By: D.A. Sears, Managing Editor - IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD(R)
He has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the YMCA San Francisco for three years and for 11 years as the President and Chief Executive Officer of YMCA East Bay. He is the founder of the “Latch Key” Youth Development Program concept which was established in the late 1960s in Portland, Oregon – a concept that has grown worldwide. He is the author of numerous articles which have been published in journals and periodicals and has co-authored “Where Do The Children Play” a manual for “Latch Key” Child Development. He also is the author of “Ghana Planning Assistance – Vocational Rehabilitation.” He has conducted a research project in Ghana at the request of the Sister Cities International Program and lectured in Hong Kong, Taiwan, The Philippines, Japan, Korea, Australia and New Zealand. During his career, he has created key pieces of the puzzle which have enhanced and continue to enhance our children’s positive intellectual, psychological and physical development. He continues to utilize his talents to empower families and communities. He is Mr. Fred Stickney. Mr. Stickney, who has been active in fundraising and business development for over 35 years and has raised over US$100,000,000 for new projects in the non-profit and for-profit communities, is a key member of a team of individuals that is helping to shape the minds and souls of our children through his affiliation with Unified Progress International Education (“UPI Education”) -- founded in 2004 by Mr. Frank Crump, a successful international businessman – which offers a Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum. Stickney and UPI Education are creating key “pieces of the puzzle” that are positively shaping the minds and souls of our children.
Mr. Stickney carved out time from his very developing schedule to talk about, among other things, UPI Education, its Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum, his affiliation with UPI Education, and what our children need from us.
So, how is Mr. Stickney, a man who has embarked upon a path which has caused him to
become “all things to all people” able to sustain a sense of balance in his life?
“I have chosen to find things that I like to do. My balance is my total involvement with my family and their activities. I have a wonderful wife. I have two daughters and a son and four grandchildren and I talk or e-mail with all of them daily. I am very self-disciplined and choose to consult or write articles because I am interested in learning. My balance comes from years of working on it. The YMCA experience early in my life gave me the principles of a ‘strong mind’, ‘a strong body’, and ‘a strong spirit’, which I have tried to follow all my adult life,” Mr. Stickney responded.
Stickney has demonstrated a strong concern for children through his stewardship of the YMCA in San Francisco and East Bay, the founding of the “Latch Key” Youth Development Program concept in Portland, Oregon, the authoring of numerous articles and a manual and his current affiliation with UPI Education and its Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum. Why?
“I believe the heritage of our world is through the positive nurturing and growth of our children. Through my YMCA experience I learned how to administer and provide programs for youth of all backgrounds and in urban and rural areas. I feel strongly about children having opportunities to participate in activities that broaden their horizons. I directed camps for ten years and saw how much children learned from outdoor experiences. I founded and managed child day care programs which provided safe and secure environments for children. I am currently the Volunteer Chair of the Board of Directors of the NorCal Volleyball Club, which is a non-profit organization that serves girls aged 12-18 years of age. There are ten teams, twenty-two coaches, a sizable budget and the bonus is to watch two of my granddaughters play for the club. I’m able to give my expertise and enjoy valuable time with my family. Non-profit agencies are able to offer a variety of programs for children of all ages. The collaboration of non-profit agencies and the educational system need to continue to work together to support the broad life experience that children need,” Mr. Stickney explained.
The discussion moved to Mr. Stickney’s affiliation with UPI Education. Mr. Stickney talked about his role at UPI Education, its Founder – Mr. Frank Crump – and its team of leaders which include Dr. James Comer from Yale University and Mr. Tom Fleming of New Haven, Connecticut.
“I met Frank Crump, the founder of UPI Education and I liked his vision, his energy and concepts for the program. I am a consultant to UPI Education and have enjoyed being involved with its team of leaders, such as Dr. James Comer from Yale University and Tom Fleming of New Haven, Connecticut who have demonstrated the successes of UPI Education within the education process. UPI Education is a program that will enrich the educational experience for students. It will provide a curriculum that prepares students for the future -- and the quicker traditional educational systems adopt the UPI programs, the better off our society will be,” Stickney remarked.
UPI Education has a Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum. It is reported that UPI Life Skills
SolutionsTM curriculum has produced a 16.4% increase in the grade point average in schools, a 23.6% reduction in school absences and an astonishing reduction in school disciplinary actions. How is this possible? How is UPI Education through its Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum able to achieve what a number of parents, school administrators, and educators have not? Is there a magic formula?
“I think we would be stretching it to say there was a magic formula, despite the fact that many people, myself included, find the percentages to be magical to the ear,” Stickney replied with a wry smile. “The possibilities of UPI’s educational process are endless and in fact, the entire process of UPI’s program is inclusive of and encompasses educators, administrators, and parents as they rally in support of UPI’s instructional materials and method of training; given the obvious benefits to the student(s). UPI exemplifies what can be accomplished and these accomplishments will be magnified when the above mentioned are joined by corporations, foundations, concerned individuals and government leaders who are committed to solving the ‘real problems’ which demise our current educational process and future outlook for our youth.”
What does the fact that there is a need for a program such as UPI Education’s Life Skills
SolutionsTM curriculum say about the state of affairs of education in the United States? In your view what are we doing wrong? What are we doing right?
Mr. Stickney offered the following:
“The state of affairs of education in the United States has been readily documented and the bottom line is that our current system does not have all the answers and we have much room for improvement. Further, we must make a concerted effort to correct it and if necessary change the way we view education and the process thereof. Otherwise, the entire fabric of our nation and life as we have known it will suffer. The forefathers of our great nation fully understood the value of education as it relates to the growth, development, and longevity of a nation. It’s important that we maintain such an understanding and, in fact, truly ‘Leave no child behind.’ UPI Education represents just one piece of the puzzle. The key to the puzzle will require that those with the ability to implement change within the vast historic past of education in America – open up their minds to the pieces of the puzzle that lie before them and act accordingly. Many have begun to realize that we cannot address these new problems with old worn-out tools. To this end, we are on the right-track and doing the right thing,” Mr. Stickney observed.
The focus of our discussion shifted to the life skills that are taught to students enrolled in UPI Education’s Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum – life skills such as conflict resolution, balancing a check book and career goals. Are these skills not being taught in our homes or in our schools? Are our children who spend twelve years in our educational system graduating without knowing how to balance a check book, resolve conflicts and prepare for a career?
“Many of the parents of our children have themselves been victims of our current educational system. Thus, when we truly look into the homes we find a lack of ability to teach the necessary life skills such as balancing a check book or setting realistic career goals. Likewise, most schools do not have a life skills curriculum and focus on teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic as their core set of courses -- in an attempt to meet national standards. Again, I’ll repeat: ‘The poor results of the above have been readily documented’. So, yes, many children who spend twelve years in our educational system are graduating without life skills knowledge, and for the many that drop out of school, they are ill prepared to live in a normal society. The result of a poor educational process is inextricably tied to other societal problems such as drug use, crime, incarceration, pregnancy and a number of repeatable negative cycles,” Stickney said with unflinching honesty.
In what ways will UPI Education’s Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum provide our children with the tools that they will need to successfully compete in a global marketplace when they reach adulthood?
“I think I can best answer that question by quoting Mr. Frank Crump, the Founder of UPI Education. Mr. Crump has said: ‘The UPI Education life skills curriculum is a training program designed to prepare students for the rigors of life. Exploring life’s most challenging obstacles, the curriculum makes sense of it all and allows a student to open their mind to the social, economic, and political possibilities that exist for themselves and those around them. The curriculum is designed to teach students what society will expect and demand of them and what it will take for success. UPI concentrates on developing a good citizen, one capable of contributing to the school community and society at large,” Stickney commented.
So, in Mr. Stickney’s view, whose responsibility is it to equip our children with the tools that they will need to successfully compete in a global marketplace when they reach adulthood? Does this responsibility lie solely with parents? Or is it a responsibility that should be shared with parents, academic institutions and concerned citizens?
“The responsibility has to be shared. The parents begin the process, the schools extend the process, concerned citizens, businesses and corporations share the entire process. The priority of all countries must be the goal to integrate the education process within our society,” says Stickney.
What are the necessary steps which need to be taken to positively shape the minds and souls of our children? Whose responsibility is it to positively shape the minds and souls of our children? Does the responsibility lie solely with parents? Is this a responsibility that should be shared with parents, academic and religious institutions and concerned members of our communities?
“The responsibility to positively shape the minds and spirit of our children is shared by parents, academic institutions, faith-based organizations, and the entire community encompassing both business and social aspects. Much of the failure of our education systems has been because of lack of funding and priorities of our communities. Our communities must place children as the top priority in the funding of education and provide resources for new and innovative programs such as UPI.”
If a parent wants to enroll their child in UPI Education’s Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum or wants to have the curriculum instituted in their school district or community, what should they do? How can one learn more about what UPI Education’s Life Skills Curriculum SolutionsTM has to offer?
“To learn more about UPI Education one should visit the website www.upieducation.org. UPI Education is a non-profit, tax deductible 501(c)(3). Parents interested in instituting UPI Education within their school district or community should contact Heather Taylor at 818-990-3378. Likewise, parents and educators should inform their mayor, school superintendent and elected officials about UPI Education and get them involved in the process of bringing UPI to their school and community,” Mr. Stickney advised.
* * *
IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD(R) facilitates a Global Dialogue on Fatherhood and Men's Issues which explores and addresses key challenges -- mental and physical health, real-life options, poverty, hunger, homelessness, Fatherlessness, parental alienation, mass incarceration, religious and ethnic intolerance -- which prevent Men and Boys from living healthier, purpose-driven, and longer lives.
08 April, 2007
CHILDREN OF DIVORCE IN SOCIETY: CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL PROBLEMS
CHILDREN OF DIVORCE IN SOCIETY: CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL PROBLEMS
By: Mr. Daniel Frazier
[Originally Submitted As A Term Paper For A contemporary social problems Course Taught In An Academic Institution; Reprinted With Author’s Permission]
The children of our society have been plagued with a social problem that has become increasingly volatile from decade to decade. A problem that has created, and is still creating, future generations of adults with increasing mental and emotional problems that could have easily been avoided. This social problem is DIVORCE. Men and women have been getting together, finding out it just isn’t going to work, and splitting up, throughout history. It wasn’t until 1969, when then California Governor Reagan passed the no-fault divorce statute. No-fault divorce caught on quickly in other states, and soon became adopted in some form or another by every state in the nation. These statutes were the beginning of an increase in divorce rates that has reached epidemic proportions in society today. Divorce rates that have reached a staggering 60%, plus or minus a few percentage points, over the last three decades.
Although these statutes started out with good intentions, aimed at helping women get out of abusive relationships, they quickly became used to abuse the system and turn marriage into nothing more than social experiment involving trial and error in relationship building. Men and women were, and still are, marrying mostly out of love for one another, but knew that if it didn’t work out, they could quickly get a divorce and try again. Another aspect of the no-fault divorce statute was to lower the acrimony and conflict often involved with divorce, an aspect that also failed miserably. A statement in an article called “End No-Fault Divorce?” says, “No-Fault divorce may have lowered the status of marriage, but at least it improved the working conditions of divorce lawyers” (Gallager, www.firstthings.com). Instead of curbing conflict, it created a win-lose dichotomy that has risen to heights of extreme violence, not only for the divorcing couple, but the children, if there are any, as well. Our society’s children have suffered in monumental proportions because of these statutes and the willingness of special interest groups, which I’ll cover later, to exploit them to serve their own selfish agendas.
I would now like to talk about the effects of divorce on our children -- effects too often ignored and/or attributed to other acceptable DSMIV diagnoses. I have delved extensively into the problems our society’s children face, and have witnessed it personally with my own child. The emotional and psychological problems our children face run the gambit from mild behavioral problems to suicide. Next is a partial list of the effects of divorce and more specifically, fatherlessness, as it is the father that the child loses constant and meaningful contact with approximately seventy-two (72%) of the time (New Hampshire Division of Vital Records Administration, 2004), and in most of these cases, the father is given visitor status of four days a month with his children – and more importantly, the child is given this same limited access to a meaningful relationship with his or her father. In a report of statistics and studies that support shared parenting and joint custody of children after divorce, studies that include statistics from not only researchers, but also the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, and DCYF, fatherless children account for:
• 90% of all runaway and homeless children
• 70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions
• 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers
• 85% of prison youths
• 63% of youth suicides
• 85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders
• 80% of rapists motivated by displaced anger disorder
Children living without their fathers, or having constant contact with them, have more accidents and injuries, are at greater risk of child abuse, higher rates of alcohol and drug abuse, greater frequency of sleep disorders, and lower self esteem (www.ancpr.org), just to name a few of the mental, emotional and social problems our society’s children are faced with after divorce. Even the Journal of Family Psychology is quoted as saying “that children in joint custody arrangements were as well adjusted as children in intact families, and better adjusted than children in single parent homes” (March 2002, Vol. 16, No. 1)
Another aspect that cripples our children’s well-being is the denial of visitation, by in most cases, the mother after divorce. I quote here from Warren Farrell’s book, Father and Child Reunion, which states; “Research by Drs. Judith Wallerstein and Joan Berlin Kelly revealed that approximately 50 percent of mothers either saw no value in the father’s contact with his children and actively tried to sabotage it, or resented the father’s contact. For example, “One gently bred matron smeared dog feces on the face of her husband when he arrived to see his children.” (Farrell, page 104). Denial of visitation, or parenting time, as it should be called, is as rampant as disparaging of the other parent, more so by the mother than the father according to Farrell’s book: “When Glynnis Walker conducted a nationwide study of children interviewed an average of eight years after their parents’ divorce, she found the following: 54 percent of the children said that only their mothers spoke badly of their fathers in front of them; 12 percent said that only their fathers spoke badly of their mothers” (Father and Child Reunion, page 106). Disparagement is another facet that I had to endure personally with my divorce as I was informed that my son was being told that his father didn’t love him and didn’t want to see him -- not informed by my son -- but by adults who witnessed it personally, when asked of his mother why he couldn’t see daddy, when in actuality I was being denied visitation as payback for upsetting her. Disparagement not only caused unimaginable mental anguish for my son, but also caused him to become violent to the point of having to be removed from daycare. The previous example is just a sampling of the statistics, reports, and research performed on the effects of divorce and single parenting on children -- information that has been duplicated by numerous researchers and studies with the same consistency over the last three decades. Research and studies that beg the question “How come we aren’t doing something to reverse the trends?” – a question that brings me to the next phase of this paper -- the reasons our children’s mental, emotional and social well-being is all but ignored by society when it comes to divorce. The answer, as incredibly sad and horrendous as it is, is that divorce is a multibillion dollar a year industry, where those who have the most to gain financially -- the special interest groups -- are willing to ignore those that have the most to lose, our society’s children.
Let’s start this section with a quote, “There is something bad happening to our children today in family courts that is causing them more harm than drugs, more harm then crime and even more harm then child molestation.” (Judge Watson L. White, Superior Court Judge, Cobb County Georgia). That’s a powerful statement when you consider the source. So how come necessary change is so slow in the making? Let’s look at Linda Griebsch, Public Policy Director of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, who is opposed to any shared parenting bill whatsoever. This same person is also Chair of the G.A.L. Board, the very same people who are supposed to look after the best interest of our society’s children, and heavily influenced by someone who clearly has her own interests at heart. A person who is openly anti-Father, and who outright lied to the Senate, with the false claim that California repealed their shared parenting laws as unworkable and doing more harm then good, in order to kill a shared parenting bill. Her positions of stature are clearly a conflict of interest, if not blatantly unethical with regards to what’s truly best for our society’s children. Another special interest group is the attorneys. Although more attorneys have spoken out in favor of shared parenting than not, many are dead set against it. Why? Because their livelihood depends on the current win-lose dichotomy that is the current family court system. They profit from the constant and repeated litigation involved with making sure the courts continue to give custody to one parent, and limited access to the children of the other parent. Honey Hastings, an attorney of approximately twenty-five years, as well as the Chair of the Family Law Task Force, not only stood up against HB529 (a shared parenting bill currently in legislation in New Hampshire) at a commission hearing, at which I was present, but claimed that in her years as an attorney, she has experienced “no” bias in the family court system –a claim that just about any attorney could tell you, if they chose to be honest, and many do, is not only false, but that she clearly has an agenda that has nothing to do with the best interest of New Hampshire’s children. Again, a clear conflict of interest in terms of her and Honey Hastings’ position of stature and influence on a task force that was put together solely for the purpose of court reform. Then you have the family court system itself. Paul Clements, of Dads Against Divorce Discrimination, uncovered through the Freedom of Information Act, that the family court system of New Hampshire receives over $2,000,000 a year from the Child Support Enforcement Agency (“CSEA”) of New Hampshire. In others words, the more child support the courts award to one parent, usually the mother, the more kickbacks the courts receive as the CSEA retrieves the said child support -- another incredible conflict of interest that in no way reflects the best interest of the children. I think it’s quite clear why the special interest groups so strenuously oppose legislation that would help society’s children. Our society’s children are being crippled mentally and emotionally because of the selfishness and greed of others.
