more money for the system or by getting more qualified teachers or by raising educational standards or by getting better books or by fixing old buildings or by erecting new buildings or something else. The truth is maybe it is time to start with the premise of what is desired, i.e. an educational system that provides a learning environment that is reasonably calculated to get every student a globally competitive education, then figure out what is needed to get there. There are basically two root problems that must be addressed in order to provide a globally competitive education to every child in the system: (1) first the issue of resources must be addressed and (2) how those resources are used must be addressed.

The issue of resources pretty much boils down to money. Now most people believe that it is easy to address that issue. They think that all that is needed is for the federal and state governments to increase their share of the funding. Right? Well not so fast. The money must come from some where and higher taxes are not high on anyone’s list. Because of this politicians are not in a hurry to advocate for higher taxes regardless of how important education is to the health of our communities. Plus any increase in education one year can be cut the next. There are a number of educational reform advocates that champion changing the funding formula for education from a property tax formula to a statewide equitably crafted formula. What is the big deal? The big deal is that as long as Illinois has a property tax based education funding formula the rich will get richer education and the poor will get poorer education. What does that mean? That means that schools that experience the greatest need will tend to receive fewer funds because those schools tend to be in the poorer neighborhoods. This effectively reinforces the cycle of poverty and continues to trap people in economic prisons by virtue of being born into a poor family that lives in a poor neighborhood. In order to eliminate the disparities in educational opportunity a new funding formula must be enacted.

The second issue is a little trickier. Determining how much money a school system needs is easier than determining how best to spend it. I am not big on micro managing so I will not attempt to tell Arnie Duncan exactly how to do his job, however I do have a general suggestion: treat the students differently! Yes. I said it. Treat them differently!!! What do I mean by that? What I mean is that too many schools and school districts ignore the fact that each school, each classroom, each student have different needs and maybe it is time that each school should be required to come up with a game plan to address those needs in order to provide a learning environment that will yield the greatest chance of success. Most people understand that it takes two different game plans to try to get a classroom full of children that think that education is of no value to absorb necessary information than it does a classroom of highly motivated students so why pretend that you can educate them the exact same way. Maybe you should use the same books, teachers, and definitely give them the same amount of respect, but doesn't it make sense to use a game plan that is tailored for the student's needs? I want to be very clear about what I am trying to articulate. If the amount of school material to be absorbed during the school is to be compared to a race then each student, classroom, and school may start at different points but they are all required to finish at the same place. It will be up to them the paths that they take to get to the finish line. It should be up to each principal and teacher to figure out how best to get all of their children to the finishing line. When I was in high school one of my coaches told me something I never forgot. He said the best way to insure success is by eliminating the possibility of failure as an acceptable outcome in your mind. Maybe it is time to eliminate the possibility of failure from the discussion in Chicago of how to provide a globally competitive education to our children.

Responsibility: I am my brother's keeper

                                            "What I dream of is an art of balance."

                                                           --Henri Matisse--

                                                "Virtue is a product of habit."

                                                              --Unknown--

         Last Friday I read an article that was written by Michael E. Dyson that once again criticized Bill Cosby for "his infamous remarks on the 50Th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education."  On the 50Th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education Bill Cosby issued a stinging criticism of some of the bad habits that people in our community engage in that put us at a disadvantage.  Mr. Dyson as well as a bunch of African-American liberals quickly jumped on Bill Cosby for his remarks.  Mr. Dyson wrote a book and recently an article that was printed last Friday where he once again criticized Bill Cosby.  In the article Mr. Dyson asserted that Bill Cosby exhibits a convenient blind eye to the societal causes of poverty while instead choosing to only focus on the individual actions of poor folks.  According to Dyson Bill Cosby's message is that it is poor people's fault that they are poor and no one else.  The fundamental disagreement between Bill Cosby and Michael Dyson is an example of two extreme views in our community.  The problem with those extreme views is that both conveniently ignore truths about our community.  The first truth is that the majority of our community is not poor.  The other truth is that poverty in our community is about responsibility. 

         What am I talking about?  Both sides of the "how can we help lift up the poor in our community debate" ignore responsibility.  On one side there are the traditional liberals who seem to repeat the old tired mantra that it is not poor people's fault that they are poor and on the other side there is the newer convenient conservatives that espouse that poor people need to quit playing the victim role and accept responsibility for their own stupid decisions.  Well, I hate to sound like a flip flopper but both sides have some merit.

