Buckets of Water

I'm so glad I'm not a parent in 2017. If my children lied to me, blatantly disrespected me, after I've jumped through hoops and made many sacrifices for them, I would probably be in jail. Thank God I'm a teacher and it's completely temporary. It must be God that gives you (parent) the strength to still love and care for them after they decide they want to talk to you like you're some type of common bum on the street. Today, I exercised great restraint and sensitivity because I'm aware that the trauma contained in a traumatized child is usually invisible to that child. Today I exercised great restraint because all the other students were able to see the heightened level of disrespect that this child displayed towards me...and they were visibly troubled. Today, I took a deep breath and did not raise my voice because I am aware of what my Glee Club and music teacher David E. Morrow uttered many a times when some of us felt invincible....(paraphrasing)You can dig your hand deeply in a bucket of water and pull it out and no hole would form because the water is quickly replaced by water....everybody's replaceable.

So as that child made what he thought was a grand exit, I was removing him from my vision replacing him with another talented child.

Kanye Is Not Crazy

I've had the fortune of having a major "Kanye" moment before the VMA's on Sunday night. This being the 10th anniversary of Katrina, many networks were plastering the infamous "George Bush don't like Black People" clip in a never ending cycle. I had a chance of really watching Kanye's energy during the moment...his mannerisms...I saw the frustrations simmering inside of him....I could tell that his breathing was  becoming uncomfortable...I could tell all of these things because I have those same feelings right before I utter words that NEED to be uttered...right before I say something that will potentially change the world around me. The same energy he had regarding Taylor Swift's win over Beyoncé...Kanye doesn't plan to go out and cause craziness...sometimes when shit is just too ridiculous something needs to be said or done....sometimes he doesn't want that responsibility...I think he wants to just make music...just like I just want to teach...but forces lead me to other places where complacency and acceptance of this current negative atmosphere in education and the mistreatment of my students just can't be tolerated...so I have had that feeling in staff meetings where my heart is pounding and my palms are sweating and I say something that needs to be said....I understand Kanye...I get him. He's at a place where he realizes that NO ONE IS LISTENING TO THE CHILDREN...and who are the children...THIS YOUNGER GENERATION...this group that truly wants to accept everyone for who they are...the generation that doesn't  constantly stand in judgement of their fellow human...this generation that doesn't hide behind the guise of a religion that has perpetuated much of the hatred and intolerance that has permeated the world for centuries...the media is the most evil force on this planet...(I'll get into that a bit deeper during my next rant)...but it is inherently evil and I believe that Kanye and others who have seemingly PEAKED eventually just sit back one day and say..."Hell! I might as well run for president!" And if this is an Illuminati thing or not doesn't matter to me....the main point is that there is currently NO ONE OUT THERE REPRESENTING OR COMMUNICATING ON BEHALF OF THE CHILDREN. It's time to hear them...they are telling us how to educate them but we don't listen...they are trying to show us how to truly love one another but WE think we know best!!! That's why the media tries to show the majority of YOUTH in a negative light via insidious TV programming and very selective musical rotations on the radio and music channels. The media attempts to undermine the intelligence and legitimacy of the YOUTH....that's what last night was all about...."Listen To The Children."

My Pledge of Allegiance (2007)

I had to pull this one out given the current situation in STL.

From 2007....

I wrote this at the beginning of this school year as a response to my principal. I had some reservations in "having" to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in the classroom. He, along with other teachers, questioned my patriotism, so I had to pull out the mighty PEN on all of 'em.


