Some people were just born to protest. Rabble-rouse. Stir the pot. Once in a great while, it is a meaningful exercise. Most often, they simply lower the bar for all of “their” people.
Such is the case with Mr. Ernest Johnson, President of the Louisiana National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. This week’s protest? Educating the youth of Louisiana.
Members of the Louisiana NAACP and nearly 100 protesters rallied Saturday at the State Capitol to demand the Board of Elementary and Secondary Schools end its “unlawful” policy of requiring fourth- and eighth-grade students to pass standardized tests for promotion to the next grade.
The tired protest against standardized testing before proceeding to the next grade. Reminiscent of those great orators that have done so much for “their” people, Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, Mr. Johnson says the tests are a curse.
“I believe that what happened to the 28,000-plus children (who failed the LEAP test) is a curse for those kids and their families.
Wouldn’t the curse be that the children were so under-motivated and the expectations set for them so low by their parents that they failed to learn?
Johnson asserted many schoolchildren fulfill their classroom requirements but are being held back because of LEAP test failure.
Fulfill their classroom requirements can be translated show up more that half the time.
“I teach my children to do their best, but when they’ve done their best and they come to you and still fail, what do you say?” Rivet said.
You tell them the truth. You help them with their homework. You place high expectations on them and you DO NOT accept failure. And you repeat as necessary.
With so many failures, I thought perhaps there was some justification to the protests, so I looked up a few sample questions from the test. Here is one for an eighth-grader wanting to move on to the ninth grade.
Mei’s bank balance was $42.67. Her deposits and withdrawals since then can be represented as +$50, -$15, -$21, +$16.25, +25. What is her bank balance now?
A. $ 55.25
B. $ 97.92
C. $107.42
D. $127.25This item requires students to add positive and negative numbers. A calculator would be allowed for this item.
Wow, that’s a tough one. No way an eighth grader should be expected to know how to add and subtract.
Mr. Johnson, turn your focus elsewhere and do something that will actually help “your” people.
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38 Responses to “How NOT to Lift Your People Out of Poverty”Search
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Perhaps Mr. Johnson does not know the answer to the problem either…so he feels compelled to sympathize, but that is NO EXCUSE. What a tragedy when these types of activists want to side with “their people” rather than holding them to a higher standard and making them better so they can be self-reliant. Does he have an agenda (i.e. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton) he is trying to self promote? Shame on him for promoting this type of mentality on “his people”. It shows complete disregard for respect and confidence in them and I hope they see this for what it is.
Since Hurricane Katrina, there have been quite a few fights in Houston-area high schools where there are high percentages of New Orleans refugees. Gang fights? You’d think, but no, the reason was more fundamental: Texas students making fun of Louisiana students for being stupid and illiterate. That state needs all the tests it can get.
How many times do foux goes inta fitee? It’s all in how you phrase it.
50 / 4 = 12.5
No kidding, When I worked in the 5th Ward, you had to learn how to phrase things so they would understand. If I asked some people “Where do you live?” or “What’s your address?” I would get a blank stare. If I asked “Where you stays?” I would get an answer (many didn’t know their street address and these were ADULTS!). I can only imagine how bad communicating is in Louisiana some of the urban areas.
Ask any police or fireman if I am telling the truth!!!
In 1950 that sample question would have been a third grade math problem, and the “allowed calculator” would have been the brain of the student.
Cut ‘em some slack. Maybe they just couldn’t read.
Handsome Son suffers from learning disabilities from a series of ear infections during his early years. I almost slapped a speech therapist because she lowered his mastery levels from 80% to 70% for some of his educational goals when he was five. “Why did you do this?” we asked. “Well, I like my kids to feel successful,” she replied. “If they fail to make the 70%, then I lower it to 60%, until they pass.” The vision of my flat hand making contact with her cheek passed through my mind’s eye. We told her in no uncertain terms that our son was NOT stupid, was NOT retarded, and was fully capable of achieving mastery, and that we actually preferred it to be 90% because of his retention problems.