         Both sides assert that someone needs to take responsibility for the consequences of bad decisions that result in hundreds of thousands of African-Americans living in poverty.  The difference between the two sides is who they believe should shoulder the responsibility.  Liberals think that American society is to blame and must therefore find the silver bullet to free the African-Americans that are trapped in the cycle of poverty in this country.  Conservatives believe that poor folks are to blame for their own bad decisions and therefore must individually resolve to become more discipline, harder working, and better educated.  Well the truth is that they are both correct.  Our priorities are reflected in our decisions regardless whether it is on an individual or collective level. 

         The truth is that any society that puts more resources in building weapons or in building prisons or in building armies or in crafting punishments for crimes instead of building schools that educate as oppose to segregate the good standardize test takers from the bad will have to deal with the consequences of those decisions.  The truth is that any society that is content to pay in excess of over thirty thousand dollars a year to keep someone in prison for years, decades, and even in some cases a lifetime, instead of investing half of that money in education, entrepreneurial, and job training programs will have to deal with the consequences of their decisions.  And those consequences tend to be reflected in the unemployment rate, which are also reflected in the crime rate.

         The same is true on the individual level.  The truth is that any one that chooses to blow off an education that was freely given to them will have to face the consequences of their decision.  Anyone that chooses to become sexually active while still in high school without properly protecting their bodies and their futures will have to face the consequences.  Parents that say they value education but do not create and maintain a home environment that is conducive for academic success will have to face the consequences.  The truth is that anyone that did not try to get their education and therefore was trapped in low paying jobs and then chose to sell drugs or break the law in order to make more money must deal with the consequences of their actions.  Those consequences are reflected in the miserable existence of poverty where people must face shorter life expectancies due to lack of nutrition, health care, and an abundance of stress and violence.

         No one wants to talk about the reality that certain habits put people in position to be successful and certain habits put people in position to fail.  There are very few habits that will guarantee failure or success, but there are a great many that will greatly weigh the odds for or against a person's success.  These are the habits that build the pathologies to either success or failure.  In the case of people that are trapped in the cycle of poverty there is usually a common pathology that leads to bad decisions that lead to bad results that lead right back to poverty.

         This leads to some harsh "truths" that must be confronted in order for the people in our community that are living in poverty to move beyond their circumstances.  First, tackling poverty in our community is going to be a long and difficult journey.  And like any journey regardless of how long or how short, it always begins with a first step.  Well, the first step in this battle is absolutely the most difficult.  That step is confronting head on the pathology that keeps too many of "us" in poverty.  None of us regardless of our socio-economic backgrounds can move beyond our socio-economic reality without first reexamining our mentality.   You are some place in your head well before you are some place in society.

          Bill Cosby was right about a few things.  First we can no longer accept certain mentalities that lead to certain behavior in our community regardless of our socio-economic status.  We can not accept the pathology that leads to the bad decisions that leads to the bad results that trap people in the depressing, suffocating, deadly reality of poverty and all the drama that comes with that reality.  (I agree with some of the spirit of his criticisms, but not with how he conveyed his message.)

           The second harsh reality is that regardless what our "leaders" promise, the entitlements that our government have given out for decades will not continue forever, therefore everyone of "us" that can be self sufficient must become self sufficient.  The third harsh reality that must be faced is that life is not fair.  What do I mean by that?  What I mean is that if a person is born poor and is therefore disadvantaged then they must be taught to be ready to work twice or three times as hard as the next person if that is what it takes to get ahead.  No one in this world will ever give you anything.  This includes your congressman, your mayor, your alderman, your governor, your president, and even your preacher!  It may not be fair.  It may not be right, but it is what it is.  Success breeds success.  There is no substitute.  And if someone is not willing to give the effort necessary to be successful then they should be content with whatever life style that their efforts have afforded them. 

          The last harsh reality that anyone of "us" that are poor must face is regardless of how many debates that are waged by people who are not poor, by people who were never poor, by people that have never known poverty, at the end of the day the only people that must deal with the harsh realities of poverty are the poor.  Poor people don't debate about the causes of poverty.  They are interested in solutions.  It is not an academic topic for intellectual discussion for them.  It is a reality; a reality that many would like to change.  Therefore, regardless of who is at fault for their being poor what matters the most is that they are poor and something must be done about it. 

