June 25, 2007

Young and Restless

Filed under: Education by Leo Casey @ 3:05 pm

The Daily News is running an interesting series on “what happened” to a group of students who began school together thirteen years ago, in a gifted Kindergarten class in Harlem’s P.S. 36. If they had stayed on schedule, all of the students would be graduating this June. The challenges were immense — one girl had seen both of her parents murdered — but most have persevered. Not every story ends well, but those that do will move your heart.

Comment »

Comments are open for registered users and do not reflect the views of the UFT. Please read our general rules for commenters.

  • TEACHERS: THE DREAM KEEPERS

    By Phyllis C. Murray

    “Commencement at Morehouse College is a time of tradition and celebration -
    but perhaps more so this year. Amid lamentations about the dearth of black men
    in higher education, Morehouse graduated its largest class ever - nearly 600
    educated African American men. No other institution in the world can match this
    impressive number.” Morehouse College 2006

    What has created this success story? How does this academic institution continue its legacy of excellence for over
    one hundred years? And how is this institution able to produce such impressive alumni as: Martin Luther King, Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Shelton “Spike” Lee, Dr. David Satcher, Maynard Jackson, Attorney Tyrone Means, Julian Bond, and James Nabrit from ever strata of society.

    Perhaps the difference is that someone had a dream for each one of these men before they could dream. That someone might have been a teacher. And once the student reached Morehouse, “From the first day on campus, he was told he was destined for greatness and could achieve no less.” Errin Hehmen AP

    There are teachers today, who like pioneer Mary McLeod Bethune (1875-1950), have “invested in a human soul “knowing that “it could be a diamond in the rough.” Because true educators know that diamonds, like our students, come in every hue.

    Michael Lomax, UNCF believes in the myriad possibilities of making miracles happen in classrooms. Also when he said: “There is this beacon out there that says if you create a challenging, demanding, yet nurturing and supportive environment, if you show these young men the possibilities and you discipline them to realize those possibilities, you can turn these statistics about black men around.”

    Surely, there are programs which earnestly address the Plight of the African American Male in Education: Programs which provide residents with a stone of hope toward removing the growing mountain of despair which plagues our nation. These programs provide our nation with the process for change indeed worthy of much praise and emulation. And that new trend: an infusion of exemplary programs which are already in place within Westchester High Schools which work daily, toward ameliorating an insidious problem which left unchecked negatively impacts society.

    The Woodlands Individualized Senior Experience; Ossinings’ High Hopes Expectations College Track; Byram Hills’ Intel Science Program; and Mount Vernon High School’s Business Club, are proof positive that there are already solutions to the heightening dropout rate among African American Males in Westchester public schools. These programs should be replicated nationwide.

    Peter Goodman, UFT . cites the following : “A Report issued by the Education Trust, (Teaching Inequality: How Poor and Minority Students Are Shortchanged on Teacher Quality, a major research institution, a vers “…research shows … that good teachers can have an enormous impact on student achievement.”

    Yes, we know good teachers do have an enormous impact on student achievement. The teachers are the keepers of the dreams. And that fact is exactly what educators have known all along as they strive to teach often against the ever rising insurmountable odds. And, there are many success stories in New York City as students reach their goals and realize the dreams that they can now call their own.

    Yes, “…teachers are the single most important factor in how much students learn ….” Education Trust So we say:

    “Bring me all of your dreams,
    you dreamers,
    Bring me all your heart melodies,
    that I may wrap them in a blue cloud cloth,
    Away from the too rough fingers of the world.”
    (Langston Hughes Poet “The Dream Keeper”)

    Phyllis C. Murray,
    Chapter Leader
    District 8 Region 2

    Comment by phyllis c. murray — June 25, 2007 @ 5:50 pm

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.