This is where my psyche is taking me these days:

Take a leap of faith and begin this wondrous new year by believing. Believe in yourself. And believe that there is a loving Source - a Sower of Dreams - just waiting to be asked to help you make your dreams come true.
-Sarah Ban Breathnach

Thinking about the verdict the other day, It really made me think how two wrongs did not make this right.

Walter Scott, Walter Scott

What does this mean

Mistrial, Mistrial

Injustice indeed

Let’s do this again

For all to see

Justice for all, just not me

One runaway juror

Could not see

Eight flying bullets

In the back of me

No Taser, No Taser

In my hand

One planted on the ground near my hand

Let’s do this again, for all to see

Justice for all, just not me

Justice for all, why not me.

-Dwight McBride

On the eve of what is being sold as the biggest election of our lifetime, I am predicting Hillary by a landslide.  That is if the turnout is greater than 45%.

Count Down to the Academy Awards

Count Down to the Academy Awards

As I sit here about an hour or so before the Oscars is about to be broadcasted, I am thinking about the Academy’s first African American President, Cheryl Boone who is propelled into a spotlight of controversy is not much different than Gregory Peck in the 70’s.  Both were forced to step up and demand a change in the membership of its members.  The academy consists of 51 members.  We know a majority is white and male.  It would imply that they are only going to vote on white issues.  That I am not sure of, I think that they vote on what is available.  There are just not a lot of stories being told reflecting the multicultural canvas of America.  This is a direct result of the movie-making machine.  There is no outcry about the people that actually green light what is produced, and what and whose story will be told.  The decision makers of filmmaking are on the other extreme of the Academy members.  They are young and white with a bottom line mentality.


All educators that work with children can tell you that the face of the winner matters.  So is this action one of bias.  I think many assumptions are being made as to what it considered the best.  If you ask my son what movie should win he would tell you Star Wars or any of the Marvel superhero movies.  When I look at the list of nominees I would change or add to the list is Idris Elba for “Beasts of No Nation”, and Ryan Kyle Coogler, director of "Creed".  Nevertheless, I am thinking of a winner where the outcry is simply for a nomination.  I believe that Selma directed by Ava DuVernay for directed Selma should have been nominated last year.


I like what Ice Cube said in an interview.  “We made this movie for the people, to hell with the Oscar’s.”  I thought the movie “Straight out of Compton” was one of the best movies that entertained me, but I don’t necessary agree it was an Oscar contender.  Maybe the soundtrack because the music was a major change in how the voice of inner city black’s was using music to express themselves with the treatment of African Americans in contemporary times.  However, this is my opinion and only my opinion.  I feel if you are going to make a docudrama or a movie about a music group that literally reflected systemic racism, I feel the was the movie did not go far enough into the lives of the groups and tell more truths about the members.  That to me hands down would be an Oscar contender.  I will be honest with you, when Spike Lee did not get the award for Malcolm X.  I was done with the Oscars.  I don’t expect a lot of Black nomination just like to don’t expect to see a lot of White Americans in the NBA.

But this year is different because the of the amount of African American’s involved in the production of the Academy Awards.  The president Cheryl Boone is African American.  The producer Reginald Hudlin is African American and the host is Chris Rock is African American.  That in itself is a first and with this, change in the future of the Academy is evident.  However, obviously, not fast enough.  When Jada Smith made a short video clip protesting the lack of diversity of nominees it what like the shot heard around the world.  Everything that was perceived to be wrong with the voting methods overshadowed the award ceremony. This is a case of someone saying what no one wanted to say.  There was the discussion that everyone of color should protest the Academy.  Chris Rock should quit in protest.  That to me seem counter productive.  Why?  Because the show would go on with or without them.

The cynic that I am feels that with the demand to for protest is in some ways just what the academy award shows needs.  Remember, for years, the show’s African-American audience has been declining for years.  It seems that there was no entertainment value that would draw the community back.  Well except now with Chris Rock as the host who can be a comedian that can tell a racial joke that not only makes you laugh but makes you thank.  This is a Madison Avenue dream come true.  It is like watching the news and they tell you to turn away because the next clip may be graphically offensive.  What will be the response of the audience, not only look, but to turn the sound up.  This is what Chris Rock is for the Academy Awards.  He is expected; yes, he is now expected to take the conversation over the top. I would suggest that the show’s African-American audience would increase for tonight’s show.  What I am hoping is that it does not become the focus point of the show to the point where the nominees have to feel guilty about winning.  If the question is truly about diversity then it is not just a Black thing it is a lack of a female thing, it is a lack of diversity thing, not just in the filmmaking but in those that make the decision what films are made.  This is beyond the Academy.  As for the academy members, I feel that they should be required to see the movies, all the movies that have the potential to receive a nomination.  What was positive is that Ms. Boone expedites the planned changes to the membership system without waiting for the members to voice opposition to her plan.

However, in the end, if this is done with any class it should be one on the best and most entertaining ceremonies.  If it becomes too offensive, I believe even the audience that the show needs to revenue will bow out.  This is where Chris Rock comes in, there is no one that I think could deliver the joke with a slight taste of venom and move on to keep the show alive.

