WAKE UP EDUCATORS! YOUR ACTIONS ARE AFFECTING THE CHILDREN YOU SERVE!

These stories I just heard about make me furious, and before I go into my details why, please watch for yourself:

·         http://wtvr.com/2016/05/23/free-milk-theft/ “The mother of a Virginia middle school student said she was angry, frustrated, and mad after her son was handcuffed, suspended from school, and charged with stealing a 65-cent carton of milk from the cafeteria. As it turned out, Shamise Turk's son Ryan was on the school's free lunch program and the milk -- was free.”

·         http://countercurrentnews.com/2015/02/her-water-bottle-exploded-at-school-they-thought-it-was-a-weapon-so-they-cuffed-and-arrested-her/  “Honor student Kiera Wilmot was arrested and expelled from her high school when her water bottle exploded unexpectedly on school property.”

·         https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hch6vQmIRs “High School Valedictorian Banned at Graduation for Facial Hair”

At what point are we going to let kids grow up without fear of being put into the prison pipeline system?

At what point are we going to start looking at the education of a child rather than our individual jaded/biased perceptions of morality and behavior?

Plus, in all three cases, it turns out that the child actually did nothing wrong, but the schools doubled down on the punishment and are holding their ground; even though the school was wrong by any standard. It seems like pride is more important than the child’s education.

At some point educators have to remember that there is no value to society by stigmatizing a child with shame or a criminal record, before they have even had a chance to become an adult. Educators and the administrations have to remember to truly have the children’s’ best interests at heart.

Sadly, rules like this, judgment like this, and the non-apologetic nature of the schools tell me we have a long way to go.

I will add, before anyone says: “well there is an appeals process” or “this is not the norm, there must be more to the story”, let me say these things:

·         It should be noted we are talking about children of color in these instances, and the statistics show that this sort of extreme punishment from schools happen to them more often. So this is the norm for certain populations in the country

·         If your rights are being violated, you are being publically humiliated, and it is obvious to a blind and deaf dog that the administration and authorities are wrong: why should you be expected to have patience for an appeals process/ Why should your time and money be wasted over the violation of your rights?

Policemen have little or no business being part of school discipline, they are not trained, and they treat students like criminals rather than kids (http://www.today.com/news/video-emerges-boy-8-handcuffed-school-officer-facing-lawsuit-t36461 “8 year old Boy with ADHD, handcuffed at school”)

Education is supposed to be about the student!

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Academics have egos and there is nothing wrong with that

If academics did not have egos, we would not be able to reach the heights we have achieved, we would not be interested in lofty goals, excellence, and things that make us stand out.

Sure, we need to keep our egos in check from time to time, but our egos are part of what makes us who we are.

Do not forget this when decisions are made that affect us, no matter how trivial, do not forget the perception others outside your organization might have as well.

It is ego that has made me the 7^th generation of college educated in my family, it was ego that allowed my grandfather to hood my father when he received his MD, and my father to hood me when I received my doctorate. Ego can breed excellence if used correctly.

I have earned my ego, and will use it to achieve even more.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Fanaticism is hurting this country: An education problem

The first thing a lot of people think of when they hear the word fanatic is Islamic extremism. Well this article has nothing to do with that, and everything to do with the everyday issues that cause major breakdowns in how we communicate with each other daily.

It is a political year, so we see it in how we elect our leaders, how we conduct political debate (or what passes for it), how bills pass through congress loaded with pork and personal requests. We do have separation of church and state, and we have it for real historical reasons, so please do not try and impose your religious views on my life (it does not mean I am disrespecting your religion by the way). And we wonder why our youth are disgusted with politics?

Even more poignant, we have the rise of the “Google Experts”, the people who know everything because they read it on the internet and therefore it is true. The people who go to the doctor having done a self-diagnosis and then proceed to tell the doctor, who is the expert, what treatment they want them to perform. It is difficult to discuss any other point of view with these folks because they are fanatic about how right they are.

Social media has given rise to the keyboard warrior, the person who will argue with experts from a distance using all kinds of fallacies, refusing to hear or even acknowledge another point of view. They keyboard warriors are quick to insult when you prove them wrong you because they know they are safe at a distance. They are fanatics about this.

