Black People and The Education of Their Children

My response inspired by this post: http://blackandmarriedwithkids.com/2011/05/04/house-hunting-for-education/

felt like such a needed wake up sentiment to too many folks out there that I've decided to make it its own blog post:

I'm glad this is posted because I find black people in America incredibly ignorant as parents of the aggression and ambition they need to have on behalf of their kids to ensure a successful educational experience. They seem to think sitting in the hood waiting on an A-class school to fall in their lap is their God-given right. Um no, find where the good schools are and get in the zone. Next set of ignorance are the ones that don't even know what a good school looks like. Don't know how to analyze the data, don't know that schools will game the system to get an A rating and as you said it's about looking at how the school has performed over the years, not just the last year or two. I would say since schools now game the ratings, be specific and look at what PERCENT of their students are passing the reading, writing, math, and science state-wide standardized testing at or above grade level. Most of the answers to that should be 90% and above. If a school falls below 80% minimum in any of these areas...they are not an A school! Our children can't produce 70% on something and get an A, 70% is a C, so grade the schools accordingly. Most of the black schools in the last county I analyzed, were in the 50% to 60% range...and lower. That huge chunk of kids NOT learning, what are they doing? Being a menace to the rest of the class and a bad influence on MY child. Um, no. I'll pass. Because one of the biggest problems is not weapons in schools but BEHAVIOURS in schools. And I have seen enough of some of these parents to know where they get it from. I have friends who are teachers who are getting told by the kid that his parent will "whip her ass" and when she calls the parent, the parent is saying the same thing! Excuse me? If all the teacher's energy is drained controlling/raising problem children like that, there is nothing left over to truly teach and instill or reinforce a love of learning in children who are brought up much better than that.

Black people need to get over waiting on the government to solve all their problems and get SMART. In a more technical and fast paced world it is going to take SMARTER more INTELLIGENT parents to get these kids ahead...and unfortunately a lot of parents are dumb and raising kids dumber.

Ladies, Make Sure to Educate Yourself On A Foreign Man's Culture!

Just a public service announcement...make sure you know how decent women are usually treated in his home culture before letting him get too close to you...check out the conversation below where I caught a guy by surprise lol (we still cool but we know where we stand now!)

ME:

I don't know a lot about your culture but i assume they teach more respect for women than what i see these men here carrying on with.

although maybe you away from home you misbehaving. lol you know how you guys are

HIM:

lol

u got me

ME:

I knew man. No muslim culture out there allows you to be talking to a decent girl about sex first thing. you not even suppose to be trying to get that til you at least engaged to her or married.

so i already know you misbehaving. you one a dem guys that just see black girls as sex cause alla dem attracted to you and its something different...

HIM:

omg

how u knw so much abt us

***

See what I mean...LOL "lick him fi six" as we say in Jamaica...and is plenty black girls find him very attractive...not saying he's not cause he is...but these men get away with what you let them get away with in your ignorance...so I try to be as educated as possible and not everything comes from the classroom, have to know how to look some things up...or have friends from across the globe who can give you a clue as to how their men and women are suppose to operate!

The Most ... Men--Let's show some POSITIVE appreciation in the spirit of Christmas!

Ladies have you ever taken the time to appreciate the beauty in all the faces, forms, and characters of the men in the WORLD around us?

Sometimes we spend so much time reading, writing, talking of all the NEGATIVE about the opposite sex, let's take a moment sometimes to appreciate the POSITIVE in them, inside and out!  Without bias for just who you like at the moment, or what race or culture you are from...unless you live in a box that includes only those two types of men, and even there you can find qualities to appreciate inside and out I am sure!

In the spirit of Christmas -- the giving season -- and the authority of the number three (like the Holy Trinity), I am giving out superlative COMPLIMENTS in groups of three to the men I have come across in the last decade or so, by nationality (just for fun)! JOY TO THE WORLD *smile*!

The three most beautiful men I have ever seen in my life are from Jamaica, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Morocco.

The three men with the strongest minds I have ever met are from the United States of America and Jamaica.

