Still Unable to Read?! Wt…

 

60% of African American 8th graders in Baltimore are reading at the most basic level, as measured by analytical tools and statistics from the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES).  Only 19% are proficient.

This data is not from 1815, when African Americans were legally restricted from learning how to read.  These findings are from 2015.

It’s embarrassing.

It’s inexcusable for so many students in this day and time to not be able to read.

In many cases, a parent, guardian, relative or caring adult can teach a child to read and if they cannot, they can supplement the efforts of the school.  I am tired of the excuses.

Every African American owes it to themselves and their ancestors, many of which were killed, maimed, tortured and abused in the most heinous of manners in order to participate in a literate society.  This obligation is also necessary for the success of future generations.

What are you personally going to do to eliminate the problem?  (Blaming the teacher or the school doesn’t count.)  Many of the ancestors learned how to read without a teacher, in secrecy, without differentiated instruction, in abysmal poverty, and with every institution and most people purposed to stop them.

 

 

I Found What Your Child Is Missing

With all of these mega bugs increasing exponentially in size, your child may miss a few days of school this year. Just like that, he is disqualified from having perfect attendance.

She might be several years behind.   The honor roll may be temporarily out of reach.

But there is one award that everyone can get. You don’t have to be a genius and if you arrived to school after the bell rung you would still receive this award with a smile.

The citizenship award.

Back when I was a child, The citizenship award was a “gimme”.  If there were 30 students in the class, at least 25 earned the award.

I have witnessed this trend slowly reverse, especially at the earlier grade levels.  If I had a dollar for each behavior referral that was sent to my office, I would be in retirement.

The most perplexing thing is that the citizenship award is the easiest award to earn.  A good citizen follows the rules, treats his fellow classmates kindly and is respectful.

The bottom line is that the child knows how to act.

Examine your child’s report card. After looking at the grades and attendance, look at the citizenship section.  You may notice that something is missing.

Kimberly Coulter is the owner of Coolin and Schoolin L.L.C., an educational consulting firm that provides comprehensive services to school districts and produces audio and visual educational products uniquely designed for today’s urban educators, parents and students. She is also the author of Pre-Algebra (The Remix)² , Illustrate to Calculate and the “No Excuses No Exceptions” line. Prior to her work at Coolin and Schoolin, she was an elementary and middle school principal.

If you would like more information about educational products or to learn more about how to close the academic achievement gap, call (810) 835-8727 or visit at:   http://www.iamcoolinandschoolin.com.