Whenever I have occasion to ride the city bus, I always laugh ironically at how the black young men inevitably move to the back. I commented to my wife once, "my parents fought this battle so these dudes can sit in the back of the bus--but it's because they *choose* to do so". So I get what you're saying. Sometimes it's hard to tell when we're being segregated, or when we're choosing to associate that way. I guess the thing is to make sure our kids have pride in being black, feel they're equal to anyone else of any other race or background, and have the confidence that they can accomplish anything they set out to do. Kudos to your daughter!
----- Original Message ----- From: "Kelwyn" <ravena...@yahoo.com> To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, March 19, 2010 12:27:59 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] Re: OT: Lots of news on boys and school. None of it good. I don't know if this is still true but fourteen years ago, when my daughter was enrolled in Montessori school, where the pre-school was laid out in different "life" modules, the black students would always end up in the kitchen area. This was found to be true at both private and public Montessori schools. The question was whether the black children were channeled into the kitchen area or if the black children self-congregated themselves. I witnessed this at my daughter's Montessori school (where I was paying $5000 a year tuition). I was personally appalled by what I saw but - and this is a big but - the kids were engaged and happy (and they were running that kitchen). So, I didn't make a stink about it. In the long run, I think I made pretty good choices because my straight A daughter has been accepted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (one of the top 25 universities in America) where she will study economics. ~rave! --- In scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com , Keith Johnson <keithbjohn...@...> wrote: > > I've heard good things about Montessori schools. The problem, as you say, is > that the schools seem to be focused on only one style of teaching. I sat > still in school as a kid, as most of us did. But, I also had P.E. for a > break, so my mind and body could roam free. I had a lot of classes where > discussion was encouraged, and basically started discussion where it wasn't. > If I had to sit all day long and just read or be lectured to, but not be able > to talk freely? I'd never have made it. > The problem is all the things schools need: flexible schedules to accommodate > different students' needs...teachers able to teach differently for different > students...smaller classes where individual participation is > encouraged...less rote teaching. Our schools need to be adaptive and limber, > yet we're closing more schools every day, firing more teachers, and even > talking about making school days longer. The exact opposite of what kids > need. > Do you think supplementing with home schooling would help? > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "L Freeman" <msles59...@...> > To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com > Sent: Friday, March 19, 2010 3:45:22 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern > Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Lots of news on boys and school. None of it > good. > > > > > > > Any suggestions on what to do with schools that don't want to tolerate boys > style? My son is doing well academically, with the exception of writing. He > HATES sitting still, and cannot organize his desk to save his life or mine,. > He has a natural aptitude and excels in math and science. He is 9. As many > calls as I have had from the school, you would think he was a budding serial > killer. I will likely home-school him next year, or find a good Montessori > school. Unless someone else has been thru this before?? > > --- On Thu, 3/18/10, Keith Johnson <keithbjohn...@...> wrote: > > > > From: Keith Johnson <keithbjohn...@...> > Subject: Re: [ scifinoir 2] OT: Lots of news on boys and school. None of it > good. > To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com > Date: Thursday, March 18, 2010, 7:06 PM > > > > > > > Absolutely.. . > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Martin Baxter" <martinbaxter7@ gmail.com> > To: scifino...@yahoogro ups.com > Sent: Thursday, March 18, 2010 2:49:06 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern > Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] OT: Lots of news on boys and school. None of it > good. > > > > > > > Keith, I started to read the attached story, then stopped when I saw the > group attached to it. The Center on Education Policy frequently appears on > Faux/Fixed/Fox news. Take whatever they say with a salt mine. > > > On Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 1:58 PM, Keith Johnson < KeithBJohnson@ comcast.net > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > Interesting. I'm not well informed on the latest data on how boys and girls > learn. I know there's the feeling that boys are more mechanical, > mathematically gifted, hands on. Girls are supposed to be more conceptional, > "dreamy". But things like saying girls read what's put in front of them, > while boys are harder to control? Is that genetic or societal? Not sure. I > never needed motivation to learn to read; in fact, i couldn't *wait* to learn > the magic of words as a child. That's a girl's trait, according to the > article. At the same time, I loved--and still love--informational books about > dinosaurs and outer space (boy's trait). I love "storybooks" (girl's trait), > always read what was put in front of me in school (girl's trait), but really > like to do my own thing (boy's trait). I learn most efficiently from > discussing broad concepts, open forums, and creative thinking, but managed to > obtain an EE degree in a fairly inflexible engineering world that brooked no > arguing of the rules. > > So I'm not sure what it means to say that current curricula favor girls. Are > girls lacking in creative thought, self-expression, and more used to be > controlled in a inflexible learning program? don't know. What I will say, > though, is that the emphasis more and more on passing tests, rote > memorization, and narrow teaching systems