Parents Notebook
Parents Notebook: Kujichagulia – Self Determination
The time has come when we must take the Kwanzaa principle “Kujichagulia” into our daily practice. As African-Americans, we know the history of physical slavery and the resulting mental slavery. The question today is do we recognize the 21
st
century form of slavery? Dependency! In fast-food restaurants and on cell phones that dial numbers that we can no longer remember – as starters. And as usual, children are the ideal targets because we’ve heard “train a child in the way it should go and when he is old, he won’t depart”. Parents, our children spend forty hours a week, nine months a year in school. It’s time we ask the question – For whose purpose? If achievement means scoring three or more on a standardized test, I’m clear that the achievement has little if anything to do with personal growth and development needed to transform our communities and society, changing the dismal statistics on our youth. We must get involved, not for the coffee clutches or run-of-the-mill PTA meetings but for total involvement in our children’s education, starting with creating a stimulating home environment to advocating for the needs of the school, holding legislators accountable for decisions that affect our children to preventing principals and teachers being forced to choose between their jobs and educating our children. We are the ones to save our children. Let’s celebrate Kwanzaa 2009 by joining or creating a project to save our children from the mayor’s scheme – projects to reinstate educators to the jobs of educating – professionals who understand the difference between achievement and memorizing answers to test questions.
Researchers have established evidence of students having different learning styles and multiple intelligences. The intelligent direction for heads of education would be to adapt their school environments to foster true student achievement. Anything short of that continues the dropout rates, the school-to-prison pipeline and contributes to drug abuse and violence among our youth. Do we have a choice?
With the glaring need to practice Kujichagulia, I recalled working with individual parents concerned about their child not being promoted made the difference in their child making the grade.
Following our motto, “The transformation of a nation begins in the homes of its people”, The Parent’s Notebook is seeking parents whose child scored a one or two on the most recent tests to participate in the project – Making the Grade 2010. We’re using the research to support the students becoming self-directed – the S in our development of SMART children and families. Although the research is in verifying that individuals have more intelligences than English and Math, those remain the basis for scores. We will use the research to 1) acknowledge the child for the strengths they have, 2) ensure their exposure to activities where those skills are used and appreciated, and 3) connect them to activities that increase skills in weaker areas.
This year marks the 40
th Anniversary of the Kwanzaa Celebration at Boys and Girls High School, Harriet Tubman Ave. and Fulton Street being held December 26th thru 28th. Featured on December 26th , the first day of Kwanzaa, will be a panel discussion on Economics, Education and Health from 3 to 5 pm. I will present the Making the Grade 2010 on that panel. Mark your calendar. The goal is giving the gift of Kujichagulia to ourselves and to our children. For questions beforehand call 718-783-0059 or e-mail parentsnotebook@yahoo.com
.