This essay is contained in my new book. I'm delighted to announce that The Sojourner's Passport site has launched! You can visit it at http://www.sojournerspassport.com/.
Everyone, I can't thank you enough for your ongoing encouragement and support; I truly appreciate it. Your support is what made this possible. And here's a special shout-out to my web designers at Educo Web Design. They're nice people to deal with, and they do outstanding work!
Peace and blessings,
Khadija Nassif
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35 comments:
I actually agree with your point. I was surprised to realise that I'm still (partly) in the phase of 'yeah, get out, but atleast take others with you.' I think that was the foundation of my opinion when you first expressed this opinion in the last post. It pains me that for alot of BW to better themselves, they are going to have to .....I don't want to use the word 'abandon', but you get my drift. They'll have to cut that cord to all sorts of things that have been clinging onto them, even if those hangers on are other vulnerable blacks (i.e. black kids with parents who should never have been parents, both the father and mother, as I've seen plenty of trifling women who believe they are the best mothers on the planet)!
It's sad that things have come to the point where Black women have to be told this, but I can no longer encourage sisters to stay and fight, most especially when those who will benefit the most are the ones putting up the biggest roadblocks.
I thought I had gone past the stage of caring too much, and to be honest, I never thought that I really ever did, but it seems I was wrong. I am so saddened by this, especially as I know that your words in this latest post are the truth.
Sorry for the lengthy post, I'm just really sad.
I'm intimately familiar with what has happened to public schools and the clamoring for a 'crazy check.' I spent months last year cherry picking the right school district for our son. I lived at the greatschools.net website because I refuse to have my child attend a school with the ABC crew. They're poison and I won't have my son exposed to that foolishness. My husband said it was like watching General Patton plan a campaign. I had maps, pushpins and spreadsheets all over the place.
When I was a social worker, I admit more than once to being happy that a kid received SSI because it meant that a relative would be more willing to take him in. A horrible reality, but there it is. You wouldn't believe the fool folk act over those measly benefits.
Getting a 'crazy check' is still relatively easy, or at least it was as of 2004. I specialized in children with severe emotional/behavioral disorders and routinely applied for the benefits in batches, dozens at a time. The state, of course, was trying to access as much federal money as possible considering that many of these children were placed in residential facilities that cost as much by the day as we received from the feds as a monthly benefit.
More than once, I dealt with mothers who were receiving SSI benefits that were far greater than my monthly income AND they were living in subsidized housing and receiving Food Stamps. Used to blow my mind, for sure. Keep in mind, in Alabama a MSW typically starts out making less than $30k. I was always amused that these crappy jobs require all these expensive credentials. What a crock.
I do not now, nor will I ever understand our proclivity for embracing the deviant. I remember the brouhaha that ensued when I said I would not give or attend a baby shower for an unwed mom. One would think this was a given. Even worse, I was dealing with SOCIAL WORKERS, Master's level social workers who were having babies OOW! It absolutely blew my mind. I quickly learned that clearly I wasn't dealing with 'my kind of people.' I hesitate to say it, but I fear that a lot of people are choosing social work as an 'easy major' and the field is not getting particularly high quality workers. Frankly, I dealt with some who as my sister used to say, should've been working in a factory somewhere.
Hello there, JaliliMaster!
Oh...I'm not saying "Don't help at all." I'm saying that BW need to get control over the circumstances in which they help. Leaving public service alone is part of BW regaining control over ALL of our resources (time, effort, energy, etc.).
When you work in the helping professions, you LOSE control over how you mangage your assistance to other people. You become more or less obligated to help, even if the people are undeserving, and/or misusing your assistance, and/or verbally abusing YOU.
By joining the "helping" professions, BW are placing themselves in a position for (hateful) others to COMMANDEER their intellectual and emotional capital.
Add this to the stress of dealing with disrespectful, belligerent, Negro "help recipients" who are in full "hateration" mode, and you have a stress-filled work NIGHTMARE.
There's a better way for BW to spend their careers. There's a better way for BW to allocate the assistance (if any) that they freely choose to give: only to people who respond appropriately.
__________________
Hello there, Roslyn!
What horrified me most of all about the "crazy money" was how so many Black children are being unnecessarily stigmatized. All because of their mother's greed and laziness. It's appalling.
The other thing is that it brought home the realization that AAs are NOT the same kind of people that we used to be. We used to take in children without looking to get paid to do so. My grandparents took in the infant son of one of my then-teenage aunt's friends. This was in the 1950s. Apparently, the girl and her family were not "doing right" by the baby, and my grandparents informally adopted him. That's how I acquired an "extra" uncle.
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
Khadijah
We have the same issue in Atlanta too. I was in the public schools where I saw students who were left behind. The parents(mostly sbw) who were college educated but for some reason their kid could not read or write well. Many angry black parents, frustrated teachers, and incompetent admin. I was a media specialist so I did not have to be in a classroom for 8 hours with 25 kids, but I interacted with students,teachers, and admins. Everyone was pointing the finger at each other for why jonny can't read. I left 5 years ago and didn't look back. The principal was an abusive skirt chaser.I moved on to a college, but it isn't any better because these are the young adults from the dysfunctional inner school system. They are in school for a check and now that the economy is down, they are coming in droves. Our enrollment is up. These students have threaten instructors, stolen cars, vandalized property, sold drugs, beat up women, smoke refah, and cheated on tests. It is getting worse but the admin just want the ##. Emphasize University and not community college/technical college. Go to one of the ivy leagues. I wanted to work on the college level and I am but I am trying to get out of this level.
sistrunkqueen:
We have the same issue in Atlanta too. I was in the public schools where I saw students who were left behind. The parents(mostly sbw) who were college educated but for some reason their kid could not read or write well....I left 5 years ago and didn't look back....I moved on to a college, but it isn't any better...Emphasize University and not community college/technical college...I wanted to work on the college level and I am but I am trying to get out of this level.
My reply:
Think not only the university level, but working at the professional school level. Some of the same skills you might have been developing in the lower educational grades and at the community college/technical school level can be applied at the professional school level--law schools, medical schools, business schools...
Hello there, Sistrunkqueen!
I have several relatives who are teachers (including now-retired teachers). They all say that the nature of that line of work changed dramatically over the decades. For the worse. Mostly due to the crazy attitudes that Black parents came to adopt.
Also, I saw a lot of things during the one whole month I spent as a substitute teacher before I started law school. [One month is all I could stand. I don't have the patience for that kind of thing. A BM friend of mine who started subbing while waiting to begin grad school lasted ONE DAY. LOL!]
As far as I'm concerned, this boils down to the many failures of most modern Black parents. Their attitudes and expectations are all wrong.