What can we do about it? We can start – and have already started -- by opening the public’s eyes to what’s really going on behind the scenes and how detrimental it is to our children. We can lobby our legislators with every means possible to enact change. This is a task, in and of itself, that is very difficult because of the influence given the special interest groups over the years – an influence afforded them by government funds -- funds that have been used to lobby against, possibly illegally at times, and being investigated as of the writing of this paper by the proper authorities, any legislation that involves shared parenting and family court reform. We can ask our doctors, psychologists, counselors, teachers, day care providers and others to start looking into family circumstances when children suddenly start having behavioral problems, and get both sides of the story -- not just what the father or mother says, as is the case most of the time. These same people need to acknowledge the importance of both “fit” parents having a constant and lasting relationship with their children after divorce. We need to pass legislation that not only reaches the goals of shared parenting, but holds our judges responsible for deviating from those statutes, especially in today’s family court system where there is absolutely no accountability whatsoever for the rulings handed down by a majority of the judges handling family court matters. We need statutes that penalize blatant disregard for court orders by parents as well as perjury and false allegations -- all of which run rampant in our court system today -- known as the Silver Bullet Technique and used to get the upper hand in divorce proceedings, because there are no penalties handed down, even when the perjury or false allegations are admitted to by the offender. Even though these Silver Bullet tactics more often then not ruin the victim, usually the father, the courts still ignore it – something that I learned first hand when I presented documented proof to the court of perjury. Not only was it ignored, but I was still ordered to pay the money that was fraudulently awarded in the first place, and actually lost parenting time with my son as well. I learned quickly not to attempt to assert my rights in Family Court. By acting as advocates for our children and bringing the nightmarish stories of what happens within our family court system, we can enact the necessary changes and help reverse the negative effects of divorce on our children.
Will these things help every child of divorce? No. There will always be situations that will cause our children to suffer needlessly, but the overall results “will” be for the greater good, and many, many children will benefit by these actions. I’m going to end this paper with a couple of quotes that I feel exemplify the kind of forces that are working against not only societies children, but marriage itself. “There's Robin Morgan, one of the founders of Ms. Magazine, saying in 1970 that marriage is ‘a slavery-like practice’ and arguing that ‘we can't destroy the inequities between men and women until we destroy marriage’ (extracted from an editorial by Melanie Kirkpatric, Associate Editor, Wall Street Journal, called The Sisterhood, Defrocked. Kate O’Beirne provides a reality check for anyone who thinks “feminist” means “pro-woman.” And another good quote: “The words ‘prejudice’ and ‘corruption’ do not really convey what family courts are about. They are the linchpins of a massive political machine that thrives and grows by systematically destroying families. Within this machine individual judges are ‘no more than blind executors of the system's own internal laws,’ as Vaclav Havel has written of another kind of apparat, laws which are ‘far more powerful than the will of any individual.’ What we have, in other words, is a system of bureaucratic terror, the kind of terror that has never before been seen in the United States. “ (Professor Stephen Baskerville, Howard University, in symposium on Reign of Terror, Insight Magazine, June 18, 2001).
Hopefully in time, and sooner, rather then later, society will become aware, and outraged, at what is being done to our children.
__________________
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This paper was given an “A” for a grade, was highly praised, and my Contemporary Social Problems Professor highly urged me to have it published.
By: Mr. Daniel Frazier
[Originally Submitted As A Term Paper For A contemporary social problems Course Taught In An Academic Institution; Reprinted With Author’s Permission]
The children of our society have been plagued with a social problem that has become increasingly volatile from decade to decade. A problem that has created, and is still creating, future generations of adults with increasing mental and emotional problems that could have easily been avoided. This social problem is DIVORCE. Men and women have been getting together, finding out it just isn’t going to work, and splitting up, throughout history. It wasn’t until 1969, when then California Governor Reagan passed the no-fault divorce statute. No-fault divorce caught on quickly in other states, and soon became adopted in some form or another by every state in the nation. These statutes were the beginning of an increase in divorce rates that has reached epidemic proportions in society today. Divorce rates that have reached a staggering 60%, plus or minus a few percentage points, over the last three decades.
Although these statutes started out with good intentions, aimed at helping women get out of abusive relationships, they quickly became used to abuse the system and turn marriage into nothing more than social experiment involving trial and error in relationship building. Men and women were, and still are, marrying mostly out of love for one another, but knew that if it didn’t work out, they could quickly get a divorce and try again. Another aspect of the no-fault divorce statute was to lower the acrimony and conflict often involved with divorce, an aspect that also failed miserably. A statement in an article called “End No-Fault Divorce?” says, “No-Fault divorce may have lowered the status of marriage, but at least it improved the working conditions of divorce lawyers” (Gallager, www.firstthings.com). Instead of curbing conflict, it created a win-lose dichotomy that has risen to heights of extreme violence, not only for the divorcing couple, but the children, if there are any, as well. Our society’s children have suffered in monumental proportions because of these statutes and the willingness of special interest groups, which I’ll cover later, to exploit them to serve their own selfish agendas.
I would now like to talk about the effects of divorce on our children -- effects too often ignored and/or attributed to other acceptable DSMIV diagnoses. I have delved extensively into the problems our society’s children face, and have witnessed it personally with my own child. The emotional and psychological problems our children face run the gambit from mild behavioral problems to suicide. Next is a partial list of the effects of divorce and more specifically, fatherlessness, as it is the father that the child loses constant and meaningful contact with approximately seventy-two (72%) of the time (New Hampshire Division of Vital Records Administration, 2004), and in most of these cases, the father is given visitor status of four days a month with his children – and more importantly, the child is given this same limited access to a meaningful relationship with his or her father. In a report of statistics and studies that support shared parenting and joint custody of children after divorce, studies that include statistics from not only researchers, but also the Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, and DCYF, fatherless children account for:
• 90% of all runaway and homeless children
• 70% of juveniles in state-operated institutions
• 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers
• 85% of prison youths
• 63% of youth suicides
• 85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders
• 80% of rapists motivated by displaced anger disorder
Children living without their fathers, or having constant contact with them, have more accidents and injuries, are at greater risk of child abuse, higher rates of alcohol and drug abuse, greater frequency of sleep disorders, and lower self esteem (www.ancpr.org), just to name a few of the mental, emotional and social problems our society’s children are faced with after divorce. Even the Journal of Family Psychology is quoted as saying “that children in joint custody arrangements were as well adjusted as children in intact families, and better adjusted than children in single parent homes” (March 2002, Vol. 16, No. 1)
Another aspect that cripples our children’s well-being is the denial of visitation, by in most cases, the mother after divorce. I quote here from Warren Farrell’s book, Father and Child Reunion, which states; “Research by Drs. Judith Wallerstein and Joan Berlin Kelly revealed that approximately 50 percent of mothers either saw no value in the father’s contact with his children and actively tried to sabotage it, or resented the father’s contact. For example, “One gently bred matron smeared dog feces on the face of her husband when he arrived to see his children.” (Farrell, page 104). Denial of visitation, or parenting time, as it should be called, is as rampant as disparaging of the other parent, more so by the mother than the father according to Farrell’s book: “When Glynnis Walker conducted a nationwide study of children interviewed an average of eight years after their parents’ divorce, she found the following: 54 percent of the children said that only their mothers spoke badly of their fathers in front of them; 12 percent said that only their fathers spoke badly of their mothers” (Father and Child Reunion, page 106). Disparagement is another facet that I had to endure personally with my divorce as I was informed that my son was being told that his father didn’t love him and didn’t want to see him -- not informed by my son -- but by adults who witnessed it personally, when asked of his mother why he couldn’t see daddy, when in actuality I was being denied visitation as payback for upsetting her. Disparagement not only caused unimaginable mental anguish for my son, but also caused him to become violent to the point of having to be removed from daycare. The previous example is just a sampling of the statistics, reports, and research performed on the effects of divorce and single parenting on children -- information that has been duplicated by numerous researchers and studies with the same consistency over the last three decades. Research and studies that beg the question “How come we aren’t doing something to reverse the trends?” – a question that brings me to the next phase of this paper -- the reasons our children’s mental, emotional and social well-being is all but ignored by society when it comes to divorce. The answer, as incredibly sad and horrendous as it is, is that divorce is a multibillion dollar a year industry, where those who have the most to gain financially -- the special interest groups -- are willing to ignore those that have the most to lose, our society’s children.
Let’s start this section with a quote, “There is something bad happening to our children today in family courts that is causing them more harm than drugs, more harm then crime and even more harm then child molestation.” (Judge Watson L. White, Superior Court Judge, Cobb County Georgia). That’s a powerful statement when you consider the source. So how come necessary change is so slow in the making? Let’s look at Linda Griebsch, Public Policy Director of the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, who is opposed to any shared parenting bill whatsoever. This same person is also Chair of the G.A.L. Board, the very same people who are supposed to look after the best interest of our society’s children, and heavily influenced by someone who clearly has her own interests at heart. A person who is openly anti-Father, and who outright lied to the Senate, with the false claim that California repealed their shared parenting laws as unworkable and doing more harm then good, in order to kill a shared parenting bill. Her positions of stature are clearly a conflict of interest, if not blatantly unethical with regards to what’s truly best for our society’s children. Another special interest group is the attorneys. Although more attorneys have spoken out in favor of shared parenting than not, many are dead set against it. Why? Because their livelihood depends on the current win-lose dichotomy that is the current family court system. They profit from the constant and repeated litigation involved with making sure the courts continue to give custody to one parent, and limited access to the children of the other parent. Honey Hastings, an attorney of approximately twenty-five years, as well as the Chair of the Family Law Task Force, not only stood up against HB529 (a shared parenting bill currently in legislation in New Hampshire) at a commission hearing, at which I was present, but claimed that in her years as an attorney, she has experienced “no” bias in the family court system –a claim that just about any attorney could tell you, if they chose to be honest, and many do, is not only false, but that she clearly has an agenda that has nothing to do with the best interest of New Hampshire’s children. Again, a clear conflict of interest in terms of her and Honey Hastings’ position of stature and influence on a task force that was put together solely for the purpose of court reform. Then you have the family court system itself. Paul Clements, of Dads Against Divorce Discrimination, uncovered through the Freedom of Information Act, that the family court system of New Hampshire receives over $2,000,000 a year from the Child Support Enforcement Agency (“CSEA”) of New Hampshire. In others words, the more child support the courts award to one parent, usually the mother, the more kickbacks the courts receive as the CSEA retrieves the said child support -- another incredible conflict of interest that in no way reflects the best interest of the children. I think it’s quite clear why the special interest groups so strenuously oppose legislation that would help society’s children. Our society’s children are being crippled mentally and emotionally because of the selfishness and greed of others.
What can we do about it? We can start – and have already started -- by opening the public’s eyes to what’s really going on behind the scenes and how detrimental it is to our children. We can lobby our legislators with every means possible to enact change. This is a task, in and of itself, that is very difficult because of the influence given the special interest groups over the years – an influence afforded them by government funds -- funds that have been used to lobby against, possibly illegally at times, and being investigated as of the writing of this paper by the proper authorities, any legislation that involves shared parenting and family court reform. We can ask our doctors, psychologists, counselors, teachers, day care providers and others to start looking into family circumstances when children suddenly start having behavioral problems, and get both sides of the story -- not just what the father or mother says, as is the case most of the time. These same people need to acknowledge the importance of both “fit” parents having a constant and lasting relationship with their children after divorce. We need to pass legislation that not only reaches the goals of shared parenting, but holds our judges responsible for deviating from those statutes, especially in today’s family court system where there is absolutely no accountability whatsoever for the rulings handed down by a majority of the judges handling family court matters. We need statutes that penalize blatant disregard for court orders by parents as well as perjury and false allegations -- all of which run rampant in our court system today -- known as the Silver Bullet Technique and used to get the upper hand in divorce proceedings, because there are no penalties handed down, even when the perjury or false allegations are admitted to by the offender. Even though these Silver Bullet tactics more often then not ruin the victim, usually the father, the courts still ignore it – something that I learned first hand when I presented documented proof to the court of perjury. Not only was it ignored, but I was still ordered to pay the money that was fraudulently awarded in the first place, and actually lost parenting time with my son as well. I learned quickly not to attempt to assert my rights in Family Court. By acting as advocates for our children and bringing the nightmarish stories of what happens within our family court system, we can enact the necessary changes and help reverse the negative effects of divorce on our children.
Will these things help every child of divorce? No. There will always be situations that will cause our children to suffer needlessly, but the overall results “will” be for the greater good, and many, many children will benefit by these actions. I’m going to end this paper with a couple of quotes that I feel exemplify the kind of forces that are working against not only societies children, but marriage itself. “There's Robin Morgan, one of the founders of Ms. Magazine, saying in 1970 that marriage is ‘a slavery-like practice’ and arguing that ‘we can't destroy the inequities between men and women until we destroy marriage’ (extracted from an editorial by Melanie Kirkpatric, Associate Editor, Wall Street Journal, called The Sisterhood, Defrocked. Kate O’Beirne provides a reality check for anyone who thinks “feminist” means “pro-woman.” And another good quote: “The words ‘prejudice’ and ‘corruption’ do not really convey what family courts are about. They are the linchpins of a massive political machine that thrives and grows by systematically destroying families. Within this machine individual judges are ‘no more than blind executors of the system's own internal laws,’ as Vaclav Havel has written of another kind of apparat, laws which are ‘far more powerful than the will of any individual.’ What we have, in other words, is a system of bureaucratic terror, the kind of terror that has never before been seen in the United States. “ (Professor Stephen Baskerville, Howard University, in symposium on Reign of Terror, Insight Magazine, June 18, 2001).
Hopefully in time, and sooner, rather then later, society will become aware, and outraged, at what is being done to our children.
__________________
AUTHOR’S NOTE: This paper was given an “A” for a grade, was highly praised, and my Contemporary Social Problems Professor highly urged me to have it published.
MR. MACK WILLIAMS: AUTHOR, POLITICAL RADIO COMMERCIALS PRODUCER AND FATHER
He is the author of Voices From The Blue States, a much talked about and highly acclaimed anthology of essays that reflect a cross section of American political thought which can be found on the shelf of Barnes & Nobles stores or online at, for example, www.Amazon.com. He is the producer of political radio commercials. He is a husband and a father. He is Mr. Mack Williams and he carved out time from his very developing schedule to chat with me about his role models, his interest in politics, the most rewarding and challenging aspects of Fatherhood and his future.
D.A. Sears, Managing Editor - IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD(R)
So, who were Mr. Williams’ role models as he made the journey from childhood to manhood?
“Without a doubt my biggest role models were my parents, Mack and Winnie Williams. In addition to them, I had a number of older cousins and uncles that I admired and looked up to as well. Like many kids, there were athletes and entertainers that I looked up to such as Earl Monroe, Julius Erving, Muhammad Ali, Cleon Jones, the Temptations and Stevie Wonder -- but more so from a standpoint of admiring their artistry as opposed to looking at them as role models,” he recalls. “As I moved into adulthood, I began to really admire historical figures that really gave of themselves and sacrificed so much for the benefit of us all. Naturally Dr. King and Malcolm come to mind, but another such man was Jackie Robinson. Muhammad Ali falls into that category as well.”
I noted that Mr. Williams had authored a book entitled, Voices From The Blue States, which is a compilation of essays authored by individuals from diverse geographic locations. I wanted to know why he decided to author an anthology of political essays.
