By: Deltonia N. Shropshire, MA
Response to an article written by Roderick L. Carey
“Parents aren’t to blame for the achievement gap: A History of Injustice Is!”

This article was very interesting. However, the title does not suit the piece.

Those oppressive situations that brought THE ORIGINAL immigrants to this day in time, should serve as a constant reminder of where we do not ever want to return. Every good thing must be carefully maintained. Our ancestors had to use ingenuity to survive. Creating something from absolutely nothing is our legacy.

But hands off parenting, complete buy in to big business engineered consumerism, and governmental legislation that imposes ineffective rearing regulations on American families-has stripped familial authority particularly within marginalized households.

To know that there was a time in our very short American history when people of color were categorically denied the right to read, should be enough motivation for all in question to find as many books as possible for purposes of regularly flexing literacy.

For the life of me, it is absolutely deplorable that the illiteracy rates worldwide are projected to be approximately 130 million school aged children (UNICEF), most of which are female children.

As an educator on many different academic levels, rethinking how educational systems approach parental involvement in and out of schools is absolutely critical to the academic sustainability of marginalized children and youth.

Agreeably some historical factors remain but presently the absolute truths are:

• Parental Involvement needs to improve;
• Widespread illiteracy is a strong contributing factor towards poor achievement;
• Parental distain for education and/or educational systems has projected negativity that is attributed to the lack of investment on behalf of the teachers, students and the parents;
• A consistently high rate of Black male placement in Special education programs speaks to the systems unfair practices that segregate specific kinds of children; espousing distrust among communities;
• Systems are justifying the drugging of school aged children by providing them with Individualized Educational Programs (IEP) that mandate the process before they can participate in classes. The community may have reason to distrust any situation that requires any child to be medicated to sit still.

Parents must abandon practices that relinquish their active participation in their child’s learning process. Expecting someone who has absolutely no investment in YOUR child is asking for failure.

Teachers are human. Personalizing emotionality towards agitated often very unhappy students is not uncommon. Being biased towards youth and children who constantly agonize over having to participate in a process that may cause them a level of discomfort- is quite simply unprofessional but realistically becomes a necessary defense mechanism for overwhelmed teachers who often do not relate to the socio-economic realities experienced by their students.

Some teachers could absolutely careless whether some students fail or pass. Rather than attempting to resolve the psycho-social barriers that impede learning and the development of strong social skills- systems will give what they can and expect PARENTS to step in and finish the enhancements.

Sadly, many marginalized parents are often not equipped to continue the productive process on their own. Conforming to the world that rejects the urban or rural culture-is abjectly unacceptable among members. Constant struggles between schools and homes cause a daily psychological tug of war for students that teeter on disbelief, distrust and potential family betrayal (as some are conditioned to believe)- that there will ever be anything more than their present condition. What can be done?

Some options may include but not be limited to:
• Provide a playroom at Parent Teacher conferences for the other children of parents with babysitting conflicts;
• Provide online webinars that provide a bevy of parental skill development modules;
• Create parent-teacher kiosks at recreation centers and libraries;
• Create parent-teacher kiosks at drop in centers within the school (counselors or often overwhelmed with other meetings);
• Collaborate with outside agencies that are dedicated to the healthy development of children and youth…not the business relationship that can devised with communities;
• Initiate mobile school units that go to the students home or other pre-approve location to conference;
• Incorporate technology (e.g., access to computers, twitter, skype, and facebook);
• Create awareness training for teachers to reduce stigma and to improve emotional intelligence.

Invariably the strongest opponent in the learning process is the opposition from all participants. Every stakeholder in the business of shaping a child- must take the responsibility to be the best possible vestibule of knowledge, wisdom, and discernment as humanly possible.

Learned hopelessness has categorically paralyzed the spirit of Timbuktu in the descendants of those builders that cultivated Egyptian civilization with archaic tools. Just imagine what they would have created if they had access to the equipment, books and nutrition that today’s society takes for granted on a daily basis.

UNICEF
Illiteracy: The Downfall of America
STATISTICS: Begin to Read

@wURkerbee

In Girls Like Us, Lloyd reveals the dark, secretive world of her past in stunning cinematic detail. As a survivor of human trafficking (prostitution) the author lovingly shares with great humanity-the stories of the girls whose lives she has helped.

