When my children were young, my childrens paternal family started a school, based on the Marva Collins method. Although I was no longer married to my childrens father at the time, he and I decided that it was best to set aside our issues and work together to teach our children, and nieces and nephews at his sisters school. We needed our children to be positive, powerful, passionate and prosperous! We felt that, too often people complain about the public school system and how it fails our children. His sister posed this question: why let your enemy teach your children, when you have the education and wherewithal to teach them yourselves? Our sons had been shuffled in learning and behavioral disorder classes, even though they were so bright that they raised the scores of the entire public elementary school (according to their principals and school records). There were also times when they would not be given books, while their white counterparts were given books to read in school. I had grown tired of fighting racism and discrimination in their public school system. I had always volunteered at the schools, attended meetings and talked to public school officials regularly, but many school officials thought I was out of place. I had a lot of nerve to tell them how to teach my children. I had a lot of nerve to demand they move my children to advanced classes. I had a lot of nerve to talk to principals, superintendents and the media about racial discrimination against Black children, and especially Black boys in schools. We had enough and withdrew our children from public schools and taught them ourselves in my sister-in-laws one-room school in her home basement. We eventually moved from her basement to the YMCA and then to a building that she, her husband, her brother and mother financed. She was the owner, principal and teacher of her school. Her husband/co-owner was an engineer and college professor. My former husband was an engineering technologist and musician. One of my brothers-in-law as an entrepreneur. He purchased our final building. Their mom was a master teacher who had taught for nearly thirty years. I had just graduated with a masters degree in counseling. All of us teachers ranged from our 20s to early 30s! (We were all in our 20s when the family started a daycare center so that some of us could care for the children while others of us went to college). The childrens school bus drivers were another brother and sister-in-law. Their cook was a family friend. Our children learned science, math, world history, art, music, English, Literature, Black culture and Black history and Black art. Our children traveled and also interviewed Black entrepreneurs for homework assignments. We provided daycare, education and after school care for our children and for children in the neighborhood, our childrens friends. If you want successful children, you also need to educate and mentor your childrens friends. Our children and their friends had us as their mentors and early teachers. When our school closed, some of our children had graduated from the school, others went on to high schools where they were far ahead of their peers. Many of our children went on to matriculate and graduated from college and some are still attending college. They have traveled abroad, extensively and are now on their own path of success. Some are undergraduate college students, graduate students, master musicians, directors of music ministries, pastors, teachers, real estate agents and real estate brokers, mental health professionals, and entrepreneurs. Some now have families and are teaching their children the morals and lessons we taught them. They are truly our pride and joy! I encourage us to take our own destiny into our own hands and let our higher power(s), our ancestors and our higher-selves create our own destinies and do whatever it takes to ensure the success and well-being and prosperity of our children and posterity/future generations! It is not the job of those who seek to oppress us to educate our children, hire us, or ensure our safety, well-being and prosperity. That is OUR job and OURS ALONE. Check out Marva Collins methods in the videos below. :) Good morning!
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 15:04:20 +0000
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