“I did so because this administration would have you believe that there is only one point of view out there on so many issues, or at the very least, one point of view that reflects the thoughts and opinions of patriotic Americans. I wanted to put something out which showcased the feelings of some of the sixty million people that voted against this President, and are appalled at many of the actions taken by this administration.”
What sparked his interest in politics?
“Once again, my parents,” Williams replied. “We watched the nightly news each evening at dinner, which sparked discussions about national and world affairs. I have been a political junkie, so to speak, since the age of ten, if not earlier.”
The discussion moved to Williams’ production of political radio commercials. I asked him to talk about his work.
“One thing that I am passionate about is African Americans taking advantage of everything that can be gotten out of the political process. In light of the fact that so many in previous generations gave so much -- including their lives, in many cases -- in order to secure the right to vote, I feel that we dishonor their memory when we do not make the best usage of the political system. I more or less combine my interest in writing, music, and politics to create radio commercials that bring forth this message,” he explained.
The fact that Mr. Williams is a Father was not lost on me. When I asked him to talk about the most challenging and rewarding aspects of Fatherhood, he offered the following:
“The most rewarding aspects of Fatherhood are the day-to-day experiences you have with your child or children, as well as seeing them grow and move towards adulthood guided by the principles you have given them. One of the most challenging aspects, on the other hand, is watching them move towards adulthood in the midst of all of the issues they are liable to encounter nowadays, many of which were not present when we were at similar ages.”
I asked Mr. Williams if, in his view, we are adequately preparing our children for their future roles and responsibilities as spouses and parents? What key pieces of information should we share with our children about their future roles and responsibilities as spouses and parents? At what age should we begin sharing this information with our children?
“That's an interesting question,” he remarked thoughtfully. “In a sense, I believe that the best preparation we can give our children in this area is to be the type of spouses and parents we should be. In that case, our children will see what their future roles and responsibilities will be -- and theoretically they will be able to see this from ‘Day One’.”
Are we, collectively, providing our children with the tools that they will need to successfully compete in a global marketplace? Is this a responsibility that lies solely with parents? Or is it a responsibility that should be shared by our academic institutions, religious institutions and concerned adults in our community?
“With ‘it takes a village’ in mind, I would have to say that it is a shared responsibility of all of the above,” says Williams.
And what’s next for Mack Williams?
“I once had a manager whose motto was ‘be flexible’ -- and I have taken his words to heart -- being ready to modify the course when necessary. That said, I hope to continue with more literary projects, as well as musical projects. My next book, soon to be out, is an anthology of short stories by a bunch of outstanding writers, to be entitled ‘Midnight Confessions.’ Shortly thereafter I hope to come out with an anthology of essays on one of my favorite subjects, with a working title of Brothers And Sisters On Baseball. I should make mention of the fact that I am still looking for a few contributors to Brothers And Sisters On Baseball, so if you or someone you know might be interested in being one, hit me with an e-mail at mcwstar@aol.com. In addition, I hope that as we move through this year and towards 2008, I am able to become one of the people thought of and called upon for political radio commercials focusing on the African-American community.”
* * *
D.A. Sears, Managing Editor - IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD(R)
So, who were Mr. Williams’ role models as he made the journey from childhood to manhood?
“Without a doubt my biggest role models were my parents, Mack and Winnie Williams. In addition to them, I had a number of older cousins and uncles that I admired and looked up to as well. Like many kids, there were athletes and entertainers that I looked up to such as Earl Monroe, Julius Erving, Muhammad Ali, Cleon Jones, the Temptations and Stevie Wonder -- but more so from a standpoint of admiring their artistry as opposed to looking at them as role models,” he recalls. “As I moved into adulthood, I began to really admire historical figures that really gave of themselves and sacrificed so much for the benefit of us all. Naturally Dr. King and Malcolm come to mind, but another such man was Jackie Robinson. Muhammad Ali falls into that category as well.”
I noted that Mr. Williams had authored a book entitled, Voices From The Blue States, which is a compilation of essays authored by individuals from diverse geographic locations. I wanted to know why he decided to author an anthology of political essays.
“I did so because this administration would have you believe that there is only one point of view out there on so many issues, or at the very least, one point of view that reflects the thoughts and opinions of patriotic Americans. I wanted to put something out which showcased the feelings of some of the sixty million people that voted against this President, and are appalled at many of the actions taken by this administration.”
What sparked his interest in politics?
“Once again, my parents,” Williams replied. “We watched the nightly news each evening at dinner, which sparked discussions about national and world affairs. I have been a political junkie, so to speak, since the age of ten, if not earlier.”
The discussion moved to Williams’ production of political radio commercials. I asked him to talk about his work.
“One thing that I am passionate about is African Americans taking advantage of everything that can be gotten out of the political process. In light of the fact that so many in previous generations gave so much -- including their lives, in many cases -- in order to secure the right to vote, I feel that we dishonor their memory when we do not make the best usage of the political system. I more or less combine my interest in writing, music, and politics to create radio commercials that bring forth this message,” he explained.
The fact that Mr. Williams is a Father was not lost on me. When I asked him to talk about the most challenging and rewarding aspects of Fatherhood, he offered the following:
“The most rewarding aspects of Fatherhood are the day-to-day experiences you have with your child or children, as well as seeing them grow and move towards adulthood guided by the principles you have given them. One of the most challenging aspects, on the other hand, is watching them move towards adulthood in the midst of all of the issues they are liable to encounter nowadays, many of which were not present when we were at similar ages.”
I asked Mr. Williams if, in his view, we are adequately preparing our children for their future roles and responsibilities as spouses and parents? What key pieces of information should we share with our children about their future roles and responsibilities as spouses and parents? At what age should we begin sharing this information with our children?
“That's an interesting question,” he remarked thoughtfully. “In a sense, I believe that the best preparation we can give our children in this area is to be the type of spouses and parents we should be. In that case, our children will see what their future roles and responsibilities will be -- and theoretically they will be able to see this from ‘Day One’.”
Are we, collectively, providing our children with the tools that they will need to successfully compete in a global marketplace? Is this a responsibility that lies solely with parents? Or is it a responsibility that should be shared by our academic institutions, religious institutions and concerned adults in our community?
“With ‘it takes a village’ in mind, I would have to say that it is a shared responsibility of all of the above,” says Williams.
And what’s next for Mack Williams?
“I once had a manager whose motto was ‘be flexible’ -- and I have taken his words to heart -- being ready to modify the course when necessary. That said, I hope to continue with more literary projects, as well as musical projects. My next book, soon to be out, is an anthology of short stories by a bunch of outstanding writers, to be entitled ‘Midnight Confessions.’ Shortly thereafter I hope to come out with an anthology of essays on one of my favorite subjects, with a working title of Brothers And Sisters On Baseball. I should make mention of the fact that I am still looking for a few contributors to Brothers And Sisters On Baseball, so if you or someone you know might be interested in being one, hit me with an e-mail at mcwstar@aol.com. In addition, I hope that as we move through this year and towards 2008, I am able to become one of the people thought of and called upon for political radio commercials focusing on the African-American community.”
* * *
MR. ELLIOTT KATZ: BEING THE STRONG MAN A WOMAN WANTS.....
BEING THE STRONG MAN A WOMAN WANTS:
TIMELESS WISDOM ON BEING A MAN
AUTHOR: MR. ELLIOTT KATZ
ISBN: 0-97369510-2
PUBLISHER: Award Press (www.awardpress.com)
Reviewed By: D.A. Sears, Managing Editor - IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD(R)
Men in the Millennium have found themselves on the receiving end of mixed signals. Mixed signals from the media, society and even from the women in their lives who love them. During their journey from childhood to adulthood, they were taught and expected to be strong and tough-minded individuals capable of making tough decisions, protecting their family and loved ones, and creating and implementing plans that would move their families forward. Somewhere along the line, things got a little twisted. Men found themselves being portrayed by the media as being insensitive to the needs and feelings of the women in their lives, incapable of nurturing and loving their children -- and depending on what television sitcom you watched – incapable of thinking and making tough decisions. And some Men felt that the women in their lives were not always clear about what they wanted or expected from them. If you are a Man and you are feeling slightly perplexed, frustrated and confused about what the woman in your life expects from you, you are not alone. Being The Strong Man A Woman Wants: Timeless Wisdom On Being A Man authored by MR. ELLIOTT KATZ is an empowering and timely work that will help Men sift through the mixed signals that you feel are being sent in your direction.
So what do women want from Men?
According to Mr. Katz who is a professional speechwriter and the author of seven non-fiction books, women want to look up to men . . . to admire men. Women want strong men. In Being The Strong Man A Woman Wants: Timeless Wisdom On Being A Man, Katz says that women want a man who knows what he wants. He cautions that if men are always trying to please women, the end result is that they do not please women at all. Katz goes on to say that women want Men who are proactive in family matters. They want Men who not only provide for the financial needs of the family, but Men who also nurture, discipline and mentor the children. Katz says that Women “test” the Men in their lives to determine how strong they are and whether they have “back bone”. This test could come in the form of women consistently insisting on having things their way. If the Men “give in” to the women’s demand during this “test”, women interpret this “giving in” as a signal that the Men in their lives will not and cannot protect them. Conversely, if Men do not “give in” to the demands of the women in their lives, the women will interpret this response as a signal that the Men in their lives can and will protect them.
Being The Strong Man A Woman Wants: Timeless Wisdom On Being A Man tells men that there’s nothing wrong with being strong . . . that there is nothing wrong with a man taking leadership and that a Man can lead without being controlling. He also points out that it is imperative that Men know what is going on in the lives of their wives and children. So, how do Men find out what is going on in the lives of their wives and children? By listening to them and asking them questions about activities in their lives. Katz urges Men to ask their wives and children about what they are thinking and feeling. This will lead to Men knowing when to “take charge of a situation and find solutions.”
Although Being The Strong Man A Woman Wants: Timeless Wisdom On Being A Man was written with men in mind, its message is genderless. Katz, through Being The Strong Man A Woman Wants: Timeless Wisdom On Being A Man, is creating “drama-free” male-female relationships and strengthening families. Being The Strong Man A Woman Wants: Timeless Wisdom On Being A Man is a “must read” book for men – and women.
TIMELESS WISDOM ON BEING A MAN
AUTHOR: MR. ELLIOTT KATZ
ISBN: 0-97369510-2
PUBLISHER: Award Press (www.awardpress.com)
Reviewed By: D.A. Sears, Managing Editor - IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD(R)
Men in the Millennium have found themselves on the receiving end of mixed signals. Mixed signals from the media, society and even from the women in their lives who love them. During their journey from childhood to adulthood, they were taught and expected to be strong and tough-minded individuals capable of making tough decisions, protecting their family and loved ones, and creating and implementing plans that would move their families forward. Somewhere along the line, things got a little twisted. Men found themselves being portrayed by the media as being insensitive to the needs and feelings of the women in their lives, incapable of nurturing and loving their children -- and depending on what television sitcom you watched – incapable of thinking and making tough decisions. And some Men felt that the women in their lives were not always clear about what they wanted or expected from them. If you are a Man and you are feeling slightly perplexed, frustrated and confused about what the woman in your life expects from you, you are not alone. Being The Strong Man A Woman Wants: Timeless Wisdom On Being A Man authored by MR. ELLIOTT KATZ is an empowering and timely work that will help Men sift through the mixed signals that you feel are being sent in your direction.
So what do women want from Men?
According to Mr. Katz who is a professional speechwriter and the author of seven non-fiction books, women want to look up to men . . . to admire men. Women want strong men. In Being The Strong Man A Woman Wants: Timeless Wisdom On Being A Man, Katz says that women want a man who knows what he wants. He cautions that if men are always trying to please women, the end result is that they do not please women at all. Katz goes on to say that women want Men who are proactive in family matters. They want Men who not only provide for the financial needs of the family, but Men who also nurture, discipline and mentor the children. Katz says that Women “test” the Men in their lives to determine how strong they are and whether they have “back bone”. This test could come in the form of women consistently insisting on having things their way. If the Men “give in” to the women’s demand during this “test”, women interpret this “giving in” as a signal that the Men in their lives will not and cannot protect them. Conversely, if Men do not “give in” to the demands of the women in their lives, the women will interpret this response as a signal that the Men in their lives can and will protect them.
Being The Strong Man A Woman Wants: Timeless Wisdom On Being A Man tells men that there’s nothing wrong with being strong . . . that there is nothing wrong with a man taking leadership and that a Man can lead without being controlling. He also points out that it is imperative that Men know what is going on in the lives of their wives and children. So, how do Men find out what is going on in the lives of their wives and children? By listening to them and asking them questions about activities in their lives. Katz urges Men to ask their wives and children about what they are thinking and feeling. This will lead to Men knowing when to “take charge of a situation and find solutions.”
Although Being The Strong Man A Woman Wants: Timeless Wisdom On Being A Man was written with men in mind, its message is genderless. Katz, through Being The Strong Man A Woman Wants: Timeless Wisdom On Being A Man, is creating “drama-free” male-female relationships and strengthening families. Being The Strong Man A Woman Wants: Timeless Wisdom On Being A Man is a “must read” book for men – and women.
WE FISH: THE JOURNEY TO FATHERHOOD
WE FISH: THE JOURNEY TO FATHERHOOD
AUTHORS: Jack L. Daniel, Ph.D. and Omari C. Daniel, Ph.D.
ISBN: O-8229-5891-0
PUBLISHER: University of Pittsburgh Press (www.pitt-edu/ press)
WE FISH
My grandfather stays with my father
because he fishes.
Wading these motherly banks
of the Juniata evokes memory.
Each cast, each fish,
keeps the memory of his father fresh.
This is how we beat death.
I know if Alzheimer’s ever claims my
father; as it did his, all I have to do
is fish, I will fish the Juniata, and
let the memories of my father flow
through me. Fishing for channel cats,
doing the Juniata float, and sneaking
down the back side of the church
to fish on Sundays, I will fish
because we fish, and they fished, and
I know my father can never leave me,
if I just fish.
Mr. Omari C. Daniel, Ph.D.
Excerpted from Chapter 13: We Fish
We Fish: The Journey To Fatherhood
Page 185
It is an unapologetically honest and soulful masterpiece. It is We Fish: The Journey To Fatherhood authored by Jack L. Daniel, Ph.D. and Omari C. Daniel, Ph.D. Dr. Jack L. Daniel is the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies and Professor of Communications at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Dr. Omari C. Daniel is a poet and educator in the Montgomery County Public Schools in suburban Washington, D.C. They are Father and Son.
We Fish: The Journey To Fatherhood is more than a collaborative literary undertaking between Father and Son. Dr. Jack L. Daniel and Dr. Omari C. Daniel represent two generations of “Daniel Men” for whom the ritual of fishing became their link to the past, the present and the future. The time spent together fishing deepened their relationship as Father and Son and their understanding of one another as Men.
Dr. Jack L. Daniel’s poignant accounts of his journey from childhood to manhood, depiction of the cluster of strong male role models that influenced and surrounded him which consisted of his Father, his Uncles Nash and Bill and men in his church and in his neighborhood, the joys and challenges of shaping the mind and soul of his son, and the fishing trips which became both a balm and a ritual for multiple generations of “Daniel Men” and their extended family are dramatically punctuated by Dr. Omari C. Daniel’s repertoire of heartstring-tugging poems.
Through We Fish: The Journey To Fatherhood, two generations of “Daniel Men” are forcing us to come to grips with the fact that we must move with all deliberate speed to provide “life lines” to our young males. The good news is that two generations of “Daniel Men”, through We Fish: The Journey To Fatherhood, are providing us with some of the tools that we will need to get the job done.
Reviewed By: D.A. Sears, Managing Editor - IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD(R)
* * *
AUTHORS: Jack L. Daniel, Ph.D. and Omari C. Daniel, Ph.D.
ISBN: O-8229-5891-0
PUBLISHER: University of Pittsburgh Press (www.pitt-edu/ press)
WE FISH
My grandfather stays with my father
because he fishes.
Wading these motherly banks
of the Juniata evokes memory.
Each cast, each fish,
keeps the memory of his father fresh.
This is how we beat death.
