Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science (MS)²

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, all our lives would have been different - better or worse-- with different skin or different grandparents, different health and different talents.

I don't see the value of blaming others, who through no fault of their own, got a better deal in life.

I guess I could hold a grudge against all the people who could afford braces and nose jobs and sailing camps and tutors and stays in europe where I could have picked up a second or third language.

I don't see the point of it.

Of course you don't see the point if no one questions the opportunities you receive, or your opportunities are not under attack, and you don't have to constantly defend and educate others as to the circumstances of your people.

Many AAs aren't taking advantage of all of the opportunities that are open to them. Again, many AAs in DC won't avail themselves of the library - friends who are teachers say moms won't even read kids books to their toddlers, I'm amazed to hear from AA parents that they have never been to the world-class Smithsonian museums, the job opportunities here in DC draw people from all around the country. At this point, it's not so much about opportunities under attack or opportunities not open, it's about being stuck in the perceptions of the past and not pursuing anything, based on those perceptions. Obama was able to rise to become an attorney, professor, senator and President because the external barriers did not prevent him from doing so. It's not the external barriers out in society holding AAs back, it's the internal barriers.

Are you amazed when you hear these same things from/about white parents? I don't have any AA friends who don't go to the library, frequent museums,e tc. In fact, many grew up with libraries in their homes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Using Obama as an example is ridiculous. The man grew up in an educated middle class white family and went to private school. While he had to face some of the prejudice that other young black men face (despite the fact that he's half white, he looks black and people respond to him as black), he had enormous advantages by comparison, in particular growing up in a family where people expected to be well-served by educational institutions.

Give me an example of someone who grew up in public housing with black parents who had drug habits who didn't finish high school. There are folks like that out there. Tell me how they achieved their success. That would be a good example.
But using Obama to prove your point is rather odd and suggests a lack of knowledge about this community in general.

Yes, that would be an example. But pointing to one example, or 100, doesn't lead to the conclusion that racism doesn't exist, or there aren't societal barriers to achievement by AAs.

Yes, good point, pp. I should have mentioned that as well. I was just amazed at the weakness of using Obama for an example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Using Obama as an example is ridiculous. The man grew up in an educated middle class white family and went to private school. While he had to face some of the prejudice that other young black men face (despite the fact that he's half white, he looks black and people respond to him as black), he had enormous advantages by comparison, in particular growing up in a family where people expected to be well-served by educational institutions.

Give me an example of someone who grew up in public housing with black parents who had drug habits who didn't finish high school. There are folks like that out there. Tell me how they achieved their success. That would be a good example.

But using Obama to prove your point is rather odd and suggests a lack of knowledge about this community in general.

Oh, I suppose it was a white man who held a gun to heads and told people they had to stay in public housing in neighborhoods where there is a high cost of living and no jobs. It was he who held the gun to their heads and forced them to do drugs and get addicted. It was he who stood armed guard at the door of their high school and kept them from entering, for no good reason, to keep them from getting an education.

No, that problem is entirely within that community itself, it is its own enemy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Using Obama as an example is ridiculous. The man grew up in an educated middle class white family and went to private school. While he had to face some of the prejudice that other young black men face (despite the fact that he's half white, he looks black and people respond to him as black), he had enormous advantages by comparison, in particular growing up in a family where people expected to be well-served by educational institutions.

Give me an example of someone who grew up in public housing with black parents who had drug habits who didn't finish high school. There are folks like that out there. Tell me how they achieved their success. That would be a good example.

But using Obama to prove your point is rather odd and suggests a lack of knowledge about this community in general.

Oh, I suppose it was a white man who held a gun to heads and told people they had to stay in public housing in neighborhoods where there is a high cost of living and no jobs. It was he who held the gun to their heads and forced them to do drugs and get addicted. It was he who stood armed guard at the door of their high school and kept them from entering, for no good reason, to keep them from getting an education.