For example, I noted how I spent most of my time when I was a substitute having to "police" the handful of project children in the classroom I was assigned to. [The regular teacher was on medical leave.]
Every time I sat down to start an activity (reading circle, whatever) with the children (the rest of whom actually WANTED to participate), I had to interrupt what I was doing to play "Angie Dickinson as Police Woman." [Those readers of a certain age remember this tv show. LOL!]
People become teachers in order TO TEACH. NOT to play police officer, psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, parole officer, or any of the other roles that have beeen foisted upon modern Black teachers who work in Black settings.
Why should somebody else have to "control" Negro parents' children? That's crazy.
Why should somebody else have to supply PRIMAL information to children who have been neglected and are therefore TOTAL blank slates? My parents didn't send us to kindergarten as blank slates. My brother and I knew:
1-Our real names, not just our nicknames.
2-Our parents' real names.
3-Our address and phone number.
4-Some counting.
5-Some reading with "sight words."
6-Could sing the alphabet song, with fillers for missing, forgotten letters.
7-Some primary colors, etc.
I've heard consistently repeated tales of teachers having the following dialogues with Black poor/underclass kindergarteners and 1st graders:
Q: What's your name?
A: Pooky. [Lil Man. Boo. Etc.]
Q: What's your mother's name?
A: Mama.
Q: Where do you live?
A: [No answer.]
How in God's name does anybody send their babies to school like THIS?
I will say this: I don't hear this sort of thing as much from teachers in private schools. It seems that when Negro parents are shelling out $$$ for their children's education, they are more motivated to do their part. Not to mention that most private schools DON'T play games when it comes to disciplinary issues.
And you make a good point about the junior/community/technical colleges---they are also to be avoided!
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
If possible you could start a charter school or your own private school with strick guide lines for discripline and a college preparatory learning level and a test for admission into the school so that it can weed out all of the children whose parents did not prepare them for school?
You're doggoned right the private schools don't tolerate that madness. They have an evaluation process that weeds out the fools from the get-go. I've got relatives that work at some of the most elite schools in the country and it's a different world. I'd strongly recommend anyone who wants to teach to direct themselves towards the elite private schools. Focus on the elite ones. Average private schools are little different from public schools. Elite schools do psych evaluations, observations and whatnot to ensure that they get smart MOTIVATED children AND PARENTS.
For myself, I can't imagine what could possess a parent to send a child to school who doesn't even know his name or his parent's name. Just for the sake of safety it's crucial that they have this information. What if you lost the kid at Wal-mart. Who are they going to ask for over the loudspeaker? My son will be five next month and he's known all that practically since he could talk.
And don't tell me this is about poverty or folks being poorly educated. Neither of my parents were high school grads. My mama didn't finish the eighth grade. Yet, I could read, count to fifty and knew my colors and shapes when I started school. My mama read to me and told me stories and had me recite poetry even before I started school.
Keep in mind, she was a domestic or a restaurant cook and often worked sixteen hour days. She knew that education was the way that I wouldn't have to clean houses for a living and she drilled that in my head from the time I was a little girl.
I don't understand how people could not go out of their way to give their children the absolute best. I taught my son to read because I wanted him to learn reading.
Thanks Pioneervalleywoman
I have looked at jobs in my field. It is so hard..I have noticed that my field is changing with technology so I have decided to return to school to get a Phd. I need retraining and also to upgrade my skills to get a good paying position. I want to get out of GA. I notice that if I want to go where the cutting edge in information I need to go North,Canadaor out West. The South is dead.
Hello there, Anonymous!
Most private schools already test and screen children for admission. The thing is that most BW in the helping field, including education, go in wanting to "help our people." That means that they steer themselves toward public, non-elite settings. In education, they steer themselves toward working in the public schools.
It's time to rethink all of that. It's time for BW to steer themselves toward working environments that are rewarding, and where their efforts are appreciate. By definition, this excludes the public school system or any other setting where one services the Black poor and underclass.
_______________________
Hello there, Roslyn!
I'm also sick of the poverty excuse. As you noted, this has nothing to do with poverty. It's about distorted values and let me just say it out loud: depravity.
My grandparents were: a seamstress, a maid, a handyman, and a cook on the railroads. Unlike so many modern Black parents, they deeply valued education AND educators, and they raised my parents to feel the same way.
Fifty years later, my mother and many of her classmates still made the pilgrimage every couple of years to visit their old principal who had retired and moved to Florida. My parents' peers DEEPLY respect Black educators.
This (pioneering) Black woman principal's former students at my mother's ALL-Black high school visited and wrote her for 5 DECADES until she passed away recently.
Now, we have Negro parents and students who physically attack Black teachers. My cousin who is a teacher was once cursed out and then slapped by a "Sheniqua"-type of parent. Of course, my cousin hit her back (and smacked the s*** out of her); but who wants to be bothered with THAT?
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
This is "radical" and will be rejected. I have quite a few female relatives in these careers and they hate it but they're stuck now because of pensions, etc. All I hear is that is provides a stable income, blah blah blah. All I think about is how stressful it must be dealing with battered, bruised and broken people who may not even want to change and the emotional damage and physical danger they put themselves in by trying to rescue complete strangers. Perhaps if they were making a high 6-figure salary...but they're NOT.
Hey Khadija!
Just wanted to point out that its not even just black folks hoisting this expectation on each other to "help our people" in inner city schools and communities. The government, within the last 2 or 3 years, has significantly expanded financial incentives for people to work in "inner city" communities. Teach for America, Americorps, the list goes on..they are all expanding and getting more and more federal money. PLUS the government is offering student loan repayment for people who work in public service for 10 years (teachers, nurses, social workers, etc.).
Supposedly, ivy league students are signing up for these programs in droves. I'm curious to know what their retention rate is, though. From the handful of mostly white people I know who did these type of programs, it was NOT worth it and they would NOT do it again. The black man I know who is doing TFA said the same thing you did, Khadija: his kids don't even know the basics, yet he is supposed to teach them that, the curriculum, plus deal with their attitudes, problems, etc.
TFA goes after black college students pretty hard, too, including me when I was near graduation. I think their reps were surprised by how many black graduates were NOT enthralled by the prospect of teaching in the hood for two years and they had to work harder than they expected. In my conversations, I asked my white interviewer what makes me such a good candidate to teach some inner city kids? The look on her face was priceless. Clearly she wanted to say "Because you're black!" but had to check herself. LOL!
