A Black Parents Responsibility To Empower Their Child

[williamjackson]

A Black Parents Responsibility To Empower Their Child

"Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs
to the people who prepare for it today." Malcolm X

The recent Educational Summit in Jacksonville, Florida
provided by Mayor Alvin Brown and his dedicated staff
emphasized the importance of parental involvement.
http://www.coj.net/mayor/education/education-summit.aspx

Teaching Engineering at a Title One school, a transitioning
STEAM school and conducting Social Media and technology
workshops for my community in Jacksonville, Florida I have
seen the power of technology expanding opportunities for Blacks
nationwide, the travesty is that Black parents are not encouraging
their children in the area of STEAM:
Science Technology Engineering Arts Mathematics;
Technology allows for the wonders of the world to be exposed in
many academic disciplines;
science, medicine, arts, engineering, space exploration,
examining of the world’s oceans also called “inner space”, robotics
and creates career opportunities for Black children that were
unseen 15 years ago.

There are careers present that allow a Black child to witness the
genetic structure of human beings (DNA). The ability to clone
animals and in the next five years if it has not been accomplished yet
in some European laboratory to clone human beings. As I have
blogged previously: “the  engagement of technology allows Black
children and children of color to expand their intellectual and
creative abilities beyond sports, entertainment and the
stereotypical elements that society deems appropriate for
Black children.”

The expansion of Blerds can be made successful if Black parents
encourage and support their school age intellectuals. The world
has embraced technology to such a point it seems that babies at
birth are automatically attracted to shiny screens, changing displays
and assorted musical tones of Smartphones, Tablets and other
electronic devices.
This is an automatic affinity to the engagement of technology
and empowerment that technology can provide. Technology is
a tool to assist Blacks educationally, economically, socially and
politically. The challenge comes in the changing of a value system
where Blacks create a paradigm shift from consumer
(purchaser) to creator (designer/builder) of technological elements.
Malcolm X Speaks on Black Economics in this YouTube video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UtGPZY4Rr4

National data shows that Blacks in activity own Twitter by the
enormous content shared by the billions of Tweets posted.
Facebook has allowed unprecedented opportunities to network
and share content, but Black teens are missing the mark in networking
for jobs, higher education and searching for Internships that open
educational and employment doors. Employers are becoming fearful
to hire Black youth because their online content is smeared with
unethical behaviors and questionable actions.

Events like the BDPA Youth Technology Camp:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYSH8d1gci8
showing how minority youth should be learning how
to use technology to their advantage.
The use of Social Media is being used by the media to
show the “bad” sides of many Black youth as violent,
educationally challenged and Black girls involved in entertainment
agendas that show them as sexually promiscuous that
no business will want to hire them except the pornography business.
Black girls do not help themselves when they show the
elements of Sexting to impress others that only see them as a sexual object.
The power of technology comes in the intellectual areas
to obtain an education and earn high paying jobs that technology
can offer. An example is Esther Mbabazi the first female
pilot in Rwanda, First-grader Zora Bell, youngest person to
create a full version of a mobile app video game, the creation
of #Blerdology for girls, Blacks in Technology for
Blacks that embrace the empowerment of technology
https://www.blacksintechnology.net/ in many careers and
Nokturnal Escape http://nokturnalescape.com/ showcasing
the cultural and engaging side of Jacksonville, Florida,
there are many more.

Those are still valuable careers, but 80 percent of Black youth
will not be successful in these areas.
Education and engagement in technology are keys to allowing
Blacks to compete in 21st century careers. To be taken seriously
in other avenues of economics, politics and higher education.
Parents need to emphasis reading, literacy and comprehension,
engagement of mathematics is vital.

"My alma mater was books, a good library....
I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying
my curiosity." Malcolm X more Black youth need to have this
philosophy.

In order for Black youth / potential Blerds to make
positive contributions in this country Blacks must
create and value Blerds in inner city schools.
Parents have to lay the foundation for success, instead
of purchasing entertainment systems like Wii, XBOX,
etc, they will have to change from entertainment to education.

Purchasing educational software for their children that struggle
with reading and math. Access online tutorial sites where most
are free to use so their children can learn how to use
Microsoft Productivity tools such as Word to create resumes,
write introductory letters to employers, and complete online employment
applications. Youth need to understand the dynamics of
PowerPoint, where they will have to design presentations
allowing them to speak to groups (small or large) to Market their
talents and abilities and future entrepreneurs.
The additional tools of Excel, Publisher, Access and even
similar tools on other platforms like Apple. These will
help in allowing inner city Blerds to be competitive and
valuable in a technology rich society.
Youth must learn how to Market and Brand themselves
in different Social Media platforms that highlight their
positive use of technology. Exposure needs to be increased
to give a value to learning.