          The first step of any journey begins with that person's resolve to go the distance.  Let's all take that first step by first challenging the individual pathologies that maintain the cycle of poverty.  Maybe while all of us examine ourselves, we can also take that step to tackle our societal priorities.

Caught In the Middle

"If we were to wake up some morning and find that everyone was the same race, creed and color, we would find some other cause for prejudice by noon."

                                                             --George Aiken--

"Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences.  No one can eliminate prejudices - just recognize them."

                                                           --Edward R. Murrow--

         Most people in the Washington Metropolitan Area have already heard about the murder that took place in Georgetown a week ago.  Most people in Georgetown also have already heard about the racially irresponsible remarks that were made at a community meeting in Georgetown by the commander of the police district that encompasses Georgetown.  For the record this article is not about whether that commander should keep his job or whether I think the commander is a racist.  I am not concerned about his personal views.  I am more concerned about his public behavior while on duty as an officer of the peace. This article is about how the murder in Georgetown and the statements by the commander are an example of what most African-Americans must deal with on a daily basis.  In short many of us feel like we are caught in the middle between the cops and the crooks.

         About a week ago a few thugs decided to rob two people in Georgetown.  Unfortunately, during the robbery attempt at least one of the thugs decided to sexually assault one of the robbery victims, which is a young female.  It is not clear from the articles that were written about the tragedy, but it seems that the other robbery victim, which was a young male, was stabbed and had his throat slashed during the robbery attempt.  The male victim died before medical help could arrive.  The deadly violent nature and locale of this crime shocked and frightened many of the Georgetown residents regardless of race.  Yes.  You may have already guessed the race of the victims and the race of the alleged perpetrators.  The victims were white and the people charged with the murder are black so of course a racial undercurrent had to eventually overflow into the public discourse about this crime.

         Crimes like what happened a week ago affects more than just the actual statistical victims.  It affects the entire community.  When someone is raped or robbed or murdered in your neighborhood that takes away something from you as a member of that community.  It takes away from your sense of security, which takes away some of your interaction within the community , which takes away some of the community's cohesion.  That is why when crimes like what happened last week in Georgetown occur a community has a choice.  It can go through a process to help restore some of the sense of safety and comfort that previously existed before the crime or it can continue to disintegrate into a cluster of households trapped in the vise of fear.  I bet you can guess which choice the residents of Georgetown made.  They chose the former and the process they chose was a community meeting.  And that is where the racial undercurrents overflowed into the open.

         That is where the commander for that district made the racially irresponsible remarks.  The commander probably voiced the opinions of some people in Georgetown in his unguarded comments.  It is my understanding from reports from local media and from someone that actually attended the meeting that the commander in an effort to encourage Georgetown residents to be more observant of potential dangers in their community told the people at the meeting to be prepared to call 911 when they see something suspicious like people hiding in bushes or black folks in Georgetown.  Yep.  Here we go again.  Someone that shares a similar phenotype as many other African-Americans commits a crime and we all are under suspicion.

         This is the slap in the face that many of us law abiding taxpaying black folks, which incidentally make up the majority of black people in this country, have to deal with everyday.  On one side of the law we tend to be the victims of violent crime such as robberies, carjacking, rape, and murder and no one seems to care.  On the other side regardless of how often we obey the law, regardless of how much taxes we pay, regardless of how polite we are sometimes it seems that all society and some police officers see is a profile of a criminal.  It is terrible to be a victim of a crime by a criminal.  It make you feel helpless and vulnerable.  It is entirely something else to feel that you can not turn to the police for protection, but that you may need protection form the police as well. 

         Sometimes it feels like being caught between a rock and a hard place.  The problem is how to avoid being crushed by stereotypes and prejudice.

         

Prison Break

"Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives."

                                                       --William James--

"There is only one admirable form of imagination: the imagination that is so intense that it creates a new reality, that it makes things happen."

                                                      --Sean O'Faolain--

         I want to talk about a different topic this week.  Ordinarily I would continue to harp on how the machine in Chicago continues to roll along and how that is not good for the African-American community or any community.  That is a topic for another day, maybe next week.

