Home Blog Page 907

Revisiting Self-Esteem and Saving Our Children

Aminisha Black
-
0

Nelson Mandela has been a hero for many years, an example of one with an extremely high sense of self-esteem.     He has always been grounded in his life’s purpose; he has not shown anger about the past, including being imprisoned for 27 years.  He did not exhibit anger about apartheid, just a determination to end it.  He spoke the same truth before all audiences.  Youngsters   can trust a Nelson Mandela.  We trusted him and consequently we love him.  We are in awe of those who demand our trust and love.  They provide the model for change.

Can we African-American parents strive to attain those qualities exhibited by Nelson Mandela?  Can we disentangle ourselves  spiritually  and mentally from  the current form of enslavement – “having possession of objects as our highest-held value while relationships among family and village/community  relationships (highest-held African value) crumble”,  evidenced by our children killing each other, parents waging feuds that  finance lawyers, judges  and  Family Court employees while fueling the fire that keeps parents at war and offspring reduced to  “emotional victims”, reducing their self-worth to their ability to wear the latest in colored sneakers.  And we can live on the blocks with families without establishing nurturing relationships and often spearheading negative campaigns against them.  There are opportunities to make a difference for our children beginning on the blocks where we live.  Each and every person has something to contribute…it’s simply a matter of ridding  emotional and mental clutter that has attention focused on what’s missing in others in an attempt to feel better about ourselves.  Our children need more and we can provide it by focusing, as Nelson Mandela did, on the goal and focusing on developing within ourselves the practice we expect from others.    Some assignments to start the process:

Parents can join with their child or children in search of their individual purpose.  That exercise in itself builds self-esteem from the age of two or three through 18.  Imagine as a child engaging with an adult voicing your interests and being taken seriously and listened to by adults.  Home must be the place where our children must learn that they matter.  Because of the emotional turbulence existing in many of our families, the community has a role to play in nurturing youth and in cases of severe emotional upheaval in the home, could be their source of emotional survival.  However, adults must be aware of possibilities and not consumed by giving their power to others.  Our children‘s future is literally in our hands.  When we can clearly state a purpose worthy of our lives, we can end the petty ways we relate to each other and instead become cheerleaders for ourselves, each other and for all our children.

A youngster’s willingness to listen and respect advice depends heavily on his ability to trust and feel accepted by the person giving it.  We want to build relationships of trust and acceptance early so that our children will respect and adopt our values.  Therefore, we must not be dictators and oppressors in our interactions with them.

When a four-year-old is having a tantrum and you’re tired and loaded down with packages, the desire might be to beat him until he stops.  That usually does not work.  So take a deep breath, count to ten, then with a measured calmness ask the child what s/he wants again.  Tell the child to keep a mental list of all the things s/he wants until you get home.  Continue talking about the list.  Suggest more things to add.  You are changing a mood, not a mind.  The child should become involved in making the list which is much more fun than yelling and screaming for both of you.

For many years, African-American parents ‘priority was ensuring their children stayed alive. This gave rise to “children should be seen and not heard” and “spare the rod – spoil the child”. These survival practices are still being used today.  While the circumstances have changed, our youth are an endangered species.  Poor self-esteem is a root cause.

Unintentionally, we damage our children’s self-esteem, training them for oppression – rather than liberation.  If our children are not permitted to question or state their opinions – even those that differ from ours – we teach them to accept without thought or challenge.  As a community of adults, parents or not, we can contribute to the self-esteem of one or more youth.  Share what you’re doing on your block.  parentsnotebook@yahoo.com

Feeling Blue

Editor, Our Time Press
-
3

There has been a lot of head-shaking and anger if you are a Giants fan, and clearly it’s understandable as the team has now dropped to 0-6 after last Thursday’s loss to the Chicago Bears. We’ve seen the pictures and video clips of players on the sidelines with towels over their heads in shame, but the way things are going not even Lawrence Taylor can help this team.  There has not been an 0-6 Giants team since 1976, and for a team who had high expectations coming into this year, may be a few losses away from missing the playoffs entirely.  Who would of thought we would see Giants fans with bags over their heads with a 2-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback and coach at the helm.

