Education Segregation Still Exist in the US

My mother for the most part was a single working mother. In the 80’s daycare was a luxury for my family. With that being the case, my grandfather made sure we got to school safely and returned home from school safely. My mom would wake us up at 5:00am get us ready and drop us off at my grandfather house. At the time we did not live in the best neighborhood and my Mom felt that the school in my granddaddy’s neighborhood was superior to the one in our neighborhood. It was decided that we would use our granddaddy address and go to the better school plus he was responsible for our care while our Mom work. I wonder if my mother would be willing to go to jail for her actions?

An Ohio mother did just that. Kelly Williams-Bolar was jailed for sending her children to a better school in her father’s neighborhood. Williams-Bolar used her father's address, where she alleges she lived part-time. Yet the Copely-Fairlawn School District felt she was lying about being a resident, and hired a private eye to follow her, videotaping Williams-Bolar leaving her public housing home and dropping her children off at the suburban school. They confronted Williams-Bolar, demanded that she repay the district $30,000, saying she didn't have the right to have her daughters in the district since she wasn't a taxpayer.

When she refused, Williams-Bolar was indicted on two felony charges, found guilty and sentenced to 10 days in prison. Because of the felonies on her record, the aspiring schoolteacher will never be able to enter the classroom

As a former educator I can tell you that not all schools are fair. The supports for schools are based on the tax base of the community. The more expensive the homes the higher the personal property tax, a great percentage of personal property tax goes directly to the school district. Of course those communities that suffer from high unemployment/underemployment rates, high crime, low percentage of homeownership, and little to no businesses have a very small tax base. It goes without saying that most of the urban (minority) communities find that there children are being cheated out of a fair education.

These circumstances create vast differences in our educational system. While some of the more affluent neighborhoods have schools with great technical advances, new books, new schools, new equipment, advance math and science classes and wonderfully paid teachers. On the other hand, the lower taxed communities have to deal with such nuisances as dilapidated buildings, out of date books, little to no technology, underpaid teachers, overcrowded schools, lack of educational programs…shall I go on? It is a crime that our educational system is still segregated but instead of being based on race it is based on class. Our children are paying the price with their education.


The “No Child Left Behind” act grants parents the permission to remove their child from a failing school and place them into another school district. However, what the law does not say is the other school doesn’t have to accept the child, in many cases they don’t. Schools don’t want to inherit the problems of the failing school so the parent is really left with no choice.

I believe Williams-Bolar did what she had to do for the betterment of her children. I just hate that her teaching certificate may be on the line because of the court decision to give her a felony. I wish her and her children the best.

Inspiration In Strange Places

This weekend I was vegging on the couching flipping through my limited number of channels (I don’t have cable). It was Sunday and the only thing on was football. Needless to say I don’t care for sports (but I did pick Green bay to win the Super bowl). I was really getting desperate to find something to watch, nothing was on so I decided to watch this animated movie called Meet the Robinsons. I really wasn’t all that excited and was prepared to fall asleep on the couch but Meet the Robinsons was very……………..inspiring.


I didn’t think I could get inspiration from a cartoon but I did. Meet the Robinsons is about a little boy name Lewis who is a genius and has hope of finding his mother. When he was a baby he was left at an orphanage and he is fixated on finding his mother because he believes she did not mean to give him away. He is also passionate about science and inventing new things. He befriends a boy name Wilber who seems way too cool to be friends with Lewis. Wilbur tells Lewis he is from the future and pushes him to keep following his dreams of becoming a famous inventor.

When Lewis could not get his memory scanner to work he gave up on his invention. He said he was tired of failing and trying so hard only to end up with nothing. Wilber kept insisting that he was from the future and was adamant that Lewis not give up his dream. Finally when Wilber had no other choice but to prove he was from the future he took Lewis in his time machine and took him into the future. In the future Lewis found out that Wilber was really his son, that he was a wonderful rich inventor and that he changed the lives of many people with his inventions. Not only was he rich …..he had a wife and a complete family.

The moral of the story was you have to keep pressing forward in the present because a great future is waiting ahead. Yes there will be times when things look bleak and all hope seems to be gone but giving up is not always the answer. How many decisions you made in your life changed the outcome of your future? I sat on the coaching thinking about how I could make better decisions going forward making a positive impact on my future. Although, I already knew this but sometimes you gotta be reminded….. just because something is hard and does not come natural to you does not mean it is impossible for you to do.

Anyway that is how I got my inspiration last weekend.

Are Our Children Over Sexualized?

Of course the answer to this question is a resounding HELL YEAH! Our children are getting sexed up from the time they are able to understand. We talk about sex in our music, on videos; with our friends and television all while the children are watching and listening. Kids are talking about sex way earlier than we think they are. To prove my point second graders in Oakland experimented with oral sex.



