Whisked Away by Words

I'm sitting here in a local Wawa parking lot, drinking my coffee, listening to the CBS News Weekend Roundup and had two random reading memories.

One, I remember loving to hear my 3rd grade teacher read to us everyday. I went to Harrington Elementary down Southwest Philly. The memories that just flooded my mind were of Mrs. Ross reading Matilda, The BFG, and other Roald Dahl books. I remember just being whisked away, complete suspension of disbelief, as I imagined the characters interacting with each other. I remember loving being read to!

As I reflected on that, I recalled being in a PD at John B. Kelly, my former school, and one of my former principals leading the session. She remarked that everyone loves being read to and proceeded to read a book to us. Teachers. I don't remember the book, but I do remember two things. One, it had something to do with whatever the session was about. Two, I remember that I liked being read to...again.

Flem, what's  your point? I don't care how old or young your students (or staff lol) may be, many points can be highlighted with a short story, a poem, or a news article. My former principal was correct. Everybody likes being read to. My 9th graders preferred my voice with a book we were reading over the audio book's rendition. Even high schoolers liked to be whisked away every now and then.

I know we are living in a test and grades obsessed culture, but I dare you to resurrect the read-aloud every now and then and watch and see if your students (or staff lol) don't take that journey with you to.....wherever the words whisk you!

Dear Parents

Before you read the letter below, a little background...
I came across this incomplete and unedited letter that I drafted in frustration a few years ago.
I did not finish drafting it.
I did not send it out.
I did not intend to send it out.
I write all of this because I know some higher powers secretly...you know...watch. How do I know? One day I was observed and in reading the observation notes after a 90-minutes observation and the subsequent memo drafted by that administrator and delivered by a school police officer, it became very clear what that person was looking for and found (sort of). I'll save that complete story for another post and day.

Ok, enough of all of that.

If this is the school year that I'm thinking it was, I remember writing down my frustrations a lot just to get them out of me. The only changes that I made a moment ago are indicated in red. Since this draft, I've learned a lot about myself and have grown as a person and teacher.

The letter...

Dear Parents of the Students in Room _______,

I must apologize to both you and your child for being a failing teacher. I thought that I was providing the best possible instruction that I could provide, using teaching techniques and approaches based on the research and works of educational philosophers and psychologists like Howard Gardner, who believed that students learn differently. He believed that some may learn better through music, other through nature, some via reading/writing, still yet others need to move, etc. So that’s what I did. I apologize. I apologize because according to some, I’m a failing teacher because I didn’t phrase learning objectives on the chalkboard using acronyms provided by the school district. I apologize.

I even used Lev Vygotsky, who believed in cooperative learning and that such learning should include someone who is a bit wiser (teacher or someone else) to help guide the students and propel them forward from where they are. He called it learning within their “zone of proximal development”, the work is not too easy but also not too hard that learning cannot be accomplished. It’s challenging, but attainable. I thought I was doing this when I assigned certain readings, certain projects, etc. Again, I apologize because according to some, I’m a failing teacher because I didn’t phrase learning objectives on the chalkboard using acronyms provided by the school district. I apologize.

Many education theorists and researchers believe that learning should be experiential, which is why we took that trip to City Hall to interact with a judge about the law.  This is also the reason we went to the Insectarium so that we could not only read about insects, but touch them, see them up close, and even taste one. This is why we went to the Academy of Natural Sciences, Grumblethorpe, the National Constitution Center, so that we can experience what we learned about in class. This is why we had a visiting entomologist come to the class with bugs and why we wrote pen pals in Colorado and why we video chatted with other entomologists. But yet again, I apologize because according to some, I’m a failing teacher because I didn’t phrase learning objectives on the chalkboard using acronyms provided by the school district. I apologize.

I’m even a failing teacher because the students were unable to analyze an Emily Dickinson poem on their own in writing and when compared to how government laws saved eagles, I really failed. Their rough drafts were rough and their rough drafts shouldn’t have been rough even though it WAS a….oh never mind. I’m sooooo sorry for being a bad teacher!