         This week's article is about prisons.  Yes.  Prisons.  No.  This is not another article about the plight of the black man and how so many brothers are either in prison or on probation.  When I write that I want to "talk" about prisons I do not mean a physical prison.  I want to write about the prisons that many of us are in, have been in, and continue to live in every day.  The prison of the mind.

         Many if "us" live in prisons of our making because we allow other people to define who we are.  I know what I am about to write may seem very controversial but it needs to be discussed.  Why do we as African-American continue to allow our community to be defined by the ones of "us" that have achieved the least.  What do I mean by that statement?  We allow the image of community to be one of a people that are poverty stricken, poorly educated, and habitually involved in the criminal justice system.  Well, contrary to popular belief the average African-American does not live in poverty, jail, penitentiary or on probation.  Yes, our poverty rate is nearly twice as high as white folks.  Yes, there are way to many of "us" that are in prison, especially when compared to people from our community that is in college.  Yes, we as a community still have a long way to go, but it is impossible to take any step on a road to a place when you have no idea where you are going because you have no idea who you are and what you want.

         We need to set our goals higher as individuals and as a community.  It makes no sense to tell our children by our words that schools and knowledge is important, but tell them by our actions that to be well educated is to be something other than being "black."  It makes no sense to encourage success in one breath and then compare our achievements to the ones of "us" that are struggling.  The only way to pull someone up to the top of a mountain is to climb up there first.  It is time we raised the bar in our community.  Throughout history our community has demonstrated that we meet and exceed whatever goals or challenges that we set for ourselves.  Well, it is time to start setting our goals higher.

         The average African-American, like many other people throughout the world, live in little mental prisons where they are over worked, underpaid, and very unhappy.  We live in those prisons because we have allowed other people to tell us our worth, our talents, and our limitations.   There are too man of "us" that believe in limitations in their lives in what they can do.  These limitations have lead to decisions that have lead to dead-end jobs, careers, and life styles that have lead to unhappiness.  That must end.  Once someone is sold on their confinement there is little need to physically restrain them because they will do that for you.  That is what has been happening in our community for decades. 

         Our community is diverse, rich with talent, and has yet to reach its fullest potential.  In order for "us" to reach that potential individually and collectively we must start challenging the images that we see on television, in the print media, and that is even perpetuated by "us."  We will be defined by someone else's eyes until we choose to present to the world our image that has been filtered through our lenses that was governed by our imagination, needs, and values.  It is easy to talk about the intelligent brother that went bad that eventually ended up in jail, but what about the creative, imaginative, intelligent brother or sister that ended up in a cubicle?  How many of "us" are living that life?   Think about it.  Is one of those brothers or sisters you?  If so isn't time to start changing the face of our community and then the conversation in our community?  What do you think?

What Do We Really Value?

"If liberty and equality, as is thought by some are chiefly to be found in Democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in government to the utmost."

                                                              --Aristotle--

"If you want to be free, there is but one way; it is to guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your neighbors.  There is no other."

                                                               --Carl Schurz--

         Happy Birthday America.  Thousands of celebrations will take place all over the country tomorrow.  Tomorrow there will be a great outpouring of national pride and patriotism, but there still remains one last bit of unfinished business.  What would you say if I told you that there are over a half million Americans that do not have a vote in the legislative body that has the final say on laws and policies in their community?  If you are like most people, you might think I am either joking or asking you a trick question.  I am not.  Five hundred seventy thousand American citizens and residents of the District of Columbia ("D.C") live that reality everyday.  Or to put it in a more historical perspective the residents of D.C. are being treated just like the colonies; they are required to pay federal taxes without having a vote in the United States Congress.  Thus begs the question: isn't it time that D.C. was set free?

         The issue of D.C. receiving the same rights as the rest of the country, i.e. full voting rights in Congress and full autonomy over local matters, has been debated for decades.  However, for various reasons that appear to essentially boil down to simple partisan posturing, thousands of born and raised American citizens are still denied the same participation in their national government as people that live only a few miles away.  Before I go on let me answer you smart folks that always asks "why don't people in D.C. just move to Maryland or Virginia or why isn't D.C. reabsorbed back into Maryland?"  First, D.C. is still American soil so American citizens should be able to enjoy the same rights and privileges regardless of where he/she resides within this country.  Second, the suggestion that D.C. should be reabsorbed by Maryland so that its residents could get the same privileges as the rest of the country is incredible.  D.C. has been around for longer than most states and it has evolved its own identity.  It is no more reasonable to ask the residents of D.C. to give up their identity as it would be to ask West Virginia (which has operated independent of Virginia for less time than D.C. has operated independent of Maryland) and Vermont to give up theirs (which has been a state for only about ten years longer than D.C. has been separated from Maryland politically).