Listening to the DVD Disintegration: The Splintering
of Black America (Eugene Robinson), there seems to be a
growing division in the Black community nationwide.
The valuing of education has changed and how Blacks
treat the opportunities to be educated.
I see from my experiences as a teacher and a Black teacher
those that embrace technology and learning to better
themselves are prepared for careers that are high paying,
those that use technology just for entertainment are being
left behind as a consumer not a creator.

In order for inner city Black youth to be competitive and
contributory in America they must move from the consumer
side to the creative/producer side. A perfect example is instead
of spending over 100.00 on new sneakers invest this into a
online class to obtain a certification in some area of programming.

Educational programs such as STEM and STEAM need
to be supported and encouraged in schools. Using these models to
encourage learning and foster a thirst for educational preparation.
To show Black youth the options that really are real for careers
they can have.
The integration of STEAM Science Technology Engineering
Arts and Mathematics, in more elementary schools will
allow Black children to explore new areas of intellectual
growth. STEAM encourages critical thinking skills and higher
order rationalization that is needed in corporate careers and in
scientific careers requiring research skills. Knowledge of
engineering and math that even embraces the Arts. 
Exposure to conferences, science fairs, seminars, workshops
should be important for Black youth to attend and for
school districts to see the value of exposing Black youth to
professionals in these careers. Education does not only
happen in the classroom, it happens outside the brick walls.
I complement my son a Junior at #FAMU, he recently attended
Maize Genetics Conference. There needs to be more Black
youth like him, both male and female. More Black youth need
to be exposed to Engineering Conferences as I attended with
Honor students from my elementary school. The Engineering
Expo of University of South Florida exposes youth from elementary
to high school to the value of a STEM and STEAM education.
http://myquesttoteach.wordpress.com/2013/02/26/rockets-attend-engineering-expo-at-usf/

The critical part of any successful educational endeavor is the
involvement of parents. Critical to valuing education, the
empowerment of learning and the direction of continued
educational success are from parents and their collaboration with
teachers and schools.  Technology has opened up a new period of
educational and social evolution. Parents must be willing to be involved
and put their children in situations of academic and technical growth.
Parents need to understand their part and get involved in their child’s
education. If they do not more cities will close schools just as in
Philadelphia, Chicago and other cities.

These schools will be in Black neighborhoods where parents are
not involved, seem to not care about working with teachers and allow
their children to destroy their educational opportunities. If Blacks are silent
about their educational thirst they will be ignored and moved from sight.
The words by Malcolm X ring true even in the 21st century, “People don't realize
how a man's (woman’s) whole life can be changed by one book.” Malcolm X

Resources:

The Gist of Freedom
Raising Blerds by William Jackson
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thegistoffreedom/2013/03/04/raising-a-blerd-black-nerds-william-jackson-med

Economic Education for Blacks by Malcolm X
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UtGPZY4Rr4

My Quest To Teach Interviews
http://myquesttoteach.wordpress.com/radio-interviews/

[ben says]

I ask again: why are these posts any more tolerated than Bloggiver's Travels???

[Adam W]

I ask again: why are these posts any more tolerated than Bloggiver's Travels???

I just discovered the "ignore list" function that this forum offers. I think it will make my life on Metro Jacksonville a lot more pleasant going forward. It will help me ignore the personal attacks, et al.

Perhaps you could consider employing this feature in some instances - if you find some posts irritating, you could always put the poster on ignore. In the case of William Jackson (or Lem Blogiver), it might not really mean you will miss any content that you might otherwise have wanted to read.

Just a thought.

[williamjackson]

There are many issues that should be addressed and discussed in our community. I respect the fact that everyone will not agree with my writings, but my intent is to educate, enlighten and encourage. If a person feels strongly about my topics it is understandable, but there is always the option as was suggested to ignore the posts. I welcome ideas, suggestions and even criticism if that person has specific disagreements with what I post. I never intend to defame, put down, or degrade any person, group, organization, entity, culture, religion, etc.
As always I appreciate the staff from Metro Jacksonville allowing me the privilege and honor to share my voice
from my experiences as an educator, parents and member of the Jacksonville community. 

[MuffinEdwards]

Most black parents in this generation don't realize the importance of being a positive role model, in their children's lives.  Nowadays they're "babies having babies".  It's really sad to see kids in all these expensive "name brand" clothing who are doing poorly in school.  (what is going on in these households?)

[thelakelander]

To be honest, I don't see this as just a "black" issue.  I believe a lot of these ailments impact the racial spectrum in this country.   Keep up the writing, williamjackson!