Teachers passing their problem of incompetency on to the students. P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C. And sad.
Welcome to America.
You wonder why I shake my head™
Face facts…Jackson, Sharpton and Johnson cannot afford to have “their people” educated. These scumbags need “their people” to remain stupid. How else would these “activists” be able to lead “their people” around by their noses? I maintain and believe once “their people” are educated, “their people” will realize what frauds these “activists” truly are. How many generations will be lost until they realize what is happening to their children and their children’s childen? It saddens me.
A paramedic/EMT/physician’s assistant who used to work in my doctor’s office volunteered to help the Katrina victims. I said, “You must have felt really good to help them out, didn’t you?” His reply? A worried frown, a slight shake of the head, and “I really think there’s just something wrong with them. I don’t know if it’s inbreeding or what, but something there is just wrong.” Something at their core really troubled him. This from a guy who was always smiling, very good with people, and quite an optimist.
#10 tedtam
Deliverance us from Evil!
#10 Hmmmm……
Anyone here seen the movie “Idiocracy”?
It’s called a comedy but I think it’s a prophecy..
#9: DING! DING! DING!
#10: I know at least 3 more that agree with him. They too, are always upbeat & optimistic as well. Ungrateful was a word I heard often.
Mama always said that you can’t help people that don’t want to help themselves. No truer words spoken.
WTF is Bill Cosby when they need him most?
When the folks were leaving LA and headed west, many of them stopped in Harris County; some of those here in Baytown. The local Hotels were full. On the Saturday following the hurricane, our “cook-off” team and a few others set up our “rigs” along I-10 to offer food to any that needed a hot meal. There were many that were grateful and said so. Sadly, there were many others that seemed to be of the opinion that our [free] offering was owed them and were completely unappreciative. Many complained because we weren’t offering ‘exactly’ what they wanted. It really demoralized all of us that were simply trying to help those that needed help.
The phrase “barefoot and pregnant” comes to mind.
Deep thought for (some of the) NO’s:
If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, do I still get my welfare check?
#12 little mike
Idiocracy was almost too true to be funny.
Sadly, my daughter’s boyfriend didn’t like the movie because he believed it was poking fun at him. It was. Fortunately, he is no longer in the picture.
I have a very simple solution. Let’s add a new type of high school diploma. There is already the GED (General Equivalency Diploma), so let’s add the DED (Default Equivalency Diploma).
Once the child reaches 13-years-old, the child and parent can sign a form to have the child awarded a DED. It works out great, because the child will no longer be attending school, so that cuts down on class sizes and the amount of administrators. With the smaller classroom sizes, less wasted money and fewer children who don’t want to learn distracting those who do, test scores, performance and the number of graduates attending college will skyrocket. Since there will be less school buses, we’ll be cutting back on global warming; therefore, I’m sure the liberals will be on board.
I’d even be in favor of contributing 5% of the money saved through this program to go to the NAACP. I’m sure they would take this money in exchange for 100,000 or so DED kids.
“Reminiscent of those great orators that have done so much for “their” people…”
In view of today’s news, I am curious as to where our current administration would fit with respect to that comment in terms of their concern for the well being of the people of Iraq.
“The report said 15 percent of Iraqis cannot regularly afford to eat, and 70 percent are without adequate water supplies, up from 50 percent in 2003. It also said 28 percent of children are malnourished, compared with 19 percent before the 2003 invasion.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20031683/
#20 Mike S.
Don’t worry, the current administration would say: “Our hearts go out to them”.
A meaningless phrase if there ever was one.
#19 — Won’t happen because they would have to sign a form.
Mike S, who said GWB was a great orator?
#20, excellent point Mike.
However, let’s not forget that if the members of Second Baptist Church would just stop blowing up infrastructure and forcing too much money and manpower to be used on securtiy over rebuilding, Iraq would be a better place.
It is member of SBC that are continuing the death, destruction and suffering over there isn’t it.
