Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Raines, Ribault and Jackson
Contemplation as defined by Webster is as follows:
The act of contemplating; thoughtful observation or full or deep consideration; reflection: or even religious contemplation, meaning have spiritual purpose or intention.
Thus I find myself vacillating on writing about the state of public education but more so about the state of my alma mata William M. Raines and that of our archrival Jean Ribault High School and Andrew Jackson High School. First and foremost allow me to say that I am personally a fan, a supporter, a volunteer and a witness to the valiant efforts that are being done and put forth by many of the people who work in all of these schools. I also share these same sentiments for the administrators who spend countless hours away from there own families making an investment in the lives of those young people who’s futures they have been entrusted with. No one can convince me that the efforts of Principals Wright, Maxey and Young have not made a difference in the lives of the young people who attend the aforementioned and the results of a test are indicative of the work each of these public servants are doing. All one has to do is enter the building of each of there schools and the spirit of expected excellence permeates the building.
This brings me to my next point, which is while there efforts are valiant and often times reduced to simple figures we can not afford to overlook the fact that many of the young people that graduate or even attend our core schools are not reading at grade level. Do I hold them responsible for those outcomes ABSOLUTLY NOT. As someone who is involved with education on multiple levels I understand that the downward trajectory of reading and comprehension starts long before young people enter the halls of Raines, Ribault and Jackson. Thus making the last stop on the public education train the depot of all that is good and bad with the system. If you examine the reading scores of many of the city’s core middle schools you will see that this is the beginning of the end (tactile learning vs. digital learning, see me for explanation).
While I share the passion and the fervor many within our city have for these schools I also understand that simple concern does not amount to investment. I am by all measures a 2nd generation Viking, my brother represents a 3rd generation and my rising 9th grade nephew will be a 4th generation Viking. I have grown to understand and appreciate the investment that Coach White and countless others made in me. I still try to live up to the expectations of Ms. Parker in all fields of human endeavors and whenever I get a chance I thank her for seeing something in me. However, not many of my contemporaries feel the same or at least they do not feel strong enough to entrust their children to these schools. If you were to walk the halls of the schools and look to see the sons and daughters of the class of 75, 85 or even 95 valedictorian children you would be sadly mistaken. Thus is the same for many of the neighborhoods that feed into the core schools. Arrival means departure. Therefore, what you have is the left behind of those that could not escape neighborhoods that they would much rather not live in attending schools that the rich history means nothing to. Within our communities it seems as if church is the only thing that warrants our generational appreciation, but I digress.
In a recent post a friend, a mentor and alum suggested that he had cried his last tear for our alma mata. While I agree with him I will even take it a step further and suggest that not only have a cried my last tear and I am completely prepared to do something different with our core schools and if that means Charter, Gender Only, etc then so be it. This is again not to suggest that the staffs and leadership are doing anything other than a yeoman’s job. However, it is to more than suggest that I AM without question for doing whatever it takes to ensure that my nephew and the countless other young people I am entrusted to help prepare have every opportunity to be successful. For many who rally and meet and often times complain have a yearning for the way things use to be. Our core neighborhoods aren’t the way they use to be and thus our core schools are symbiotic of that investment. Nostalgia is great during homecoming and family reunions, but the world our young people are inheriting is moving at a clip that warrants their preparation with unfettered dexterity and as a larger community we have to be open to ALL avenues that allow them to be prepared.
Without question I AM for Raines, Ribault and Jackson and all of the people that work there, but at the end of the day I am for giving our young people a chance to succeed. And if that means that the school I remember no longer exist in its current capacity then so be it because at least I will know that I not only aided progress, but I was flexible enough to be part of the solution.
That’s my truth and I AM sticking to it
Friday, July 1, 2011
Letter to the Editor
While the recent Duval County FCAT scores have shown the local charter schools to be academic mortals. I would suggest a level of humility as we continue the fight against their right to exist in the academic arena. This is not to suggest that I am for or against charter schools. However, I do believe that if you are for young people and the desire for them to have a quality education at any cost then the opportunity exist for you to support both. The issue that reasonable adults should consider is how can one mechanism given on one day be the barometer by which we state a school is a failing school. Young people deserve our best and if that means they get in a charter school or a public school then so be it. I commend those who have the vision to put their resources into education and thus step out to create charter schools. I also commend those folks who put their resources into public school system as well. When it comes to young people we have to be prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure their academic needs or met and while some charters came up short this year so did some public schools. Therefore, none of us have the right to gloat. Until all schools receive the subjective grade of passing then we have all failed. Not only have we failed children, but we also have failed our collective future and that encompasses students on both sides of the river.
I AM, Irvin PeDro Cohen
Director, New Town Success Zone
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