Written by: Deltonia N. Shropshire, MA
These outreach efforts proved to be small victories that have healed her wounds and made her whole. Revelatory, authentic, and brave, Girls Like Us is an unforgettable memoir.

“Powerfully raw, deeply moving, and utterly authentic. Rachel Lloyd has turned a personal atrocity into triumph and is nothing less than a true hero. . . . Never again will you look at young girls on the street as one of ‘those’ women—you will only see little girls that are girls just like us.” —Demi Moore, actress and activist
SOURCE

EZ had a studio full of committed couples discussing what it takes to make a relationship work. The interactive social commentary was based on the book entitled “The Conversation” written by Hill Harper.

The discussion was so live, that it quickly became a two part series. Stay tuned to listen in on the show.

EZ Street and selected panelists (everyday folks and some professionals on the subject) broadcast every Sunday on WOL 1450 am at 4:00 p.m. CALL IN TO PARTICIPATE in putting it all on the table!

LISTEN TO THE SHOW>>>> TRENDING WITH EZ

Posted by D N Shropshire

Nick Bunick was born in a neighborhood of Boston to a family who never owned a car or a home. Nick had natural gifts, though, and in high school became captain of athletic teams, president of his class and went on to college on a scholarship. Though he was not raised a Christian, Nick had a profound love for Jesus every since he was a boy.

As described in his book, In God’s Truth, starting in 1977, nine psychics and mystics, in three different states, independently told Nick that he was the soul who lived 2000 years ago and was known as the Apostle Paul. Nick, who by now had became a successful businessman and who served on the boards of several corporations, found this premise difficult to accept.

Over the years, Nick himself started to receive telepathic messages from angelic beings, who he calls the “messengers.” In the spring of 1996, at 4:44 in the morning, Nick was awakened by the messengers and told that a book about his being St. Paul would be written and distributed in Seattle. 444 had become a symbol for Nick, as important events in his spiritual journey seemed to be associated with the number 444. This is a way that the spiritual world can communicate with us. Though it is relatively difficult for a spirit being to produce a light body that can be seen in the material world, it is fairly easy for a spirit being to set up synchronistic events associated with a symbol, such as 444, which becomes a signal. Angelic beings and spirit guides communicate to us through such signals and symbols.

When Nick went into his office that morning in the spring of 1996, he found a message from Gary Hardin, a writer, who had heard about spiritual experiences that Nick was having and who wanted to write a book about Nick’s story. The book was written in a few weeks and was called, The Messengers. The first half is a narrative which summarizes Nick’s story and the second half consists of transcripts of past life regressions that Nick underwent conducted by Julia Ingram, a professional hypnotherapist, which began in 1991. In these regressions, Nick accessed memories of his past life as the Apostle Paul.

Nick’s primary interest, in this lifetime, is to set the record straight regarding the early history of Christianity, including the life of Paul and the Church’s purposeful removal of the doctrine of reincarnation from the teachings of the Church. He says it’s time the world knew how religion has failed humanity, and how the Christian Church has distorted the teachings of Jesus.

Join Wendy Wright and Nick Bunick this Saturday at 1pm ET to find out the answers to some of the questions we’ve been asking about the meaning of scripture. Do you still believe in miracles? Talk just got interesting!

 Wright On The Edge, Saturday from 1-3pm on WOL and streaming live at woldcnews.com

Wendy Wright

Nick Bunick says it’s time the world knew how religion has failed humanity, and how the Christian Church has distorted the teachings of Jesus. He also says that the scribes who painstakingly translated the Gospels from Aramaic to Greek and then to Latin, were ordered to deliberately distort some truths. The scribes were instructed to replace messages of Love with fear, messages of compassion with guilt, and they were guided to polarize people, instead of draw them together. 

Could this be true, and what if it is? Who is this Nick Bunick and how does he know? Why would the Chruch create falsehoods instead of revealing the truth? Find out this Saturday at 1pm ET. Talk just got interesting!

