Sunday, December 14, 2008

The Dropout Crisis in Missouri


"We have on our hands a dropout crisis nationwide and it is most profound for low-income communities and communities of color." The comment by Daria Hall, a policy analyst for The Education Trust, is part of an article in the Dec. 9, 2008, issue of the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

The Post was highlighting the "skyrocketing" dropout rates in the St. Louis City School District. The reporter doesn't explicitly say that the drop out rates are higher now than they were before all of the turmoil in the District that was caused by the turnaround fiasco authored by City politicians, but the chart from the Post article seems to support that thought.

I do recall that there were some really good student retention programs and efforts to reduce the dropout rate when I was employed in the communications department of the District. But, alas, those were pretty much decimated in the name of "turn around" efforts.

The high school dropout issue in St. Louis, Missouri and across the country is serious and is certainly in need of leadership with a commitment to funding programs proven to keep our children in school. We know that at-risk students (those living in poverty or other undesirable home environments, those with disciplinary problems and those that move multiple times within a school year) need the special attention of caring adults and peers to make it across the graduation stage.

When we have thousands of high school dropouts in Missouri and more than a million nation-wide, we have to hang our head in shame.

I volunteer with College Bound a wonderful non-profit that is doing great work with high school students in the St. Louis area. And I know of a few more, but more must be done to move us out of this "dropout crisis."

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

We Need More Great Mothers

I am so amazed by the impact a mother has on her family. I am not surprised by the impact, just amazed. As my brother and I were traveling to the funeral of my sister-in-law's beloved mother last Saturday, we began to discuss the impact our own mother had on our lives. We tried to figure out what made our mother, of so very modest means, so good at raising close-knit, self-sufficient and hard-working children. What did she know or do that perhaps the mother down the street from our house or on the next block just couldn't figure out?

I learned today of a mother that was openly communicating that she didn't believe her daughter had what it takes to succeed in college. And this was done not jokingly, but in a derogatory manner. Definitely no Mother of the Year award for her!

At the funeral, we said goodbye to another mother of modest means who somehow knew the right combination of love, generosity and discipline for raising a pretty decent crop of children. When I heard one of the young men attending the funeral say that he just couldn't bear to go through with the funeral, I asked my sister-in-law what was his relationship to her mother. She shared that he was one of several grandchildren and that somehow her mother had managed to make all of the grandchildren feel special, loved and very important.

While we want every child to experience that type of grandmotherly and motherly love, we know there are far too many children that do not. Moms, we must strive to join the ranks of the Great Mothers. We don't have to be rich or highly-educated or perfect to be a great mom. In fact, the specific steps to being a great mom will vary from family to family. And certainly being a great mom doesn't mean you will achieve notoriety. I think it does mean that you will have a profound and positive impact on so many lives, that it is truly worth the effort.

What a privilege and blessing to be raised by a great mother.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Don't You Want to Be in School Again?

I just returned home from picking my daughter up from college for Thanksgiving break. (I should post a blog entry about my numerous mishaps with getting lost when I travel -- as I did on this trip where I found myself in the "Land of Lincoln" instead of Bloomington, IN; even though I had driven the correct route numerous times).

I always enjoy the opportunity to be on a college campus, even for a brief moment. There is something exciting to me about being in a place where there is such a wonderful opportunity for gaining knowledge and insight on fascinating subjects.

On the four and a-half hour drive home, my daughter shared with me some of the activities and topics occurring in her classes. Her "Introduction to Journalism and Mass Communications" class is particularly interesting to me. Her professor has brought in speakers from NPR (one of my favorite radio stations, especially the News and Notes and Fresh Air programs), the PR department of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Federal Trade Commission.

My daughter enjoys her class called "Current Issues in Undergraduate Life: Black Greek Community." This class seems to give a great perspective on the history and purpose of Black Greek fraternities and sororities. I used to get asked all the time about the difference between my sorority and white sororities. While I enjoy highlighting the great work we do and our focus on such important things as community service, education and economic empowerment, I can now refer them to the text book used in my daughter's class as a way to shed light on our wonderful Black Greek organizations.

Her favorite class is "Comparative Literary Analysis" where they read pieces of written work from various genres and then, through analysis of what they have read, learn how to take words and make them more impactful in a concise manner. I think I would love that class too.

In my opinion, every student (young and old) that is enjoying a quality education is truly blessed and should endeavor not to squander this blessing. I encourage students to dig in to each homework or reading assignment with the attitude that I will be better off knowing this information, not only because I will do well in the class, but ultimately, I will do better in society.

Just listening to my daughter makes me want to go back to school and get another college degree. How about you?

I do realize that some in our communities do not have access to a quality education. Stay tuned for my blog weighing in on improving education.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

I Wish I Were a Perfect Mom

Recently my 14-year old son and I were watching an old Cosby show featuring Rudy Huxtable manipulating her father into granting permission to wear a dress that her mother had already said she could not wear. My son pointed out that Mrs. Huxtable displayed great control and talked to Rudy in a very normal low-key voice as she expressed her disappointment and dismay that Rudy had tried to disobey and wear a summer dress in the winter. My son said he wanted a "Cosby Mom."