Two second-graders in an Oakland elementary school shocked the country when they were disciplined for performing oral sex on each other in class with a teacher present. The teacher has been placed on administrative leave during the investigation. Reportedly, some children had taken their clothes off in a separate incident as well.

The events took place at Markham Elementary school, but came to the principal's attention just this week when one of the students told a staff member about the events. Oakland school district spokesman Troy Flint said that the teacher was unaware of the incident.

"We believe the substance of the story is true," said Flint.

Who knew about oral sex at 7 years old….certainly not me? I would be embarrassed, pissed off, and embarrassed again if these were my children. We really need to start protecting our children more by monitoring what get pass their little ears and eyes.

Becareful Who You Take Advise From

Mary Harvey gives her side of the story....straight no chaser!









Like old people say "there are three sides to a story, his side, her side and the truth".

AZZ Whooping Facebook Style

GO Uncle.... Team Whoop Azz all the way!

Stupid Stuff People Do

So party promoters in Columbus, OH decided it was a good idea to throw a light skinned vs. dark skinned party. I am not sure how the winner will be named, what the prize consist of, who the judges will be and what are the rules. However I personally think it is a dumb idea that lacks originality and set the black race of Columbus, OH back 200 years.

Is it really that hard to get people to come out and party in that city? And why did they choose to put women on the flyer. The world (including black men) love to pit black women against one another. In the bigger scheme of things people don’t give a f%!k about the variation of black people skin tone. The only people that act like they really care are……. Black people. The country is damn near broke, unemployment is at 10%, young people are coming home in coffins from war everyday, the housing market is still down, the school system sucks and gas prices are too damn high. People have enough stress in their life, they have plenty of REAL reasons to get their drink on they don’t need a frivolous one.

I just wish people would think out their ideas before they make themselves look like a complete and total idiot. I bet the two “models” on the flyer won’t even be at the party, and I seriously doubt it’s the most anticipated party of the year.

Couldn’t they have saved this bullshit until March? They had to do it the month of MLK birthday?


SMH

DIY’ing It Again

Okay so I took the tiling class and Home Depot and guess what….. I was the only person that showed up to the class. I was super excited and the ladies that taught the class gave me all their attention and gave a lot of details. They taught me how to use the leveler, how to cut the tile, how to measure properly and how to grout. Those ladies truly knew what they were doing and they were happy to share. I did a few experiments and felt very confidant about tiling my kitchen and bathroom. They sent me to the tiling department to select my new backsplash and there were tons of choices. I began to feel overwhelmed with all my options then I hear…” ma’ am do you need any help? My name is Lori if you do.” I told Lori I liked everything and didn’t know what to get. After about 25 minutes Lori help me finally decide on which tile I would take home. While helping me Lori told me she was an out of work architect and she was working at Home Depot to keep the bills paid. Not only did Lori help me pick out the tiles, she also sketched out the design for me! I felt like Super Woman when I left Home Depot.

I pulled everything off the counters and started to measure the walls. I put my groove music on and next thing you know ya girl is tiling. Three hours goes by and I barely notice it. I take a look at the wall and I give myself a pat on the back and remind myself that GIRLS ROCK!

My cousin comes by and asks who did that? I smile brightly with adhesive all over my arms, shirt and pants and say I did it! She looks at the wall and back at me and refuses to believe it. So she sits at the kitchen table and watches start the other backsplash above the sink. She looks amazed by my new talent. I am still in the process of grouting the tile but it is pretty much finished.

Fixer Upper

As many of you know I purchased a home in 2009 that has been a virtual money pit. I am in the litigation process with the seller and have spent a many a day upset about things that went wrong with my home. But when it is all said and done the home has everything I was looking for. I love older homes that are filled with great architecture and quality materials.

I like to think of myself as a home decorating guru. I am in the process of completing some minor work on my home and I will be documenting it through my blog. First let me say remodeling and decorating ain’t cheap so don’t expect to see updates too often. But when I am all done the house will be a work of art and simply fabulous.

When I originally purchased the home it came with brand new Berber carpet through out. The realtor kept going on and on about the new carpet but all I can think about was ripping it up to expose the hardwood floors. And that is exactly what I did! It was a process removing all that carpet but it was certainly worth it. I paid about 1400.00 to have the floors refinished and restrained. This spring I will be installing crown molding, some textured wall paper, and chair rails. This weekend I am going to a tiling class at Home Depot. I want to install a backsplash in the kitchen and remove the shower liner in the bathrooms and replace it with tiles. I am going to be a busy lady this spring but I am truly looking forward to it. Give me your opinion on the floor.