I love my country. I thank God that I was blessed with the privilege of being born in a country where I can openly express my beliefs and ideologies. I have the utmost respect for the plights and events that led to our emancipation from Great Britain and consequently the African American’s Emancipation from slavery. Only in this country could such a story exist. What I love most about my country is the idea that as an individual I am allowed to constructively question and challenge any of the doctrines that are used in shaping the nucleus of this country. Documents such as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence both are supposed to be representations and reflections of the society for which they serve. As African Americans, Blacks, Negroes or Colored, we have evolved into a realization of those ideas and promises set forth in these documents.
As I sit and watch Barack Obama, officially become the Democratic Candidate for President of the United States of America, I breathe a sigh of relief as tears stream down my face. In this sigh rings the truths of our torrid past. In this sigh, flow tears symbolizing the sweat and blood of slaves and those (Black and White) who suffered and sacrificed during the periods of Jim Crow and the civil rights movement. It is in these tears that the truest feeling of my patriotism resounds as I am; we are, now truly connected to the American dream and the documents for which we subscribe.
Upon interviewing my 73 year old mother on her reciting the Pledge of Allegiance during her schooling, she informed me that, “We didn’t know why we were saying it. We were just told to say it.” Now, I could only imagine that a 14 year old girl living in 1940’s rural Mississippi could ever truly relate to the ideal of “one nation under God,” when she obviously lived in a world of separate but equal. Of course we know that our history is full of grand paradoxes and vast double standards, but the beauty of this country lies in our drive to learn from the mistakes of our past. It is our constant striving to become a more united states, a more Perfect Union that allows for the Pledge of Allegiance to hold new relevance.
Yet, I think that we would be doing our students a great disservice if we do not take time out to really teach the principles contained within the Pledge of Allegiance. Students must know why our flag is so sacred and what it truly represents. They must understand that it is not just a “White Thing,” as I have heard many students say. They must become aware that the blood shed by many of their ancestors saturates the fabric of Old Glory. These students need to understand the concept of one nation, even though they are forced to compete in the twenty first century with minimal 20th century educational resources. They are coming into a building that has yet to be properly air conditioned, tiles missing from the floors, lockers hanging off of the walls and books containing content relevant to an era far gone.
How can we convince these students that this is one nation under God that is indivisible when a lot of these boys do not know their father or some of the girls have to “deal” with Mommy’s new boyfriend every six months? How do we tell a student population that the ideas of liberty and justice for all includes them when they face the racial profiling and degradation by those who are sworn to protect and serve them?
Well, I contend that we teach them the meaning behind those powerful three words uttered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “IN SPITE OF…” We as teachers and administrators must let them know that “in spite of” all that they see and hear that seems to depart from the principles embedded in the Pledge of Allegiance, we can still stand as boldly as those upon whose shoulders we stand. We tell them that too many of our ancestors died so that we could sit in a classroom and learn how to read, think, speak and express our deepest ideas and passions. We tell them that the flag is more than just a piece of fabric blowing in the wind. It is the tangible representation of our treacherous past, our “dream realized” present and most importantly, the purest representation of that future in which we will truly be “one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” This is the future that they will rule and occupy.
Let us therefore not program our students like robots, filling their heads with words that have no meaning. Let us not command them to cover their hearts as if we are telling an animal to sit or stand. Let us, instead, provide them with the opportunity to become passionate about the ideas and principles contained in the Pledge so that they may gain an appreciation for the citizenship in the country for which they belong.

Normandy Students Receive More Verbal Abuse from the Media: STAR PARKER OF CURE ADDS TO THE DISEASE!!!!