The three men with the strongest Christian faith I have ever met are from the United States of America and Cameroon.

The three men with the most respect for women I have ever met are from Guyana, Ghana and the United States of America.

The three most AMBITIOUS men I have ever met are from Jamaica, China, and Morocco (a different one).

The three smartest men I have ever met are from Jamaica, China, and the United States of America.

The three funniest men I have ever met are from Jamaica and the United States of America.

The three most romantic men I have ever met are from Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad & Tobago.

The three most family-oriented men I have ever met are from India, Trinidad & Tobago, and Jamaica!

The three best athletes I have ever met (personally) are from Jamaica!

The three most generous men I have ever met are from Jamaica and the U.S. Virgin Islands (a different one).

So many countries of the world represented, all shades, nationalities, religions, occupations, educational levels...heights (lol cause I know us women love to pick on men over how close to the 6 foot tall mark they are).  Variety is the spice of life, don't focus on what's wrong with people all the time (although it's good to be sensible about people's limitations)...focus on what is interesting and what you can learn from each new person you meet, each new friend you make.

It's easy to commiserate with the next person cracking a joke about a man leaving the toilet seat up or never asking for directions when lost...it's a little different and much better for your mind and spirit, though, to remember when you needed that late-night run to the store for tissue or milk and he wasn't even your boyfriend or husband but he did it for you, to remember all the road trips not CARING where you're going because of the personality in the car next to you sharing the moment, whether that personality was the friend who kept it live with jokes and music or the man you were interested in who kept that electricity sparking the air in the car all the way!

Share with the men you know ladies and take the time feel GOOD about them being here, because imagine if God made a mate for every other animal in existence and none for humans...then there would be only men, and we wouldn't be here to brighten their world and give them that motivation to go beyond what they are capable of today!

Christmas greetings guys, let's end 2010 on a positive note and start 2011 truly HAPPY!  As my aunt so graciously likes to say: be well!

Chronicles of a Social Esquire-Their tips and recommendations for Trinidad Carnival!

Chronicles of a Social Esquire-Where being an attorney is not your average shade of gray - Blog

Please note these girls are the stush kind of partiers, so don't feel, for example, that you have to stay in the Trinidad Hyatt to have a great time! However all points of view of major events are good to have, from the top of the party social ladder to the bottom to the ones in between (and those who are versatile enough to hang anywhere!).  And of course, when you DO feel like big balling and going all out for your hotel stay in Trinidad, you know where the big ballers go thanks to the Social Esquires! Enjoy!

Pic is from their website.

NEVER forget Haiti: Help Make (or Send) Survival Kits for Women/Children!

Info Courtesy of Islandmix.com


Throughout this blog I will be highlighting pictures of Haiti and Haitians, the POSITIVE side, because too often we only hear the ugly news out of Haiti, and were it not for talks in college with my friends like Alfred in the FAMU lunch cafeteria comparing notes and news vs. reality on both our countries, I would never know the beautiful side of Haiti!  So the pictures are not a pretense that serious things aren't going on, but you get those images ALL THE TIME so I am showing you the FLIP SIDE...every country has its ugly and its beauty, so here is the beauty in Haiti and its people! Don't help just because of what's wrong, help because of what's right and what can be right again!


Even if you are not a youth, and not in New York, these things are NEEDED! Make your pack and find another local program collecting items for Haiti and help!  

Haiti, beach near Les Cayes on the south coast

Haiti inspired the rest of us in the West Indies and elsewhere in our fight for freedom from slavery, don't forget them now that they need us!

Haiti, from this blog

For those who cannot go to Haiti to help fix the problems you can help this organization or others who actually fly out to Haiti and help

Bassin-Bleu Waterfalls, in the southern part of Haiti outside Jacmel.  The rumors/"news" are Haiti is so deforested (trees cut down) that not a single tree remains...according to this blog from a Ghanaian visitor...it's "a complete exaggeration," the place still has areas with a tropical look and feel to it. 