Eli Manning has had a nightmare season so far. He added 3 more interceptions to his league-leading 15 on Thursday night. He had a total of 15 interceptions all of last year.  Not having a running game does not fare well for him either. The team’s running game has been nonexistent with Brandon Jacobs and David Wilson splitting carries with one another.  Let’s not throw all the heat at Eli and the offense, the defense has not taken any pressure off Manning. In 6 games this year, opponents have scored 30 points or more in 5 of them, not to mention an NFL low of just 5 sacks so far.  Safety Antrel Rolle has been sort of the locker-room spokesman for the team, and when he was asked about the team’s mind-set, he said “We have 10 games left, it’s up to us to determine how this season is going to turn out. Are we still playoff-bound?  Who knows,the most important thing right now is us going out there together as a team and focusing on getting a win.” But wait…. Wasn’t this the same Antrel Rolle who said that the G-men can win 12 straight after the team went to 0-4? Yea, we’ve all seen how that prediction went.

As hard and cliché as it may sound, Giants fans should find a way to still stay positive. Yes, even at 0-6. The Giants are still just 3 games behind the first-place Dallas Cowboys. That alone tells you how abysmal that entire division has been this year. After a prime time game last Thursday, the Giants get a crack at another prime time affair  at home against Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football. This could be the week where Giants fans will have something to cheer about

Sports Notes:  (Football) Coming off a loss to the Steelers, Geno Smith and the Jets face a big challenge as they get another crack at Tom Brady and the Patriots. When the two teams met last month, Smith had one of his worst performances as a pro. He looks to change his luck this Sunday. Eli Manning and the Giants welcome in the Vikings as the team continues to fight for their first win of the season. (Basketball) The NBA regular season is 2 weeks away.

Study says Black, Latino & Poor Students In City’s Public Schools Lack Equal Resources

Stephen Witt
-
21

Education advocacy group says Common Core Standards requires level playing field

By Stephen Witt

While most educators continue to laud Common Core Standards, many black, Latino and poor students in the city’s public schools are at a disadvantage to reach these standards because of a lack of resources, according to the Alliance for Quality Education (AQE), an education research and advocacy group.

That is just one of the AQE’s reactions to a recent Independent Budget Office report that found black, Latino and poor students have fewer resources, particularly in science and arts, than their white and Asian peers.

The report, which defined minority and poor students as those who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, found that these students have half the access to the number of Advanced Placement (AP) classes as their white and Asian counterparts.  Additionally, these students generally have fewer science, music and art classes and are less likely to have a library, medical office or gym compared to white and Asian students across the city.

Nearly 16 percent of public high schools don’t have a science lab and roughly half don’t have art rooms. The study also found that white and Asian students go to high schools with nearly twice as many science labs as high schools attended mainly by black, Latino and poor students.

“The real goal of the Common Core is about raising the quality of the curriculum for every single student, of what they learn in the classroom, not just what is tested,” said AQE Executive Director Billy Easton. “Raising standards will only improve outcomes if black and Latino, ELL (English Language Learners) and low-income students have equal access to a well-rounded curriculum that includes art, music, science, gym and Advanced Placement courses. We will not move the needle on closing the racial achievement gap until we close the opportunity gap.”

But Department of Education spokeswoman Erin Hughes told reporters the report was misleading, and noted the percentage of black students taking Aps are up 26 percent since 2008 and the percentage of Latino students taking APs rose 42 percent since 2008.

Despite the lack of resources some educators in Central Brooklyn still believe that Common Core Standards should remain in place at schools in poorer neighborhoods.

“Common Core has everybody so afraid,” said Research & Service High School Principal Allison Farrington. “Common Core simply teaches the skills students need for critical thinking.”