The One Educational Conversation No One Wants To Discuss

Part 4

This is an extension of part three.   This section discusses social issues that influences student learning and classroom interaction. These problems affect entire families and communities.

African Americans:

FEMALES:

The Sadker study found indications that African-American girls fare even worse than white girls in classroom interaction.  Although black girls try to initiate more teacher contact than any other group, they are frequently rebuffed, and usually receive less teacher reinforcement.

Even, the odds of a young white women being a murder victim are 1 in 369; for a young white man 1 in 131; for a black female 1 in 104 and for a black male, 1 in 21. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (CDC) reported that among females, blacks had higher homicide rates than other racial/ethnic groups; however, American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) women aged 30--49 years also had high rates. These findings indicate heightened risk for females during adulthood, which might be indicative of intimate partner--related homicide. These findings also are consistent with a study that reported high rates of intimate partner-related homicide among black women aged 20--39 years and another study that estimated that one third (30.7%) of AI/AN women aged ≥18 years had been physically assaulted by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

Although the 1999--2007 homicide rates were highest among blacks, their rate for 2007 represents a substantial decrease compared with the early 1990s. In 1991, the homicide rate among non-Hispanic blacks peaked at 38 deaths per 100,000 population, which was nearly twice the rate reported in 2007. Similar decreases from the early 1990s to the mid-2000s were observed among the other racial/ethnic minorities.

MALES:

Approximately 1 in every 3 black males teenagers is unemployed and those who are working take home paychecks with 30% less salary that white workers.  It has been reported that in major cites like New York, Chicago, and Milwaukee unemployment can be as high as 68%.

It’s estimated that 25% of black youths’ income results directly from crime and 1 in every 6 males is arrested by age 19. When you live with this much blight, it is difficult to fine hope in your environment. It becomes difficult for a teacher to tell their student to excel in education when their family and community that consist of the educated and the non-educated are equally unemployed.

The CDC's study indicates that during 2007, homicide rates were highest among persons aged 15--34 years, and the overall unadjusted rate for males was approximately 4 times that of females (9.8 versus 2.5 deaths per 100,000 population, respectively). Unadjusted homicide rates were highest among blacks (23.1 deaths per 100,000), followed by American Indians/Alaska Natives (7.8) and Hispanics (7.6), then whites (2.7) and Asian and Pacific Islanders (A/PIs) (2.4).

Additional analyses by age, race/ethnicity, and sex revealed that black males aged 15--34 years were at greatest risk for death by homicide. Based on the available data, black females also had the highest homicide rates compared with females in other racial/ethnic groups within each age category, with the exception of women aged 30--49 years. Homicide is the leading cause of death for young black men. In New York City, about 3 out of 4 black males never make it to graduation.  In Milwaukee, 94% of all expelled students are African-American boys.

Suicide:

Reflecting on my prior posting that conclude with the issue of suicide.  In 2006 , 1954 African Americans completed suicide in the U.S.. Of these, 1669 (85%) were males (rate of 8.8 per 100,000).  The suicide rate for females was 1.4 per 100,000. In 2006, there were only 285 African American female suicides. 

The ratio of African American males to female was 5.85 to 1.  The suicide rate among African American females was the lowest of all racial gender groups.  As with all racial groups, African American females were more likely than males to attempt suicide and African American males were more likely to complete suicide.

CDC indicated suicide was the third leading cause of death among African American youth (ages 10-19), after homicides and accidents. The suicide rate for young African American youth was 2.62 per 100,000 (n=182).  For African American youth, the rate of male suicide (4.34 per 100,000) was 5.1 times higher than that of females (0.85 per 100,000).

African American youth suicide rates were generally low until the beginning of the 1980’s when rates started to increase radically.  Between 1981 and 1994, the rate increased 78%.  Since then, the rate has decreased significantly. 

The American Association of Suicidology  states that males accounted for 90.5% of African American elderly (65 and older) suicides.   Firearms were the predominant method of suicide among African Americans regardless of gender and age, accounting for roughly 52% of all suicides.  

 

So I ask the question again, what can be so wrong in someone’s life that they are willing to commit suicide.  The answer in many cases is nothing. There is nothing wrong; however there can be biochemical factors that can be contributing factors.   An article written by Dawn Turner Trice of the ChicagoTribune about a high school student name Duane Christopher Peterson Jr. who lost his fight with depression by committing suicide. 

Junior Seau a man that also had everything to live for also took his own life. I spoke with a someone about the passing of Junior Seau.  They refuse to acknowledge that in the mist of a wonderful life that maybe he (as we all do to some degree) was facing some demons in his life.  Their response was that it just seems fishy that he would do this.  I attempted to explain with my limited knowledge of suicide that one who commits or even contemplates suicide does not necessary think about life the same way as someone else.  Duane Peterson is an example of how biologicalfactors played a role in his death.  In Junior Seau case, there is  growing conversation that head injuries that football players incur may be a contributing factor.  