On a related note, Teach for America is something to watch out for, though...they have a very strong and active lobby and their alum are already strategizing and starting to move into a few high profile education policy positions (like Michelle Rhee who runs DC's public schools). I think they'll keep going until one of their people is the Secretary of Education. LOL
I used to teach public school. Emphasize USED TO. I quit after two years for many of the reasons mentioned and listed by other posters. If I had children, I couldn't imagine sending them to the same school I taught at. The behavior of the other students was outrageous; and even the students who behaved well were so far behind in reading, writing, basic math etc. that it was just sad, sad seeing them everyday knowing that you were teaching them things they should have learned in elementary school but they were already 15, 16. And often with babies!
I hate to admit it, but I was even shocked by the low level of some of my colleagues. I remember taking a certification course for teaching and I was the only one in the class who had actually visited a museum; one of two who had a library card. Seriously? These people were supposed to educate? I was appalled.
I changed careers:)
You seem to assume that BW are not going into these careers to actually help people. Black folks in major cities are still unrepresented in teaching, so if there is some mass exodus of black teachers white surbanites will have no problem taking these secure jobs, especially since the financial services industry continues to struggle. There are only 2 secure industries right now health care and education. Not everyone is going own their own business.
You can't blame the workers for the faulty policies and red tape that prevent the best services as possible to be provided. And there are different fields social workers can get into. You can worke with he elderly, HIV/AIDS population, handicap people (and not the "crazy check people", but people with legitimate health issues like down syndrome).
I have a couple of friends who are social workers and clients have even gave them small tokens as a thank you.
And as for the private schools, their teaching jobs don't pay as much. I also have a friend that is a teacher, and yes she has the dysfunctional parent and child stories but she refuses to teach in private schools. She says their teachers get paid like 1/2 of what she does. Not to mention not everyone wants to take out tens of thousand of dollars in student loans to make $50,000 a year teaching college (yes some professors make that little, some even less).
These jobs have actually been a path to the middle class for many black folks so I wouldn't exactly knock them right now especially this changing economy.
And no I am not a troll, I would leave my name but the Google will not log me in
Khadija, two things you said jumped out at me:
I have several relatives who are teachers (including now-retired teachers). They all say that the nature of that line of work changed dramatically over the decades. For the worse. Mostly due to the crazy attitudes that Black parents came to adopt.My mother said the EXACT SAME thing when she finally retired after 30 years of teaching in inner-city high schools. She was a product of those very same schools (had spent her teenage years in the projects, as a matter of fact) so she knows full well about the poverty excuse too many of us use today. Folks were poor back in the day and yet their kids came to school CORRECT.
Also, I saw a lot of things during the one whole month I spent as a substitute teacher before I started law school. [One month is all I could stand. I don't have the patience for that kind of thing. A BM friend of mine who started subbing while waiting to begin grad school lasted ONE DAY. LOL!]I had a friend who trained to be a substitute teacher. She lasted three days in the Chicago public school system.
As I've been reading through your blog (very slowly) I realize that I've already divested from the more pathological elements of the black "community" so this is the first I'm hearing about folks trying to get a "crazy check." Actually the first person I thought of wasn't a black person, but the Octomom, so I'm guessing this isn't that uncommon. However, like you, my eye is on that which uplifts and empowers black women and children, and this is just another form of welfare dependency.
Hello there, Faith!
You said, "This is "radical" and will be rejected. I have quite a few female relatives in these careers and they hate it but they're stuck now because of pensions, etc. All I hear is that is provides a stable income, blah blah blah."
For most BW, saving their own lives and sanity is a "radical" idea---one to be rejected. That's too bad for them. I'm trying to help as many BW who will listen and think for themselves to find a way OUT of the current suicide-martyrdom-gravedigger missions so many of us have signed up for.You said, "All I think about is how stressful it must be dealing with battered, bruised and broken people who may not even want to change and the emotional damage and physical danger they put themselves in by trying to rescue complete strangers."
Stress, aggravation, and often physical danger to the BF "helper" is the REALITY of working to uplift "downtrodden" Blacks. It's NOT worth it. Blacks generally only respond favorably (if they respond favorably at all) to White rescuers. It's NOT worth it.___________________
Hello there, Enlightened!
You said, "Just wanted to point out that its not even just black folks hoisting this expectation on each other to "help our people" in inner city schools and communities. The government, within the last 2 or 3 years, has significantly expanded financial incentives for people to work in "inner city" communities. Teach for America, Americorps, the list goes on..they are all expanding and getting more and more federal money. PLUS the government is offering student loan repayment for people who work in public service for 10 years (teachers, nurses, social workers, etc.)."
I believe that the federal government's REAL agenda with these programs is about furthering its longterm efforts to destroy the teachers' unions across the country.
I say this because they only offer these "incentives" for UNQUALIFIED people to enter certain disrespected, traditionally female-populated professions such as teaching, nursing, etc. The government NEVER tries to lure similarly UNQUALIFIED people in to do other things that require professional licenses such as: practice law, practice medicine (as a M.D.), etc.
This isn't about getting some fresh blood. It's about bringing in non-unionized employees to eventually replace the PROFESSIONALLY-TRAINED educators.__________________
Hello there, TheDiva!
You said, "I used to teach public school. Emphasize USED TO. I quit after two years for many of the reasons mentioned and listed by other posters."
I praise God that you got out.You said, "I hate to admit it, but I was even shocked by the low level of some of my colleagues. I remember taking a certification course for teaching and I was the only one in the class who had actually visited a museum; one of two who had a library card. Seriously? These people were supposed to educate? I was appalled."
Mass Black cultural disrespect for education has helped to create this self-fulfilling negative trend. "Old-school" BW went into teaching because they loved and wanted to help "the chil-ren" (as my grandmother pronounced the word--LOL!). That generation of Black teachers with the "old-school" motivations have mostly retired by now. By the time they retired, they were disgusted and discouraged by the rise of "modern" Negro disrespect and behaviors.
The younger "old school" BF teachers (including my friend's daughter who is 29 years old) are being systematically driven OUT of the field by the madness that they have to face from Negro students and parents. My friend's daughter (who spends her OWN money to provide extra supplies for the children in her room) has recently been complaining about how some of the Negro children are whipping out cell phones hoping to video one of the school personnel doing something that they can sue over. This is craziness.
This sort of atmosphere also attracts people who don't give a damn and are just there for the paycheck. Decades of Black folks disparaging teaching as an "easy job" has also attracted a cadre of losers to that field.
[Unlike people like my mother who got TWO separate Master's degrees to better serve the children. Incidentally, my mother also spent her own money to provide extras for "her" children at her school. I remember the smell of duplicator fluid as she cranked the handle to her own duplicator machine making copies of her own extra worksheets for "her" children. I remember wanting to crank the handle as a small child.
Well, the increasing numbers of lunatic children over the years finally drove my mother OUT of the classroom and into the school library.]
