THE MISEDUCATION OF EDUCATION

Public Education, Private Education, Vouchers!! They're all at the forefront of discussion and media attention! But as I sit and listen to all the discussions of why or why not there should be  or shouldn't be this or that, I feel one crucial and essential component has gotten lost and that is the CHILDREN we are suppose to be educating! Now most would probably say that they(the Children) are the focal point of the discussion but if you listen closely and dig a little deeper it seems to be that economics and politics are the focal point! Now I do know and understand that without money schools could not function but have we gotten so consumed by the economics of education that in the process of figuring out the economics we are not educating our children. Are our children for sale to the "highest bidder!" Are our children "politic pawns" that we use as leverage against our opponents?  Let me stop and say now that I am not a supporter of vouchers but I do believe in a parents and child's right to choose whatever educational avenue that works for them. I believe in public education and do believe it can be fixed and work for all STUDENTS! But this discussion is about what has gotten lost in the process of us trying to figure out whats right or wrong or what works or does not work, and that is the EDUCATING OF ALL OUR CHILDREN! One issue that I hear alot in this debate is the competence of the teacher teaching the student. Should teachers be awarded or fired for the progress of the student? Should teachers be teaching math if their degree is in English?? Should teachers be measured at all on the performance to the student??? This is the one issue I want to discuss in this post because I feel it is at the core of how educating the children has gotten lost! Now let me start by saying I wholeheartedly believe that a teacher, along with a mother and minister, have one of the most important, not to mention hardest jobs in the world! And I don't say that just from a feeling but from experience being a substitute teacher and teacher's aide for over 10ys. So teachers I feel ya! So lets tackle this economics vs. education, public vs. private vs. vouchers issue. On the voucher issue, simply put if government can find money to issue vouchers then they can find money to assist public education! The argument seems to be that the government don't want to put money into a failing school. But I say instead of giving up on the failing school and going across town and building a new school(which in most instances will cost more than investing the money in fixing the failing school) find out WHY that school is failing! We give up too easy on our children and turn to a "quick or easy fix!" Why do we always take the attitude help some instead of help all. All Children can be helped! Now this issue of Competence of the teacher could be one of the whys of a school failing and a crucial why! OK teachers, before you put me on your hit list, think freely and critically and hear me out! On the issue of evaluating and awarding teachers on the performance of the student I believe can be a slippery slope. One reason is because not all children learn the same and a child interest in a certain subject may not be the same as another. But I do believe if a teacher has the passion and creativity all their students will learn no matter the students interest! But teachers lets be real here, some of us have become complacent and lost some of the passion and creativity we started with and have lost the students attention! However to put a yes or no to the question, I would say yes a teacher should be evaluated on their students performance because in reality how will we know if that teacher is effective in educating! Now the merit of that evaluation should be on a collective of all the learning process, not just test scores. Think about it from this perspective teachers, how do you choose a doctor?!(Think on That) On the last issue of what a teacher should be teaching! This is the easiest fix of them all and I truly believe would turn the whole public education system around! If you are a elementary education graduate you should be teaching K-6th grade. If youare a secondary education graduate with a concentration in math, you should be teaching 7th-12th grade math! Teachers do you want a Brain Surgeon doing Heart Surgery on you?!(Think on That) Now the reason I'm sounding off about it like this is because I believe that teachers will be more passionate, creative and competent about what they know well and do best! And whether that student has an interest in math, because of the passion and creativity they see in the TEACHER it will at least hold their attention to pass your class instead of them saying "I don't like math, and that teacher is boring so I'm not going to do anything and probably wont come to class!" This can be and should be done in public education! But we have become complacent with just giving a teacher a job that the educating of the student gets lost in the economics and the politics! So can public education be fixed and work for All Students, Absolutely YES!" But until then, we are experiencing the MISEDUCATION OF EDUCATION! This Is My Perspective! Sound Off! Peace & Love!

WELCOME

Welcome to the ON THE REAL GRIND blog! A New, Fresh and Free Thinking Perspective on Politics, Current Issues, Education, Sports and Race Relations! Thank You for visiting and following this blog! Please feel free to leave comments and start discussions! PEACE & LOVE! "BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD!"

Making of a President

The president of the United States is by far the best known politician both within the United States and around the world. Americans who struggle to recall the name of their representative, senator, or governor almost certainly know the name of the president. Citizens of other countries from Iraq to China, Australia to Russia, are generally familiar with the president's name and photograph and have an opinion on his performance in office. The fame that U.S. presidents enjoy today is appropriate, for the person who holds that office is at the center of both American politics and world affairs. But with all the fame, power and influence the President has a question and conversation came to my mind; “what qualifies someone to be president?” Now I know someone will say just read the Constitution and it will tell you the qualifications to be President of the United States. However with the election of President Barack Obama(the first President of African decent) and hopefully the re-election of President Obama(yes I do support President Obama) it made me think deeper on that question. It also raised another question in my mind, which was, why was President Obama able to gain support in ways that no other candidate of African decent could do. Now I know some would say it was because of the state of the nation, or that it was divine intervention, or that it was because others before him paved the road and all of those may be true and to some degree I can agree with those reasons. However upon closer observation and research I truly believe there is a deeper truth to how Presidents are now chosen. And if a candidate does not meet these extended qualifications, beyond the qualifications of the Constitution, he/she will not likely be elected President. Now having made such a bold statement, let me give some support to my statement. Let me start by asking this, are Presidents born or are Presidents made? Now being a believer in God the Almighty I do believe that everyone is born with a divine destiny for their life but I also believe that a person can be molded and shaped along the way to reach that destiny, including being President of the United States. And that is why I also believe that a Barack Obama can be more received as being President than a Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton, both of whom I do admire, respect and did support as candidates for President, because of certain standards society sets. In support of my observation of this I researched one simple area, commonalities of all the Presidents of the United States and in my research I found several of all the past Presidents and the current President. According to the US Constitution the qualifications to be President of the United are very simple. He/She must be a natural born citizen of the United States, be thirty-five years old, and have been a permanent resident of the United States for at least fourteen years. But if you look closer you will see that there are some extended qualifications and commonalities that society has placed on being President of the United States. Of the forty-four Presidents,35 went to college, 18 went to Ivy League schools, 26 served in the military, and 25 were lawyers.
Now would it be safe to say if you aspire to be President that you should go to college, preferably an Ivy League, study law and serve in the military. Of the four highest commonalities President Obama had three; he went to college, he went to two Ivy Leagues, Columbia and Harvard and he studied law. In no way am I saying that is the absolute standard for being elected President because there are several African American men who have at least one of these qualifications and some with all of them. However there is another commonality President Obama have with all the past Presidents that no other African American candidate had and that is he was not only a African American man but also a Caucasian man. That is just the reality. And whether or not you agree or disagree, I honestly believe that one commonality made a lot of the nation connect to President Obama in ways that they could not connect with past African American presidential candidates. Now I know a lot of you will argue that the nation got passed race to accept and elect President Obama but I would say it was just the opposite. It was because of his racial makeup that the Caucasians of this nation were able to connect to, accept and elect President Obama. Again these are not absolutes but observations. Now is this to say that a “100%” black man, or black woman, or white woman or any other nationality wont be elected President? NO! But this observation and study does show that certain commonalities make it easier to be elected President of the United States! Peace & Love!