Are We Still Teaching Values

Image retrieved November 22, 2005 from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/25/earlyshow/main690601.shtml

Information retrieved from We're obligated to teach our kids values by Leonard Pitts from the Greensboro News and Record, November 21, 2005.

Columnist, Leonard Pitts, Jr. of the Miami Herald recently ran a column that was published in the Greensboro News and Record. His column was about a recent decision by a school district concerning, get this, shaking hands after sports competitions. For those that do not understand this practice I will explain, after a game of intense (hopefully) competition, it is customary for the opposing teams to show their respect for one another by lining up and shaking hands, interspersed oftentimes with extra congratulations or encouragement. However, there appears to be a shift in this "tradition" as our culture seems to no longer respect worthy opponents, but would rather denigrate them with rude comments, spitting in their faces, and all out fighting. The Northern Neck Virginia school board finally said that enough is enough.
In all fairness, lack of sportmanship after competition is not a new practice. Their are accounts I remember in which rival schools had the post-game after party (FIGHT) at the end of the game. Yet, the significance in this author's opinion is the ban itself. The handshake after a game was to teach young people a principle. Banning such a practice because of resistance does not appear to solve the problem. Pitts says that instead of banning the handshake after games, discipline the behavior. This is the point of the article as a whole. Discipline is not taking place and our young people fail to learn valuable lessons as a result of misbehavior. In the meantime those that come after them must live with the fruit of the previous misconduct.
Case in point from the article, a teacher in 2002 from Kansas was harassed and threatened by parents because she failed kids for cheating, the school board ORDERED her to soften the "punishment." The result, she quit. Also, 2003 in Chicago, 31 girls beat a group of underclassmen so brutally that five girls are hospitalized, one parent said that the beating was something that just "got out of hand." (Pitts, 2005) Then there is my favorite, the five year-old girl that cut up so bad that the police had to be called in Florida. Keep in mind the parent had been called on several occasions about the young lady's behavior and if I am not mistaken had been called on the day in question specifically. Of course the mother is filing a lawsuit.
In my opinion, we are making too many excuses for our youth. We wonder why there is no accountability in government, in financial institutions, and even religious places of worship at times, but what happened to what we teach at home. My questions for you to respond to this blog are the same as those posed by Leonard Pitts, What is wrong or what happened to saying to our young people that you have a standard to live up to and if you don't there are consequences? Why are lessons of value not consistently enforced? What lessons are the current generation learning when these values are not taught? I look forward to hearing what you think.

Coretha's Punishment

Photo retrieved November 18, 2005 from Greensboro News and Record Nov. 17, 2005 issue.

Tasha Henderson, an Edmond, OK mother of a 14 year-old, had enough of her daughter Coretha's poor grades, chronic lateness to class, and latent disrespect to teachers. So, she took action. On November 4, 2005, she made her recalcitrant daughter stand at a busy Oklahoma City intersection holding a sign which read, "I don't do my homework and I act up in school, so my parents are preparing me for my future. Will work for food." The result? A drastic improvement in her daughter's behavior and conduct in school. However, Ms. Henderson has received an array of comments from talk radio and letters ranging from praise to reprimand. One psychologist said that the parents, "...need more education than she [Coretha] does," and that in making their daughter stand on the corner with a sign was to, "...kill their daughter psychologically." A proponent of the Henderson's actions said, "I don't see anything wrong with it. I see the other extreme where parents don't care wha the kids do, and at least she wants to help her kid." Yet, another person opposed to the parents tactics called the police reporting psychological abuse. In response, the mother and daughter (the mother stood with her the whole time) were asked to leave after an hour with no report being filed. A spokesman from the police department said, " There wasn't any criminal act involved that the officer could see...[requiring] criminal investigation."
As always, I want to know what you think about this. Tell me why you think this tactic worked. Next, tell me if you agree or disagree with the parent's method of discipline. Last, tell me what type of discipline will need to be implemented here at Dudley in order to insure a "change" in students that are opposed to doing the right thing.

Bad Blood

All information retrieved November 17, 2005 from The Tuskegee Syphillis Experiment http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0762136.html.