They can read and talk about history, science, and the law, but I’m a horrible teacher!

They can spit off many many math facts, but I’m a failing teacher!

They publish a class book, but I’m the worst teacher!

They can analyze figurative language, but I’m a bad teacher!

They can recite and analyze poems like “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes, but I’m no good!

They can challenge 5^th grade students to math competitions and have them run away because they don’t want to compete, but I’m good for nothing!

Going forward, I must strive to put those acronyms on the chalkboard. I must do everything I’m told to do even if your child is not prepared to do it. I mustn’t teach for understanding, I must train for state tests that change every year! I must  teach them that reading is only good for testing and is in no wise to be enjoyed!

-->

I apologize for failing your child this year by teaching and not test-prepping, using acronyms, and by [For some reason, I didn’t finish this letter and it ends there]

The People's Court

It's Tuesday, Decemeber 26, 2017. I'm sitting on my couch having just finished my lunch. (Just in case you are wondering, it was a chicken salad and spinach mini-hoagie on a wheat roll, a bag of spicy nacho Doritos, a cookie, and raspberry ice tea.)

I'm watching The People's Court with Judge Milian. The plaintiff in one case, Jason Smith, was suing a man who reneged on a payment for boat and car detailing services that the plaintiff provided. Mr. Smith, a 30-something year old Black man was a bit animated and "antsy" while presenting his case. Judge Milian commented on his restlessness twice before telling him to have a seat because he was irritating her (her words).

I can understand how his animation and his being ansty might be a little unnerving. That's life. Sometimes people's voices, mannersims, habits, personalities, etc. annoy us. Her annoyance with Mr. Smith becomes a little precarious, however, because of her position of power being the judge. For all intents and purposes, he kind of has to do what she says. He did sit down as ordered.

You already know where I'm going. Black male students experience disproportionate representation in school discipline (suspension and expulsion) and in special education, particularly in high incidence categories like emotional behavioral disorders and learning disabilities.

I wonder if many of our colleagues, to whom the balance of power tilts in the student/teacher relationship, are just annoyed with our young African American male students. 🤔

I wonder if instead of finding ways to teach how he best learns, some of us de facto embrace exclusionary pedagogical stances or default to special education referral processes.🤔

"Well, we can't just think about our African American male students! What about our female students or boys and girls of other ethnic groups?"

The overrepresentstion of our Black male students in suspension and expulsion tracts and in high incidence special education tracts tells me we haven't been thinking about our African American male students too much at all.

Jason Smith won his case. Many of our young Black men are also winning in the classroom, in boardrooms, in business, in college, and in life. As with many brothers with whom I speak, *our* winning isn't enough, though. We want all of our young brothers to experience success as well. The classroom, from preschool onward, is one of many places to scrutinize and mobilize.

Uncle Kevin

Ayo, peep this: two brothaz hittin each other up, back n forth, plottin for the culture!
Aaaaaannnd, now that I have your attention, let me be serious, lol

Imagine this, two African American men putting their heads together to plan a series of informal conversations for the benefit of younger ladies and gentlemen who look like us. Such was the case with me and my Uncle Kevin, my mother's brother. Uncle and nephew, two brothas planning ways to add layers of emphasis on the importance of education to PreK-8 foundations with varying degrees of stability.

For the past three Wednesdays, Uncle Kevin has  come to Martin Luther King High School to sit and chat with each of my 5 classes about life. During these #UncKevSeries (I just made that up) the conversation topics ranged from the importance of being literate, having and holding on to dreams and visions, and making the teacher's job a wee bit easier (On everything, I didn't ask him to say that...). He also spoke of his being raised in Germantown, his hope of one day becoming a trash man, later a teacher, and ultimately the reality of his becoming a registered nurse with a well known hospital in Philly.