I believe that soon Negro parents and children will get the teachers that they deserve after they finish driving the last few "old school" individuals OUT of that system._____________________
Hello there, Anonymous!
Even though I think you're a troll, I let your anonymous comment in (this one time). I don't believe that you couldn't log in. I'm going to enforce some accountability for this conversation by NOT allowing any further anonymous comments.
There are so many BW caught up in these suicide-martyrdom-gravedigger fields that this is a "make or break" issue that has a HUGE impact on the quality of life of HUGE numbers of BW.You said, "You seem to assume that BW are not going into these careers to actually help people."
This is the main reason why I think you're a troll. You've TOTALLY misread what I said. I SAID that BW have been going into these martyrdom/gravedigger fields to help Black people. I'm also saying that it's NOT worth it. I'm saying that BW deserve a better quality of life across the board. Including in their work lives.You said, "Black folks in major cities are still unrepresented in teaching, so if there is some mass exodus of black teachers white surbanites will have no problem taking these secure jobs, especially since the financial services industry continues to struggle. There are only 2 secure industries right now health care and education. Not everyone is going own their own business."
These are NOT "secure" industries. There are NO "secure" industries left. Even government has started laying off workers in these 2 fields. This is what happened during the last few rounds of county-budget-driven layoffs at Cook County/John Stroger Hospital in Chicago. [Cook County/Stroger Hospital is the main public aid hospital for the uninsured in Chicago.]
Not to mention the impact that "grassroots"-layperson interference has had on job security. Years ago, Chicago gave into the "grassroots"-demanded madness of having Local School Councils. Just imagine: Crackhead Negro parents actually dictating curriculum to professional educators at their local, neighborhood schools. The Local School Councils are a focus of corruption. These LSCs are also able to get educators fired.
As far as the White suburbanites taking these stressful, crappy, gravedigger jobs: They can have them. BW deserve better than to work in such a DEGRADING work environment.You said, "You can't blame the workers for the faulty policies and red tape that prevent the best services as possible to be provided."
Again, you have totally twisted around what I'm saying. I NEVER blamed the workers. I'm blaming the Negroes who are the recipients of BW's service in the helping professions. It's not worth it for BW to continue in these helping professions. Re-read the post.You said, "You can worke with he elderly, HIV/AIDS population, handicap people (and not the "crazy check people", but people with legitimate health issues like down syndrome)."
Bull****. Those who work in these fields DON'T get to pick and choose their clientele. Having to accept all who show up is the nature of public service jobs. For example, the HIV/AIDS population INCLUDES Negro dope fiends, prostitutes, and jailbirds. These are difficult populations to serve. They tend to "hate on" those educated Blacks who try to help them.You said, "I have a couple of friends who are social workers and clients have even gave them small tokens as a thank you."
Now, I KNOW you're lying. Even though there are a few thankful clients/parents/recipients, this is NOT at all the typical attitude of such persons.You said, "These jobs have actually been a path to the middle class for many black folks so I wouldn't exactly knock them right now especially this changing economy."
That was in PREVIOUS decades when circumstances were totally different. Like I said earlier, even these jobs are NOT "secure" in this economy. One also has to factor in the health costs of such stressful work. These jobs literally take years off of some BW's lives. It's NOT worth it. There is a better way. There are more rewarding ways for BW to spend their work lives.____________________
Hello there, SistaOpinion!
You said, "As I've been reading through your blog (very slowly) I realize that I've already divested from the more pathological elements of the black "community" so this is the first I'm hearing about folks trying to get a "crazy check.""
Yep, I had no idea about any of this madness either until I became a service provider for the Black poor/underclass. Who knew about such things?!
In any event, what I'm describing is why I'm working triple-time to extricate myself from my current "help the Black poor/underclass" career.
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
I am the anonymous poster, why did you think that I am troll, simply b/c I didn't agree with everything you said. Did I call you any degrading names and accuse you of being a liar? Isn't that what trolls do? or are trolls folks who simply disagree.
You have even quoted me in your divestment post, remember I am the one who told the Seattle blogger that immigration was a form of divestment?
I told the truth in every example I used and you call me a liar.
Teaching/social work can be path to the middle class. Maybe it depends on where you live. While teachers aren't making a lot there aren't exactly starving either, the more years they put the more they make. The teachers I know have no problem buying homes and putting their kids through college. And why are so many black and latino teachers being pushed out of the school system where I live? It b/c those white surbanites know that its a secure job, summers off with a strong union (how many folks still got union jobs these days?)
And its really funny how you accuse me of lying about the small tokens of thanks from clients. Hence I said small tokens, I didn't say they gave them cars with bows wrapped around it. Whether it be a discount from a store they work at or some baked snacks, its still a small gesture of thanks. And where did I say that was a typical day for them? Maybe my friends treated their clients with respect and not disdain and the a couple of people were appreciative and liked their energy.
I have one more sappy story for you, a friend who is a teacher got an email from one of her former students who looked her up online and sent her a message regarding how he is doing and said that he is in college now. Maybe they get by b/c they feel that if they can reach some and still be able to pay their bills than its worth it to them.
And you mention layoffs at a Hospital, of course county hospitals have layoffs they serve the poor and have low cash flow they don't represent all hospitals, most poor neighborhoods have one of them but you don't have to work there. County hospitals aren't the only options.
Bottom line is that the people in that industry know the deal, they don't need anyone to tell them to quit, they have weighed their options and have chosen to say. These people are voluteering they are getting paid to do it.
Not everyone has the right attitude or what it takes to do those types of jobs and yes those who don't need to get out of that field.
For you to call me a liar when I am giving real life examples of people in the field who have acknowledged the harships and choose to stay (My friends and I have had these conversations before) in it doesn't foster a mature exchange of ideas between adults. But I guess what is wanted on this blog is an amen choir.
Khadija,
I have been a substitute teacher for the last two years and I've come to hate it. In the beginning, it was ok. I love working with children. BUT, in my experience teaching is NOT for me. Substitute teaching is worse than regular teaching because most kids view the sub as someone they can get over until their real teacher gets back. There is no apportunity to really establish order because you're usually there for only a day. It also makes a difference in how the administration deals with disciplinary problems. One of the schools that I sub at often is good because eventhough it's an innercity public school, the principal is an "old school" black educator who doesn't tolerate foolishness.
As for working in private schools, I went to an "elite" private school and though the education was much better than the public schools, the pay is not nearly as high and the behavior of the elite children is not always the best. The only difference is that they often come with a sense of entitlement that comes from money and privilege. I know this because I went to a Sacred Heart school for 9 years and this is one of the most elite schools in the country. I guess it would be a good career choice for those who don't mind the pay cut but I think that teaching in general is a dead end career, whether it be in the private or public school system. Unless one wanted to start her own school. Children are not who they used to be because parents are not who they used to be. And that goes across the board.