I'll get right to the point. Star Parker of CURE Center for Urban Renewal, has done everything but CURE the mental welfare of the students of the Normandy Schools Collaborative. Her recent OP-ED Article entitled, "Who Has Answers for Ferguson?: Meet Howard Fuller," has a statement that is not only inaccurate, but sends a tormenting and deafening blow to the current and former students of Normandy. She is speaking of Michael Brown and referencing the schools' highly publicized lowest performing score received during a year in which the idea of "school" was an afterthought. A year in which many students didn't even know if they were going to graduate from their school; a year in which many students who stayed, had to endure the constant influx of media, editorials, google alerts...; a year in which a school was closed and many teachers lost their jobs and students lost their surrogate parents (the role taken on my many teachers). A year in which students had to listen to Francis Howell parents basically call them savages and animals; a year in which "systems" were not in place because there was no foundation. Star Parker makes it bold and plain in the article that, "MICHAEL BROWN PUT ON A CAP AND GOWN AND RECEIVED A HIGH SCHOOL DEGREE NOT WORTH THE VALUE OF THE PAPER IT WAS PRINTED ON." That is what she said.
Many adjectives are rolling in my head trying to make a path through my arms and to my finger tips as I type this "thought." So I'll try moving in another direction. What is the value of any high school "diploma" (degrees are earned post high school sweety), without the efforts from a student? Does it really just all come down to the worth of the student? What did he or she put into the experience? What will he or she do with the experience? Since starting at Normandy High School in 2009, I have seen students move on to colleges and universities around the country. Yet they got a diploma that wasn't worth "shit!" (paraphrasing, but that's what she meant to say). Some of these students are entering law and medical schools. I currently have several students at Morehouse, one on a full Presdential Scholarship for Vocal Music...My choir students who went to Carnegie Hall last year...all got the same worthless "degrees" from Normandy and are ALL in 4 year colleges with dorm pics to boast.
But lets get back to who you were referencing. Michael Brown. A young man who just lost his LIFE, who's parents are still grieving...who's teacher's are still grieving...who's classmates are still grieving...AND STAR PARKER makes a bold, insensitive, misrepresented and UNCLE TOMISH RACIST statement to make what point? What point were you trying to make? Oh Yeah...that Black families in low income communities need options for their children...ie vouchers for private school, so they won't obtain worthless "degrees" (still have to use the quotes,,,DIPLOMA).
When will the REAL argument become that schools in low income communities should be provided with the same resources and professional development that schools in middle to high income communities have...when will the REAL articles be written about the fact that Normandy's failure does not originate in it's schools....but in it's community...a community that was once all WHITE and propsperous and became all Black and desolate...ALL BLACK ...move General Motors to Wentzville,,,ALL BLACK, close every factory within a 10 mile radius....ALL BLACK, no new development except for DISCOUNT STORES. The Woolworth closed back in the early 80's and that lot still sits undeveloped. That, my friends is intentional!
The REAL argument should be what CITY PLANNING should really look like in predominantly BLACK communities. The Real argument should be HOW can we get these parents some decent jobs with decent pay. The Real argument should be WHEN are Black folk going to STOP writing and saying things that are damaging to our children on so many different levels.
Yes, STAR PARKER...I didn't know anything about this article until my former student, who just went off to college, text me and asked how did she get into her univeristy if her "degree" was worthless? She shoudn't even be thinking about that...she should be enjoying the beginnings of her next path...yet, she still has to deal with another BLOW from the media....and from a SISTA!!! Damn, people will say anything to get a freakin' BYLINE....THAT'S CALLED "SELLING OUT." Check out Star's editorial in the opinion section of christianpost.com...Sept. 5.

Francis Howell is NOT RACIST!!!!

Please let's not get it twisted....these receiving districts like U City, Kirkwood, Melville and Parkway are only accepting transfer students because of the extra cash flow...NOT because they're doing the right thing. Don't believe that crap about... "Ohhhh,  the U City Board did the right thing and reversed their previous decision to send 80 kids back to Normandy." No, instead they came to their senses about that additional $640,000 in revenue" (If they accept the reduced rate...last year they made close to $1,000,000 in additional revenue).  Kirkwood or Melville aren't even reducing the transfer rate. And don't think that they can't use the money. Every school system needs money. That little pocket change can pay for additional programs, teachers or instruments. Thank you Francis Howell...I don't think you're racist, I believe that you believe that taking money from a community full of poverty to benefit a very affluent school district is robbery: morally and economically.

I know...some Normandy parents (tax payers) might say, "Well, I would rather have my tax dollars going to a school system that works." But what you aren't seeing is that the school system in Francis Howell is not on automatic...it doesn't work on it's own merit. Those parents completely and totally oversee their investment. That doesn't mean that they are at the schools policing and nit-picking. It doesn't necessarily mean that they're coming out to every PTSO, sports or drama event.

It does mean that they are sending children to school who aren't worn out mentally and spiritually before they get there. They aren't sending students who worry about bills. They aren't sending kids who spent the previous night running from mama's boyfriend or fanning weed smoke from their closed bedroom doors while trying to study. They aren't sending kids wondering if their ride is going to get up on time to drop them off. They aren't sending young minds worried about stinking the next day because their clothes haven't been washed in a week. They aren't sending kids who are seriously hungry and have to stop by the local candy shop to buy hot fries and grape soda to fill their bellies before that 8am Algebra exam.

AND I AM, IN NO WAY saying that they are perfect "out in the Howell." I'm sure they have many of the same struggles that we have here in the Normandy community. But they're not as vast. I don't seek to offend anyone or LUMP all the parents into one category. But after 8 years as an educator at the middle and high schools, I can only base my opinions on what I have experienced.

