Black Grade School Teachers: The Frontline of the Future

This is the second section within the topic on the Role of Education.  This discussion will focus on the trials, tribulations, and admiration of the Black grade school teachers and how their presence and job impacts the Black Community.

The 3 Questions

1. Is it pivotal to have Black school teachers in the educational system for Black students?

2. Are you more or less comfortable with the idea of you or your child having a Black school teacher, or does it not matter?

3. What can the Black Community do to help Black school teachers?

FRONT STREET

Depending on where you grew/are growing up at, the chances of you having no Black grade school teacher can be high.  Many of the people I know and myself included can count how many Black teachers we had prior to going to higher institutes of learning on one hand.  Although, most of us did not “suffer” from not having Black school teacher in grade school, there was a void noticed whenever you were fortunate enough to have one.  With the undeniable fact that teaching is one of the most important professions in the world, we felt obligated to ask the question of whether Black school teachers can save the destruction of Our Community?

Please write in and response to our 3 poll questions or post some questions that you would like to see asked.  These question and more were addressed on 7/27/2020.

Black Grade School Teachers [unedited]

HBCU & PWI: The Advantages, Disadvantages, and Discouragement of an HBCU Education

This is the fifth and final section within the topic on the Role of Education.  This discussion revolves around the difficult choice for college-bound Black students and whether going to an HBCU or PWI impact the Black Community.

The 3 Questions

1. What is, was, or would be your biggest reason for attending any university?

2. Do you consider HBCU’s or PWI’s better schools for Black students?

3. Do you agree or disagree with the notion that HBCU’s do not prepare you for the “real world” and are antiquated?

FRONT STREET

As a graduate of the illustrious Hampton University, I can truly say that HBCU’s are different.  The atmosphere, the culture, the populations, and the Homecomings!!!  Honestly, it was a life-changing experience and I couldn’t see myself going anywhere else.  However, I have plenty of friends, relatives, co-workers, associates etc. who attended PWI’s and to be frank they don’t view college the way HBCU grads view their alma maters.  They often looked at college as a business preposition and cited, scholarships, technology, and “more diversity” as the main upsides of their experience.  I think both options have value, but the future doesn’t look bright for HBCU’s.  Between the “diversity” warriors seeing HBCU’s as self-imposed segregationist, and well-meaning Blacks seeing them as antiquated and depleted, the age old question of whether Black students should go to HBCU’s or PWI’s has come to the forefront once again.  Are HBCU’s unknowingly playing a hand in the destruction of Our Community?

Please write in and response to our 3 poll questions or post some questions that you would like to see asked.  These question and more were addressed on 10/18/2020 in our Roundtable which is also available on YouTube.

HBCU & PWI’s

The Negro Dialect: How Our Language Hinders and Helps Our Younth

This is the third segment within the topic of the Role of Education.  This discussion will examine how the use of language has played a role in Black peoples lives and how the perceptions of using a particular way of speaking can impact the Black Community.

The 3 Questions

1. Do you believe there is such a thing as talking Black?

2. Do you believe “talking Black” is a hindrance for Black students/people?

3. Should the way people, particularly Black people, talk matter?

FRONT STREET

Harry Reid, the former Democratic Senate MajorityLeader, said it…  He said what many White, if not all, people thought whenever they heard the oratory stylings of Obama. “He [Reid] was wowed by Obama’s oratorical gifts and believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama — a ‘light-skinned’ African American ‘with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one,’ according to Halperin and Heilemann.  Although Harry Reid later apologized for his insensitive comments, what he said is indeed a troublesome stereotype that Black people have to overcome constantly.  Does the way we talk, speak to our level of intelligence?  Why does code switching have to be a part of any successful Black persons repartee?  Hip Hop is the most listen to form of music in the world, why do Black people need to change the way we speak if it’s obvious that people can understand what we are saying?  All of these questions are jammed into the idea of “talking intelligently” and how the perceptions of Black people is always about proving our worthiness.  In short is the Negro dialect contributing to the destruction of Our Community?

Please write in and response to our 3 poll questions or post some questions that you would like to see asked.  These question and more were addressed on MONTH/DAY/YEAR during the discussion which is now airing on YouTube.

Charter vs Public Schools: Which is Better for Black Students?

This is the fourth portion within the topic of the Role of Education.  This discussion looks at whether charter or public schools are better for the Black students to thrive and succeed in education and how that decision impacts the Black Community.

The 3 Questions

1. Do you believe school choice is necessary for Black people, why or why not?

2. Have public school systems failed the Black Community, why or why not?

3. If money was equally distributed to every school no matter where the students lived, would that help or hurt the education system?

FRONT STREET

There are many people who believe education was best for Black students prior to integration.  Although this is literally another topic within the Black Advancement’s focus, it begs the question of why some would feel that even under the oppressive conditions of segregation, our children were better served.  Why would they believe this, simply, is because they believed the teachers, parents, and community were all invested in the school system and the success of all the students.  Believe it or not, this argument is very similar to the charter or public school debate, specifically concerning Black students.  With the education achievement gap seeming to never close and the proven systematic biases against Black students in public schools, many more are looking to other options to educate their children.  In spite of all of those facts, there is a legit argument for having a public school option, primarily that it’s free and provides for a wide range of educational levels.  With all things considered, do you believe that charter and or public schools are contributing to the destruction of the Black Community?

Please write in and response to our 3 poll questions or post some questions that you would like to see asked.  These question and more were addressed on 09/23/2020 in our Roundtable which is also available on YouTube.

Charter vs Public Schools

Lies My Teacher Told Me: The Indoctrination of  White Heroism

This is the first section within the topic of the Role of Education.  This discussion will focus on the mistruths, misinformation, and misunderstandings perpetrated in schools all across America and how ignorance and euro-centristic curriculums impact the Black Community.

The 3 Questions

1. What is the biggest lie perpetuated in American schools and does it impact Black people?

2. Should teachers be given more freedom to craft a curriculum or would you rather there be a universal curriculum for grade school?

3.  Do you believe the American school system is meant to indoctrinate children or to educate them?

FRONT STREET

It is no secret to any person that pays attention while attending or parenting a child in the American school system that the materials have a pro-privilege bend.  Although this isn’t exclusively reserved for White people, a majority of this “to the winners the spoils go” type of education, Whites come out as the fathers and mothers and leaders of most of the achievements we as a society deem worthy of learning.  The impact of this reinforcing some notion of supremacy is at the very least arguable, if not down right the sole reasoning for the educational system being set up in such a manner.  With this bias view guiding the children of this nation, the question has to be asked to all children of color, but specifically for Black children for our cause, does this type of education contribute to the destruction of the Black Community?

Please write in and response to our 3 poll questions or post some questions that you would like to see asked.  These question and more were addressed on 8/9/2020.

Lies My Teacher Told Me [unedited]