Peace and Solidarity,
Tasha
The black female teacher is an anomaly. Many work in subpar conditions and aren't appreciated by the administration or parents. Someone made a point about these black teachers being unaware and non educated themselves. Yes some can use some social and cultural skills, but what bothered me in the three years that I was in public school(pregnant sbf teachers). Our school had a baby shower at least three or four times a year in the media center. Most were in their late 20 to early 30's. After the baby was born and they lost the baby fat. They would get married. It was so backward and it seemed that all had to contribute. I would leave right before they ask me to help set up. Some had the nerve to use the media center and not even invite me to the shower, but expected me to help set up. I did not fall for it. I just went on like nothing was going on.
Many did not like me because I didn't gossip with them and I had rules in my media center. I would also but heads with the principal who use to ask the newlywed teachers to wait one year before getting pregnant. Now how can he do that?? Some would giggle and grin when he did that at the shower. It was so disgusting and ignorant. She is already pregnant!!!
If there was a bridal shower you were expected to contribute to it. I was selective about who or when I gave $$ to. Some of these heifers just wanted to be greedy. I just didn't like the culture in the public school I was at. It was suppose to be middle class. It was working class. The home were section 8 I found out later.Now the county I worked in is known for the section 8 tenants who were evicted by Atlanta housing. This is probaby why my old principal resigned at the beginning of the school year 2008 due to the drop of test scores and the admin. headaches too. Don't get me wrong I have no sympathy for him, but all of these socio econmmic factors in to your school test scores. If you have low scores than it affects the principal's funding, salaries, and etc.
Naima,
You said, "I am the anonymous poster, why did you think that I am troll, simply b/c I didn't agree with everything you said. Did I call you any degrading names and accuse you of being a liar? Isn't that what trolls do? or are trolls folks who simply disagree.
You have even quoted me in your divestment post, remember I am the one who told the Seattle blogger that immigration was a form of divestment?
I told the truth in every example I used and you call me a liar."
___________________
First of all, you have COMPLETELY lost sight of (or you are ignoring) the sort of hostile antics that I deal with on a daily basis while moderating this blog. Simply because I generally don't make references to, or complain about, the MANY blog stalkers and trolls (whose comments I don't publish) doesn't mean that this is not happening.
There are even individuals who actually dedicate their ENTIRE blogs to deliberately distorting my statements, and slandering me (among other BF bloggers).
Perhaps it would be helpful if you had some consideration for what I'm dealing with as the moderator of THIS type of blog. You're so (selfishly) focused on your own sensations that you haven't extended a smidgen of consideration to me. I find this offensive.
I also find it offensive that the first explanation you jump to for my reaction is that the only reason I'm reacting negatively is because of your (anonymous) dissent. This is an insulting assumption on your part.
I don't know how much of this blog you've read, but I have MANY points of PERMANENT disagreement with MANY of the regular commenters. We "agree to disagree" and we go on. I've also written a blog entry dedicated to discussing how important dissensus is to our collective advancement.
I'm also offended by your reference to our previous points of agreement. You say that as if that should mean some sort of "brownie points" to me. I'm not in training to become Joe Stalin. I don't require anybody to agree with me. I don't need (or even want) an "amen choir."
However, I DO have boundaries and guidelines for these discussions because we're talking about LIFE and DEATH matters as pertains to BW. There are some points of disagreement that are "deal-breakers" for me. I'm not going to allow anybody to use their comments on this blog to promote an anti-BW agenda. Specifically, I'm NOT going to allow anybody to use their comments on this blog to:
1-Promote "biracials" (at the expense of BLACK people).
2-Promote and support the betrayals of Black conversatives like Ward Connerly (who destroyed affirmative action within the California state college system).
3-Bash other BW over some hair-do choice by engaging in "hair wars" here.
This also means that what we're discussing here is too serious for me to play with trolls.
This means that when you or anybody else does things that fit into the "suspicious, anonymous, troll" profile, I'm inclined to have the "troll" reaction. Let's review:
1-You posted anonymously.
2-You mischaracterized the post to claim that the post conveyed a message that is the DIRECT OPPOSITE of what it actually says.
When somebody twists stuff around and responds as if I had said the OPPOSITE of what was actually said, I get suspicious. That technique ("straw man" = responding to things that the other person never said) is a favorite troll trick.
You misconstrued the point of my post by saying, "You seem to assume that BW are not going into these careers to actually help people."I NEVER made this particular assumption. In fact, I've been saying that BW going into these fields in order to help downtrodden Blacks is a huge, life-damaging mistake. How in the world did you manage to read the direct OPPOSITE of what I'm saying into this post?
Perhaps you simply misread the post. However, there's no way for me to know whether this misreading is deliberate or accidental. In the cases of anonymous commenters, I lean toward the deliberate explanation. Again, I can't afford to play with trolls during these conversations. I take all of this quite seriously.Now, back to what you were saying. When you previously gave what you later referred to as "sappy" [that was YOUR word, not mine] accounts of client thankfulness, you failed to mention that this was ATYPICAL behavior. As far as I'm concerned, this sort of omission is part of the problem. There is very little acknowledgment of the realities involved in the "helping" professions. Instead, there are mostly untruths spoken about this topic.
Untruths such as the "if these helpers had the 'right' attitude and 'had what it takes,' then folks wouldn't act like that" argument that you've raised when you said, "Maybe my friends treated their clients with respect and not disdain and the a couple of people were appreciative and liked their energy."This is more bull**** in defense of inappropriate, SAVAGE behavior from Negroes who need the help and "helpers" that they want to mistreat.
Naima, I'm sick of hearing people like you denigrate the dedication and hard work that so many BW have put into these sorts of fields. Those BW who gave their service DON'T have to take that kind of garbage off of you, or anybody else who has highly romanticized notions about servicing the poor and the underclass.
Here's a news flash for you: The Black poor and underclass have a LOT of class-based "hateration," including for those other Blacks who try to help them. Including for those "grew up poor" Black folks who came back to the "hood" to help them. No matter how gracious and respectful said helpers are to them. In terms of the Black underclass, many of them HATE any Black person at all who works for a living.
Anybody who doesn't already know this has obviously NOT had very much exposure to the people involved in these scenarios.
Let me repeat what the main point of what I'm saying: It's NOT worth it to go into the helping fields. There IS a better way. BW DESERVE to have a work environment where they are appreciated, respected, and free from degradation.
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
Hello there, Tasha!