Brooklyn DA Race Not Over, Yet

Mary Alice Miller
-
0

DA Hynes Announced Reelection Run on GOP Line

By Mary Alice Miller

District Attorney Charles Hynes’ formal announcement to run for reelection on the Republican and Conservative lines was a raucous affair, despite the campaign event’s old-timey banjo music. Political supporters who waited half an hour for Hynes to arrive and when he did, his remarks were further delayed by a dozen dissenters who chanted, “Good-bye, Joe. Hynes must go!”

“As I continue my campaign for reelection, I urge Democrats, Progressives, independent voters to join with Republicans and Conservatives to preserve the public safety of Kings County for their families, themselves, their friends and neighbors,” said Hynes. “Reelect me as district attorney.”

Hynes said it was “palpably unfair” that 82% of Democratic voters who did not participate in the primary and voters from all parties “would be blocked in the general election on November 5th from choosing who their district attorney would be for the next four years. He characterized the low Primary Day turnout as “denial of the vote.”

(This year’s district attorney primary vote totals were 100,678 to 81,173 [55-44%]. Hynes ran unopposed in 2009 on the Democratic, Republican and Conservative lines. But in 2005, candidate State Senator John Sampson came within 5,000 votes of Hynes in a primary with an even lower vote total than 2013 (Hynes 47,998 to Sampson’s 42,337).

“I further learned that Clarence Norman, Jr., the former Kings County Democratic Chair who I convicted of political corruption by extortion and sent to prison, ran Mr. Thompson’s ‘get out the vote’ campaign on Primary Day,” Hynes said. “I wondered what Clarence Norman, Jr. was doing running and managing a race for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office.” Hynes said Ken Thompson denied to a reporter that Norman was involved in any way in his campaign and that denial “was simply not credible.”

Hynes then declared, “I will do everything in my power to make damn sure that Clarence Norman, Jr. never influences the office of the Brooklyn District Attorney.”

The Thompson campaign denies that Norman played a role in his campaign. “This allegation about Clarence Norman is an outright lie,” said Thompson. “It’s a desperate move by D.A. Hynes. I’ve said repeatedly that Clarence Norman had nothing to do with my campaign.”

This writer asked Hynes about the seeming inconsistency: There are those of us who know that you have somebody working on your campaign who is a former felon who spent time in prison for causing serious bodily harm. That person has rehabilitated himself so much so that you feel confident to have him on your campaign. Why cannot any other person who has committed a crime – including felonies – rehabilitate themselves, do their time, then come out as a private citizen and support any campaign they want?

Hynes’ answer: “There is a profound difference between a dopey 17-year-old who does something really stupid, commits a serious crime, goes to prison, rehabilitates himself, becomes an ordained minister and someone (referring to Norman) who is one of the most powerful Democratic leaders in this state who is a serial thief and extortionist. Yeah, if Clarence Norman, Jr. came out and said, ‘I want to run political campaigns’, and if Thompson had the guts to say, ‘That’s my campaign manager’, I wouldn’t have an issue.”

But Norman was not Thompson’s campaign manager.

The irony is D.A. Hynes has many programs targeting African-Americans who have gotten in trouble with the law. Limited funding prevents access to all who may need reentry services. Hynes wants to expand these programs and make them available to all African-Americans coming out of prison. Is Norman not permitted to reenter society as a private citizen similar to other formerly incarcerated individuals who have served their time?

View From Here Bikers/SUV Tragic Confrontation

David Mark Greaves
-
0

By David Mark Greaves

The tragedy of the recent motorcycle versus SUV confrontation was amazingly caught on a helmet-mounted camera and makes for compelling viewing.  A large group of motorcyclists found themselves together on the Westside Highway and if you’ve ever been in that situation, you either enjoy the roar as they go by, or slow down to hasten their passing.  Until this moment, every vehicle on the highway has  given them leeway and allowed them to roar on.  But now the camera shows the bumper of a car unbelievably moving at the rear tire of a motorcyclist.  He does hit the motorcycle, and the rider goes down and traffic comes to a halt.  Suddenly, the SUV bolts ahead, running over and crippling a motorcyclist and drives away at a high speed.  The bikers take off after the perpetrator and what follows is a Hollywood-worthy sequence of a car chase, including high speeds on the highway and through red lights on city streets.