Haitian woman

Haitian superstar musician and philanthropist Wyclef Jean

Haitian actress Sandra Prosper, of Charmed, CSI: Miami, and Dead Lawyers fame

Youth Day of Service
1199 SEIU We Care for Haiti Campaign
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
10am – 3pm
330 W. 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036 · Penthouse (33rd Floor)



History of the Women Survival Kit Project
The Women Survival Kit Drive was created to help the women and girls that were victims of this catastrophic earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12th, 2010. The goal is to provide 50,000 women and girls with a kit that will help them with their daily hygienic needs.




The Youth Day of Service is an opportunity for young people to show their commitment to helping others by making survival kits. Each participant will receive a letter of participation for community service credit at the end of the day.


Each survival kit will include the following items

 Panties of all sizes
 Sanitary Napkins (individually wrapped)
 Pantiliners (individually wrapped)
 Disposable wipes (travel size)
 Toothbrush & Toothpaste
 Soap & Hand Sanitizer
 Washcloths
 Deodorant
 Lotion 
 Combs
 Zip loc bags (gallon size)


Requirements of Youth Day of Service Participant

1. Bring a donation of one or more of the bolded items (from the list above)
2. Be available for the entire day (in order to receive credit). Lunch will be provided

Garcelle Beauvais, famous Haitian model/actress

*******************************************************************

Haitian children at Cambry orphanage in Les Cayes, taken from here

Haitian girls

Haitian boys in Baraderes, Haiti

Haitian children

Is long time I said to myself while people sorting out food and water and shelter, I can already see the "softer" things that are going to be NEEDED...especially for women since they cant just walk around with their boxers on like men and very young girl children can get away with.

Haitian children

I had no money to send back then but i had women's and girl children's clothing and shoes...and even a bag that someone could use as a diaper bag or to transport anything heck the thing so big a brand new baby could fit in it as a bassinet (leaving it open of course)...so i sent 2 huge garbage bags full of that stuff.

Haitian schoolchildren

Haitian schoolchildren

People forgot is not just straight up money makes a difference. Even in the middle of not having I had plenty to give.

Haitian who was working as a translator during the crisis and his mother (she has an eye issue)...great looking people and you would never guess that at the time the pic was taken they were living on the streets...

Pads, panties...yes very necessary. Can you imagine the girls that are just getting their period this year in haiti?

Haitian schoolgirl, picture taken in Haiti February 9, 2009

So I was asked "What's your definition of a REAL MAN?"

This Facebook anonymous Q&A status game has gone viral, and now they are doing it elsewhere.  If you don't know, it's where someone asks you a question, any question, and you post it up without identifying who asked, and post the answer, in the format Q: then A:...

This question is one many women need to ask themselves and maybe it will help them determine who is real and who is a fraud as they navigate the stormy seas of the dating/mating "game."  Keep in mind these are MY answers and I am not prescribing them for anyone, just posting my own thoughts!  Let me know what you think!

Q: What is your definition of a real man?

A: 

He's strong (and I do not mean physically).

He has genuine respect for women, especially for his woman.

He has a healthy normal relationship with his mother if she's in his life and same for the father if he's in his life...if they are not proper parents then a real man has learned or been taught the proper relationship between a man and a woman and between that pair and a child by another couple or set of couples.

He has manners.

He has ambition and has evidence of being able to actually apply it to his life.

He has great problem-solving and critical thinking skills...you know, leadership abilities.

He inspires me.

He causes me to admire him without effort on his part, just the way he naturally is is admirable...

He is hardworking.

He is honest and can do it without being rude.

He may not be perfect, but when things are brought to his attention, he really tries...

He can form a monogamous, loving, and passionate bond with a woman. (As opposed to a professional gyallis who needs someone to justify settling down to him cause he literally sees no advantage to not whoring around.)

He is not afraid of the spiritual aspect of life and can hold real conversations about his beliefs and mine without drama. 

He is a positive person.

He enjoys life, and doesn't merely survive through it.

He knows himself and his flaws, and knows a good woman along with/in spite of her flaws when he sees one.

lemme stop yah lol.