You said, "...I think that teaching in general is a dead end career, whether it be in the private or public school system. Unless one wanted to start her own school. Children are not who they used to be because parents are not who they used to be. And that goes across the board."
That's the bottom line as far as I'm concerned. There are more rewarding things that one can do with one's career. BW are NOT obligated to funnel themselves into these "helping" fields. BW are as entitled as everybody else to seek their bliss.
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
Hello Khadija,
You truly are an empowerment blogger! My whole worldview is being changed positively by coming here, thinking, and re-evaluating. Thank you so much!
This post reminds me so much of how some BM love to point out that although BW get more education - they earn less. And I suppose so especially if they are always going into low paid 'helping professions'.
In my mother's generation it seems everyone was encouraged to be a nurse, teacher, or work for the government whether the city, state or feds. In my generation social work and nursing are still very popular. There are a few who are steered towards teaching and the government jobs.
I want to disagree that social work and public service is the pathway to middle class. I feel it is the pathway to being a highly educated member of the working poor. All of my friends who do this kind of work have their salaries capped and catch all kinds of grief within the organization (unreasonable demands as to how they must perform their jobs) and grief from the people they serve. They all go in happy and idealistic, but end up burnt out and kind of not well over time. Some of these jobs expose people to the worst side of humanity. They see day in and day out what truly depraved people can do to one another.
Re: grassroots activists
I had no idea that social promotion was begun this way. I will have to goggle.
I had a situation a few years back with my nephew regarding this. He was in the 8th grade and could not read at all. His parents didn't care so my mother and I went to his school. He was upset that we came, his teacher was flip and distant and wouldn't give straight answers- so I went to the bookstore and bought primers, readers, workbooks, flashcards etc from kindergarten all the way to the 8th grade- spent over several 100 bucks and forced him and his younger brother to have an 'intensive' several times a week.
@ Roslyn
"I refuse to have my child attend a school with the ABC crew."
I am so glad that you mentioned this. I had decided a long time ago that if I ever married and had children I would never send them to an all black or public school. And the common response I got was - you can't shelter your children.
Hi Khadija!
I've been reading your blog for a while; I think I may have posted once or twice before. This post was great, and timely for me.
I am due to graduate from school soon (June) with a PhD in Clinical psychology, and I've been thinking a lot lately (especially as my knowledge and thinking have solidified about black women's current situation, and how I want to "save myself") about how I want to work and what sort of career I want to have. For a long time, I would say that I wanted to worked with the underserved in "community mental health," but as I have gotten more training and experience, I see that I want to have more control over my work enviroment and clients--and I havent even been exposed to most of the things you're referencing with the black underclass.
Because of the kinds of practica and internships that I have had, I have had clients who were usually motivated and took advantage of the help they were provided with with gratitude, but I understand that this is not most people. I know now that I want the people I work with (whatever their class or presenting issue) to demonstrate a certain level of motivation before I will render services to them.
I think that Black Women who are inclinded to go into the social science fields can still do so, but they must really think, and prepare for careers where they have more control, and are in settings where they are safe, and the work is rewarding and appreciated. For example, eventually, I want to have a private practice, and do assessments and consulting work. This would allow me to interface with communitiy organizations (if at all) as I see fit, with more control over what I am doing.
It really saddens me to think of the situation the "collective" is in right now. Maybe that's why I found it so difficult to post a response before. Part of me is still wondering if there is any 'hope,' but I know that there will be NO hope for us if we don't take the measures to help ourselves. Black women have been carrying such a load for so long; our self preservation is long overdue.
Sorry this was so long.
Hello there, Aphrodite!
Thank you for your kind and encouraging words about the blog. I truly appreciate it. Whatever is of value is from God; only the mistakes are mine.
You said, "This post reminds me so much of how some BM love to point out that although BW get more education - they earn less. And I suppose so especially if they are always going into low paid 'helping professions'."
Yep, it's a financial trickbag for those at the lower end of the "helping" totem pole. [I'll explain what I mean by that in a minute.]
You said, "In my mother's generation it seems everyone was encouraged to be a nurse, teacher, or work for the government whether the city, state or feds."
This is because other professions were mostly closed to BW in earlier eras. A lot of BW who could have been doctors, scientists, investment bankers, etc. instead were funnelled into nursing and teaching. Let me be clear: I'm NOT putting down teaching and nursing; they are honorable careers that serve the public interest.
The problem comes in when there are no other choices (during my mother's era). Another problem comes in when BW are unnecessarily and disproportionately limiting themselves to these sorts of fields (the current era).
You said, "I want to disagree that social work and public service is the pathway to middle class. I feel it is the pathway to being a highly educated member of the working poor. All of my friends who do this kind of work have their salaries capped and catch all kinds of grief within the organization (unreasonable demands as to how they must perform their jobs) and grief from the people they serve."
This is another case of how important context is to evaluating something. Compared to what was available to Blacks in previous eras (being a maid, etc.), these were well-paid jobs. Compared to today's menu of choices, they are not well paid.
On top of that, the job benefits that used to function as compensation for a lower salary ("good" medical benefits, vacation time, job security) no longer exist to the same degree, or in the same form as before.
You said, "They all go in happy and idealistic, but end up burnt out and kind of not well over time. Some of these jobs expose people to the worst side of humanity. They see day in and day out what truly depraved people can do to one another."
{raising my hand} I think it took me longer to reach this point (19 years) because I'm a relatively "empowered" helper near the top of the helper totem pole. Because I'm a lawyer, people don't show out as quickly (or as much) with me as they do with teachers, social workers, nurses, etc.
People aren't totally crazy. They tend to be predatory in picking and choosing who they're going to "show out" with. People know that I can really hurt them by simply withholding my assistance---I can give their case to one of my (White) coworkers who will most likely mess up their case.
My Black colleagues and I still get hateration from most of the Black clients, but it's generally not as far out as the things I've seen the clients do with social workers, etc. And I've listened to many teachers' "war stories" over the years. The stories are getting worse with each year that passes.
Be that as it may, I've been affected over the years by seeing and dealing with the very worst of large numbers of people. I didn't truly understand the concept of evil until I started practicing law. Like most Blacks, I had a romanticized, abstract view of the Black poor and underclass. Not anymore. They have plucked the rose petals off my glasses.
You said, "Re: grassroots activists. I had no idea that social promotion was begun this way. I will have to goggle."
Yep, like so many other destructive ideas, this was the result of a weird synergy between White academics who wanted to run real-life experiments using their pet theories, and grassroots Negro activists (and parents in this case).
The White academics wanted to try out their pet educational theories (social promotion, the notion of using the "whole language" approach as opposed to phonics to teach reading was another such fad).