No, that problem is entirely within that community itself, it is its own enemy.

Oh fer cryin' out loud! Please address the point I made - that the example is not reflective of the community you're talking about, regardless of the point you want to make. Your failure to address the specific point doesn't reflect well on you. I hope you're not reflective of your community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, all our lives would have been different - better or worse-- with different skin or different grandparents, different health and different talents.

I don't see the value of blaming others, who through no fault of their own, got a better deal in life.

I guess I could hold a grudge against all the people who could afford braces and nose jobs and sailing camps and tutors and stays in europe where I could have picked up a second or third language.

I don't see the point of it.

Of course you don't see the point if no one questions the opportunities you receive, or your opportunities are not under attack, and you don't have to constantly defend and educate others as to the circumstances of your people.

Many AAs aren't taking advantage of all of the opportunities that are open to them. Again, many AAs in DC won't avail themselves of the library - friends who are teachers say moms won't even read kids books to their toddlers, I'm amazed to hear from AA parents that they have never been to the world-class Smithsonian museums, the job opportunities here in DC draw people from all around the country. At this point, it's not so much about opportunities under attack or opportunities not open, it's about being stuck in the perceptions of the past and not pursuing anything, based on those perceptions. Obama was able to rise to become an attorney, professor, senator and President because the external barriers did not prevent him from doing so. It's not the external barriers out in society holding AAs back, it's the internal barriers.

Are you amazed when you hear these same things from/about white parents? I don't have any AA friends who don't go to the library, frequent museums,e tc. In fact, many grew up with libraries in their homes.

You are not representative of everyone in DC. This isn't about white parents or what they think - talk to any of the teachers working with the kids in DC schools. Many in the worst wards will tell you about kids who can't read. And that's because nobody so much as bothers to even read them a kids book every so often when they are toddlers. Nobody can be bothered to look after the kids, and it all starts there. Kids have natural curiosity, they will read and learn if they get the right start at it. The teachers can only do so much in the short time that they have to work with the kids, and if the parents or others at home can't be bothered to help the kids then it goes nowhere.

I think you are incredibly naive and clueless if you seriously think there are parents in DC who don't read to their kids, don't take them to libraries, don't take them to museums and so on - and those who don't are the epicenter of DC's education problem. Again, talk to the TEACHERS about this, they will set you straight on the facts where it comes to underperforming kids and the problem that starts at home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Using Obama as an example is ridiculous. The man grew up in an educated middle class white family and went to private school. While he had to face some of the prejudice that other young black men face (despite the fact that he's half white, he looks black and people respond to him as black), he had enormous advantages by comparison, in particular growing up in a family where people expected to be well-served by educational institutions.

Give me an example of someone who grew up in public housing with black parents who had drug habits who didn't finish high school. There are folks like that out there. Tell me how they achieved their success. That would be a good example.

But using Obama to prove your point is rather odd and suggests a lack of knowledge about this community in general.

Oh, I suppose it was a white man who held a gun to heads and told people they had to stay in public housing in neighborhoods where there is a high cost of living and no jobs. It was he who held the gun to their heads and forced them to do drugs and get addicted. It was he who stood armed guard at the door of their high school and kept them from entering, for no good reason, to keep them from getting an education.

No, that problem is entirely within that community itself, it is its own enemy.

Oh fer cryin' out loud! Please address the point I made - that the example is not reflective of the community you're talking about, regardless of the point you want to make. Your failure to address the specific point doesn't reflect well on you. I hope you're not reflective of your community.

Address your point? Seriously? You make it out as though Obama lived a blessed life and was the one in a triillion where all the stars aligned and everything was perfect. It wasn't. His father wasn't around, and what of him was around is demonized as a foreign Marxist and Atheist. His stepdad? Demonized as a foreign Muslim. His mom wasn't around for a lot of his life either Shuttled around from place to place, unable to put down roots. Raised for a while by some old-school midwestern white grandparents, and that magically solves all the ills of a broken home? Put himself through law school and only finished finally paying off school debts just a few years ago?