I'm not begging parents and guardians to come out to everything...I'm just asking that you make sure your child isn't broken before they get to school. The main reason why we struggle academically is not because our students or teachers are incapable. It's because we have to spend quality instructional time picking up and gluing together broken students before we can begin to teach and they can begin to learn. And let me tell you, after years of attempting to glue together broken pieces, some teachers and administrators become bitter and discouraged. That doesn't make them incompetent...and you may say, "you're getting paid, do your job and work with what you have!" Well therein lies the misconception!!!!

This is a partnership....the molding of our children in the Normandy community is a partnership!!! SO for the parents and guardians of the 400 students who aren't going back to Francis Howell. Let's get our partnership on the right page this year. Let's make a concerted effort to keep your child glued together mentally and physically so the teachers can do their life's passion and teach.
Things are changing for the positive at our schools this upcoming year. Take advantage of this "change" by rekindling your partnerships with teachers and recommitting yourselves to the academic and social edification of our schools.

Thank you FRANCIS HOWELL for the tough love...

Diary of a Mad Black Teacher: Prologue Aug. 2012

What did you read last year in 9th Grade English?”   (Silence)

Have you ever heard about the Iliad? (Silence)

Do you all read books and write essays? (“Yeah,” with uncertainty)

What books were they?” (Umm, I don’t know!)

I would like to say that I have spent the last six years teaching what was required of my curriculum such as elements of theatre or basic fundamentals of music. I would like to have a cornucopia of lesson plans that covers the full diaspora of music theory, history and analysis. I’m sure that I have taken into consideration the importance of equipping all my students with the necessary tools needed to perform at a proficient or higher level  in the curriculum for which I am charged to instruct. However, I would be speaking a great lie If I said that I have not strayed off course many many times. 

I think the purpose of this “thought” is to speak about my “off course” moments over the last 6 years and the effect they have had on my attitude towards the field of education. 

I must first return to my beginnings in the world of education and lead you to where I believe I am meant to be.

I have always been an achiever at all that I have set out to do. Part of my motivation came from the example set by my older sister (3 years) and her constant waves of success that flowed throughout our household all during her elementary and secondary years in school. I had aspirations of going into political science or some form of business, especially hotel management. But conflict, turmoil and bureaucracy led me to the monthly school board meetings. 

Let me set this up as clearly as possible. I was Freshmen Class Vice President, Sophomore Class President, Vice President of Student Council my junior year and President of Student Council my Senior Year. I was at Normandy when the change was starting to take place. I will talk more to this change later. But understand that it is this change that is part of the nucleus of the disease that has permeated my school district as well as the field of teaching all together. The student year book was eliminated my Sophomore Year and as president of my class I took it upon myself to form a committee...SCRY (Student Committee for the Revival of the Yearbook)... Truly don’t remember most details. I went to board meetings. The first one at McKinley Elementary had me standing in front of the community and school board with a poster of my drawing of an opened yearbook with a sun rising out of it. I spoke about the importance of preserving the memories that many of my peers had worked so hard to create. 

My second plight which brings me more to the shift in career goals that will later relate to “the change” I have spoken about, was the lack of a Report Card/Transcript during the end of the first semester of my senior year.

Back then, Normandy would use Westinghouse to provide us with all data as well as report card print-outs. I had been accepted to Morehouse on December 19 of my Senior year as early consideration pending final transcript. My final transcript as far as requirements would have been coming before Christmas vacation. Well that wasn’t the case. 

My counselor repeated the same information..”We’re working on it, but there’s nothing we can do about this.” Apparently Normandy hadn’t paid a bill to Westinghouse and no one was able to do anything about it until the bill was paid. That meant NO report cards or Official Transcripts for anyone. Well I wasn’t having that!

I rallied over 300 seniors..(we had classes of 400 back then)..to leave a basketball game in Viking Hall during half time to drive or walk over to the ugly green administration building next to the Junior High School. We went in full force and I went straight to the microphone. Steven Cousins immediately told me that I was out of order and Mr. Berra and Mr. Boedges demanded that they let me speak. And so I did.

With the agenda in my hand, I read where they were discussing the wearing of head apparel inside the school building. The reading (created by Steven Cousins) went on to explain that we must teach our children what the real world will require of them, therefore, men must remove their hats when entering an academic building. He went so far as to suggest that women be mindful of the type of hair combs and other accessories they had in their head as well.