I know if Alzheimer’s ever claims my
father; as it did his, all I have to do
is fish, I will fish the Juniata, and
let the memories of my father flow
through me. Fishing for channel cats,
doing the Juniata float, and sneaking
down the back side of the church
to fish on Sundays, I will fish
because we fish, and they fished, and
I know my father can never leave me,
if I just fish.
Mr. Omari C. Daniel, Ph.D.
Excerpted from Chapter 13: We Fish
We Fish: The Journey To Fatherhood
Page 185
It is an unapologetically honest and soulful masterpiece. It is We Fish: The Journey To Fatherhood authored by Jack L. Daniel, Ph.D. and Omari C. Daniel, Ph.D. Dr. Jack L. Daniel is the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies and Professor of Communications at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Dr. Omari C. Daniel is a poet and educator in the Montgomery County Public Schools in suburban Washington, D.C. They are Father and Son.
We Fish: The Journey To Fatherhood is more than a collaborative literary undertaking between Father and Son. Dr. Jack L. Daniel and Dr. Omari C. Daniel represent two generations of “Daniel Men” for whom the ritual of fishing became their link to the past, the present and the future. The time spent together fishing deepened their relationship as Father and Son and their understanding of one another as Men.
Dr. Jack L. Daniel’s poignant accounts of his journey from childhood to manhood, depiction of the cluster of strong male role models that influenced and surrounded him which consisted of his Father, his Uncles Nash and Bill and men in his church and in his neighborhood, the joys and challenges of shaping the mind and soul of his son, and the fishing trips which became both a balm and a ritual for multiple generations of “Daniel Men” and their extended family are dramatically punctuated by Dr. Omari C. Daniel’s repertoire of heartstring-tugging poems.
Through We Fish: The Journey To Fatherhood, two generations of “Daniel Men” are forcing us to come to grips with the fact that we must move with all deliberate speed to provide “life lines” to our young males. The good news is that two generations of “Daniel Men”, through We Fish: The Journey To Fatherhood, are providing us with some of the tools that we will need to get the job done.
Reviewed By: D.A. Sears, Managing Editor - IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD(R)
* * *
DR. BELINDA CARBERRY: A CONSUMMATE PROFESSIONAL TALKS ABOUT OUR CHILDREN, EDUCATION AND THE CHALLENGES OF BEING AN EDUCATOR
RY, PRINCIPAL ON SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT, JAMES HILLHOUSE HIGH SCHOOL, NEW HAVEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND UPI ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER: A CONSUMMATE PROFESSIONAL WITH A PASSION FOR EDUCATION
By: D.A. Sears
While she has been and continues to be a woman who not only knows where she is going, but who also creates her own roadmap to getting where she wants and needs to be, she proudly points to her father as the reason she embarked upon a career in education. She is a consummate professional, whose unbridled energy and passion for education is fueled by a love for what she does. She is an educator who actually enjoys her work! She is a member of Unified Progress International Education’s (“UPI Education”) Advisory Board, the Principal of Jackie Robinson Middle School in New Haven, Connecticut .who is currently on special assignment for New Haven Public Schools. She is Dr. Belinda Carberry.
Dr. Carberry took time from her very busy schedule to chat with us about, among other things, the role models she had as she made the journey from childhood to adulthood, her unique experiences as she moved up the ranks from teacher to administrator in the New Haven, Connecticut public school system, and the Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum offered by UPI Education which was founded by Mr. Frank Crump, a successful international businessman upon his return to the United States in 2004 after spending a quarter of a century working and living abroad.
Who is Dr. Belinda Carberry? Where did she grow up? Where was she educated? Who were her role models as she made the journey from childhood to adulthood?
“I was born and reared in Baltimore, Maryland. I am the youngest of three siblings. My education and love of learning began in the public schools of Baltimore, Maryland. The Low Rise Apartments at 1332 East Fayette Street was my home from elementary school to junior high school. I held my African American principals and teachers at Charles Carroll Elementary School of Carrolton, Maryland and Lombard Junior High School in high esteem. All of them were formidable, nurturing, young and beautiful or old and knowledgeable. They were role models and worthy to be respected. My father was a custodian in the Baltimore City school system. Sometimes I went to work with him and watched him buff the floors and clean classrooms. He made the school look brand new. Back then, the custodians cleaned desks, wiped the black board ledges and spot mopped the floors weekly. I thought the classroom was a wonderful place to work or teach. I matriculated through Morgan State College after attending Edmondson High School. While at Morgan, I learned how to study and make the Dean’s List. I was rewarded for being a good student with an opportunity to attend the University of Pennsylvania for one year as an exchange student. I took a writing course with Rhode Scholar John Widemann. This was my first experience in a diverse environment. I did not know that I could think just as well and better than students of other ethnic backgrounds. I completed my Bachelor of Arts degree in English and married in the same year. I was the first in my family to complete college. With a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, I thought I wanted to become a journalist, so I enrolled in the Master Degree program at the University of Maryland. I found technical writing more challenging than I anticipated; therefore, I took a few education courses at Morgan and received my first teaching position at Greenspring Junior High School in Baltimore. After experiencing all of the difficulties of a first year teacher, for example, always constantly having a sore throat and spending hours planning activities that would keep 7th graders engaged, I was nominated ‘Teacher Of The Year’ for my school and was honored at a Teacher Appreciation Luncheon with then Baltimore Mayor Donald Schaffer. I began working on my Master of Science degree at Johns Hopkins University in Secondary School Administration. Three years later, I had completed the degree program and had birthed my first child. Eighteen months after the birth of my son, my husband received a transfer. We were relocated to Connecticut where we have lived for 27 years. My husband traveled a lot which left my son and me to explore New England. I discovered a myriad of educational opportunities for myself and some very nice day care centers for my son. My first teaching job was at Lee High School where I replaced an outstanding teacher who had become the Supervisor of English for the City of New Haven. She was a hard act to follow, but she made me her mentee. The next school year, I was transferred to James Hillhouse High School where I taught English, Journalism and Drama. Because of Rhoda Spear, Supervisor of English and Dr. Burt Saxon, the 2005 Teacher of the Year for the State of Connecticut, I became a Fellow in the Yale New Haven Teacher Institute. Every summer for six years, I researched and wrote curricular units that I or any other teacher could use during the school year. I even taught in the Yale New Haven Summer High School with Spear and Saxon. The courses included intense study of literature, psychology and writing. Hillhouse was an exciting place in which to teach. The students reminded me of classmates I had back at my own high school. I found the students witty, energetic and very selective in whom they allowed to make them learn and behave. I was one of the few teachers that completed my goals and objectives for the year. My years of learning literature, grammar and writing along with my years at Hopkins learning teaching and classroom management strategies at Morgan made teaching at the high school level fun. I thought that maybe I would become an administrator, so I began to take courses at Southern Connecticut State University. In two years, I completed a Sixth Year Degree in School Administration. Then a new Superintendent came to town and started a Mentor/Mentee program to train administrators. I applied for that program. After one year of training, I became an Assistant Principal at the middle school level. Since then I have been an Assistant Principal at the high school level, and a Principal of an elementary school and high school. Somewhere between being a Principal of a high school, elementary school and middle school, I had a second child, and began and completed my Doctor of Education degree at Columbia University’s Teachers College,” Dr. Carberry responded.
Who or what inspired Dr. Carberry to embark upon a career in education?
“My dad inspired me to become a teacher,” Dr. Carberry says proudly. “Because I had a degree in English, he thought I could teach children. I always wanted to work in a nice and clean environment. I learned quickly that if I wanted a nice, clean safe and orderly classroom environment, I had to create it by planning it. I took my work home. I rehearsed my goals, objectives and activities before I presented them to the students. I planned for the year, semester, marking period, week, and day and minutes it took to complete an activity. Experience taught me to ‘over plan’ rather than ‘under plan’. If hell broke out in the classroom, it would not be because the students were left idle. My dad was serious about his job. He planned what he would wear at night so that he could leave the house on time in the morning to be early to work. My dad never took a day off from work. I acquired his habits. I still prepare my clothes at night and rarely take a day off from work.”
When I asked Dr. Carberry to talk about the challenges and rewards of being an educator in the Millennium, she offered the following:
“School is no longer the greatest show on earth for too many children. Television has made children forget to do their homework, study for a test and even clean up their room before their parents return home from work. Even though television has taken precedence over students’ school responsibilities and a parent’s wrath, it is losing its competitive edge to what children are witnessing in real life. Children in urban settings are witnessing violence in their homes, on their sidewalks and even in their schools. Drugs and the AIDS epidemic are no longer drama they see on television. It has become a family matter in far too many homes. Television, the media and music sell the negative, the gross, the profane -- because it grabs one’s attention. So, when we educators try to teach ‘are you’ instead of ‘is you’, solving equations, or the importance of studying music, we are met with great resistance because their money-making rap idols say ‘is you’ and they didn’t need Algebra I or Geometry or AP Calculus to make the ‘digits’. The rewards of being an educator are not always immediate. Students who question the importance of an education often are late bloomers. I say better late then never. I have had students return several years later to tell me that something I said or did hit them and made them rethink their path. It is better to have to play catch up than never to have a chance to live the good life.”
What unique experiences did Dr. Carberry encounter as she moved through the ranks as a result of the various positions and levels of responsibility she assumed? How does the level of expectations and responsibilities for a teacher differ from the level of expectations and responsibilities for a school principal?
“Teachers are directly responsible for teaching up to 125 students per day. The principal is responsible for making certain that every child in the school receives a quality education, that every teacher is highly qualified to teach and manage his or her students and that the facility is a safe and orderly environment in which teaching and learning can take place. In addition, the principal is responsible for engaging stakeholders -- parents and the community -- in the educational process,” she answered.
Have our children changed over the years? In what ways? How has this change impacted upon the ability of educators and administrators to provide our children with the tools they will need to become productive and successful adults?
“Our children have not changed. Children have always been impressionable and easily misled. I believe more children than ever before are falling into this category because the ability to access all kinds of information is readily available. The Internet, satellite TV and all night television allow children to access information out of the purview of adults. Children’s behavior is shaped by what they see and hear. If a child’s environment lacks positive parental control then the child acquires the language and habits of the characters they see on TV. He may mimic inappropriate behaviors he hears in music or speak the slang he hears his peers speak instead of the standard English that is spoken at home and which he is encouraged to speak in school. The media has allowed our children to see too many rap stars who have made it -- owning big cars, big houses, big jewelry, and having big parties inviting males with six packs and scantily dressed buff girls. Our children see more teens becoming instant stars even before they finish high school. It is our responsibility as educators to stay current with best practices to counter the false images of success that our students see every day. In addition, we must share the success stories of those who have become successful through education,” Dr. Carberry observed.
Under the most difficult set of circumstances, educators and administrators in our nation’s public education system go about the business of providing our children with the best possible learning experience. Despite these herculean efforts, it has been reported that while our fourth grade students test well against students in the same grade in other countries, by 12th grade, their test scores in mathematics and science put them in last place. What role can and should institutions and individuals outside of the public education system play in assisting educators and administrators in strengthening our children’s mathematics and science skills?
“It is our responsibility as educators to make connections with institutions that are grounded in mathematics and science, for instance, to invite them as school partners or true stakeholders. Students do not blindly follow adults any more. They need to see results immediately. Therefore, students need to shadow or become interns to professionals whose success is based on his or her mathematics or science background. These partners need to visit classrooms and become stakeholders in the curriculum that is taught. City officials and politicians need to continue visiting elementary schools on ‘Read Aloud Day.’ They need to praise students for what they do right instead of allowing newspapers to publish state scores that depict children as failures,” Dr. Carberry remarked.
We have learned that a number of students enrolled in the New Haven, Connecticut public education system who were also enrolled in and successfully completed the Unified Progress Education (“UPI Education”) Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum, which was taught as an accredited course, achieved a 16.4% increase in overall grade point averages. It has also been reported that these students, who comprised the general school population, demonstrated a 23.6% reduction in school absences and an astounding reduction in school disciplinary actions. Is this true? How is this possible? What is it about UPI Education’s program that motivates our children in such positive ways that they achieve better grades?
“Like I said earlier, students are affected by their environment. If you place positive role models before students, it is likely that students will respond positively. If you place highly qualified people before students who can explain things to them using accurate and age appropriate examples, then students will begin to see the worth in coming to school, paying attention, following directions, doing homework and making honors.”
I noted that American students fare poorly on national assessments and international comparisons of academic performance, such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (“NAFP”), the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (“TIMSS”), and the Programme for International Student Assessments (“PISA”) all of which are clear indications that our young people may struggle to thrive in an increasingly interdependent and competitive global economy. What has to happen to facilitate the implementation of successful alternative solutions such as UPI Education in school systems? When will the trend change?
“UPI is composed of professional individuals who work or have worked in Corporate America and other pertinent service fields. These are the people whom educators are seeking to help students make the connection between school work and the world of work,” Dr. Carberry pointed out. “These professional people may not and, in most cases, have not taken courses in education theory. However, they are practitioners whose skills must be embraced by educators if we expect to pry our students’ minds away from our competitors -- television, Internet and all night television. School has to be the greatest show on earth. If it means we have to bring in some players -- a better word would be ‘stakeholders,’ then we must do this. We say, ‘It takes a whole village to educate a child.’ We must believe this. Churches have changed in how parishioners are attracted to them; we must change how we can re-engage students in learning.”
Our society has experienced a significant reduction in the extent to which parents support schools in maintaining classroom discipline. Today, many parents become advocates for their children and too often threaten to “call a lawyer” if the school insists on enforcing discipline for student misconduct. What will it take to make parents and students realize that actions have consequences? What has caused our society, parents and students to become so indifferent? Must we offer parents as well as students “life skills”?
“We are living in times where the media has helped to expose the weaknesses of presidents, politicians, doctors, educators as well as parents. I think role models are hard to find in the public’s eye. Everyone is subject to criticism and ridicule, unfortunately. Some parents hide behind their own shortcomings by pointing the finger at administrators and teachers. These types of parents can wreak havoc on teachers, administrators and schools if the school has not become totally committed to teaching all students. All staff, including administrators, must engage in staff development that improves classroom management and teaching strategies. Schools must set and follow policies of discipline for students and employees. Communication of what will be taught, accepted and not negotiated must be clear and assessable to all stakeholders, including parents. I am a huge advocate of Dr. Comer’s Six Developmental Pathways. I strongly believe that parents need to know what it takes for a child to develop and grow. Parents need to know that children must develop cognitively, physically, ethically, socially, psychologically and their speech and language must be cultivated. Many parents have nurtured their children along these pathways intuitively. Others need to take a class. Schools can offer to do this,” Dr. Carberry commented thoughtfully.
The September 1, 2006 airing of “Stupid In America: How We Cheat Our Kids” on ABC’s 20/20 echoed the frustrations of millions of American parents in reporting that “…the wheels are falling off America’s education wagon.” Nonetheless, the report pointed out that there are individuals and entities -- not to mention -- government funding, grants, corporate and private foundation funding available to aid the field of education. Are we falling short when we blame our students and the system? Are we not all to blame when billions of dollars are doled out into thousands of different directions only to find that our world ranking for education is on a fatal nose dive? Where is the roadmap to our national educational success? How do we reproduce tangible results like those produced by UPI Education’s Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum? What will it take to get these various funds and school systems on the same page?