How do they spell agronomy at LSU?
E I E I O
In the late 1980’s, I taught at a high school in what was supposed to be an “outstanding” school district in south Louisiana.
The high school football coach was very popular with the students as a geometry teacher.
When the accreditation board visited in March, we discovered the reason for his popularity: there was NOTHING in his gradebook. He’d been simply giving the kids the grade he felt they deserved!!
A coworker (high school math teacher) was assaulted by a parent who was angry about a child’s grade - he threw her down the stairs, breaking her arm.
The reaction of the local school board? They sent administrators to pressure her not to press charges against the parent.
South Louisiana is notoriously corrupt, and until that changes, the situation will remain hopeless.
I’m with Texan1953 about this mess. If these slaves get educated, the slave mentality will be gone and the poverty pimps, Sharpton and Jackson will have to get real jobs. An entire class of people who vote democrat, are sustained by tax dollars, and NEVER have their lives improved by education…… the slaves. People who waited for ” the man” to save them during Katrina and drowned. People who have never left the 5 blocks they call home. I get so angry at the lives thrown away……..and my tax dollars being tossed at them like candy.
Why doesn’t Mr. Johnson just demand that “their” people be given high school diplomas or maybe college degrees. Making things easier for them now will only make things tougher when they get into the real world. One’s education dictates one success in life.
Or will Mr. Johnson start demanding that they be given jobs, a good salary and a home for doing nothing (aka socialism).
What the mainpost omitted (and so far as I could see in quick scan of other comments did too) is that passing the racist standardized tests required 40% in reading and only 35% in math. Not only not a rigorous (so i understand) but a reidiculously low threshold for basic academic comprehension. Any wonder why even the working poor would sacrafice in pre-Katrina Orleans parish to get kids a private education.
(Lets hear Sharpton and Jesse rebut this one!!)
WAY TO GO BILL !!
“They’re standing on the corner and they can’t speak English.
I can’t even talk the way these people talk:
Why you ain’t,
Where you is,
What he drive,
Where he stay,
Where he work,
Who you be…
And I blamed the kid until I heard the mother talk.
And then I heard the father talk.
Everybody knows it’s important to speak English
except these knuckleheads. You can’t be a doctor
with that kind of crap coming out of your mouth.
In fact you will never get any kind of job making a
decent living. People marched and were hit in the
face with rocks to get an education, and now
we’ve got these knuckleheads walking around.
The lower economic people are not holding up
their end in this deal.
These people are not parenting. They are buying
things for kids. $500 sneakers for what ? ?
And they won’t spend $200 for Hooked on Phonics.
the REST is at:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/cosby.asp
#26 & 27
Keep ‘em dumb. Keep ‘em dependant. Keep ‘em democrats!
How redundant!
It’s all whitey’s fault!!!
It’s all messed up cuz whitey made it that way!!
sarc/off
What should we expect from both the NEA and the NAALCP. Lets get small good schools for these kids. They deserve better. The Naalcp should STOP the KIDs of color calling an aspiring student, an oreo.
We have to make it cool to be smart again. Somehow being illiterate and unable to speak in a dignified manner while your pants look like they are falling off… has become cool.
Get rid of welfare - make it workfare — hand them a sharp stick and a bag, they can pick up trash 40 hrs a week. A couple of years of that and the younger ones will figure out that sucks and maybe start learning something.
My mother is a psychological counselor for a Houston-area school district that accepted many of the kids from New Orleans. She said it was one of the saddest things she had ever seen because of all the stories of abuse and neglect. The kids almost have their own language and this makes it difficult to communicate with them, and they came from a school environment where they were accustomed to literally walking out of the classroom any time they wanted and the teachers did nothing. When these kids arrived in the Houston area, it was quite a rude awakening for them.
A large part of the problem with education in the U.S.- not just La. -can be laid at the feet of Teacher Unions. IMHO They are more concerned
about attendance - read Fed. money - than education.