For forty years between 1932 and 1972, the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) conducted an experiment on 399 black men in the late stages of syphilis. These men, [many of whom were]illiterate sharecroppers from one of the poorest counties in Alabama, were never told what disease they were suffering from or of its seriousness. Informed that they were being treated for “bad blood,” their doctors had no intention of curing them of syphilis at all. The data for the experiment was to be collected from autopsies of the men, and they were thus deliberately left to degenerate under the [symptoms] of syphilis—which can include tumors, heart disease, paralysis, blindness, insanity, and death.
[As a result of the experiment], 28 of the men had died directly of syphilis, 100 were dead of related complications, 40 of their wives had been infected, and 19 of their children had been born with congenital syphilis. How had these men been induced to endure a fatal disease in the name of science? To persuade the community to support the experiment, one of the original doctors admitted it “was necessary to carry on this study under the guise of a demonstration and provide treatment.”
At first, the men were prescribed the syphilis remedies of the day—bismuth, neoarsphenamine, and mercury—but in such small amounts that only 3 percent showed any improvement. These token doses of medicine were good public relations and did not interfere with the true aims of the study. Eventually, all syphilis treatment was replaced with “pink medicine”—aspirin. To ensure that the men would show up for a painful and potentially dangerous spinal tap, the PHS doctors misled them with a letter full of promotional hype: “Last Chance for Special Free Treatment.” The fact that autopsies would eventually be required was also concealed. As a doctor explained, “If the colored population becomes aware that accepting free hospital care means a post-mortem, every darky will leave Macon County…” Even the Surgeon General of the United States participated in enticing the men to remain in the experiment, sending them certificates of appreciation after 25 years in the study.
One of the most chilling aspects of the experiment was how zealously the PHS kept these men from receiving treatment. When several nationwide campaigns to eradicate venereal disease came to Macon County, the men were prevented from participating. Even when penicillin was discovered in the 1940s—the first real cure for syphilis—the Tuskegee men were deliberately denied the medication. During World War II, 250 of the men registered for the draft and were consequently ordered to get treatment for syphilis, only to have the PHS exempt them. Pleased at their success, the PHS representative announced: “So far, we are keeping the known positive patients from getting treatment.” The experiment continued in spite of the Henderson Act (1943), a public health law requiring testing and treatment for venereal disease, and in spite of the World Health Organization's Declaration of Helsinki (1964), which specified that “informed consent” was needed for experiment involving human beings.
Thinking about today's society, is it possible that the government may still be involved in "testing" for the greater good of science? Tell me what you think about the Tuskegee Syphillis Experiment and the current state of health care in the U.S.

Is Willie Lynch's Method Still Working?

In 1712, a British slave owner from the West Indies came up with a method to perpetual enslave Africans psychologically. Slave owners were adept in studying human nature. From such "studies" they have been able to keep different groups underprivilege using covert methods derived generations ago. Read the speech by this British slave owner named Willie Lynch and comment on whether or not his words ring true today.

"Gentlemen. I greet you here on the bank of the James River in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and twelve. First, I shall thank you, the gentlemen of the Colony of Virginia, for bringing me here. I am here to help you solve some of your problems with slaves. Your invitation reached me on my modest plantation in the West Indies, where I have experimented with some of the newest and still the oldest methods for control of slaves. Ancient Rome's would envy us if my program is implemented. As our boat sailed south on the James River, named for our illustrious King, whose version of the Bible we Cherish, I saw enough to know that your problem is not unique. While Rome used cords of wood as crosses for standing human bodies along its highways in great numbers, you are here using the tree and the rope on occasions. I caught the whiff of a dead slave hanging from a tree, a couple miles back. You are not only losing valuable stock by hangings, you are having uprisings, slaves are running away, your crops are sometimes left in the fields too long for maximum profit, You suffer occasional fires, your animals are killed. Gentlemen, you know what your problems are; I do not need to elaborate. I am not here to enumerate your problems, I am here to introduce you to a method of solving them. In my bag here, I HAVE A FULL PROOF METHOD FOR CONTROLLING YOUR BLACK SLAVES. I guarantee every one of you that if installed correctly IT WILL CONTROL THE SLAVES FOR AT LEAST 300 HUNDREDS YEARS. My method is simple. Any member of your family or your overseer can use it. I HAVE OUTLINED A NUMBER OF DIFFERENCES AMONG THE SLAVES; AND I TAKE THESE DIFFERENCES AND MAKE THEM BIGGER. I USE FEAR, DISTRUST AND ENVY FOR CONTROL PURPOSES. These methods have worked on my modest plantation in the West Indies and it will work throughout the South. Take this simple little list of differences and think about them. On top of my list is "AGE" but it's there only because it starts with an "A." The second is "COLOR" or shade, there is INTELLIGENCE, SIZE, SEX, SIZES OF PLANTATIONS, STATUS on plantations, ATTITUDE of owners, whether the slaves live in the valley, on a hill, East, West, North, South, have fine hair, course hair, or is tall or short. Now that you have a list of differences, I shall give you a outline of action, but before that, I shall assure you that DISTRUST IS STRONGER THAN TRUST AND ENVY STRONGER THAN ADULATION, RESPECT OR ADMIRATION. The Black slaves after receiving this indoctrination shall carry on and will become self refueling and self generating for HUNDREDS of years, maybe THOUSANDS. Don't forget you must pitch the OLD black Male vs. the YOUNG black Male, and the YOUNG black Male against the OLD black male. You must use the DARK skin slaves vs. the LIGHT skin slaves, and the LIGHT skin slaves vs. the DARK skin slaves. You must use the FEMALE vs. the MALE. And the MALE vs. the FEMALE. You must also have you white servants and over- seers distrust all Blacks. But it is NECESSARY THAT YOUR SLAVES TRUST AND DEPEND ON US. THEY MUST LOVE, RESPECT AND TRUST ONLY US. Gentlemen, these kits are your keys to control. Use them. Have your wives and children use them, never miss an opportunity. IF USED INTENSELY FOR ONE YEAR, THE SLAVES THEMSELVES WILL REMAIN PERPETUALLY DISTRUSTFUL. Thank you gentlemen."