Just recently, Jon Bardin of the Los Angeles Times wrote about a study of the T.gondii parasite that could contribute to the attempt of suicide. Researchers estimate that T.gondii is carried by 10% to 20% of Americans, who can get it by changing litter used by infected cats or eating undercooked meat from an animal carrying the bug. Whatever the cause, it seems that we shy away from the conversation of suicide for various reasons including religious beliefs. In this rapidly changing world we need to learn how to be sensitive to this ailment and  find ways to help students to cope with mental ailments.

Image a student in a classroom trying to make sense of their world who may be suffering from daily thoughts of do I live or is it time to die. Remember this student is someone’s child and that child might be sitting next to you right now.

Related articles

Times Magazine writer Alexandra Sifferlin wrote, "Military Suicide: Help for Families worried about their service members," in which she states,  every day, one active-duty service member dies by his own hand. 

 http://www.religioustolerance.org/sui_reli.htm

• Survey reveals black women are among the most religious groups in the US

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• Oakland schools' black male students at risk

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If girls receive less attention, why are boys doing so bad

Part 3

Facts, according to Diane Ravitch (formally Assistant Secretary of Education between 1991 to 1993), and the U.S. Department of Education, such as: more adult men than women lack a high school diploma; young men have lower educational aspirations; boys consistently earn lower report card grades; they get in more trouble at school.

Young men also bring into the classroom emotional problems from outside the school fences, stemming from being what some have called “an endangered species.”

A past U.S. Department of Justice report revealed that high school boys are four times more likely than girls to be murdered. They are more prone to abuse alcohol or drugs; boys 12 to 15 run double the risk faced by girls of becoming victims of a violent crime, and 82% of the nation’s incarcerated youths 18 and under are male – a percentage that increases to an estimated 95% for adult men.

Larry Schryver, the former director of Camp Afflerbaugh, a Los Angeles County probation facility in La Verne, which houses about 115 Male juvenile offenders between the ages of 16 and 18.  He stated that most people acknowledge boys problems only when they are [associated] to their ethnicity, such as the high homicide rate among young African American men.  “People tend to view boys’ problems as something that can be solved only with punishment.  With girls, there’s a feeling that they can be rehabilitated,” said Schryver, Pointing out that boys occupy 17 of the county’s 18 probation centers.  “This gives boys the idea that they don’t matter, that they don’t exist. 

Educators and psychologist worry that rowdy behavior exhibited by more boys than girls propels school officials to wrongly place boys in special education classes. The National Longitudinal Study of Special Education conducted by the U.S. Department of Education in 1993. Found that boys make up about two thirds of the classes for students with learning, behavioral and developments.

For the past decade, boys have filled about 90% of Alice Robinson’s Special education classes.  “A lot of boys suffer because many students in non-special education classes call them stupid,” said Robinson, a former elementary-school teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District who now teachers in the Bay Area.  “ It can have a negative long-term effect on the boys.  I worry about them.”

“Boys tend to puff themselves up more,” said William Purkey, co-author of the study and a counseling professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  “Boys brag when they’re insecure, so it looks like they’re more confident than they really are."

From elementary school through high school, boys receive lower report card grades. By middle school, they are far more likely to be grade repeaters and dropouts. As a classroom teacher there are time that I feel totally helpless when I see a capable student "choose" to fail in response to peer pressure.  Even after discussing the problem with the parents and suggesting possible strategies, many times the student lack the understanding of the importance of appropriate behavior in order for learning to occur.  According to the teacher's experience, perspective and sometimes culture, a referral is made for these students to be evaluated for special education. It needs to be clear that a referral is just that, a referral.  The schools team will do a series of evaluations to determine if in fact there is a learning disability, but ultimately it is the parent's decision what happens next.

The majority of students identified for special education programs are boys. They represent 58% of those in classes for the mentally retarded, 71% of the learning disabled and 80% of those in programs for the emotionally disturbed.  Boys comprise of 71% of all school suspensions.  It should be noted that special education is not a dead-end road.  Today's schools want this population reduced to its lowest possible level.  One of the problems is when a student with a learning disability is not referred because the behavior can be so disruptive that it overshadows academic progress.  So much time is spent on behavior that the years go by before it is discovered that there may be a cognitive problem that was never addressed.  However, the blame can also be spread to the parents for not acknowledging what it means to work on grade level and how difficult it can be for a teacher to move a student to proficiency. As boys move from elementary to middle and high school, other issues seem to materialize.

Boys are 3 times more likely to become alcohol dependent and 50% more likely to use illicit drugs.  Men account for more than 90% of all alcohol-drug related arrests.  The leading cause of death among 15 to 24 year old white males is accidents.  Teenage boys are more likely to die from a gunshot wound that all natural causes combined.  Males commit suicide 2 to 3 times more frequently than females. These are staggering statistics and lead one to think, especially a parent, what could be so wrong in a child's life to commit suicide. 

Note: Much of this section is directly from the study and was published in a variety of publications including the LA Times
.

Related articles

• Learning Disorders (allaboutcounseling.com)
• Phoenix Special Education Program Receives Highest Honor By National Association Of Special Education Teachers (prweb.com)
• Petition: Take Action for Special Education by American Federation of Teachers (socialactions.net)
• Special Education: Why The Shame? (snowflakesofwinter.wordpress.com)