And "half white" is totally non relevant. To hear you tell it, maybe we are supposed to think Obama had the membership card, secret handshake and decoder ring for the secret White Society club, and so everyone just rolled out the red carpet and said "Yes sir, Mr. Obama sir - right this way to sit with the whites and all your needs will be attended to". Now THAT is ridiculous.

What a crock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of you saying "Obama did XYZ," with the implication that therefore no racial barriers exist, or anyone should be able to overcome them - stop. Just stop. Do you know how ridiculous you sound? The man is insanely smart, politically astute (although lately, I have my doubts, but whatever), and incredibly lucky. You can't become president otherwise (jokes about George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan aside). He in the top 0.0000001% of people - black, white, purple, whatever - in the world. It's just not a valid comparison.

Nor did he come from a legacy of slavery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Using Obama as an example is ridiculous. The man grew up in an educated middle class white family and went to private school. While he had to face some of the prejudice that other young black men face (despite the fact that he's half white, he looks black and people respond to him as black), he had enormous advantages by comparison, in particular growing up in a family where people expected to be well-served by educational institutions.

Give me an example of someone who grew up in public housing with black parents who had drug habits who didn't finish high school. There are folks like that out there. Tell me how they achieved their success. That would be a good example.

But using Obama to prove your point is rather odd and suggests a lack of knowledge about this community in general.

Oh, I suppose it was a white man who held a gun to heads and told people they had to stay in public housing in neighborhoods where there is a high cost of living and no jobs. It was he who held the gun to their heads and forced them to do drugs and get addicted. It was he who stood armed guard at the door of their high school and kept them from entering, for no good reason, to keep them from getting an education.

No, that problem is entirely within that community itself, it is its own enemy.

Your response proves you don't know your history, about public housing, which was originally built for middle class families. About the American drug trade, which was supported by US gov and purposely driven to minority neighborhoods. About Jim Crow laws, Brown v. Board of Education, etc. This response barely deserves a rebuttal, other than that you obviously have not taken advantage of the same educational opportunities you and others on this board are accusing the entire Black American population of neglecting. Stop watching FOX News. As a matter of fact, turn off the TV and get thee to a library!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Using Obama as an example is ridiculous. The man grew up in an educated middle class white family and went to private school. While he had to face some of the prejudice that other young black men face (despite the fact that he's half white, he looks black and people respond to him as black), he had enormous advantages by comparison, in particular growing up in a family where people expected to be well-served by educational institutions.

Give me an example of someone who grew up in public housing with black parents who had drug habits who didn't finish high school. There are folks like that out there. Tell me how they achieved their success. That would be a good example.

But using Obama to prove your point is rather odd and suggests a lack of knowledge about this community in general.

Oh, I suppose it was a white man who held a gun to heads and told people they had to stay in public housing in neighborhoods where there is a high cost of living and no jobs. It was he who held the gun to their heads and forced them to do drugs and get addicted. It was he who stood armed guard at the door of their high school and kept them from entering, for no good reason, to keep them from getting an education.

No, that problem is entirely within that community itself, it is its own enemy.

“If you can control a man’s thinking, you don’t have to worry about his actions. If you can determine what a man thinks you do not have worry about what he will do. If you can make a man believe that he is inferior, you don’t have to compel him to seek an inferior status, he will do so without being told and if you can make a man believe that he is justly an outcast, you don’t have to order him to the back door, he will go to the back door on his own and if there is no back door, the very nature of the man will demand that you build one.” Carter G. Woodson

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, all our lives would have been different - better or worse-- with different skin or different grandparents, different health and different talents.

I don't see the value of blaming others, who through no fault of their own, got a better deal in life.

I guess I could hold a grudge against all the people who could afford braces and nose jobs and sailing camps and tutors and stays in europe where I could have picked up a second or third language.