“America is the country where people have more freedom and choices than most. Americans move in all different directions. Our government gives us the right to choose to eat meat, vegetables and a starch; in other countries the majority of people may only have one choice of food. Children can decide to wear jeans, ‘Jordans’, and jewelry to school. In some countries, they are mandated to wear a uniform. In our country, children can go to school as long as they want; in some countries formal learning ends after high school. We are more distracted by fashion, music, and entertainment, while students in other countries are more focused on the possibilities an education can offer them and their families. Children come to America not speaking English, but within three years outperform American students in mathematics and science because they are not distracted by all of the freedom American children possess. Our country gives us freedom; yet, with the freedom to choose we have created a culture that has become more concerned with convenience in the ‘here and now’ than in the long term affects of short-term thinking. Students in other countries have not become as complacent as American students. It is not that American students do not have the potential to excel. They have become blinded by how fast they can get what they want -- such as food without a home-cooked meal, information without going to the library, using the cell phone instead of a pen to write a message, and a diploma without having taken courses that help preserve families, our communities, our nation and our planet. Our government must help to eradicate the complacency in the schools by insisting on the hiring of highly qualified teachers. However, these teachers must be able to receive the funds to get to college to train in the best colleges and universities. And even before these college students begin to train, they must be taught in accredited schools. The government‘s task is broad. It must provide funds for schools to receive the supplies and materials to teach. The government should be responsible for helping deserving students matriculate through college. It must support colleges and universities in the training of teachers. The government must control some of the industries that distract students from learning. As Forrest Gump says, ‘Stupid is what Stupid does’. We must ask ourselves, ‘Who is allowing the stupidity?’ UPI Education is a program that helps diffuse the stimuli that has blinded our children’s vision of becoming scientists and chemists and community activists and world leaders. Before we can teach, we must have students in their seats. UPI Education is inspiring students to attend school and to come ready to listen and learn,” Carberry passionately opined.
In view of the fact that the United States’ world ranking in education is very low and that “alternative education vehicles” may be necessary to provide our children with the tools they will need to become successful and productive adults in a global marketplace, what does the future hold for public education?
“The beauty of living in America is the fact that if you do not like what you see, you can keep trying something else until you get what you like. If you do not like public education, one can try a charter school, private school or home school or parochial school. Parents who do not like their neighborhood school can receive a transfer to a ‘better’ school if they are adamant enough. I believe the ‘No Child Left Behind’ movement had the potential to make a real difference on how schooling is done in all public schools if the mandates were interpreted correctly and the funding was forthcoming and distributed equitably. Public education in America has lost its international position at the top of the academic ladder. Research shows that fewer American students are enrolled in universities as Science and Math majors. More
students are enrolled in Science and Math courses in other countries and are outperforming American students in Science and Math en masse. We can redeem ourselves with the help of the ‘whole village’. UPI Education is a stakeholder that understands the concept of ‘school partner’ and ‘stakeholder.’ There is enough work to be done to redeem our place in academia. School systems, the government and stakeholders like UPI must come together for the sake of our communities and country,” Dr. Carberry stated with unabashed honesty.
What’s next for Dr. Belinda Carberry?
“I would like to continue my research in educational organization and leadership and perhaps start a charter school.”
* * *
By: D.A. Sears
While she has been and continues to be a woman who not only knows where she is going, but who also creates her own roadmap to getting where she wants and needs to be, she proudly points to her father as the reason she embarked upon a career in education. She is a consummate professional, whose unbridled energy and passion for education is fueled by a love for what she does. She is an educator who actually enjoys her work! She is a member of Unified Progress International Education’s (“UPI Education”) Advisory Board, the Principal of Jackie Robinson Middle School in New Haven, Connecticut .who is currently on special assignment for New Haven Public Schools. She is Dr. Belinda Carberry.
Dr. Carberry took time from her very busy schedule to chat with us about, among other things, the role models she had as she made the journey from childhood to adulthood, her unique experiences as she moved up the ranks from teacher to administrator in the New Haven, Connecticut public school system, and the Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum offered by UPI Education which was founded by Mr. Frank Crump, a successful international businessman upon his return to the United States in 2004 after spending a quarter of a century working and living abroad.
Who is Dr. Belinda Carberry? Where did she grow up? Where was she educated? Who were her role models as she made the journey from childhood to adulthood?
“I was born and reared in Baltimore, Maryland. I am the youngest of three siblings. My education and love of learning began in the public schools of Baltimore, Maryland. The Low Rise Apartments at 1332 East Fayette Street was my home from elementary school to junior high school. I held my African American principals and teachers at Charles Carroll Elementary School of Carrolton, Maryland and Lombard Junior High School in high esteem. All of them were formidable, nurturing, young and beautiful or old and knowledgeable. They were role models and worthy to be respected. My father was a custodian in the Baltimore City school system. Sometimes I went to work with him and watched him buff the floors and clean classrooms. He made the school look brand new. Back then, the custodians cleaned desks, wiped the black board ledges and spot mopped the floors weekly. I thought the classroom was a wonderful place to work or teach. I matriculated through Morgan State College after attending Edmondson High School. While at Morgan, I learned how to study and make the Dean’s List. I was rewarded for being a good student with an opportunity to attend the University of Pennsylvania for one year as an exchange student. I took a writing course with Rhode Scholar John Widemann. This was my first experience in a diverse environment. I did not know that I could think just as well and better than students of other ethnic backgrounds. I completed my Bachelor of Arts degree in English and married in the same year. I was the first in my family to complete college. With a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, I thought I wanted to become a journalist, so I enrolled in the Master Degree program at the University of Maryland. I found technical writing more challenging than I anticipated; therefore, I took a few education courses at Morgan and received my first teaching position at Greenspring Junior High School in Baltimore. After experiencing all of the difficulties of a first year teacher, for example, always constantly having a sore throat and spending hours planning activities that would keep 7th graders engaged, I was nominated ‘Teacher Of The Year’ for my school and was honored at a Teacher Appreciation Luncheon with then Baltimore Mayor Donald Schaffer. I began working on my Master of Science degree at Johns Hopkins University in Secondary School Administration. Three years later, I had completed the degree program and had birthed my first child. Eighteen months after the birth of my son, my husband received a transfer. We were relocated to Connecticut where we have lived for 27 years. My husband traveled a lot which left my son and me to explore New England. I discovered a myriad of educational opportunities for myself and some very nice day care centers for my son. My first teaching job was at Lee High School where I replaced an outstanding teacher who had become the Supervisor of English for the City of New Haven. She was a hard act to follow, but she made me her mentee. The next school year, I was transferred to James Hillhouse High School where I taught English, Journalism and Drama. Because of Rhoda Spear, Supervisor of English and Dr. Burt Saxon, the 2005 Teacher of the Year for the State of Connecticut, I became a Fellow in the Yale New Haven Teacher Institute. Every summer for six years, I researched and wrote curricular units that I or any other teacher could use during the school year. I even taught in the Yale New Haven Summer High School with Spear and Saxon. The courses included intense study of literature, psychology and writing. Hillhouse was an exciting place in which to teach. The students reminded me of classmates I had back at my own high school. I found the students witty, energetic and very selective in whom they allowed to make them learn and behave. I was one of the few teachers that completed my goals and objectives for the year. My years of learning literature, grammar and writing along with my years at Hopkins learning teaching and classroom management strategies at Morgan made teaching at the high school level fun. I thought that maybe I would become an administrator, so I began to take courses at Southern Connecticut State University. In two years, I completed a Sixth Year Degree in School Administration. Then a new Superintendent came to town and started a Mentor/Mentee program to train administrators. I applied for that program. After one year of training, I became an Assistant Principal at the middle school level. Since then I have been an Assistant Principal at the high school level, and a Principal of an elementary school and high school. Somewhere between being a Principal of a high school, elementary school and middle school, I had a second child, and began and completed my Doctor of Education degree at Columbia University’s Teachers College,” Dr. Carberry responded.
Who or what inspired Dr. Carberry to embark upon a career in education?
“My dad inspired me to become a teacher,” Dr. Carberry says proudly. “Because I had a degree in English, he thought I could teach children. I always wanted to work in a nice and clean environment. I learned quickly that if I wanted a nice, clean safe and orderly classroom environment, I had to create it by planning it. I took my work home. I rehearsed my goals, objectives and activities before I presented them to the students. I planned for the year, semester, marking period, week, and day and minutes it took to complete an activity. Experience taught me to ‘over plan’ rather than ‘under plan’. If hell broke out in the classroom, it would not be because the students were left idle. My dad was serious about his job. He planned what he would wear at night so that he could leave the house on time in the morning to be early to work. My dad never took a day off from work. I acquired his habits. I still prepare my clothes at night and rarely take a day off from work.”
When I asked Dr. Carberry to talk about the challenges and rewards of being an educator in the Millennium, she offered the following:
“School is no longer the greatest show on earth for too many children. Television has made children forget to do their homework, study for a test and even clean up their room before their parents return home from work. Even though television has taken precedence over students’ school responsibilities and a parent’s wrath, it is losing its competitive edge to what children are witnessing in real life. Children in urban settings are witnessing violence in their homes, on their sidewalks and even in their schools. Drugs and the AIDS epidemic are no longer drama they see on television. It has become a family matter in far too many homes. Television, the media and music sell the negative, the gross, the profane -- because it grabs one’s attention. So, when we educators try to teach ‘are you’ instead of ‘is you’, solving equations, or the importance of studying music, we are met with great resistance because their money-making rap idols say ‘is you’ and they didn’t need Algebra I or Geometry or AP Calculus to make the ‘digits’. The rewards of being an educator are not always immediate. Students who question the importance of an education often are late bloomers. I say better late then never. I have had students return several years later to tell me that something I said or did hit them and made them rethink their path. It is better to have to play catch up than never to have a chance to live the good life.”
What unique experiences did Dr. Carberry encounter as she moved through the ranks as a result of the various positions and levels of responsibility she assumed? How does the level of expectations and responsibilities for a teacher differ from the level of expectations and responsibilities for a school principal?
“Teachers are directly responsible for teaching up to 125 students per day. The principal is responsible for making certain that every child in the school receives a quality education, that every teacher is highly qualified to teach and manage his or her students and that the facility is a safe and orderly environment in which teaching and learning can take place. In addition, the principal is responsible for engaging stakeholders -- parents and the community -- in the educational process,” she answered.
Have our children changed over the years? In what ways? How has this change impacted upon the ability of educators and administrators to provide our children with the tools they will need to become productive and successful adults?
“Our children have not changed. Children have always been impressionable and easily misled. I believe more children than ever before are falling into this category because the ability to access all kinds of information is readily available. The Internet, satellite TV and all night television allow children to access information out of the purview of adults. Children’s behavior is shaped by what they see and hear. If a child’s environment lacks positive parental control then the child acquires the language and habits of the characters they see on TV. He may mimic inappropriate behaviors he hears in music or speak the slang he hears his peers speak instead of the standard English that is spoken at home and which he is encouraged to speak in school. The media has allowed our children to see too many rap stars who have made it -- owning big cars, big houses, big jewelry, and having big parties inviting males with six packs and scantily dressed buff girls. Our children see more teens becoming instant stars even before they finish high school. It is our responsibility as educators to stay current with best practices to counter the false images of success that our students see every day. In addition, we must share the success stories of those who have become successful through education,” Dr. Carberry observed.
Under the most difficult set of circumstances, educators and administrators in our nation’s public education system go about the business of providing our children with the best possible learning experience. Despite these herculean efforts, it has been reported that while our fourth grade students test well against students in the same grade in other countries, by 12th grade, their test scores in mathematics and science put them in last place. What role can and should institutions and individuals outside of the public education system play in assisting educators and administrators in strengthening our children’s mathematics and science skills?
“It is our responsibility as educators to make connections with institutions that are grounded in mathematics and science, for instance, to invite them as school partners or true stakeholders. Students do not blindly follow adults any more. They need to see results immediately. Therefore, students need to shadow or become interns to professionals whose success is based on his or her mathematics or science background. These partners need to visit classrooms and become stakeholders in the curriculum that is taught. City officials and politicians need to continue visiting elementary schools on ‘Read Aloud Day.’ They need to praise students for what they do right instead of allowing newspapers to publish state scores that depict children as failures,” Dr. Carberry remarked.
We have learned that a number of students enrolled in the New Haven, Connecticut public education system who were also enrolled in and successfully completed the Unified Progress Education (“UPI Education”) Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum, which was taught as an accredited course, achieved a 16.4% increase in overall grade point averages. It has also been reported that these students, who comprised the general school population, demonstrated a 23.6% reduction in school absences and an astounding reduction in school disciplinary actions. Is this true? How is this possible? What is it about UPI Education’s program that motivates our children in such positive ways that they achieve better grades?
“Like I said earlier, students are affected by their environment. If you place positive role models before students, it is likely that students will respond positively. If you place highly qualified people before students who can explain things to them using accurate and age appropriate examples, then students will begin to see the worth in coming to school, paying attention, following directions, doing homework and making honors.”
I noted that American students fare poorly on national assessments and international comparisons of academic performance, such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (“NAFP”), the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (“TIMSS”), and the Programme for International Student Assessments (“PISA”) all of which are clear indications that our young people may struggle to thrive in an increasingly interdependent and competitive global economy. What has to happen to facilitate the implementation of successful alternative solutions such as UPI Education in school systems? When will the trend change?
“UPI is composed of professional individuals who work or have worked in Corporate America and other pertinent service fields. These are the people whom educators are seeking to help students make the connection between school work and the world of work,” Dr. Carberry pointed out. “These professional people may not and, in most cases, have not taken courses in education theory. However, they are practitioners whose skills must be embraced by educators if we expect to pry our students’ minds away from our competitors -- television, Internet and all night television. School has to be the greatest show on earth. If it means we have to bring in some players -- a better word would be ‘stakeholders,’ then we must do this. We say, ‘It takes a whole village to educate a child.’ We must believe this. Churches have changed in how parishioners are attracted to them; we must change how we can re-engage students in learning.”
Our society has experienced a significant reduction in the extent to which parents support schools in maintaining classroom discipline. Today, many parents become advocates for their children and too often threaten to “call a lawyer” if the school insists on enforcing discipline for student misconduct. What will it take to make parents and students realize that actions have consequences? What has caused our society, parents and students to become so indifferent? Must we offer parents as well as students “life skills”?
“We are living in times where the media has helped to expose the weaknesses of presidents, politicians, doctors, educators as well as parents. I think role models are hard to find in the public’s eye. Everyone is subject to criticism and ridicule, unfortunately. Some parents hide behind their own shortcomings by pointing the finger at administrators and teachers. These types of parents can wreak havoc on teachers, administrators and schools if the school has not become totally committed to teaching all students. All staff, including administrators, must engage in staff development that improves classroom management and teaching strategies. Schools must set and follow policies of discipline for students and employees. Communication of what will be taught, accepted and not negotiated must be clear and assessable to all stakeholders, including parents. I am a huge advocate of Dr. Comer’s Six Developmental Pathways. I strongly believe that parents need to know what it takes for a child to develop and grow. Parents need to know that children must develop cognitively, physically, ethically, socially, psychologically and their speech and language must be cultivated. Many parents have nurtured their children along these pathways intuitively. Others need to take a class. Schools can offer to do this,” Dr. Carberry commented thoughtfully.
The September 1, 2006 airing of “Stupid In America: How We Cheat Our Kids” on ABC’s 20/20 echoed the frustrations of millions of American parents in reporting that “…the wheels are falling off America’s education wagon.” Nonetheless, the report pointed out that there are individuals and entities -- not to mention -- government funding, grants, corporate and private foundation funding available to aid the field of education. Are we falling short when we blame our students and the system? Are we not all to blame when billions of dollars are doled out into thousands of different directions only to find that our world ranking for education is on a fatal nose dive? Where is the roadmap to our national educational success? How do we reproduce tangible results like those produced by UPI Education’s Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum? What will it take to get these various funds and school systems on the same page?
“America is the country where people have more freedom and choices than most. Americans move in all different directions. Our government gives us the right to choose to eat meat, vegetables and a starch; in other countries the majority of people may only have one choice of food. Children can decide to wear jeans, ‘Jordans’, and jewelry to school. In some countries, they are mandated to wear a uniform. In our country, children can go to school as long as they want; in some countries formal learning ends after high school. We are more distracted by fashion, music, and entertainment, while students in other countries are more focused on the possibilities an education can offer them and their families. Children come to America not speaking English, but within three years outperform American students in mathematics and science because they are not distracted by all of the freedom American children possess. Our country gives us freedom; yet, with the freedom to choose we have created a culture that has become more concerned with convenience in the ‘here and now’ than in the long term affects of short-term thinking. Students in other countries have not become as complacent as American students. It is not that American students do not have the potential to excel. They have become blinded by how fast they can get what they want -- such as food without a home-cooked meal, information without going to the library, using the cell phone instead of a pen to write a message, and a diploma without having taken courses that help preserve families, our communities, our nation and our planet. Our government must help to eradicate the complacency in the schools by insisting on the hiring of highly qualified teachers. However, these teachers must be able to receive the funds to get to college to train in the best colleges and universities. And even before these college students begin to train, they must be taught in accredited schools. The government‘s task is broad. It must provide funds for schools to receive the supplies and materials to teach. The government should be responsible for helping deserving students matriculate through college. It must support colleges and universities in the training of teachers. The government must control some of the industries that distract students from learning. As Forrest Gump says, ‘Stupid is what Stupid does’. We must ask ourselves, ‘Who is allowing the stupidity?’ UPI Education is a program that helps diffuse the stimuli that has blinded our children’s vision of becoming scientists and chemists and community activists and world leaders. Before we can teach, we must have students in their seats. UPI Education is inspiring students to attend school and to come ready to listen and learn,” Carberry passionately opined.