[ChriswUfGator]

I don't have kids myself, I find WilliamJackson's posts pretty informative on the day-to-day issues facing the school system. He writes actual information. BlogiversTravels on the other hand drives me nuts, that guy does nothing but post a bunch of links to his own website, with zero information, he basically uses MetroJacksonville for free advertising. WilliamJackson writes things that have actual content in them, and seems to give a link at the end basically just if you want more information or something. I don't think he's in it for the money, otherwise he wouldn't be teaching.

[MuffinEdwards]

Stephen, it's more of a common "young black parenting" thing. I just wish that children in general would work harder to earn things, and not get rewarded for failing.

[ronchamblin]

Just as all populations of children and young folks - blacks, whites, Asians, and others, possess segments having slight deficiencies and enhanced abilities as a consequence of genetic shapes, so too, all populations have within them segments, such as minorities, which endure deficiencies in guardianship, and social and school environments.  Although both genetic and environmental factors affect the abilities and achievements of children, and thus adulthood, the environmental is more important because no matter the slight differences in genetics in any population, the environment has much greater influence upon the achievements of a child, and it is fundamentally more important simply because it is the only factor we can actually change or persuade so as to benefit the child. 
 
In order to believe in the child, and therefore to encourage sacrifices for the child, we adults must assume that it responds only minimally as a consequence of innate attributes or differences, but responds mostly to the qualities of its parental, societal, and educational environments.  It is these environmental attributes which can be ignored so as to fail the child, or enhanced so as to give the child what it truly deserves from responsible and giving society.

The measure of a society, and thus the measure of the adults in control of government and policy, can be determined by the degree to which it forms sacrifices for the education of its children.  No matter what else one can say, or what excuses one can muster, America has shamefully failed the children within its borders, a shame which can only be removed when those in positions of power, those in politics and big business, finally realize that it is necessary to shift resources away from satisfying the greed of a few, away from the continuing military adventures and aggressions to other nations, and into the infrastructure which supports good education for the children of America. 

Those in positions to affect budgetary policy and ultimately the general distribution of the wealth of our nation, such as to the educational system, are a miserable lot for failing our children.  Their consuming greed has allowed them insensitivity to the educational needs of children.  They are little more than children.   

[rvrsdediva]

Most black parents in this generation don't realize the importance of being a positive role model, in their children's lives.  Nowadays they're "babies having babies".  It's really sad to see kids in all these expensive "name brand" clothing who are doing poorly in school.  (what is going on in these households?)

Where can I find the statistics that support your claim?

[peestandingup]

To be honest, I don't see this as just a "black" issue.  I believe a lot of these ailments impact the racial spectrum in this country.   Keep up the writing, williamjackson!

This is what I was getting ready to say, so why does the OP (original poster) feel the need to gear everything towards only the black community? Its kinda of shortsighted, no?

Its mostly "class" issues & not race.

[Cheshire Cat]

To be honest, I don't see this as just a "black" issue.  I believe a lot of these ailments impact the racial spectrum in this country.   Keep up the writing, williamjackson!

This is what I was getting ready to say, so why does the OP (original poster) feel the need to gear everything towards only the black community? Its kinda of shortsighted, no?

Its mostly "class" issues & not race.

Shortsighted?  I don't think so.  If one follows Mr. Williams writings it is pretty clear that his focus is on the Black community and the concerns and issues they are facing today.  He seems to focus on Black history as a tool for understanding and growth.  While many of the issues he discusses touch all races and classes, I respect the fact that Mr. Williams has chosen to focus on issues as they impact Blacks and Black communities.  It was once said the best way to write successfully is to write about what you know.  My guess is this is exactly what he is doing and so far his insights seem pretty much on task with current issues.  Class is not the entire issue.  There are plenty of unlawful and troublesome issues in all levels of our society.  How those issues are responded to is key.

[rvrsdediva]

^^Thank you Diane.

[MuffinEdwards]

Most black parents in this generation don't realize the importance of being a positive role model, in their children's lives.  Nowadays they're "babies having babies".  It's really sad to see kids in all these expensive "name brand" clothing who are doing poorly in school.  (what is going on in these households?)

Where can I find the statistics that support your claim?

I see it everyday but I'm sure you can find the answers you're seeking on google. 

[ben says]

Most black parents in this generation don't realize the importance of being a positive role model, in their children's lives.  Nowadays they're "babies having babies".  It's really sad to see kids in all these expensive "name brand" clothing who are doing poorly in school.  (what is going on in these households?)

Where can I find the statistics that support your claim?

I see it everyday but I'm sure you can find the answers you're seeking on google.

While I see what you're saying & know you mean well, when you use words like "most"-"nowadays"-"all"-"these", they necessitate more of an intellectual underpinning than "I'm sure you can find the answers you're seeking on google"...