I don't see the point of it.

Of course you don't see the point if no one questions the opportunities you receive, or your opportunities are not under attack, and you don't have to constantly defend and educate others as to the circumstances of your people.

Many AAs aren't taking advantage of all of the opportunities that are open to them. Again, many AAs in DC won't avail themselves of the library - friends who are teachers say moms won't even read kids books to their toddlers, I'm amazed to hear from AA parents that they have never been to the world-class Smithsonian museums, the job opportunities here in DC draw people from all around the country. At this point, it's not so much about opportunities under attack or opportunities not open, it's about being stuck in the perceptions of the past and not pursuing anything, based on those perceptions. Obama was able to rise to become an attorney, professor, senator and President because the external barriers did not prevent him from doing so. It's not the external barriers out in society holding AAs back, it's the internal barriers.

Are you amazed when you hear these same things from/about white parents? I don't have any AA friends who don't go to the library, frequent museums,e tc. In fact, many grew up with libraries in their homes.

You are not representative of everyone in DC. This isn't about white parents or what they think - talk to any of the teachers working with the kids in DC schools. Many in the worst wards will tell you about kids who can't read. And that's because nobody so much as bothers to even read them a kids book every so often when they are toddlers. Nobody can be bothered to look after the kids, and it all starts there. Kids have natural curiosity, they will read and learn if they get the right start at it. The teachers can only do so much in the short time that they have to work with the kids, and if the parents or others at home can't be bothered to help the kids then it goes nowhere.

I think you are incredibly naive and clueless if you seriously think there are parents in DC who don't read to their kids, don't take them to libraries, don't take them to museums and so on - and those who don't are the epicenter of DC's education problem. Again, talk to the TEACHERS about this, they will set you straight on the facts where it comes to underperforming kids and the problem that starts at home.

Really? Why not? You write as if no white person, in DC or anywhere ever, has these issues. These are not AA/DC issues, there are neglectful parents everywhere, but a good supportive school/environment can help the entire community. This goes back to my comment about fellow-feeling for fellow man, have you ever done anything to help, or are you just pointing fingers and making judgments based on second-hand information? Have you taken a look at schools like Andre Agassi's, and tried to start one yourself? Or do you just put your child's name in the school lotteries to take the place of one of those kids you decry who don't get help from home?

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. I see a lot of people on this thread who are unconcerned, ill-informed and happy to make judgements based on erroneous information. It is obvious to me that so many only get their information from soundbites on TV.

You may know how to read, but you haven't used the knowledge well and it doesn't appear to have made you, or many on this thread, any smarter.

Critical thinking is really lacking in a lot of these responses. I think I'll talk to the folks at Inspired teaching to see if they can offer some adult classes for the community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, all our lives would have been different - better or worse-- with different skin or different grandparents, different health and different talents.

I don't see the value of blaming others, who through no fault of their own, got a better deal in life.

I guess I could hold a grudge against all the people who could afford braces and nose jobs and sailing camps and tutors and stays in europe where I could have picked up a second or third language.

I don't see the point of it.

Of course you don't see the point if no one questions the opportunities you receive, or your opportunities are not under attack, and you don't have to constantly defend and educate others as to the circumstances of your people.

Many AAs aren't taking advantage of all of the opportunities that are open to them. Again, many AAs in DC won't avail themselves of the library - friends who are teachers say moms won't even read kids books to their toddlers, I'm amazed to hear from AA parents that they have never been to the world-class Smithsonian museums, the job opportunities here in DC draw people from all around the country. At this point, it's not so much about opportunities under attack or opportunities not open, it's about being stuck in the perceptions of the past and not pursuing anything, based on those perceptions. Obama was able to rise to become an attorney, professor, senator and President because the external barriers did not prevent him from doing so. It's not the external barriers out in society holding AAs back, it's the internal barriers.