In view of the fact that the United States’ world ranking in education is very low and that “alternative education vehicles” may be necessary to provide our children with the tools they will need to become successful and productive adults in a global marketplace, what does the future hold for public education?
“The beauty of living in America is the fact that if you do not like what you see, you can keep trying something else until you get what you like. If you do not like public education, one can try a charter school, private school or home school or parochial school. Parents who do not like their neighborhood school can receive a transfer to a ‘better’ school if they are adamant enough. I believe the ‘No Child Left Behind’ movement had the potential to make a real difference on how schooling is done in all public schools if the mandates were interpreted correctly and the funding was forthcoming and distributed equitably. Public education in America has lost its international position at the top of the academic ladder. Research shows that fewer American students are enrolled in universities as Science and Math majors. More
students are enrolled in Science and Math courses in other countries and are outperforming American students in Science and Math en masse. We can redeem ourselves with the help of the ‘whole village’. UPI Education is a stakeholder that understands the concept of ‘school partner’ and ‘stakeholder.’ There is enough work to be done to redeem our place in academia. School systems, the government and stakeholders like UPI must come together for the sake of our communities and country,” Dr. Carberry stated with unabashed honesty.
What’s next for Dr. Belinda Carberry?
“I would like to continue my research in educational organization and leadership and perhaps start a charter school.”
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A STRAIGHT NO-CHASER DIALOGUE WITH BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT STATE REPRESENTATIVE CHARLES "DON" CLEMONS, JR.
ARE CHARTER SCHOOLS AND LIFE SKILLS CURRICULUMS KEY “PIECES OF THE PUZZLE” IN EDUCATING OUR CHILDREN”?: A “STRAIGHT, NO-CHASER” DIALOGUE WITH BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT STATE REPRESENTATIVE
CHARLES “DON” CLEMONS, JR.
By: D.A. Sears
He represents and provides services for his constituents who reside in the 124th Connecticut General Assembly District which comprises its East End, East Side and Success areas. He is the Vice Chair of the Connecticut Legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee and also serves on the Education and Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committees. He is The Honorable Charles “Don” Clemons, Jr. State Representative Clemons is passionate about education. It is a passion that is reflected in his successful quest for funding for a new charter school – Park City Prep School – a middle school for sixth, seventh and eighth graders in Bridgeport, Connecticut that is scheduled to open its doors on 1 September 2006. The new charter school will offer a curriculum that is focused on mathematics, science and technology. Clemons’ staunch support of education is also reflected in “Hockey In The Hood,” a program he created that has been implemented in the Bridgeport, Connecticut public school system. “Hockey In The Hood” is a five-year physical education program that starts at the fourth grade level in the public schools as a result of a collaboration spearheaded by State Representative Clemons between Bridgeport’s public school system, business community and sports community. Alternative educational institutions such as charter schools and life skills curriculums such as the Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum offered by Unified Progress International Education (“UPI Education”) are, in State Representative Clemons’ view, some of the key “pieces of the puzzle” that are needed to educate our children.
So, who is State Representative Charles “Don” Clemons, Jr.? Where did he spend his formative years? Why did he decide to embark upon a career in politics?
“I was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and grew up here in one of the city’s housing projects – Bearesley Terrace -- and went to the public elementary school here. My secondary education was in the affluent suburb of Fairfield which is an adjoining town at a parochial Catholic high school – Notre Dame High School. It was a boys and girls high school and I matriculated there on, I guess, a challenge. In eighth grade I was chosen for it due to the fact that there was a campaign initiated by the Diocese of the City of Bridgeport in Fairfield County to attract, at the time, minorities. Now, I don’t use that term -- ‘minorities’ -- for two reasons. For one, in Bridgeport, ‘people of color’ are not the minority anymore, and two, I always have used the term ‘people of color’. They were looking to attract more minority students and I overheard a representative from Notre Dame High School talking to the principal of the school at the time that they were looking to have an entrance level examination for at least eighth grade classes which consisted of two classrooms and in particular they were looking to see if minority students could achieve or pass this exam for possible admission into this catholic high school. I heard the principal say ‘Well, I don’t know if we have too many, if any, colored children that could pass, but you are more than welcome.’ So, as I was walking to my next class, I started thinking, ‘Well, if they come around, I will sign up.’ And that’s what happened. A few weeks later, I took the exam and I passed the exam. This was 1966 and that’s how I came to attend Notre Dame High School. It was a tumultuous period in the country. So, for my four years at the high school -- it was kind of tough. For the first two years I did want to be in that setting. And for the last two years I didn’t want to be in that setting. I wanted to be transferred to a public school with my friends with whom I grew up in the projects. At the time, my mother said ‘No’, but my father said ‘Okay’ because my father wanted me to participate in sports and I was not getting that opportunity at Notre Dame High School. I was better at sports than the Caucasian kids who I grew up with but they got the opportunities to play sports before me, so that was what created the alienation for me for the last two years and the reason for my not wanting to attend that school. But, I stayed because of the consternation that it created between my parents. In order to keep the peace, I stayed there. So, I graduated in 1970 and within that four year period there were a lot of things that I could talk about that occurred, but it’s a story within itself. I endured every racial epithet that you could think of. And it was even sprawled and written on my locker. So, I had to learn to develop a lot of tolerance and at the same time I had to go to blows. I had some incidents and altercations. And in most instances, I did come out on the winning side although I was not physically developed and big at that time. Funny, I ended up being physically above average. But at that time, I wasn’t. Within that four year period, the school segregated itself – it split. We were coed during my first year. In my sophomore year, they segregated the high school. The boys went to one building and the girls went to another. So it ended up being that I graduated from Notre Dame Boys High School. So, in my freshman class there were twelve African Americans. By the time I graduated four years later, it was narrowed down to only two. And then I wanted to go to a historically Black college. At that time, my aunt taught at Florida A&M. For more than thirty years, she was an educator in the Math Department at Florida A&M. My sister attended St. Augustine College in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is five years older than me. I used to go visit her when we used to take her to college and I started looking at historically Black colleges. So in 1970, I got accepted to Florida A&M. I did one year there which I regret, but it was, as I look back now, a year that was really enlightening. It was something that I have never forgotten. And I have always stayed in touch with Black colleges even though I left there and came back to Bridgeport and went to a community college called Housatonic Community College. And I did that for two years. In the meantime, I started getting involved in professional athletics and I was offered a baseball contract with the Atlanta Braves in 1972. I turned that down because I was thinking in terms of basketball because I was playing for a junior college and we were one of the best in New England. But, ultimately, that didn’t pan out. And after doing two years at the junior college, I received a four-year scholarship which helped me to continue my athletic career and then I got into football. I played semi-pro football for the Bridgeport Jets in 1974. The Bridgeport Jets was a subsidiary of the New York Jets. And in 1976, I got invited to a free agency camp for the Washington Redskins and then after trying out there, I got cut. In the meantime, for those two years between 1974 and 1976 while trying to make it in football, I was also taking tests for the Bridgeport, Connecticut Fire Department and Police Department and for a State Trooper position just in case my football career didn’t pan out. And my football career didn’t pan out. It should have, but I didn’t get the opportunities that I should have gotten. So I came back to Bridgeport, Connecticut after getting cut from the Redskins and I took the Bridgeport Fire Department examination and for that examination we trained for two months and studied. And when we took the test, the psychological part of that examination was not anything that we had trained for when we studied for the examination. So, a few of us got together and we become litigants in a class action lawsuit against the City of Bridgeport for discriminatory practices in hiring. The incentive for my wanting to become a fireman was my uncle who was the first Black fireman in Bridgeport and that was a story within itself. He took the first Civil Service Examination that the City of Bridgeport gave in 1936 for the Police Department and came out number one, but the City of Bridgeport at the time said that it would not give a colored man a nightstick and a gun to patrol the streets of Bridgeport. So, two years went by and a lot of friends -- white friends -- that he grew up with who were working in the City Administration asked him if he would accept a position in the City’s Fire Department, which he did. And he was the first Black fireman in the City of Bridgeport. There is some possibility that he was the first Black fireman in the State of Connecticut. So, he was, indeed, a driving force and inspiration. He told me: ‘Look, you need employment. You need something with benefits and this will provide that.’ He encouraged me to take the examination. He ended up doing thirty years in the Fire Department. He retired in 1968 and had ascended to the rank of Captain. So we have a long history as a family here in Bridgeport. My mother’s parents – my grandparents -- migrated to Bridgeport in the 1890s from Hillsboro, North Carolina. Now getting back to the class action lawsuit against the City of Bridgeport – it was a nine-year court battle. Finally, the United States Supreme Court ruled in 1984 in our favor. Yes, my case was a federal case. This case, I guess, set a precedent for a lot of other discriminatory cases because in talking to a lot of young people that have embarked upon a law career I find that they are really familiar with the case. So this was a historic case and it took a nine year battle to win it. But within those nine years, the City knew, I guess, that they were going to lose. So they started to trickle individuals on the list of minorities that took that test into the Fire Department. They put a few of us on the job starting in 1978, but only a few – only two. And the next group was in 1981 and one in which I was one of five. It was a group of Black and Hispanic men. At the time no women were a part of the group. They tried to appease us by putting a few of us in the Fire Department, thinking that we would drop the lawsuit. But we didn’t. And ultimately in July 1984, the Supreme Court ruled that the City was discriminatory and that the City was required to not only hire every minority that took that examination, but even those who did not pass according to the City’s scale – or criteria. If they signed their names and said that they had taken that test in 1975, they got the job – they were awarded the job. They were awarded back pay and they were awarded the seniority that they had when they were supposed to go on the job as a result of taking the test. So, my retroactive date went back to 1976 and we were under the old plan where you do twenty years and you are out. So, when I went to work at the Fire Department in 1981, I was able to get credit for those four years. I ended up ascending to the rank of Provisional Lieutenant. And I ended up retiring in April of 1999. I was able to help take care of my parents whose health were debilitating due to age. So, for the whole year, I devoted my efforts to taking care of my mother and father. And then in 2000, I was thrust into politics by becoming the City Councilman for the East Side District of the City of Bridgeport. I was one of seven candidates that was looking to replace the Alderwoman who passed away. Ultimately, I was chosen in a Special Election and I finished her term – one term – and then I ran for re-election and won another two-year term. Then in May of 2003, I tried to seek a higher office for State Representative. I won that election and that is the position that I am in now. I am running for re-election for a second full term for State Representative in November 2006. In November 2005, I ran for a vacant Senate seat in a six-candidate race. I thought I should have won. I was thinking that I was winning, but I came in second out of the six candidates and I did not have to resign my seat as State Representative, so that was good. It gave me an opportunity to spread my name a little more and get a little more experience. I learned a lot more. I think it worked out pretty good because during my nomination for re-election this Spring – in May – I was not challenged. I have somewhat of a free shot so I don’t have to campaign. And I have been blessed during the past six years to pass one piece of historic legislation during my tenure as a City Councilman – I placed a moratorium on the Fire Department examination. And I introduced residency preference points for City residents for any Civil Service competitive examination -- not just for the Fire Department, but for the Police Department, the Sanitation Department, Public Works – any position that the City of Bridgeport offers now. If you, as an applicant, can show that you are a resident or have a domicile for at least one year in the City of Bridgeport, you will receive an added 10% to your final score upon passing a certain set of points. So, the theory behind this is to have our residents regain the City jobs that they have lost over the years to folks from outside. And also to create safer streets – when you know that you have policemen and firemen living on a street, your community becomes safer because folks that are looking to commit illegal or illicit activities will be more cognizant of the fact that the community’s residents are policemen or firemen and probably will not engage in illegal or illicit activities in that community. Also, but maybe not in the short term, this will begin to not only put pride and safety back into the community, but will also result in having the revenue – tax dollars -- being spent here in the City as opposed to in another community,” State Representative Clemons responded.
I noted that during State Representative Clemons’ tenure as a state legislator for the City of Bridgeport, he has been and continues to be a staunch supporter of education in general, and of charter schools, in particular. When I asked him why he was so passionate about education, he offered the following:
“Well, we know that our public school system – not just here in Bridgeport, Connecticut – but systemically across the nation – in our urban centers, in most instances, are failing our children and we know why this is occurring. Some of the reason that the public school systems are failing our children is due to the curriculum and social and economic situations. So, I have looked at our system here and in New Haven and have also looked at some data – statistics. As a result, Bridgeport has two charter schools that I was able to get allocations for– and I have been able to acquire allocations for a third charter school. So, I saw from the data or statistics that where charter schools were prevalent, our children’s academic achievements increased. I think that is due to the fact that there are smaller classrooms in charter schools and there are teachers who are more attentive and understanding who can reach the children. Within my family I have educators – my sister is a secondary high school teacher in Bridgeport and she has thirty years of teaching under her belt. My son has eight years of teaching under his belt in the elementary education field in the Bridgeport, Connecticut public schools. And he is a basketball coach for one of the high schools. And my daughter has two years of teaching under her belt in elementary education and she is a third grade teacher. And just to throw this in, my father retired from the Board of Education. He was the first Black custodian to work for the City of Bridgeport when he got out of the war. My family – my immediate family -- is in the public education system. So it was a passion for me. As a City Councilman, I was on the Education Committee and when I became a State Representative I asked to be on the State Board of Education Committee for the State. So, with that said, I was able to, over the last several years, acquire funding for a new charter school here in Bridgeport that will open on September 1, 2006 and it is called Park City Prep School. It is a middle school for sixth, seventh and eighth graders and its focus will be on mathematics, science and technology. And a few years back, I initiated a program in the public schools called ‘Hockey In The Hood.’ It is a physical education program starting at the fourth grade level. It is a five year program which has been embraced by the Board of Education as a part of its curriculum and a collaborative effort, which I helped to orchestrate with the owners of the hockey ice skating rink, the business community and a local semi-pro hockey team – The Bridgeport Sound Tigers American Hockey League Team. With the help of the Board of Education, the business community and with the help of the local hockey team – The Bridgeport Sound Tigers American Hockey League Team – who have agreed to be instructors, we have started a five-year program which teaches children – boys and girls – the fundamental art of skating. By the time they become a freshman in high school – in the ninth grade -- they will be able to learn how to play hockey. The program, I believe, is in its third or fourth year and is being very well received by the community. On the weekends, the parents can come to the skating rink and skate with their children. So, it gives both parents and their children an outlet to do something different together that they would not ordinarily have an opportunity to do as a family. This is one program that I was able to create and have incorporated in the schools from an educational aspect.”
So, is State Representative Clemons saying that alternative educational institutions and curriculums are needed to educate our children?