The conversations were authentic.
Many of their questions, real.
The lasting impact, as with any youth engagement initiative, yet to be determined.
Some feigned disinterest, but when they repeatedly ask on a Thursday or Monday (knowing he'd only be coming on Wednesdays), "Ayo Flem, where ya uncle at?", that's when you know it's real!

Let me add one very important piece. My Uncle Kevin is an alumnus of a local community college, the Community College of Philadelphia. Those who follow my thoughts on paper know that I recently wrote about not sleeping on community colleges. Here's yet another example of how community colleges may be the direction that some may want or need to take as an initial step into their future!

What are you passionate about?

It's Friday.
It's a half day.
I wanted to wrap up the week on a slightly different note, taking a detour from our regular grind. Since we have an adjusted schedule anyway, I figure it'd be perfect.

Mini-passages and short open-ended questions on Barbara Jordan and Crispus Attucks awaited the students as "Do Now"s on their desks as they entered. The goal: complete this short assignment, move on to discuss the causes for which they have a passion, followed by a discussion on the 1967 Philly student demonstrations, and end with the Fresh Prince of Bel Air episode "Those Were the Days". Here's YouTube's description of it:

When radical activist Marge Smallwood visits old friends Philip and Vivian Banks, her stories about the civil rights movement inspire Will to lead a student protest of his own at school.

We only watched 1 minute of the episode. The discussion about their passions was extended and well-informed. Here's a list of some of their passions:

1. De-emphasis on grades by parents and schools

2. Colorism (a student actually used the term...#winning)

3. A true desire to learn (they named the classes where some form of it actually exists)

4. Teachers and their management

5. There was also a discussion on feeling entitled

The conversations were real and were mostly concentrated on teaching and learning. Let me say that I did NOT provoke, evoke, or whatever other 'voke' we can use here, I had nothing to do with it. {snickers} To know me is to know that it sounds like something I would do. THEY pushed the conversation in this direction. The students were very critical of teachers, teaching/learning, the school system, and our school itself. They expressed a burning desire to learn and to grow beyond whatever growth they may be experiencing (or not) at the moment.

Every point was valid and well-taken. Their words were a reflection of their experiences as freshmen to this point. From the proverbial balcony, from a slightly different perspective, I did seize the opportunity to be critical. I do teach that it's OK to be critical, to question, to prod a little and even to disagree. Me to them, "Is this a two-way street? Do we ALL not have a part in this teaching and learning thing? Do students bear any responsibility at all for their learning? What can YOU do?"

Everyone's voice was heard. Everyone's voice was respected. Everyone's voice could have gone on for another hour or two. Easily.

It's a Rap

I couldn't think of a better way to end an 8-week accelerated semester than the way it ended tonight.

Several weeks ago I wrote about one of my college students who asked if he could write a rap for The Soloist by Steve Lopez, our course text for the English part of the Reading course. Tonight, after a few more Article Articulation assignments, also discussed in that previous post, I informed the class that after he raps, it's a rap.

He set up his background music and with such finesse he
spit them barz and lyricals
quick as carz, satirical...

In church, we give the benediction.
His rap was something like that. And it wasn't a corny jawn either. He did the thing. There was nothing left to say.

So let the class say, "AMEN!" (Except for the part that I still have to report to work next week, but it's cool though)

Don't Sleep on Community Colleges

I'm not sure just how widespread the idea reached, but at one point in the "hood" (and perhaps beyond), many thought of community college as "13th grade", just an extension of high school. Where the idea came from, I have no clue. This post centers on a complete reconsideration of those past thoughts that many of us in the hood had. Forget whatever biases we/you may have had about community colleges as a teenager or even as an adult! They definitely have a place in the lives of young and older adults alike!

Recent events in the lives of two 20-something year old Black men in Philadelphia have put both their accomplishments and at least one common experience they both shared in the limelight. They both attended the Community College of Philadelphia. Those two young men are Mr. Quamiir Trice and Mr. Hazim Hardeman. Both in their early 20s, their experiences with some of life's toughest enigmas aren't unlike those of many other young people of color in the 'hood' and elsewhere. Also like many other young people of color, young brothers and sisters, they're winning!