Are you amazed when you hear these same things from/about white parents? I don't have any AA friends who don't go to the library, frequent museums,e tc. In fact, many grew up with libraries in their homes.

You are not representative of everyone in DC. This isn't about white parents or what they think - talk to any of the teachers working with the kids in DC schools. Many in the worst wards will tell you about kids who can't read. And that's because nobody so much as bothers to even read them a kids book every so often when they are toddlers. Nobody can be bothered to look after the kids, and it all starts there. Kids have natural curiosity, they will read and learn if they get the right start at it. The teachers can only do so much in the short time that they have to work with the kids, and if the parents or others at home can't be bothered to help the kids then it goes nowhere.

I think you are incredibly naive and clueless if you seriously think there are parents in DC who don't read to their kids, don't take them to libraries, don't take them to museums and so on - and those who don't are the epicenter of DC's education problem. Again, talk to the TEACHERS about this, they will set you straight on the facts where it comes to underperforming kids and the problem that starts at home.

Yes. But then again, listening to the stories that my friend (who happens to be a Black elementary school teacher) tells of her experience in South East DC schools where the kids are exposed to violence, abuse, and neglect in their homes that then carries over into the classrooms...it's enough to make a person want to hide her head not to hear anymore. But she returns every day to try to bring peace, security, and learning to her little corner of the world for a few hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, all our lives would have been different - better or worse-- with different skin or different grandparents, different health and different talents.

I don't see the value of blaming others, who through no fault of their own, got a better deal in life.

I guess I could hold a grudge against all the people who could afford braces and nose jobs and sailing camps and tutors and stays in europe where I could have picked up a second or third language.

I don't see the point of it.

Of course you don't see the point if no one questions the opportunities you receive, or your opportunities are not under attack, and you don't have to constantly defend and educate others as to the circumstances of your people.

Many AAs aren't taking advantage of all of the opportunities that are open to them. Again, many AAs in DC won't avail themselves of the library - friends who are teachers say moms won't even read kids books to their toddlers, I'm amazed to hear from AA parents that they have never been to the world-class Smithsonian museums, the job opportunities here in DC draw people from all around the country. At this point, it's not so much about opportunities under attack or opportunities not open, it's about being stuck in the perceptions of the past and not pursuing anything, based on those perceptions. Obama was able to rise to become an attorney, professor, senator and President because the external barriers did not prevent him from doing so. It's not the external barriers out in society holding AAs back, it's the internal barriers.

Are you amazed when you hear these same things from/about white parents? I don't have any AA friends who don't go to the library, frequent museums,e tc. In fact, many grew up with libraries in their homes.

You are not representative of everyone in DC. This isn't about white parents or what they think - talk to any of the teachers working with the kids in DC schools. Many in the worst wards will tell you about kids who can't read. And that's because nobody so much as bothers to even read them a kids book every so often when they are toddlers. Nobody can be bothered to look after the kids, and it all starts there. Kids have natural curiosity, they will read and learn if they get the right start at it. The teachers can only do so much in the short time that they have to work with the kids, and if the parents or others at home can't be bothered to help the kids then it goes nowhere.

I think you are incredibly naive and clueless if you seriously think there are parents in DC who don't read to their kids, don't take them to libraries, don't take them to museums and so on - and those who don't are the epicenter of DC's education problem. Again, talk to the TEACHERS about this, they will set you straight on the facts where it comes to underperforming kids and the problem that starts at home.

Yes. But then again, listening to the stories that my friend (who happens to be a Black elementary school teacher) tells of her experience in South East DC schools where the kids are exposed to violence, abuse, and neglect in their homes that then carries over into the classrooms...it's enough to make a person want to hide her head not to hear anymore. But she returns every day to try to bring peace, security, and learning to her little corner of the world for a few hours.