“Yes, I am saying that alternative educational institutions and curriculums are needed to educate our children. It is what we need. And what we also need are teachers who are committed. When I say committed, I mean teachers that go above and beyond the call of duty to educate our children. When I was in grammar school there was a different dichotomy. Education was first and foremost. It was paramount. Over the years, we have created an achievement gap. I think we have created a lowering of expectations in terms of achievement and one of the things that has contributed to the achievement gap is discipline and our children’s lack discipline when it comes to education as well as life skills management. So, we have teachers who in my formidable years and probably in yours as well – who were synonymous with home. You respected your home and you respected your school. And everyone at home knew what was going on in school and the school knew what was going on in the home. Why? Because the teachers lived in the community. You see, our teachers don’t live in our communities now. They get shipped in. When they started busing back in the sixties even though I was young, I was from the ‘old school of thinking’ -- where you had the neighborhood concept of school. We used to go to school, come home for lunch and go back to school. At ten years old, both of my parents were working, but I was responsible and disciplined enough to know that when they let us out from school for lunch at quarter to twelve, I had to be back at school at quarter to one. My parents gave me a key. Now they call them ‘latch key kids.’ We certainly didn’t know anything about that back then. So, has the moral fiber of our communities broken down? Yes. I think the church community also needs to do a lot in our urban areas. Some churches are taking a lead now in trying to bring back some semblance of moral fiber to our communities. But there needs to be more of it. Everybody talks about the separation of church and state, but to me the church was the embodiment of everything in our community. Everything stemmed from your church and your spiritual affiliation. I think that there has to be a regaining of a relationship between the home – whatever the home is – and I’m not going to mention what the definition of a home is, even though we do disproportionately have households without two parents – and the schools and the churches. But you know what? We talk about how it takes a village to raise children, well, we have to really ‘walk the walk’. So, whatever home is – whether you are being raised by grandparents – and in most instances, we have grandparents that are raising second generations of children. So, Grandmom and Grandpop are tired. Our Baby Boomers -- and I’m in that population – are not physically around. Many of us are incarcerated or in what I call a ‘walking zombie’ state. So, I mean there are a lot of social ills that come into play. Whatever home is, you have to be involved. Whether you are being raised by an aunt, an uncle – and I did a composite study about five years ago at my former grammar school and learned that out of 735 odd students – that’s one-sixth of the student population were under foster care– one hundred and thirty-some kids were coming from homes with no parents. So, we have a problem and I think that charter schools can help solve the problem. And I say that when I speak at public schools in front of public school educators and administrators. Some may say that it’s a slap in the face to talk about the failure of the public schools. I think that maybe it’s a wake-up call. But we can work together and I think we have to approach our public schools differently. We have to change the curriculum. Curriculums are antiquated. So, we have to test our children and find out what they are proficient in and almost craft a course or curriculum that fits the children’s level of proficiency and the subject matters or subject areas that they are proficient in to accentuate that. Schools have to become fun again to kids. You have kids that are scared to go to school. Kids that go to school now are worried about how they look. ‘Do I have the right clothes?’ ‘I have to wear designer apparel.’ They are obsessed with material things – they are obsessed with things that have nothing to do with them getting an education. Then you have teachers – and I can understand some of the teachers and I empathize with some of them -- that say ‘We are here to teach and not to discipline.’ But again, the teachers that are in the public schools -- where are their kids going to school? So, there is something wrong with the picture. If the school is good enough for you to teach at and collect a paycheck from, then how come it’s not good enough for your kids to matriculate there? They go to either suburban public schools or parochial schools. So, where is the message here? What are you saying? Are you saying: ‘Do as I say and not do as I do?’ So, we have to be a catalyst to try to recapture some of those fundamental skills that should have been taught to our children,” he replied with unflinching honesty.
I asked State Representative Clemons to talk about the help that he would need from his constituents and from other segments of the community in an effort to gain support for more charter schools and for more life skills curriculums such as the Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum that is offered by Unified Progress International Education (“UPI Education”) to students enrolled in its curriculum in New Haven, Connecticut. What would make his job easier?
“Well, I think, as a matter of fact, that you are giving me an opportunity as well as the folks at UPI Education to get the word out about the need for more charter schools and for life skills curriculums so that I can let my constituents and the general public know that there is a vehicle that can help us here. I think that the responsibility for creating and supporting charter schools and life skills curriculums should not be shouldered by one group of people. But I think that people can be the ‘catalyst’ -- again I think I have to use the word ‘catalyst’ – for creating support for more charter schools and life skills curriculums such as the Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum offered by UPI Education in New Haven. I think that just being able to get the message across to people that there are decent schools around is a great help. You know, there was a lottery event held two weeks which facilitated the acceptance of applications to new charter schools. There were 176 slots available and I think there were over close to 500 people – parents and children – applying for the lottery to fill out applications to get into the new charter schools. So, I think that increased publicity and good results would go a long way in generating support for charter skills and life skills curriculums. The best lobbying and endorsements comes from ‘word of mouth’. If you go to a restaurant and you enjoy the food, you are going to recommend the restaurants to others. I think the participation of the students and parents that are going to be involved in the charter schools and hopefully the success of the schools themselves will lead to more support for the charter schools. And here in Connecticut – in New Haven, in particular – I think all of the New Haven schools are either charter schools or magnet schools. So that is why you see a difference here in Connecticut. Now, I don’t know about other states, but I do know that here, in Connecticut – especially in New Haven, because that is where UPI is really entrenched -- out here we are seeing a difference. Charter skills and life skills curriculums seem to work, but we have to open the eyes of the superintendents and the administrators. You see, a lot of times they view alternative educational institutions and alternative curriculums as an adversarial program because it might expose some of the areas that they are lacking in. That is what I have been confronted with in Bridgeport. So, the question is: How can I convince . . . how can I persuade . . . how can I encourage the administrators and the educators here in Bridgeport? I believe the way to do that is by getting the funding for Park City Prep School and hopefully integrating the UPI program into it. Once that is done, it will open the eyes of the community at large. And the circulation of your publication here in Connecticut or the opportunity of having your publication circulated here in Connecticut may help.”
What has to happen to facilitate the implementation of successful alternative curriculums such as life skills curriculums in school systems? Will it take a grassroots movement?
“Yes, it will take a grassroots movement. The pressure has to come from the grassroots – from the people – from the churches. Again, the churches have to – and I’m not trying to be critical – but I think that the churches have to play an important role. And a lot of churches are playing a role. My church is playing a role. I go to the largest African American church in Bridgeport, Connecticut. We have a lot of what they now call ‘ministries’ – or ministerial components. We do have a lot of ministerial components in the church. For instance, I was a chaperone a few years ago and took kids on a college tour – to the University of Florida, the University of Jacksonville and to Florida A&M, too. There has to be what I talked about earlier -- a forging of relationships, as it was in the beginning --- between the home, the school and the church,” says State Representative Clemons.
And what does the future hold for State Representative Clemons?
”Well, I hope for God’s blessings first in terms of verticality,” State Representative Clemons responded with a chuckle. “I’ve been going through a lot, personally. In the midst of my politics and my church devotion, I have had to cope with a physical condition. I had back surgery a year ago and I’m still recuperating. I waited to have surgery and as a result, I did more damage to my nervous system. I was partially paralyzed until April or May in 2005, I was between a wheel chair, a walker and a cane. How I felt depended on what equipment I was using. If I felt bad and couldn’t move, I was in the wheel chair. If I felt ‘semi-bad’, I was using the walker and when I was limping I was using my cane. But I was making it – in spite of my condition. So, for the next four or five years, I hope to still be in the political arena. I may have an opportunity to – some people have mentioned my name as being a candidate for other elective offices. I haven’t mentioned my candidacy for another elective office, because you don’t want to pull the cart before the horse in politics. In politics, you have to know when and what to say around who and at what time. But I will say this -- there is a renaissance -- a metamorphosis that is taking place in Bridgeport in terms of the political landscape. And there could be a political opportunity for advancing or moving into another position -- whether the position is a mayoral position or a senatorial position. There are going to be some opportunities that will arise possibly within the next year or year and-a-half and I am going to have to make some decisions.”
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CHARLES “DON” CLEMONS, JR.
By: D.A. Sears
He represents and provides services for his constituents who reside in the 124th Connecticut General Assembly District which comprises its East End, East Side and Success areas. He is the Vice Chair of the Connecticut Legislature’s Insurance and Real Estate Committee and also serves on the Education and Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committees. He is The Honorable Charles “Don” Clemons, Jr. State Representative Clemons is passionate about education. It is a passion that is reflected in his successful quest for funding for a new charter school – Park City Prep School – a middle school for sixth, seventh and eighth graders in Bridgeport, Connecticut that is scheduled to open its doors on 1 September 2006. The new charter school will offer a curriculum that is focused on mathematics, science and technology. Clemons’ staunch support of education is also reflected in “Hockey In The Hood,” a program he created that has been implemented in the Bridgeport, Connecticut public school system. “Hockey In The Hood” is a five-year physical education program that starts at the fourth grade level in the public schools as a result of a collaboration spearheaded by State Representative Clemons between Bridgeport’s public school system, business community and sports community. Alternative educational institutions such as charter schools and life skills curriculums such as the Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum offered by Unified Progress International Education (“UPI Education”) are, in State Representative Clemons’ view, some of the key “pieces of the puzzle” that are needed to educate our children.
So, who is State Representative Charles “Don” Clemons, Jr.? Where did he spend his formative years? Why did he decide to embark upon a career in politics?
“I was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut and grew up here in one of the city’s housing projects – Bearesley Terrace -- and went to the public elementary school here. My secondary education was in the affluent suburb of Fairfield which is an adjoining town at a parochial Catholic high school – Notre Dame High School. It was a boys and girls high school and I matriculated there on, I guess, a challenge. In eighth grade I was chosen for it due to the fact that there was a campaign initiated by the Diocese of the City of Bridgeport in Fairfield County to attract, at the time, minorities. Now, I don’t use that term -- ‘minorities’ -- for two reasons. For one, in Bridgeport, ‘people of color’ are not the minority anymore, and two, I always have used the term ‘people of color’. They were looking to attract more minority students and I overheard a representative from Notre Dame High School talking to the principal of the school at the time that they were looking to have an entrance level examination for at least eighth grade classes which consisted of two classrooms and in particular they were looking to see if minority students could achieve or pass this exam for possible admission into this catholic high school. I heard the principal say ‘Well, I don’t know if we have too many, if any, colored children that could pass, but you are more than welcome.’ So, as I was walking to my next class, I started thinking, ‘Well, if they come around, I will sign up.’ And that’s what happened. A few weeks later, I took the exam and I passed the exam. This was 1966 and that’s how I came to attend Notre Dame High School. It was a tumultuous period in the country. So, for my four years at the high school -- it was kind of tough. For the first two years I did want to be in that setting. And for the last two years I didn’t want to be in that setting. I wanted to be transferred to a public school with my friends with whom I grew up in the projects. At the time, my mother said ‘No’, but my father said ‘Okay’ because my father wanted me to participate in sports and I was not getting that opportunity at Notre Dame High School. I was better at sports than the Caucasian kids who I grew up with but they got the opportunities to play sports before me, so that was what created the alienation for me for the last two years and the reason for my not wanting to attend that school. But, I stayed because of the consternation that it created between my parents. In order to keep the peace, I stayed there. So, I graduated in 1970 and within that four year period there were a lot of things that I could talk about that occurred, but it’s a story within itself. I endured every racial epithet that you could think of. And it was even sprawled and written on my locker. So, I had to learn to develop a lot of tolerance and at the same time I had to go to blows. I had some incidents and altercations. And in most instances, I did come out on the winning side although I was not physically developed and big at that time. Funny, I ended up being physically above average. But at that time, I wasn’t. Within that four year period, the school segregated itself – it split. We were coed during my first year. In my sophomore year, they segregated the high school. The boys went to one building and the girls went to another. So it ended up being that I graduated from Notre Dame Boys High School. So, in my freshman class there were twelve African Americans. By the time I graduated four years later, it was narrowed down to only two. And then I wanted to go to a historically Black college. At that time, my aunt taught at Florida A&M. For more than thirty years, she was an educator in the Math Department at Florida A&M. My sister attended St. Augustine College in Raleigh, North Carolina. She is five years older than me. I used to go visit her when we used to take her to college and I started looking at historically Black colleges. So in 1970, I got accepted to Florida A&M. I did one year there which I regret, but it was, as I look back now, a year that was really enlightening. It was something that I have never forgotten. And I have always stayed in touch with Black colleges even though I left there and came back to Bridgeport and went to a community college called Housatonic Community College. And I did that for two years. In the meantime, I started getting involved in professional athletics and I was offered a baseball contract with the Atlanta Braves in 1972. I turned that down because I was thinking in terms of basketball because I was playing for a junior college and we were one of the best in New England. But, ultimately, that didn’t pan out. And after doing two years at the junior college, I received a four-year scholarship which helped me to continue my athletic career and then I got into football. I played semi-pro football for the Bridgeport Jets in 1974. The Bridgeport Jets was a subsidiary of the New York Jets. And in 1976, I got invited to a free agency camp for the Washington Redskins and then after trying out there, I got cut. In the meantime, for those two years between 1974 and 1976 while trying to make it in football, I was also taking tests for the Bridgeport, Connecticut Fire Department and Police Department and for a State Trooper position just in case my football career didn’t pan out. And my football career didn’t pan out. It should have, but I didn’t get the opportunities that I should have gotten. So I came back to Bridgeport, Connecticut after getting cut from the Redskins and I took the Bridgeport Fire Department examination and for that examination we trained for two months and studied. And when we took the test, the psychological part of that examination was not anything that we had trained for when we studied for the examination. So, a few of us got together and we become litigants in a class action lawsuit against the City of Bridgeport for discriminatory practices in hiring. The incentive for my wanting to become a fireman was my uncle who was the first Black fireman in Bridgeport and that was a story within itself. He took the first Civil Service Examination that the City of Bridgeport gave in 1936 for the Police Department and came out number one, but the City of Bridgeport at the time said that it would not give a colored man a nightstick and a gun to patrol the streets of Bridgeport. So, two years went by and a lot of friends -- white friends -- that he grew up with who were working in the City Administration asked him if he would accept a position in the City’s Fire Department, which he did. And he was the first Black fireman in the City of Bridgeport. There is some possibility that he was the first Black fireman in the State of Connecticut. So, he was, indeed, a driving force and inspiration. He told me: ‘Look, you need employment. You need something with benefits and this will provide that.’ He encouraged me to take the examination. He ended up doing thirty years in the Fire Department. He retired in 1968 and had ascended to the rank of Captain. So we have a long history as a family here in Bridgeport. My mother’s parents – my grandparents -- migrated to Bridgeport in the 1890s from Hillsboro, North Carolina. Now getting back to the class action lawsuit against the City of Bridgeport – it was a nine-year court battle. Finally, the United States Supreme Court ruled in 1984 in our favor. Yes, my case was a federal case. This case, I guess, set a precedent for a lot of other discriminatory cases because in talking to a lot of young people that have embarked upon a law career I find that they are really familiar with the case. So this was a historic case and it took a nine year battle to win it. But within those nine years, the City knew, I guess, that they were going to lose. So they started to trickle individuals on the list of minorities that took that test into the Fire Department. They put a few of us on the job starting in 1978, but only a few – only two. And the next group was in 1981 and one in which I was one of five. It was a group of Black and Hispanic men. At the time no women were a part of the group. They tried to appease us by putting a few of us in the Fire Department, thinking that we would drop the lawsuit. But we didn’t. And ultimately in July 1984, the Supreme Court ruled that the City was discriminatory and that the City was required to not only hire every minority that took that examination, but even those who did not pass according to the City’s scale – or criteria. If they signed their names and said that they had taken that test in 1975, they got the job – they were awarded the job. They were awarded back pay and they were awarded the seniority that they had when they were supposed to go on the job as a result of taking the test. So, my retroactive date went back to 1976 and we were under the old plan where you do twenty years and you are out. So, when I went to work at the Fire Department in 1981, I was able to get credit for those four years. I ended up ascending to the rank of Provisional Lieutenant. And I ended up retiring in April of 1999. I was able to help take care of my parents whose health were debilitating due to age. So, for the whole year, I devoted my efforts to taking care of my mother and father. And then in 2000, I was thrust into politics by becoming the City Councilman for the East Side District of the City of Bridgeport. I was one of seven candidates that was looking to replace the Alderwoman who passed away. Ultimately, I was chosen in a Special Election and I finished her term – one term – and then I ran for re-election and won another two-year term. Then in May of 2003, I tried to seek a higher office for State Representative. I won that election and that is the position that I am in now. I am running for re-election for a second full term for State Representative in November 2006. In November 2005, I ran for a vacant Senate seat in a six-candidate race. I thought I should have won. I was thinking that I was winning, but I came in second out of the six candidates and I did not have to resign my seat as State Representative, so that was good. It gave me an opportunity to spread my name a little more and get a little more experience. I learned a lot more. I think it worked out pretty good because during my nomination for re-election this Spring – in May – I was not challenged. I have somewhat of a free shot so I don’t have to campaign. And I have been blessed during the past six years to pass one piece of historic legislation during my tenure as a City Councilman – I placed a moratorium on the Fire Department examination. And I introduced residency preference points for City residents for any Civil Service competitive examination -- not just for the Fire Department, but for the Police Department, the Sanitation Department, Public Works – any position that the City of Bridgeport offers now. If you, as an applicant, can show that you are a resident or have a domicile for at least one year in the City of Bridgeport, you will receive an added 10% to your final score upon passing a certain set of points. So, the theory behind this is to have our residents regain the City jobs that they have lost over the years to folks from outside. And also to create safer streets – when you know that you have policemen and firemen living on a street, your community becomes safer because folks that are looking to commit illegal or illicit activities will be more cognizant of the fact that the community’s residents are policemen or firemen and probably will not engage in illegal or illicit activities in that community. Also, but maybe not in the short term, this will begin to not only put pride and safety back into the community, but will also result in having the revenue – tax dollars -- being spent here in the City as opposed to in another community,” State Representative Clemons responded.