The success stories of Quamiir and Hazim are circulating local and social media, print and digital media, the Associated Press, everywhere! They're taking the narrative by storm; that of the success of young Black men! Quamiir, in a reply to a tweet I mentioned him in, wrote,

Much love bro. I’m just glad we took control of our stories and shared them to shed light on our communities. Keep winning y’all✊🏾

— Quamiir Trice (@QuamiirTrice) November 23, 2017

If you're unaware of their stories, check out their twitter feeds. Nothing that I can write here will do it justice. Hear them in their own words.

Follow @QuamiirTrice

Follow @hazimhardeman

One of many salient points included in their narratives is the time they spent as students at Community College of Philadelphia, anything but 13th grade.

On Hazim's experience, Susan Snyder writes on philly.com, "...he went to community college, and his life as a scholar took off. He got into the honors program, for which he had high praise, and served as vice president of the student body." In an interview posted by Temple University on YouTube, Hazim speaks about how attending CCP allowed him the "opportunity to reorient myself and really focus myself..." He speaks of his learning how to be a scholar and how to interact with his teachers and professors. Hazim also makes it a point to note how the opportunity to attend CCP, knowing he could transfer to a place like Temple, was "something significant not only to me but to people in my community" This was, in his words, "an opportunity that not a lot of people in my neighborhood have."

He's Temple's first Rhodes Scholar and is headed to Oxford University.

Quamiir's road to and experiences at CCP also debunk previously held 13th grade mentalities!

In a Philadelphia Tribune report, Quamiir speaks of his experience in a program at the Center for Male Engagement at Community, “For the first time, I was watching four Black educators making a difference in my life and other students lives,” Trice said. “It was an eye opener for me. I was inspired by what they were doing, how they were carrying themselves, and how they were dressing." Kristen Graham notes on philly.com how Quamiir excelled at CCP, graduated and headed on to Howard University to complete his studies in education. Personally encouraged by former mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, Philly schools superintendent, Dr. Hite and a man you may have heard of, Barrack Obama, "Mr. Trice" is now an educator here in Philly, a Black male educator with great promise.

More and more, students and families are finding community colleges to be viable, affordable, and meaningful postsecondary experiences in preparation for even more exhaustive postsecondary learning. 

In a cursory search for research on the topic, a few articles at the top of the search engines and databases yielded research on how several who start at places like CCP don't do well in 4-year universities, if they finish at all. I was a little disheartened, until...duhhhh...I'm writing a blog post about two brothers whose stories are counter narratives!! HA! How 'bout them apples!?!

During a recent trip with my students to CCP, one of the faculty members and I were chatting during lunch. He spoke of his long career there and I spoke of my coming up on my one year anniversary with Delaware County Community College as an adjunct reading professor teaching at night. He spoke of the whole 13th grade mentality. I asked this older brother very frankly if from his experience, people still think that way. He said "no". I echoed my agreement with that sentiment based on my experiences as an adjunct and based on conversations with youth and adults alike!

In a separate, unprovoked conversation with a fellow church member, who had no idea what my thoughts were, she commented on the quality of education she is receiving at a local community college. She already has at least a Bachelors, but decided to take (or took) a course in business. She commented how she likes it and how courses, overall, are being taught by experts in their fields and PhDs. (Note the *and*, because a PhD does not necessarily make you an expert)

In another unprovoked conversation, this time with a local school superintendent, we spoke of our support for the education that community colleges have to offer. She spoke of the dual enrollment program her district offers and the increasing success of such. I spoke up Quamiir and Hazim.

The mentality towards community colleges is changing. From my view, many no longer consider it "13th" grade but the next logical step to their long term goals in life. At the end of the day, whatever post-secondary goals our students have, whether community college, 4-year universities, trade school or otherwise, let's encourage them in their pursuits! Let's help them see the forest for the trees, the certificates, and the degrees!