Why are their so many murders in America?

Michael Moore is a filmmaker. You probably know him from the documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. Some of you may even have seen Bowling for Columbine in which he discusses gun violence. In this documentary Moore shows footage of the events at Columbine as they happened, shows the lack of concern by National Rifle Association (NRA) president, Charleston Heston, after the Columbine incident (he held a "gun rally" ten days after the shootings amidst the grief of the community) and another school shooting involving a six year old that shot a fellow classmate (he also visited town shortly after the shooting incident). But that is not what I would like you to discuss as you can tell from the title. In the documentary, Moore continually asks a question. Why are their so many shooting deaths in America? Before answering consider that other answers provided and examined were America's bloody past, easy access to weapons, lax gun laws, etc., etc. However, consider that Japan is the world's leading producer in violent video games, Germany probably has one of the most bloody pasts with Hitler's regime killing over 12 million people during WWII, England's imperialism killed many in other countries, and France also killed their share with imperialistic activity. Yet, Japan has, on average, 39 gun deaths a year, Japan--39,Germany--381, England--69, France--less than 20, and America--8,254. So with the numbers, Why are their so many murders in America?!!!

Highland Park HS Thug Day in Dallas, TX

You see, hip-hop has come to define what "black" means to privileged white kids who live in affluent and homogenous bubbles such as Highland Park. Turn on BET or MTV late at night, or many hours of the day, and you'll find ample evidence of the distorted and too often degrading images being projected.
So it is no stretch for me to believe that the white kids who dressed as gang members and rap stars for Thug Day didn't really believe that their antics were racially insensitive. They see black youngsters celebrating that lifestyle every day – on TV if not in the streets of urban America.
Truth be told, many white kids these days are dressing like that anyway. They aren't wearing Afro wigs perhaps, but they are buying rap records and wearing baggy jeans to the hilt. The hip-hop culture, grounded in black culture, has gone worldwide.
It's no longer just a "black thang."
-James Ragland:Banning 'thugs' is only the start
Highland Park should look at issues deeper than a senior tradition

In October the senior class at Highland Park High School prepare for the usual Homecoming traditions. The predominantly white (94%) high school in Dallas, Texas has some quite different "traditions" than what most schools are used to. Apart from the usual mix-match, pajama, jersey, school color days, the students at Highland Park engage in Thug Day and Fiesta Day. Thug Day began three years ago as a prank and has emerge as a "tradition" at the school. However, the "prank" has taken on a form of overt racism in many people's eyes. Students wear dress emulating black entertainers in the music industry with afro wigs, gold fronts, gaudy chains, and the like. And further disrespect the Hispanic culture on Fiesta day by coming to school as yard workers and maids. The school has not sanctioned this activity, and is taking measures to insure that this "tradition" is discontinued. Please comment on this issue and especially the quote above taken from an editorial. Mr. Ragland makes a valid point of where were the parents in this fiasco. I would also like you to comment on this. As always no vulgarity and make valid substantial points backed with good arguments.