Today is MLK day and I am still wondering the purpose for shutting schools down. Majority of kids will not participate in any festivities except PS3,Wii,XBOX/ some other form of mind numbing activity. The following are statistics
from National Urban League:http://www.mkf.org/documents/2007_NUL_SOBAEXCSUMMARY.pdf
The educational status of blacks has improved slightly in 2007 to 79 percent of whites, up
from 78 percent in 2006. This sub-index, which is weighted to make up 25 percent of the full
Equality Index, is calculated across five major categories: quality, attainment, scores,
enrollment as well as student status and risk factors.
Earlier in life, black children excel until the middle-grades and high-school years when their
achievement falls off significantly. More than two-thirds of young black children are enrolled in
early childhood education programs such as Head Start, compared to slightly more than 64
percent of white children. They have also improved in the areas of school readiness –
scoring at 94 percent of that of whites, up from 81 percent in 2006. They have even
surpassed or nearly matched white children in terms of some home literacy activities; 81
percent were taught words or numbers three times a week, compared to 76 percent of
whites, and 54 percent were read a story once a week, compared to 56 percent of whites.
Obama's good fortune in education comes from a mother that is a seasoned travel or,meaning she actually saw the world and understood it's complexities. Obama experience this as weal. Also the school Obama attended was no light weight either.It is a top private school (Punahou School) in Hawaii. Meaning Barry is not a byproduct of public education. In 1979, the year Obama graduated, tuition for high school students at Punahou was $1,990, a sizable expense compared with Hawaii's median family income of $22,750 that year. In other words public school system has been on the decline and the majority of black children are not fortunate enough to have the dividends to pay for a first rate education or have sanity in their life.
Martin Luther King enter Morehouse College at 15 and the rest is history.
Education is the KEY...
Instead of shutting schools down Black folk lets keep the schools open and make it mandatory on this day that we (along with our kids) spend a full day in a educational seminar that focuses on community & parental improvement. Heck lets make it a week.
There is no mountain top yet and Obama's victory should not be taken lightly... Statistically speaking for everyone Obama there is 20 that will fall through the cracks.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/17/poussaint.mlk.obama/index.html?iref=topnews
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