After having stopped the vehicle, instead of leaving the driver alone and calling the police, a couple of men on adrenalin-fueled stupidity, attacked the driver, beating him bloody in front of his family, which they’re going to regret  for a long time.   But here the story turns an interesting corner.  Apparently, one or more of the people present were NYPD undercover officers.   Now, if they were well-intentioned officers, they could have intervened saying, “Hey, be cool.  We don’t need everybody being searched and checked up in here”.    They would have stopped the attack and gained much respect.  Instead, according to CBS News senior correspondent John Miller, a former deputy commissioner with the New York Police Department on “CBS This Morning”: “This is a story that starts out as not such a good day (for the NYPD) because they had a detective on the scene who was undercover, who took no action to intervene and then waited four days to come forward and say, ‘I was there’. That got worse (on Tuesday) when they reviewed the videotapes they received this week from other sources other than the YouTube video we first saw, and they see their own detective allegedly banging out the back window of the SUV during the incidents that led up to the man being dragged from the car.”   Was he simply undercover, or was he an agent-provocateur with specialized instructions who seized an opportunity?  This is a trial we’re waiting to see.

And lastly, brother-in-law Bruce Green asked me, “What about the driver?”   Here, he had his family in the car, and he recklessly maneuvers to deliberately cause harm to the motorcyclist.  Does he get a pass now because of sympathy?  If he does not get charged with the precipitating action, the justice system is saying in effect it’s okay to run over a black man, or several, if you feel threatened.  “This is stand-your-ground and George Zimmerman comes to New York,” says Bruce.

Debt Ceiling Breach

Regarding the much-dreaded “debt ceiling crisis”.  If the Republicans don’t cave, the country will default on its debt.  And as the global world begins to implode, President Obama will invoke the 14th Amendment and say the full faith and credit of the United States must take precedent over policy issues.    There will be calls for impeachment and while the Affordable Care Act solves its glitches and becomes a fact on the ground, the elections will be upon us and justice will be served.

 

Looking at Tomorrow

We visited RPI and caught the end of the reception for the introduction of AMOS the Advanced Multiprocessing Optimized System.  Their press release states, “With the ability to perform more than one quadrillion (1015) calculations per second, AMOS is the most powerful university-based supercomputer in New York State and the Northeast, and among the most powerful in the world”.   This system joins IBM’s storied Watson cognitive computing system, Watson at Rensselaer, forming the Center for Computational Innovations (CCI). “This combination of AMOS’s balanced supercomputing power and Watson at Rensselaer’s ability to understand the subtle nuances of human language and sift through vast amounts of data uniquely positions Rensselaer as a world leader in data-related research, innovation and education.”

There were easels holding posters of calculations, drawings and text.   It was an odd feeling, because while I could read and pronounce the words, I had no idea what they meant.  A young woman, a doctoral student at RPI, told us that she was part of the team behind the poster.  She explained that with the ever-increasing amount of data in the world having the ability to analyze it quickly is crucial to seeing new patterns.

The data being created throughout the world in all fields is a vast ocean of unconnected information and opportunity.  And it is machines like AMOS and Watson that sail on those waters, making connections that were invisible before.   So much of what we once thought was science fiction (one quadrillion per second!) has come to pass as everyday technology that fewer and fewer future scenarios seem far-fetched.

One thing is clear though, the only thing that can challenge these behemoths is the intelligence and imagination of the human brain (which, by the way AMOS, is encased in a system that can also dance and sing).    It is growing up all around us.  It requires good nutrition in the womb, an empowering environment and an education protocol at home and at school that inspires critical thinking and self-awareness.   If we want our children to be full partners in this world, we have to fight for them now.

1...906907908...1,292Page 907 of 1,292