This is what these grown, professional men and women felt compel to sit up and discuss while over 300 students’ future was in jeopardy because our transcripts were not available. Speaking at a snails pace, “I find it very difficult to stand here and read this crap about hair combs and hats and I don’t even know if I’m going to be able to go to the college of my dreams. Mr. Cousins, you’re sitting up here with your perfectly tied bow tie trying to impress upon these people how important looks are leaves me to believe that that is all you are really concerned with...”LOOKS!”  The room erupted into applause. Joe Collins (Pres.) is rubbing his chin and Mrs. Becky Jones (Secretary)is secretly smiling on the inside. I went on to tell them to “stop playing with our futures and get this bill paid or they were going to have over 300 members of the class of 1987 walk right out of this school district.” More applause. With that I turned and all who could fit into the small “haunted house-ish” green administration building filed out into the streets and cars and went back over to the basketball game. For which we lost,,,,but we didn’t give a damn.

The next day a letter was given to all students stating that Normandy will be temporarily using another data firm to calculate our grades and we would be receiving our report cards and transcripts for first semester during the last week of February.

Now...why did I just relive all that? Steven Cousins made me angry. Not him, the man. But what he represented. He represented the bureaucrat that was put in place to give off the perception that he was concerned about education. He looked good in his suit and he spoke with big impressive words. He was an attorney for pete’s sake. What was more disturbing was that he had power and people really listened to him. 

It was at that moment that I decided that I wanted to be in a position that would allow for me to affect change in the education system from the highest level in my district. Being superintendent was more than a position but the highest level of my calling. But why and how did I wait over 20 years to come to start this part of accomplishing this goal? 

Fine Arts; Second Class Citizenship with World Class Results

Curriculum must speak a language that reaches the individual student. It must be able to be applicable to all learning styles. It must not evade or banish the creative mind and spirit. It must assist in the transcendence of thought and interpretation. There is not a wrong or right curriculum. However, there is a lethal debasing of humanity when curriculum is constantly pimped out to be something that it’s not. No one person should ever decide how a curriculum should look. This is why many districts have curriculum teams. Input from various sources allows for a diversity of teaching and learning styles to blend and coexist. Unfortunately in this day and age in which the basic 3R’s have become too advanced for many of our students, someone has felt the need to redefine curriculum.

Is curriculum cultural? Is curriculum gender based? Does curriculum fluctuate in rigor based on economic and geographic standing? I have been in the Normandy School District since February 2006. I have seen many “curricula” experts come and go..very quickly. I have seen 7 different lesson planning templates. I have experienced all types of teaching and learning communities. I have heard all the great speeches about what worked in this classroom or given the hallelujah speech regarding DOK...my goodness DOK!

For the Fine Arts Curriculum, I am still finding this second class citizenry demoralizing and detrimental to the needs of the students for which we serve. Every curriculum  should be in a constant state of proving and assuring its validity. But when it comes to the Arts in the Normandy School District, we don’t even have an invitation to the curriculum table. Every so called professional development has included the phrase, “Oh, and you too Fine Arts.” 

Yet, the Fine Arts is a prevailing force in this district. The Fine Arts constantly brings positive press and success to the students. Students are learning and gaining skills that will benefit them in their academic process. The Fine Arts are able to easily achieve this type of learning. Through projects such as plays, musicals, concerts and the like, students apply skills that allow for them to constantly reach the highest level of rigor. Speaking, listening and interpreting are norms in the FA Curriculum. However, when pondering on the question of curriculum, most educators tend to focus on what a student should learn instead of how a student learns.

If Normandy wants to solve the problem of our students’ approach to curriculum and learning, we must readily include the instructional elements of the Fine Arts  curriculum to improve teaching. The district must be courageous enough to accept the fact that the majority of our students respond to the aesthetic nature of arts. Our children wear earphones not to be defiant, but because there is a connecting force to the side of their brain that thrives when rhythm and patterns are audible. Our children love to move and dance because they enjoy rhythm and patterns and are allowed to interpret those elements with their bodies. Our children love to sing because they are able to take rhythms, patterns and melody and create harmony when joining another student.