hurts *all* kids, regardless of > gender. > > I just listened on Wednesday to a really good Public Radio program from the > dean of Tufts University about how people learn. He discussed how he was > labeled "slow" as a kid, almost put back a year, and later, told by a college > professor he had no ability for psychiatry. Years later, he led the American > Psychiatric Association. What he realized was that how he learned didn't work > with the rote memorization that was the standard back then. When he was > allowed to learn in a freer, more open way, he excelled. > > And yet here we are, closing schools left and right (four elementary schools > to be closed in DeKalb County, GA where I live), putting the burden of more > students on fewer teachers, and somehow still expecting teachers and students > to be more proficient at taking standardized tests whose efficacy is dubious > at best. > > School not good for boys? I'd say it's not good for anyone right now... > > ************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* *** > > http://blogs. ajc.com/get- schooled- blog/2010/ 03/17/lots- of-news-on- > boys-none- of-it-good/ ?cxntlid= sldr > > Lots of news on boys and school. None of it good. > > > 12:01 am March 17, 2010, by Maureen Downey > > > > > > A new report comparing math and reading skills by gender offers “good news > for girls but bad news for boys,â€� says Jack Jennings, president of the > Center on Education Policy. The study shows a gender gap in reading with > girls taking a decided lead. > > > > > Released Wednesday, the center’s report on the achievement levels of boys > and girls on state reading and math assessments found that boys lag girls in > reading in all states across elementary, middle and high schools. > “Something is going on in our schools that is holding boys back,â€� says > Jennings. ‘Let me emphasize, we do not want a war of the sexes in > education…but we need a broad conversation on how boys can do better in > schools.â€� > > The study confirms the concerns of many educators who have been sounding an > alarm for year over the flagging academic performance of boys and the > worrisome male dropout rate. > > > > > While educators worried 20 years ago about the gap between girls and boys in > math performance, girls have achieved parity with boys in math, says > Jennings. > > Historically, boys trailed girls in reading in the very early grades, but > caught up and exceeded girls by fourth grade. This study shows that is no > longer the case. Boys are not making up for lost ground in reading at any > point in their k-12 careers. > > > > > And a reason may be that the hands-on play that helped young boys develop > intellectually and learn to problem solve is increasingly curtailed by > inflexible academic approaches that better suit how little girls learn. > Without that developmental foundation, boys are not progressing in reading or > becoming interested in books. > > Education researcher Susan B. Neuman , an expert in early literacy, was part > of a conference call Tuesday to talk to the press about the Center on > Education Policy findings. She said the study mirrored what she is seeing in > special education where boys, especially minority males, dominate. Neuman is > a University of Michigan professor and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of > Elementary and Secondary Education. > > > > > Calling the study “a rallying cry,â€� Neuman said it suggests that schools > are not meeting the needs of young boys because of a curriculum that does not > reflect their interests and classroom management that does not tolerate their > learning styles. > > > > > The problem is as basic as the content that we put in front of young > children, says Newman, noting that while girls prefer storybooks, boys like > books that are informational, that tell them about dinosaurs or outer space. > > “Girls tend to read what people give them,â€� says Neuman. “They’re > intrigued with learning to read. With boys, we have to motivate them to > read.â€� > > > > > In the past, young children had more choices in school, says Neuman, but the > focus on testing and academic learning has left less time for choice and more > demand for conformity. The strong emphasis on teaching reading skills, sounds > and letters succeeds with girls, but not with boys, she says. > > > > > (We did not discuss the impact of video games on boys and reading, but a new > study suggests th at school performance suffers because of the time boys > spend playing video games.) > > One of the experts expressing concerns about boys has been Anthony Rao, > co-author of the new book “The Way of Boys: Raising Healthy Boys in a > Challenging and Complex World,â€� My interview with him is here. > > From the vantage point of working with families for 20 years, Rao says that > he has seen less and less tolerance in schools of little boys who can’t sit > still or who are overly aggressive. Boys, for example, are expelled 4.5 times > more often than girls in preschools â€" a rate that exceeds even high school > expulsions. > > > > > Today’s classroom is better suited for the ways girls learn, says Rao. > “When you promote all this assessment and increasing standardization, you > narrow the way you are going to teach kids, eclipsing the ways that boys > learn better. You go to much less hands-on and manipulation of objects and to > more sit down and lectures.â€� > > Also on Tuesday, the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher series issued its > own gender gap report. Among its findings: > > > > Girls are more likely than boys to: > > Strongly agree that it is important they go to school or college after high > school (71% vs. 65%) > > Plan to attend a two- or four-year college (85% vs. 73%) > > Be very confident they will achieve their goals for the future (59% vs. 50%) > > Girls are less likely than boys to: > > Agree that they only do enough work to do as well as they need to get by in > school (31% vs. 41%) > > Speak one-one-one with teacher about their interests and things that are > important to them at least once a month (43% vs. 52%) > > There is a lot here â€" and it’s midnight so I am closing before this turns > into the first chapter of a long book. Let’s discuss in the morning. >