Wright On The Edge, Saturday from 1-3pm on WOL and streaming live at woldcnews.com

Dr. O’Connor states:

     “Many students report that they do not read outside the school setting, and large numbers do so reluctantly – if at all – at school. A great deal of literature has suggested that relevance is a critical factor in promoting student engagement, While objections are frequently raised regarding fears of “dumbing down” the curriculum, the opposite is true if teachers can engage students through content that is interesting, appropriate  and challenging.

            Utilizing elements of popular culture and a variety of media to engage youth has been shown to boost the performance of under-performing students, and to effectively reach those most likely to fail. Through this engagement, students can be moved through materials and tasks of increasing complexity, and regain the intrinsic motivation most had as young children.”

Dr. Carol O’Connot is a K-16 educator and president of Rhyme-N-Reason Foundation, an international hip hop education organization with offices in Cape Coast, Ghana and Jackson, Mississippi.

Beauty, Brains & the Bottom Line is a one-hour news/talk radio program hosted by Dr. SaFiya D. Hoskins to deliver thought-provoking discussion and analytic dialogue on health, education, and today’s biggest stories. Personification of a Venn diagram, author, scholar and artist Dr. SaFiya presents a multiplicitous and insightful perspective. By means of forthright commentary and intimate interviews she invites you to join the conversation. From politics to popular culture; Beauty, Brains & the Bottom Line transcends gender, age and class to provide a unique and necessary point of view on topics that matter to you.

Last week on Wright on the Edge, guest Amy Wax was criticized for suggesting that black Americans should take more responsibility instead of blaming racism for the quality of their lives. “There’s no question that slavery and discrimination have caused harms,” Professor Wax said, “but the harms they have caused can’t really be corrected by outsiders. African-Americans who study hard, who get married, who work steadily and obey the law–they are making it.”

In her book Race, Wrongs and Remedies, Wax suggests that discrimination against blacks has dramatically abated and that the most important factors NOW impeding black progress are behavioral: low educational attainment, poor socialization and work habits, drug use, criminality, paternal abandonment, and non-marital childbearing. Do you agree?

Join Wendy Wright to continue the debate on race, wrongs and remedies this Saturday at 1pm. Talk just got interesting!

Wright On The Edge, Saturday from 1-3pm on WOL and streaming live at woldcnews.com

What defines today’s modern man – what’s changed, what’s new, and what remains the same? It turns out that as we enter the second decade of the 21 st century, the modern man is actually more traditional than most of us would expect him to be, and surprisingly more old-fashioned in his values than his female counterpart.

What does he look for in a partner? Does he make an effort to be romantic? How much effort does he put into his appearance? How does he stay in touch with friends? What standards of professionalism does he hold himself to?

Join Wendy Wright this Saturday when she goes directly to the source to get the answers to these questions and a whole lot  more.

Wright On The Edge, Saturday from 1-3pm on WOL and streaming live at woldcnews.com

2010 Marlton Golf Club Charity Tournament

Help the Marlton Golf Club raise money for

The American Red Cross of the National Capital Region

August 9, 2010 @ Marlton Golf Club

9:00 am Shotgun Start

4 Man Captains Choice Tournament

Giveaways: shoes, sleeve of balls, sunglasses

Contests: Longest drive, closest to the pin, and hole-in-one prizes

Celebrity appearances by the Washington Redskins, Politicians, Actors and jazz music.

Raffles and great auction items, Range balls and meal included

For more details call the pro shop at (301) 856-7566

The number of successful, young black men and women is on the rise even though this fact is often obscured by negative images of African Americans. Wright on the Edge is talking with two rising stars whose stories you may not have heard:

Ernessa T. Carter has worked as an ESL teacher in Japan, a music journalist in Pittsburgh, a payroll administrator in Burbank, and a radio writer for American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest in Hollywood. She’s also a retired L.A. Derby Doll, a graduate of Smith College and Carnegie Mellon University’s MFA program, and just recently wrote and published her first novel, 32 Candles.

Michael K. Thomas is a highly sought after investment and financial professional who brings a unique perspective to entrepreneurship, real-estate investing, and personal finance. A native of Baltimore, Mr. Thomas attended Morgan State University School of Business and Management and currently serves as the President and CEO of MKT Financial Group, Inc.

Hear their stories this Saturday at 1pm.

Wright On The Edge, Saturday from 1-3pm on WOL and streaming live at woldcnews.com