         Opponents to D.C. independence have made several arguments against D.C. receiving what every other American citizen has.  There is the argument that this is what the founders intended.  This is a specious argument.   First, that assertion is debatable.  Second, there are several things that the framers of the Constitution did not intend that we have today like the end of slavery, voting rights for African-Americans and women, and personal income taxes.  All of these things were added to the Constitution via an amendment so the same can be done for D.C.  (I know that an amendment was attempted in the 1970s but another can be attempted).  There is the argument that the District of Columbia should not have voting representation in Congress because it has been a bed of corruption and does not properly manage its own affairs.  If that was the standard for every city, town or village, there would be a great number of people in various states throughout our history as a nation that would have lost their voting rights a long time ago.  There is an argument that the residents of the D.C. have a greater influence on Congress due to its proximity to Congress.  This is a particularly funny argument considering how several conservative members of Congress have interfered in purely local matters in D.C. in order to either appease lobbyist or court "value voters" in their home districts.  And there is the argument that the whole Free D.C. movement is just a ploy by the liberal left to get a safe seat in the House of Representatives and two safe seats in the Senate.  While there could be some merit to this argument, the same can be said about the motivations behind much of the opposition to D.C. receiving full voting rights and complete local autonomy.

         It still defies logic, reason and our principles as a nation why D.C. is still taxed by the federal government without a vote in the federal government.  If you really think about it, none of those arguments really make any sense whatsoever.  The issue of whether D.C. should receive full voting rights in Congress and complete autonomy over local affairs is not one of just laws, original intent, or political loyalties.  The answer to the this issue is one of identity.  Who are we as a nation?  Do we still believe in the principles of this nation?  Do we still believe in freedom, democracy, and equality?  If we do then there is only one answer that will fit with those beliefs and that is for the residents of D.C. to receive the same rights, privileges, and voices as the rest of the country.  Period.  There is no logical excuse to deny the residents of D.C. full voting rights and complete autonomy over local matters, unless you have more loyalty to a political party than the principles of this country.

         For decades the arguments for and against D.C. freedom have been motivated by partisan and in some cases maybe even racist reasons.  It is true that D.C. is likely the most liberal Democratic stronghold in the entire country so the Democrats would be more than happy for the District of Columbia to receive a house seat and two senate seats.  It is also true that for the same reason there are a copious amount of republicans that would oppose D.C. receiving full voting rights and complete local autonomy. 

         Well, to both parties I would say check your political agendas at the door of commitment to our principles and values as a nation and get try to act as Americans instead of democrats and republicans.  If either party is worried that by giving D.C. full voting rights and complete local autonomy it will affect the balance of power between the two parties, then I have a solution.  Give D.C. the vote and whoever is voted into Congress by the residents of D.C. will not count for the purposes of House and Senate party control for twenty-five years.  This way, it will give each party a chance to develop and maintain a presence in D.C.

         You know that you believe in something when you steadfastly hold onto it even when it is not convenient.  The real issue that remains is our commitment to democracy, freedom, and equality and whether we as a nation have the wherewithal to live out our values as a people.  If we as a nation believe in democracy enough to put Americans in harms way and to send billions of Americans' hard earned tax dollars over seas to help establish, maintain, and defend the democracy of other people then we must give the residents of D.C. the same thing that residents of Maryland, Virginia, New York, Florida, California, Michigan, Arkansas, Kansas, Texas, Illinois and the rest of the country has.  The time for debating whether D.C. should have full voting rights and complete local autonomy has passed.  The time to ask ourselves what we really believe in is upon us.  If we believe in lip service to our values and principles as a nation then we can continue with the partisan motivated tug of war between the liberals and conservatives.  If we believe in democracy, liberty, and equality for all Americans then there is only one thing left to do . . .Free D.C.!