I noted that during State Representative Clemons’ tenure as a state legislator for the City of Bridgeport, he has been and continues to be a staunch supporter of education in general, and of charter schools, in particular. When I asked him why he was so passionate about education, he offered the following:
“Well, we know that our public school system – not just here in Bridgeport, Connecticut – but systemically across the nation – in our urban centers, in most instances, are failing our children and we know why this is occurring. Some of the reason that the public school systems are failing our children is due to the curriculum and social and economic situations. So, I have looked at our system here and in New Haven and have also looked at some data – statistics. As a result, Bridgeport has two charter schools that I was able to get allocations for– and I have been able to acquire allocations for a third charter school. So, I saw from the data or statistics that where charter schools were prevalent, our children’s academic achievements increased. I think that is due to the fact that there are smaller classrooms in charter schools and there are teachers who are more attentive and understanding who can reach the children. Within my family I have educators – my sister is a secondary high school teacher in Bridgeport and she has thirty years of teaching under her belt. My son has eight years of teaching under his belt in the elementary education field in the Bridgeport, Connecticut public schools. And he is a basketball coach for one of the high schools. And my daughter has two years of teaching under her belt in elementary education and she is a third grade teacher. And just to throw this in, my father retired from the Board of Education. He was the first Black custodian to work for the City of Bridgeport when he got out of the war. My family – my immediate family -- is in the public education system. So it was a passion for me. As a City Councilman, I was on the Education Committee and when I became a State Representative I asked to be on the State Board of Education Committee for the State. So, with that said, I was able to, over the last several years, acquire funding for a new charter school here in Bridgeport that will open on September 1, 2006 and it is called Park City Prep School. It is a middle school for sixth, seventh and eighth graders and its focus will be on mathematics, science and technology. And a few years back, I initiated a program in the public schools called ‘Hockey In The Hood.’ It is a physical education program starting at the fourth grade level. It is a five year program which has been embraced by the Board of Education as a part of its curriculum and a collaborative effort, which I helped to orchestrate with the owners of the hockey ice skating rink, the business community and a local semi-pro hockey team – The Bridgeport Sound Tigers American Hockey League Team. With the help of the Board of Education, the business community and with the help of the local hockey team – The Bridgeport Sound Tigers American Hockey League Team – who have agreed to be instructors, we have started a five-year program which teaches children – boys and girls – the fundamental art of skating. By the time they become a freshman in high school – in the ninth grade -- they will be able to learn how to play hockey. The program, I believe, is in its third or fourth year and is being very well received by the community. On the weekends, the parents can come to the skating rink and skate with their children. So, it gives both parents and their children an outlet to do something different together that they would not ordinarily have an opportunity to do as a family. This is one program that I was able to create and have incorporated in the schools from an educational aspect.”
So, is State Representative Clemons saying that alternative educational institutions and curriculums are needed to educate our children?
“Yes, I am saying that alternative educational institutions and curriculums are needed to educate our children. It is what we need. And what we also need are teachers who are committed. When I say committed, I mean teachers that go above and beyond the call of duty to educate our children. When I was in grammar school there was a different dichotomy. Education was first and foremost. It was paramount. Over the years, we have created an achievement gap. I think we have created a lowering of expectations in terms of achievement and one of the things that has contributed to the achievement gap is discipline and our children’s lack discipline when it comes to education as well as life skills management. So, we have teachers who in my formidable years and probably in yours as well – who were synonymous with home. You respected your home and you respected your school. And everyone at home knew what was going on in school and the school knew what was going on in the home. Why? Because the teachers lived in the community. You see, our teachers don’t live in our communities now. They get shipped in. When they started busing back in the sixties even though I was young, I was from the ‘old school of thinking’ -- where you had the neighborhood concept of school. We used to go to school, come home for lunch and go back to school. At ten years old, both of my parents were working, but I was responsible and disciplined enough to know that when they let us out from school for lunch at quarter to twelve, I had to be back at school at quarter to one. My parents gave me a key. Now they call them ‘latch key kids.’ We certainly didn’t know anything about that back then. So, has the moral fiber of our communities broken down? Yes. I think the church community also needs to do a lot in our urban areas. Some churches are taking a lead now in trying to bring back some semblance of moral fiber to our communities. But there needs to be more of it. Everybody talks about the separation of church and state, but to me the church was the embodiment of everything in our community. Everything stemmed from your church and your spiritual affiliation. I think that there has to be a regaining of a relationship between the home – whatever the home is – and I’m not going to mention what the definition of a home is, even though we do disproportionately have households without two parents – and the schools and the churches. But you know what? We talk about how it takes a village to raise children, well, we have to really ‘walk the walk’. So, whatever home is – whether you are being raised by grandparents – and in most instances, we have grandparents that are raising second generations of children. So, Grandmom and Grandpop are tired. Our Baby Boomers -- and I’m in that population – are not physically around. Many of us are incarcerated or in what I call a ‘walking zombie’ state. So, I mean there are a lot of social ills that come into play. Whatever home is, you have to be involved. Whether you are being raised by an aunt, an uncle – and I did a composite study about five years ago at my former grammar school and learned that out of 735 odd students – that’s one-sixth of the student population were under foster care– one hundred and thirty-some kids were coming from homes with no parents. So, we have a problem and I think that charter schools can help solve the problem. And I say that when I speak at public schools in front of public school educators and administrators. Some may say that it’s a slap in the face to talk about the failure of the public schools. I think that maybe it’s a wake-up call. But we can work together and I think we have to approach our public schools differently. We have to change the curriculum. Curriculums are antiquated. So, we have to test our children and find out what they are proficient in and almost craft a course or curriculum that fits the children’s level of proficiency and the subject matters or subject areas that they are proficient in to accentuate that. Schools have to become fun again to kids. You have kids that are scared to go to school. Kids that go to school now are worried about how they look. ‘Do I have the right clothes?’ ‘I have to wear designer apparel.’ They are obsessed with material things – they are obsessed with things that have nothing to do with them getting an education. Then you have teachers – and I can understand some of the teachers and I empathize with some of them -- that say ‘We are here to teach and not to discipline.’ But again, the teachers that are in the public schools -- where are their kids going to school? So, there is something wrong with the picture. If the school is good enough for you to teach at and collect a paycheck from, then how come it’s not good enough for your kids to matriculate there? They go to either suburban public schools or parochial schools. So, where is the message here? What are you saying? Are you saying: ‘Do as I say and not do as I do?’ So, we have to be a catalyst to try to recapture some of those fundamental skills that should have been taught to our children,” he replied with unflinching honesty.
I asked State Representative Clemons to talk about the help that he would need from his constituents and from other segments of the community in an effort to gain support for more charter schools and for more life skills curriculums such as the Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum that is offered by Unified Progress International Education (“UPI Education”) to students enrolled in its curriculum in New Haven, Connecticut. What would make his job easier?
“Well, I think, as a matter of fact, that you are giving me an opportunity as well as the folks at UPI Education to get the word out about the need for more charter schools and for life skills curriculums so that I can let my constituents and the general public know that there is a vehicle that can help us here. I think that the responsibility for creating and supporting charter schools and life skills curriculums should not be shouldered by one group of people. But I think that people can be the ‘catalyst’ -- again I think I have to use the word ‘catalyst’ – for creating support for more charter schools and life skills curriculums such as the Life Skills SolutionsTM curriculum offered by UPI Education in New Haven. I think that just being able to get the message across to people that there are decent schools around is a great help. You know, there was a lottery event held two weeks which facilitated the acceptance of applications to new charter schools. There were 176 slots available and I think there were over close to 500 people – parents and children – applying for the lottery to fill out applications to get into the new charter schools. So, I think that increased publicity and good results would go a long way in generating support for charter skills and life skills curriculums. The best lobbying and endorsements comes from ‘word of mouth’. If you go to a restaurant and you enjoy the food, you are going to recommend the restaurants to others. I think the participation of the students and parents that are going to be involved in the charter schools and hopefully the success of the schools themselves will lead to more support for the charter schools. And here in Connecticut – in New Haven, in particular – I think all of the New Haven schools are either charter schools or magnet schools. So that is why you see a difference here in Connecticut. Now, I don’t know about other states, but I do know that here, in Connecticut – especially in New Haven, because that is where UPI is really entrenched -- out here we are seeing a difference. Charter skills and life skills curriculums seem to work, but we have to open the eyes of the superintendents and the administrators. You see, a lot of times they view alternative educational institutions and alternative curriculums as an adversarial program because it might expose some of the areas that they are lacking in. That is what I have been confronted with in Bridgeport. So, the question is: How can I convince . . . how can I persuade . . . how can I encourage the administrators and the educators here in Bridgeport? I believe the way to do that is by getting the funding for Park City Prep School and hopefully integrating the UPI program into it. Once that is done, it will open the eyes of the community at large. And the circulation of your publication here in Connecticut or the opportunity of having your publication circulated here in Connecticut may help.”
What has to happen to facilitate the implementation of successful alternative curriculums such as life skills curriculums in school systems? Will it take a grassroots movement?
“Yes, it will take a grassroots movement. The pressure has to come from the grassroots – from the people – from the churches. Again, the churches have to – and I’m not trying to be critical – but I think that the churches have to play an important role. And a lot of churches are playing a role. My church is playing a role. I go to the largest African American church in Bridgeport, Connecticut. We have a lot of what they now call ‘ministries’ – or ministerial components. We do have a lot of ministerial components in the church. For instance, I was a chaperone a few years ago and took kids on a college tour – to the University of Florida, the University of Jacksonville and to Florida A&M, too. There has to be what I talked about earlier -- a forging of relationships, as it was in the beginning --- between the home, the school and the church,” says State Representative Clemons.
And what does the future hold for State Representative Clemons?
”Well, I hope for God’s blessings first in terms of verticality,” State Representative Clemons responded with a chuckle. “I’ve been going through a lot, personally. In the midst of my politics and my church devotion, I have had to cope with a physical condition. I had back surgery a year ago and I’m still recuperating. I waited to have surgery and as a result, I did more damage to my nervous system. I was partially paralyzed until April or May in 2005, I was between a wheel chair, a walker and a cane. How I felt depended on what equipment I was using. If I felt bad and couldn’t move, I was in the wheel chair. If I felt ‘semi-bad’, I was using the walker and when I was limping I was using my cane. But I was making it – in spite of my condition. So, for the next four or five years, I hope to still be in the political arena. I may have an opportunity to – some people have mentioned my name as being a candidate for other elective offices. I haven’t mentioned my candidacy for another elective office, because you don’t want to pull the cart before the horse in politics. In politics, you have to know when and what to say around who and at what time. But I will say this -- there is a renaissance -- a metamorphosis that is taking place in Bridgeport in terms of the political landscape. And there could be a political opportunity for advancing or moving into another position -- whether the position is a mayoral position or a senatorial position. There are going to be some opportunities that will arise possibly within the next year or year and-a-half and I am going to have to make some decisions.”
* * *
IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD(R)--TRANSCENDING BOUNDARIES
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Through IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD® -- TRANSCENDING BOUNDARIES (http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-0022586001/In-Search-Of-Fatherhood-Transcending-Boundaries.aspx), sixteen Men from diverse backgrounds and diverse geographic locations – Stephen Baskerville, Ph.D., Muhammad Nasser Bey, Randy L. Collins, Leonard Dantzler, Warren Farrell, Ph.D., Dale Fraza, Thomas R. Golden, LCSW, the late L.T. Henry, Thomas Hoerner, Gary A. Johnson, James Kennedy, Thomas Lessman, Alvin F. Poussaint, M.D., Martin G. Ramey, Almas Jamil Sami’ and Joep Zander– in essays and interviews compiled by Diane A. Sears, speak from the depths of their souls about why Men – especially Men who are Fathers are redefining Fatherhood through the creation of “father-friendly” legislation and public policies and coalitions that extend beyond geographic boundaries and how Men are reshaping their parental roles and responsibilities.
IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD® -- TRANSCENDING BOUNDARIES is a “straight-no chaser” exploration of the challenges that confront Married Fathers, Divorced Fathers, Single Fathers, “Stay-At-Home” Fathers, “Long Distance” Fathers, Custodial Fathers, and Non-Custodial Fathers in the Millennium throughout our global village as they struggle to shape the minds and souls of our children under daunting circumstances.
IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD® -- TRANSCENDING BOUNDARIES is edited and authored by Diane A. Sears, the United States Coordinator for International
Men’s Day (http://www.usainternationalmensday.blogspot.com) – a
position she has held since 2009; the creator of the International Day of Prayer for Men and Boys which launches the
United States’ observance of International Men’s Day; Chair, USA 2012-2022 International Men’s Day Ten Year Plan Committee;
a member of the International Men’s Day Coordination Committee where she represents the
United States and;
the Managing Editor of a quarterly
international male parenting journal —IN
SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD® -- which moderates a Global Dialogue on Fatherhood;
and the creator and moderator of IN
SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD®’s blog at http://globalfatherhooddialogue.blogspot.com. The concept for IN
SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD® was created by Sears’
mentor, the late L.T. Henry, a classically trained
jazz musician who briefly performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra and was a
former drummer for internationally acclaimed songstress and film and television
actress Ms.
Della Reese; author; photojournalist; and sales and success
motivation trainer who died in March 1999 – a concept Ms. Sears has
resurrected. Ms. Sears serves as an
External Board Member of the
results-oriented two-tiered Fathers And Children Together Initiative
created by members of United Community
Action Network (U-CAN) at SCI
Graterford which is designed to eradicate Fatherlessness and
intergenerational incarceration. Ms. Sears’ work on Fatherhood and Men’s Issues has received global attention as
evidenced in a 2009 International Men’s Day speech given on the floor of the
Western Australian Parliament by The Honorable Nick Goiran (http://nickgoiran.com.au/2009/12/02/international-mens-day-adjournment-debate-speech/). Sears is a member of
the University Council for Akamai University’s
Fatherhood and Men’s Studies Program (www.akamaiuniversity.us) which is located
in Hilo, Hawaii. She advises
the President of Akamai University on Fatherhood issues and assists him in the
enhancement of the institution’s Fatherhood and Men’s Studies curriculum and in
forming strategic alliances with national and international Fatherhood
organizations. She
is also a member of the National Affinity Network for The Boys’
Initiative (www.theboysinitiative.org) which is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and Leading Women 4 Shared Parenting (www.lw4sp.org).
IN SEARCH OF FATHERHOOD® -- TRANSCENDING BOUNDARIES is recommended reading for Men and Fathers and the women and family members who love and care for them, family and marriage psychotherapists, lawyers, legislators, business leaders, ministers, educators, health care professionals and providers, social services professionals and providers, journalists, business leaders and community and social activists.
THE REVIEWS
“In Search Of Fatherhood® -- Transcending Boundaries is a long overdue look at Fatherhood issues. In the well meaning effort to ease the problems of mothers and their children, Fathers and their issues have been overlooked. In Search Of Fatherhood® -- Transcending Boundaries is a welcome effort in correcting this situation.” - Hayward Farrar, Ph.D. – Associate Professor of History Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
“ . . . All in all, page for page, you simply can’t do better than to pick up this superb collection.”
J. Steven Svoboda, Esquire Founder and Executive Director of Attorneys for the Rights of the Child
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