Of course I shot back, "And I'd love to have a Cosby-like child." We both laughed and then I asked, "What exactly do you like about mother Huxtable?" He explained he liked that the mother didn't yell at the child for disobeying and that the incident was quickly resolved. So, you can surmise from my son's comment that there may have been a time or two that I raised my voice when I found out about an "undesirable behavior" by one of my children.

I wanted to, but didn't, point out to my son that Rudy displayed great remorse, apologized and promised not to disobey mommy again, which rarely happens in my household. I didn't point out Rudy's response because I felt bad that I wasn't perfect like Clair Huxtable. I wish I were.

I wish I could always control my temper when dealing with a disobedient child, always protect their self-esteem, always keep them from harm or danger, always buy the clothes/shoes/accessories for my kids that are "in style" and fit, always have a delicious meal on the table when my kids are hungry, always have enough money to buy the latest game/gadget/gift for my kids, always arrive home from work early, always know the right thing to say when they are hurting, always assess the right level of punishment for a child's infraction, always be energetic and ready to drive my child to practice, the swimming pool, play practice or wherever and I wish that I could ensure my kids always always know my love for them is unconditional -- no matter what, I will always love them.

Since I am human, and therefore can never be perfect, I will have to settle for being a mom who intensely loves her kids and is doing the best that she knows how to do, but acknowledges, she can always do better.

Which means, perhaps, that I am a pretty good mom afterall! So maybe I should get my own TV show?

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Why the Tears? by guest blogger: Luke Bobo

A white friend of mine who happens to be a pastor asked me recently, "Luke, do you think Obama's presidency will help with curing or rectifying the racial divide in our country." (He is 38 years old and I am 48 years old; that's important to know because that 10 year differential is important as I have seen 10 more years of 'stuff' than my friend.) I said to him, "Let's see if he gets elected first." (I was thinking to myself, this will never happen. I am a realist, you see.)

My wife and I watched and heard Obama give his acceptance speech last night in Illinois. I could see my wife crying; I was shedding some tears. This morning around 5 am, I thought about our tears. And I asked why were we shedding tears? Perhaps, Obama's election is in part restitution or pay back for how my grandparents were treated during the Jim Crow days in which they had to get off the sidewalk to allow a white person to pass. Perhaps, it was Obama's story of that 106 year old African American lady who voted for this first time.

Perhaps, his election is restitution for how my granddad who served in WWII aboard a navy ship was relegated to the mess hall (because that's all blacks were capable of doing). Perhaps, my wife was emotional because she remembers being told by an accounting professor, "You people don't do well in accounting." Perhaps, Obama's election is pay back for all the times a finger was flipped at me, or the times I was called 'Nigger', or the time I was called a 'token' engineer.

Perhaps, his election is restitution for all the injustices done to blacks in this country (slavery, the beating of Rodney King, Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, etc., etc.). Perhaps, Obama's election means so much to my wife and I because maybe, just maybe, African Americans will be judged by their character and intelligence and skills and not by the color of their skin.

Perhaps, Obama's election means so much because maybe other African Americans will be awakened and rise above their situations and not settled for mediocrity. Perhaps other African American men will rise up and be history makers! Perhaps, Obama's election means so much because now my son who is only 14 years old can one day become president of these United States. He is glad for Obama's election but also sad because he wanted to be the first African American president!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Yes, Health is Wealth

I recently read an article that included the phrase "The first wealth is health." which is attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson. I believe the quote succinctly captures the justification for healthcare reform now, in spite of the turbulent economy, fueled by unstable financial markets.

I suggest our government leaders believe this quote from Mr. Emerson is indeed true. With all the gnashing of teeth over the economy and with healthcare analysts predicting healthcare reform will now have to take a back seat to handling the financial crisis, those muckety-mucks need to understand that wealth and health are inextricably intertwined.

They are intertwined because as the economy falters there is, of course, a ripple negative effect on the financial well-being of millions of Americans, which leads to more Americans being added to the already bulging roster of the under- and uninsured.

Due to the financial crisis, we find ourselves with dwindling bank accounts, lay-off notices due to faltering businesses, and higher prices for many of life's necessities. The lay-offs lead to loss of employer-sponsored healthcare insurance. The small business-owner struggles and is no longer able to handle the self-pay approach to the rising costs of healthcare. Dwindling dollars in our household budgets mean we have to decide: do we pay the mortgage and buy groceries or do we go to the doctor's office to get the lump in our breast, neck or groin checked.

When our mothers, fathers, brother, sisters, sons, daughters, grandmas, grandpas and the rest of our kinfolk can't afford to seek medical attention, the economy will experience even more chaos. We know the uninsured and under insured get sicker and strain the financial viability of healthcare delivery systems, as well as the budgets of our state and federal governments. The price tag on unnecessary deaths is unquantifiable.

We have a healthcare system that allows 45.7 million Americans to walk around without health insurance -- living just one illness away from bankruptcy or worse death.

We can do better and we can do both -- fix the economy and fix our healthcare system.