The grassroots Negro activists and parents were looking for a way to lower the standards to accomodate Black children's academic failures. [You know, popular Black culture's eternal quest to avoid having any sort of accountability enforced. For anything.]
The thing is that White academics whose children are enrolled in HIGH-ACHIEVING schools can afford to play games with their pet education theories. THEIR children are NOT failing. THEIR children are at, or above, grade level.
Black parents whose children are already failing CAN'T afford to run these sorts of experiments. They CAN'T afford to deviate from approaches that have been proven to work in the past.
I've seen a similar dynamic operate in other settings. Whenever something is untested and untried, the first place folks want to run the "experiment" is with Blacks.
Let me give an example I've seen in the local family courts. For the most part, I'm not homophobic. However, it does bother me to see social service agencies and judges handing over Black boys as foster children to gay, male couples. They DON'T place the relatively few White children in foster care into these sorts of settings.
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
Hello there, Sharifa!
Congratulations, soon to be Dr. Sharifa, Ph.D.!
Thank you for your kind words about the blog. I truly appreciate it.
You said, "I think that Black Women who are inclinded to go into the social science fields can still do so, but they must really think, and prepare for careers where they have more control, and are in settings where they are safe, and the work is rewarding and appreciated. For example, eventually, I want to have a private practice, and do assessments and consulting work. This would allow me to interface with communitiy organizations (if at all) as I see fit, with more control over what I am doing."
Everybody:
[Soon to be Dr.] Sharifa has zeroed in on the critical point to this. If you're going to help, make sure you do so as an EMPOWERED helper who has a measure of CONTROL over your work environment and your clientele.
Control versus a total lack of control over one's work environment is what makes all the difference between rewarding work and a gravedigger career. Sharifa, thanks for mentioning this critical point.You said, "It really saddens me to think of the situation the "collective" is in right now. Maybe that's why I found it so difficult to post a response before. Part of me is still wondering if there is any 'hope,' but I know that there will be NO hope for us if we don't take the measures to help ourselves."
Well, the thing is that most BW are in distress right now. Behind the bravado and "got in going on" exteriors, I see a lot of women around me who are breaking under the pressure and lack of support. I see a lot of BW who are in various levels of physical distress (I'm amazed at the numbers of relatively young BW who are on high blood pressure medications, etc.).
As Evia once remarked, the BW's overall crisis is ignored (even by BW) because we aren't going around hitting other people in the head or shooting folks. BW suffer and DIE quietly. Without much fuss. Without inconveniencing others around us.
I believe that BW cannot afford to spend even one split second thinking about the so-called Black collective when most of us are hanging by a single (fraying) thread. As the airlines instruct passengers, BW must put on their own oxygen masks before even thinking about helping somebody else with their mask.
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
If I added some of the real life drama that my colleagues and I have endured there would not be enough space. I'm talking bodily injury: being kidnapped and held at gunpoint (happened to several social worker), kidnapped and put in a truck of her own car, beaten up and nobody in the neighborhood assisted, chased through the streets, etc. I was an eyewitness to a shooting (and I managed to see all the children and families on my schedule after the trauma) and I was told that the brothas in the project were planning to carjack me. When I first started my husband thought SW had police escorts and when he learned that was not the case he insisted that I find new employment, but I didn't listen. Hubby is a former police officer and said that there was no way in heck he would enter a strangers home under those circumstances unarmed. Well, I did have my county badge - lol.
I think we stay too long. I really believe that those who choose to help others continue to doing so even when we know we are not making a difference and we learn from experience that no one will. While I will admit that public service will provide vast and diverse experience, we should take the valuable experience and use it to our advantage somewhere else. Instead many of us, too many of us, stay and convince ourselves that we have job security, a sure pension, good county benefits. Yet if we would admit it most of us are miserable and stressed, both of which take their toll on our health and our very lives. Social workers in my dept have DIED at their desks, I'm not exaggerating and they were not elderly nor were they near retirement.
My initial goal was to work for "the county" 3 years, instead I allowed others' fears to extinguish my plans. "Girl, don't quit your good county job." Well, I've drawn a line in the sand and will not allow this type of belief system to be directed my way.
To the commenter who mentioned that BM often point out that BW are more educated, but earn less I can identify. Hubby earns just as much as I do, but does not have advanced degrees, student loans, etc. The only way I've earned six figures is by working 60 hours a month overtime. That is not healthy either.
BW develop a plan and execute your life plan. We are deserving of so much more than we have willingly accepted.
Great post my sista and some great comments too. I know my school system (Indianapolis Public Schools) failed me and 3 of my siblings. Thank God "We Overcame" but things were not even half as bad as they are now.
I am not picking on Phili but their students are some of the most out of control with the ridiculous amount of student on teacher attacks. A teacher's neck was broken by a 14 and 17 year-old and a 12 year-old tried to rape his 24 year-old teacher. This happens everywhere and a couple of years ago in a teacher was assaulted by a 3rd or 4th grader's mom in front of her class. It gets better. I have a friend in northern Virginia who had to take a workman's comp claim because a 6 year-old kept kicking her in her right knee. (She wasn't allowed to touch the child even to defend herself or stop him from kicking her --- rules or not, I don't know too many sisters who would have complied with this madness). My friend had to have surgery on her knee and recovered over the summer break as it happened close to the end of the school year. The child as a first grader was already a problem of his environment. His mom came up to the school, not to apologize or take responsibility, but to cuss out the teacher and principal and defend her son at any costs. She was a section 8 mom who felt entitled to all the freebies she could get. Maybe because she had to drop out of school herself to raise her clan --- who knows? What I am sure of is that she will be visiting her son from behind bars in the not-too-distant future, if he doesn't end up dead.
My daughter is now benefiting from a same sex classroom that her public school is trying out. I only know of one black teacher in the whole school and she is the music teacher. This woman has fortunately been such a positive influence on my kids that I have to heap praise on her. I do see a private school in the future or maybe even homeschool at the first hint of trouble for her. I am willing to give public school a chance because of the area I live in but am involved and carefully watch everything.
But,,, I do know a sister who started out in the DC. She was given the worst students and actually turned around the test scores. She would go to parent's home when then didn't answer the phone. She took the problem students under her wing and reached most of them. You see this kind of movies on Lifetime and TV specials or even movies when a white savior comes in and saves the little ghetto children but not too many specials when black women (or men) teachers do this. Oh yes, she was threatened and some of the students tried to intimidate her but she could not let these highschoolers go on without being able to read. She felt it was her duty to help them and that she did. Yes she became a mule but proved herself and was elevated straight to the top as her stats raised the entire schools standing. She was offered a principal's position because they knew she was good but she left due to Michelle Rhee being appointed.
