Reading, Writing and Arithmetic: African Americans Get It Together
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Barrington Irving - STEM and STREAM
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Posted By: William Jackson on August 10, 2016 Reading, Writing and Arithmetic: African Americans Get It Together by William Jackson, M.Ed. Parent, Educator, Blogger, Speaker Community Activist, Mentor Children, youth and teens embrace the diversity and creative characteristics of STEM and learn to be innovative in their words, phrases, and extension of their views in society. It is wonderful to see a teen excited about reading, writing and the process of arithmetic, these are the areas that promote career readiness. Through the results of slavery, past and present and colonization African Americans have been lead in ways that have created separation and confusion within themselves and within their communities. What needs to be changed is the value and empowerment of education in the African American community. Education starts at home, the appreciation of learning should start a birth when parents are reading to their infants and toddlers as they grow. African American children need to learn more about themselves and their history. How will they know where they are going if they do not know where they came from. **Colonization has efficiently destroyed African American children’s desire to learn their heritage in America and their past. Those born during the 90’s and after seem to have no desire to learn or to encourage their children to study the past related to Africa. African American children need to learn about diversity and how it will affect their future in education and employment. We live in a global economy so children of color and culture need to be prepared. **Too many times you hear African American children share who or what they do not like, who they don’t want to be near. This sets them up for failure as the diversity of the work place increases. **We are in a global economy and African American children will have to work with people from all backgrounds. If they cannot adapt and accept this they will struggle with their identities and acceptance of others. African American children need to see their family go to work. They need to see people of color and culture get up early and prepare themselves for the day’s business of working to accomplish a goal. **When you hear that African American children refuse to get up and go to school or teens complain about getting up to go find work this sets them up for failure and struggle. That places a burden on their families as well because they have to take care of children that were not given an incentive to work for their wellbeing. African American children that are not disciplined in the value of education and the value of work grow up to be lazy African American children and lazy African American adults. **One of the burdens of African American parents is to raise children that do not see the value of education and the value of preparation for employment. Too many children of color and culture are losing their values and parents are not teaching survival skills. **Children of color and culture must be taught early to value being educated and starting their careers to improve their lives away from home. **Parents have to teach their children how to live away from home. African American children must be provided role models of success to be successful themselves and have a visual representation of what success is. **Children must see success to model certain behaviors of success. **African American children must be taught the terminology of success. If they want to be doctors, learn to speak like doctors. African American children need to be taught the benefits of a routine, to be consistent and have organization, responsibility and accountability. **Before getting out on their own children of color and culture often face challenges that come from not being taught to be responsible and accountable for their actions and behaviors. **Parents need to expose their children to events, activities, venues and places of diversity and intellectual development. African American children need to understand information can be passed down from generation to generation. Parents sometimes forget they are their children’s role models. **Children will do as their parents do and not even realize it. **When a child of color and culture does not feel connected to their parents and their past they stray at times to find their identities and role models they connect with. The danger is when they disconnect from their cultural identity to find one that is not welcoming to their mental and spiritual growth. African Americans children never need to feel inferior to another culture or of another race. **Parent of children of color and culture need to take the time to teach and share the value of the past to African American children. Studying the great history of Africa and their contributions to the world. **Too many children of color and culture deny the darker color members of their culture because colonization and slavery have brain washed them into thinking that lighter skinned people are better. African American parents need to monitor what their children are watching and listening to so they may intervene when negative images are shown. **The media displays people of color and culture as irresponsible, lazy and dangerous. Many times media will use people of color and culture when it is beneficial to their needs. **African American parents need to analyze where their children are getting their information from about them and show them the truth. African American parents need to explain violent images shared on television that those images are not true images of people of color and culture. **Images from Empire and other entertainment are not true representations of people of color and culture. **Images from violent movies and television are sending the wrong messages that failure is to be expected from people of color. **The media shows other people being successful, happy and children are blessed and happy. *In media; music, movies and stories, children of color and culture are always poor and guilty. African American parents need to set a foundation of structure for education and career planning. **Those children with structure and have a plan meet with less confusion and less stress than those who travel through life without a plan and no structure. **Setting a tone for structure comes with personal discipline and responsibility. There is a time to study, a time to work, a time to prepare, a time to follow and a time to lead. African American children need to be taught “why” they are charged to do things. Each generation is different and exposure to dangers that were not a problem just years ago. **Parents must not give up, they must steer children in the right direction. African American parents must teach their children about the value of worship, not just what worship is, but the importance of study and building a personal relationship. **There is a fire and passion children of color and culture must have for worship. It must be taught why they attend church, not why you have to go to church. How to apply what is learned in worship of real life issues. **Children of color and culture must be taught how to create an individual relationship with God and the value of worship. **Parents will be held accountable for their children. The value of reading, writing and arithmetic can be seen in careers that embrace STEM and STEAM. Parents of color and culture must prepare their children for learning or they will be left behind, not because they cannot perform, but because parents are irresponsible and ignorant to the value of education. If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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William Jackson
Educational Technology and Social Media Instructor, Edward Waters College South Carolina State University class of 1985 Member Since September 2008 |
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