My DD attends a diverse private in VA, and I am amazed at how some of the white parents show so little patience and yell and scream at their kids. I have often wondered what happens in those homes if that kind of behavior is acceptable in public. But, I never thought to attribute those actions to where those parents live or to the color of their skin, or to infer from those few people that the entire white race are verbally abusive and possibly physically violent to thier children. But then again, I like to use my brain.

[Anonymous]

Looks like some red herrings being introduced here.

I didn't see anyone here ever say or suggest that white people don't have bad parents among them. They do. Yes, some white parents scream at their children in public. (and, I've witnessed AA parents do that as well).

The difference is, whites will readily and loudly condemn other whites for their bad parenting, and they won't sit and deny the fact that there are white parents who do a horrible job of parenting, nor will they blame anyone else for white parents being bad parents.

But nobody is allowed to talk about anyone else's bad parenting, because it immediately turns into an accusation of racism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, all our lives would have been different - better or worse-- with different skin or different grandparents, different health and different talents.

I don't see the value of blaming others, who through no fault of their own, got a better deal in life.

I guess I could hold a grudge against all the people who could afford braces and nose jobs and sailing camps and tutors and stays in europe where I could have picked up a second or third language.

I don't see the point of it.

Of course you don't see the point if no one questions the opportunities you receive, or your opportunities are not under attack, and you don't have to constantly defend and educate others as to the circumstances of your people.

Many AAs aren't taking advantage of all of the opportunities that are open to them. Again, many AAs in DC won't avail themselves of the library - friends who are teachers say moms won't even read kids books to their toddlers, I'm amazed to hear from AA parents that they have never been to the world-class Smithsonian museums, the job opportunities here in DC draw people from all around the country. At this point, it's not so much about opportunities under attack or opportunities not open, it's about being stuck in the perceptions of the past and not pursuing anything, based on those perceptions. Obama was able to rise to become an attorney, professor, senator and President because the external barriers did not prevent him from doing so. It's not the external barriers out in society holding AAs back, it's the internal barriers.

Are you amazed when you hear these same things from/about white parents? I don't have any AA friends who don't go to the library, frequent museums,e tc. In fact, many grew up with libraries in their homes.

You are not representative of everyone in DC. This isn't about white parents or what they think - talk to any of the teachers working with the kids in DC schools. Many in the worst wards will tell you about kids who can't read. And that's because nobody so much as bothers to even read them a kids book every so often when they are toddlers. Nobody can be bothered to look after the kids, and it all starts there. Kids have natural curiosity, they will read and learn if they get the right start at it. The teachers can only do so much in the short time that they have to work with the kids, and if the parents or others at home can't be bothered to help the kids then it goes nowhere.

I think you are incredibly naive and clueless if you seriously think there are parents in DC who don't read to their kids, don't take them to libraries, don't take them to museums and so on - and those who don't are the epicenter of DC's education problem. Again, talk to the TEACHERS about this, they will set you straight on the facts where it comes to underperforming kids and the problem that starts at home.

Yes. But then again, listening to the stories that my friend (who happens to be a Black elementary school teacher) tells of her experience in South East DC schools where the kids are exposed to violence, abuse, and neglect in their homes that then carries over into the classrooms...it's enough to make a person want to hide her head not to hear anymore. But she returns every day to try to bring peace, security, and learning to her little corner of the world for a few hours.

Why is that violence, abuse and neglect being tolerated? Why isn't there a huge outcry in the community? Activism to stop it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Looks like some red herrings being introduced here.

I didn't see anyone here ever say or suggest that white people don't have bad parents among them. They do. Yes, some white parents scream at their children in public. (and, I've witnessed AA parents do that as well).

The difference is, whites will readily and loudly condemn other whites for their bad parenting, and they won't sit and deny the fact that there are white parents who do a horrible job of parenting, nor will they blame anyone else for white parents being bad parents.

But nobody is allowed to talk about anyone else's bad parenting, because it immediately turns into an accusation of racism.

Haven't seen this. So many generalities being put forth as fact without anything to back them up....