She was clearly an exception. The majority don't get the extra recognition as getting through the day with your sanity is expected. They deal with the SSI mothers, who will threaten violence at the mere hint that their child or children won't get the continued supportive documentation that their child is special needs. You can't even out a parent for fear of your life sometimes. SMH on that one but it is true.
I was just watching some kind of news show I forgot what it was, but there were 3 very well dressed educated black men talking about what chances kids have without education and going on and on about what the governement should do to help them. Passing a child, if they even go to school does nothing but warehouse jails and prisons, ensures soaring unwed births and a lifetime of a miserable existence for the majority of them. Some are able to make it but the majority are not.
Sisters must wake up and save themselves. Protect our daughters and break this mindset that has partially led to the destructions of ourselves and our communities.
PS: Socialworkers who eventually obtain their clinical license can do very well in the upper levels of management, but they are still scapegoats even at the that level. when a child is hurt or killed. The head of the DC Child & Family Services Agency was sacrificed to the masses as somebody had to pay when four girls were killed by their mother. Oh yes, the agency had some fault and the mayor came in wielding a pink slip machete for the social workers and some members of management. The director, however was allowed to resign. Same old same old. Save yourseleves.
I have a friend who is a Ph.d. level engineer and was teaching engineering at an HBCU. He would rather quit than deal with the level of cheating and entitlement of the students in the program. He was appalled that some of his students even at that level had a ghetto mentality and did not want to work for their grades. I was shocked.
I also had another friend teaching communications to community college students. She was so stressed out by those (bamas-her word) that she lost some hair. She could not believe the level of disrespect from the students. She had come from an area where students wanted to learn and was use to structure. She was not used to the inner city attitudes. She also faced this from grown DC women whose company told them they had to obtain a degree to keep positions once the company downsized. The company was paying for their tuition and they still had attitudes and gave my friend such a hard time in the classroom. Grown women, not little kids or rebellious teens, grown women were wanting to be handed a grade without doing the work. The kids get it from home. That was obvious as my friend let that college for a rural area. She gets the occasional smart mouth but nothing like the inner city crowd. What was she to do but get out?
..." also had another friend teaching communications to community college students. She was so stressed out by those (bamas-her word) that she lost some hair. She could not believe the level of disrespect from the students...."
I'm a Phd in communication and teach/taught at community colleges. This is no joke; I had so much disrespect from the 'urban' and 'trailer' student body. I then moved to a more 'up-scale' college, and the sense of entitlement from the non-black crowd was not much better, in addition to the racist perception of my competence. I have also been confronted with aggressive students, and, while I wont revisit these incidents with you, let me tell you, it was brutal, plus the lack of support by the administration is disturbing.
I am now planning to save myself by transitioning to online-teaching only. I've just been hired to teach several online courses for the Fall, and am eagerly anticipating this change. Great discussion.
Hello there, Lorraine!
You've got me thinking with your mention of "Lifetime" movies about White "saviors."
Part of the problem is that, as a culture, we think these sorts of stories are cute and inspiring. The situation with the "mule" that you described who was threatened by her students, and still chose to risk her life teaching them only to leave due to Michelle Rhee being appointed is NOT cute or inspiring.
It's Columbine-type stuff. It's also very similar to the Somali pirates. When folks feel so entitled to help that they want to pistol-whip, rob and kidnap the people who come to help them, then they don't need any help.Black folks are acting like these experiences are an episode of Good Times or Welcome Back, Kotter. NO. They're not. They're real people who are left wounded and suffering because they tried to help other Blacks.
Time out on that.
____________________
Hello there, Anonymous!
May God speed your transition to on-line teaching only. BW deserve safe working environments where their efforts are appreciated.
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
You are so correct yet again! What a profund truth you spoke about not leaving due to the harsh and sometimes threatening treatment from her students, but only after some non black person (Michelle Rhee) coming in telling black teachers how to teach black kids. Prioriteis priorities.
Hello there, Lorraine!
Yes---PRIORITIES, PRIORITIES!
Peace, blessings and solidarity.
If possible you could start a charter school or your own private school with strick guide lines for discripline and a college preparatory learning level and a test for admission into the school so that it can weed out all of the children whose parents did not prepare them for school?
You know I wish we had public schools that do that like the ones in NY, Boston etc. We need public schools like that all over the country.
But yes we need private schools. More and more black parents are choosing private schools or homeschooling over public schools. I read an article where two black teachers (husband/wife)sent their kids to private school. It meant living on less, but what they were experiencing in the public school system from the poor schools to middle class lead them to the conclusion their kids weren't going to public schools.
I read an article about a man who was a superintendent that homeschooled his kids. Parents were upset, but that didn't stop him.
About private schools not taking kids with dicipline problems. I was looking up prep schools and even some boarding (for High school age) to help a friend. This girl is serious.lol and I don't blame her. Anyway many of these schools told parents flat out we don't take kids with discipline problems. And if they do show any problems while in school they will be expelled. They even stated there are schools for such problems. They even said this about learning disabilities. That's their choice.
"I think any field that has an influx of foreign workers is usually a very risky field to get into.
Everybody's mileage may vary.
Expect Success!"
What does that mean? What careers consist of the ones black women should leave? And foreign workers meaning illegal aliens?
Peaceful Lane,
The pattern with several industries in the U.S. has been to "import cheaper, lower-level workers to replace more expensive U.S. employees — or keep them from getting hired in the first place."
This is accomplished by special immigration allowances given to certain categories of workers. One example is how HB-1 visas have caused many American tech workers to be replaced by cheaper workers brought into the U.S. from India in order to be hired by tech companies. This has been going on for a while.
Backlash stirs against foreign worker visas
http://www.usatoday.com/money/
How H-1B Visas Are Screwing Tech Workers
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/02/silicon-valley-h1b-visas-hurt-tech-workers
There have been foreign nurses imported to work in U.S. hospitals for a long time. Particularly from the Philippines.
http://www.asrn.org/journal-nursing-shortage-update/116-hospitals-fear-senates-immigration-reform-bill-will-stop-influx-of-foreign-nurses.html
The possibility exists that American nurses could suffer the same fate as American tech workers (replacement by cheaper foreign nurses brought in under special visas to work in the U.S.).
H-1B visas get more crowded: more nurses now eligible to compete for jobs under category
http://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2014/08/04/h-1b-visas-get-crowded-nurses-now-eligible-compete-jobs-category/
Every industry is an evolving situation that aspiring workers will need to research.
[And with that, I'm closing the comment section to this post. I stopped publishing or responding to comments here several years back. I made an exception for your comments. :-)]
Expect Success!
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