Case in point: I had an argument with a moron today, and yes I use the term quite clearly; he was a moron. There was a discussion about kids dying in Chicago, and how very quickly did Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson get brought into this, as well as the oh so well known “black on black crime” (I have actually done scholarly research on the subject of crime and the answer is extreme poverty). As man of color I get bothered when people tell me that because of my skin color I must believe in this, vote this way, I am responsible for all “black on black” crime, and that Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are my leaders. He was a fanatic and absolutely knew he was right, and the insults soon flew. I know you should not argue with idiots, but I am not a turn the other cheek kind of man, especially in the face of illogic.

We have small issues being imagined into hypothetical nonsense. How do you compare a gay couple to beastiality? It does not make sense! We are actually having national debate on bathrooms, and people are talking about shooting people if they use this bathroom or that bathroom! Really?! News flash, most people think about the bathroom for one thing and it is biological in nature, and they are not interested in discussing it publically.

This is fanaticism; this is the kind of extreme behavior that is hurting our country. It starts off small, but they are numerous; and we all know small things become big things if they multiply enough.

It is ok to use logic, to use rational thought, to engage in constructive debate; it is ok to be wrong and acknowledge someone else might be right. We can do this, and we can do it without having to sacrifice pride. Ask yourself: what is the point I am trying to make? Is it helpful in anyway? What is the end result of me being right?

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

What is happening in Chicago? An Educator’s perspective

Last week I wrote a piece on the disparities that do exist, and when I look at what is happening in Chicago, I see the gap growing ever larger.

“Fear of a long hot summer as Chicago racks up a deadly record” http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/31/us/chicago-shootings-homicides-summer/

Ask yourself and be truthful: would this be happening in affluent neighborhoods? The answer is no.

Policing is not equal because the most vulnerable populations are often treated like criminals. When law enforcement agencies need to make their stats, they hunt in those neighborhoods:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/21/magazine/a-black-police-officers-fight-against-the-nypd.html

Serial killers are often not caught for years if they hunt in poor under-served populations, the victims are often not considered victims, especially if they are for example prostitutes.

My point is this, more American are being killed in one of our major cities than American in our current war zones; this should be a state of emergency!

The disparities continue, justice is for the wealthy it seems…

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Disparities do exist; we just wish they did not: An education point

We like to say there is no difference with people, that we are a melting pot, or that we are post racial and color-blind. I wish this were true. There is an issue of discrimination between people of color those who are not.

We see the unequal treatment of minorities by law enforcement: “Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department” Ferguson Report

Really the report is no shocker, the evidence was always right there plain to see. What really needs to be revealed is how many places all over the country have similar statistics; that would be a shocker because no one wants to hear that.

We see the disparities of prison sentences or just the court system in general. We have 17 year old boys of color getting sentenced to life sentences with no hope of parole; basically we are raising prisoners not men. Racial Disparities

Or the case of Kalief Browder, held at Rikers Island for three years without trial at the age of 16, accused of a crime he did not commit. His bail was set at $10,000 for allegedly stealing a backpack and his family could not afford the bail. He was brutalized in jail by guards and beaten by other inmates (on video). He refused all plea deals, and the charges were eventually dropped after someone brought his plight to light, but after three years of hell he could not cope and committed suicide in 2015, he was 22 years old. Kalief Browder

“The quality of health care you receive likely depends on your skin color” “More than a decade after the Institute of Medicine issued a landmark report showing that minority patients were less likely to receive the same quality health care as white patients, racial and ethnic disparities continue to plague the U.S. health care system. That report, which was published in 2002, indicated that even when both groups had similar insurance or the same ability to pay for care, black patients received inferior treatment to white patients” Quality of Health Care and Skin Color

Most recently, we are hearing about the rise of opioid deaths, and the concern that addicts get treated and not jailed. “Heroin vs. Crack: society shifts in its treatment of addicts” Heroin vs. Crack

“During the crack-cocaine epidemic, police pounced with force on inner-city neighborhoods. Congress and states passed mandatory sentencing laws. With the current heroin crisis in small towns and suburbs, addicts are treated as just that: addicts who need help, not jail cells”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78SyNyyH_Qc (American Violet, strong movie about this) Regina Kelly Story

Any family that has to go through the pain of drug addiction has my sympathy, but unfortunately they do not all have the sympathy of the court system. You have people of color in jail for 20 years because they used drugs, and sometimes the family is there with them because they lived in the same house.

America, we have a problem that we refuse to talk about, and do not have the will to solve. We will never achieve true equality unless we fix this system.  This is education, we should be educating the masses about this.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam