The Nature Of The Content

I was a career day speaker at a Chicago Public School last year. This year I was disinvited.

Mr. Sims,

We would like to thank you for dedicating your time to this year's career day. Unfortunately due to the nature of the content that you presented to our young warriors last year, we are going to decline your request to present at this year's career day.

We hope you understand.


I agree the content of my presentation is a bit much for your students, and for most African Americans in general. I know I'm like a Black Power-Race Man from the 1970's. Also understand it is sometimes not what you say but how, when, and where you say it.

However, someone has to be the "bad cop", and tell young African Americans about the challenges they will face as adults. The talented tenth, the Black Bourgeoisie, and the pseudo bourgeoisie, cannot, will not, or are afraid to tell young African Africans the truth!

Here the truth; integration, assimilation, consumerism, deindustrialization, ignorance, selfishness, and self-hatred has rendered the African American community to Humpty Dumpty status.

You also know the truth! Only 8% of CPS students will obtain a four year college degree by their mid twenties. 70% of African American children are born out of wed lock. 70% of African American women are single. The list of challenges for African American men, women and children goes on and on in this "post racial" society.

As a people, African Americans will be around, but as a people we will be irrelevant. So the challenge for young African Americans is to figure out how successful can they be as an individual. Young African Americans will, like all African Americans have, consciously or unconsciously make the choice to how much they will integrate and assimilate into the American main stream society. The choice is to become homogenized or to be marginalized.

I made the choice to tell truth and became marginalized.


Marc Sims
Chicago
http://marcsims.blogspot.com/

I believe, as I suspect most people do, that the potential for change among human beings is virtually limitless. But I also believe----- and my work on this book has strengthened this belief---- that it takes a truly exceptional person to transcend his or her social environment and that we are shaped (and limited) by our backgrounds and by the thinking of our generation more than we know or are comfortable admitting, even to ourselves.

Ellis Cose
The End of Anger

Human Capital For Schools

Chicago Teachers Union is asking for $713 million to improve the Chicago Public Schools. Karen Lewis and the Chicago Teachers Union have the right idea, but the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago are in a perpetual recession. This means the Chicago Public Schools will not receive $713 million dollars for improvements.

The money ain't coming so the CPS and the CTU need to create a movement. The CPS and the CTU could ask retired educators, community organizers, mental health professionals, advertising agencies, and business leaders for $713 million in human capital.

The goal should be to teach Chicago Public School parents the best practices of good parenting. Visit any low income public school and you will see that the better students tend to come from stable families where education is valued. There are secret sauces that will create stable families, neighborhoods, and schools where education is valued. The goal is to improve the home life of poorly performing students, thus improve the Chicago Public Schools.


Marc Sims
Chicago
viewpointchicago@yahoo.com

Crime In Chicago

One of the best ways to dramatically lower the crime rate in Chicago is to improve the elementary schools. One of the best ways to improve the elementary schools is to improve the home life of the students. Now that requires the Chicago Public Schools to institute mandatory parenting classes for all CPS parents and students.

What do you think?


Marc Sims

viewpointchicago@yahoo.com

Not Every School Can Be Turned Around?

I hope Jean-Claude Brizard will create a cultural movement that will encourage low income parents and students to value education. Mr. Brizard and Mayor Emanuel should enroll urban cultural icons, music radio stations, Chicago advertising agencies , and community activist to implement some desperately needed social engineering.

marcsimschicago@gmail.com


Q&A with Jean-Claude Brizard

BRIZARD: Not every school can be turned around.

CATALYST: Why not, if you’re bringing in a new principal and new teachers?

BRIZARD: There are times you have an environment that is so bad, it would take years to turn around.


http://www.catalyst-chicago.org/notebook/2011/12/07/19695/qa-jean-claude-brizard#comment-34578

Crime And Violence In Chicago

Can public service announcements help end the crime and violence that plagues many Chicago neighborhoods?

I have mailed letters and sent e-mails to Mayor Emanuel asking him to persuade music radio stations to air public service announcements encouraging all Chicago residents to support their neighborhood school.

Asking the purveyors of anti-intellectualism to help eradicate crime and violence and improve urban education in Chicago sounds counterintuitive. However, we all have the responsibility to improve the schools thus dramatically reducing crime and violence.

I believe most Chicago Public Schools in my community are up against a culture where education is not a top priority. Where some parents feels it is the responsibility of their children and the public schools to make sure their children do well in school.

Influencing a culture or changing a mindset will take some time and a lot of creativity. We activist and concerned citizens have to developed creative ways to persuade low income mothers, grandmothers, and their children to value education.

Will public service announcements instantly end crime and violence in Chicago? Will public service announcements magically improve the Chicago Public Schools? No, but music radio stations airing public service announcements every hour is just one creative way to improve the quality of life for all Chicagoans.



Marc Sims

viewpointchicago@yahoo.com



11-06-2011

Improve The Parents

Do the public schools in low income neighborhoods need to improve the parents in order to improve the schools?

Marc Sims

marcsimschicago@gmail.com

PS


But there still are useful hints here about what matters in parenting.

"If you are smart, hard-working, well educated, well paid and married to someone equally fortunate, then your children are more likely to succeed," write Levitt and Dubner. "(Nor does it hurt, in all likelihood, to be honest, thoughtful, loving, and curious about the world.)

But it isn't a matter of what you do as a parent; it's who you are."

There is more at www.freakonomics.com, and at Ned Potter's blog: http://abcnews.blogs.com/scienceandsociety/

The First Five Weeks

I called in on Mayor Emanuel's Town Hall Conference Call.

I asked Mayor Emanuel would he consider having the Chicago Public Schools place a heavier focus on the first five weeks of every marking period. A heavier focus on student attendance, student classroom behavior, and students completing their homework assignments.

Mayor Emanuel suggested I read this article; Chicago School Uses Data to Fight Problems - WSJ.com (Click The First Five Weeks above the Mayor's photo)


I hope Mayor Emanuel will use data collection and analysis to improve classroom behavior, and students completing their homework assignments.

Marc Sims

marcsimschicago@gmail.com

Better Parents Better Schools

Jean-Claude Brizard
Chief Executive Officer
Chicago Public Schools
125 S. Clark Street, 5th Floor
Chicago, IL 60603


Mr. Brizard:

Can public service announcements encourage parents to be better parents and their children to become better students?

Can public service announcements help end the crime and violence that plagues too many Chicago neighborhoods?

Can you persuade music radio stations to air public service announcements that will encourage all Chicago residents to support their neighborhood school?

Chicago residents can support their neighborhood school with their time or they can donate money!

Thank you.

Marc Sims
marcsimschicago@gmail.com

Public Schools vs. Charter Schools

If all of the Chicago Public Schools where good schools there would be no need for Charter Schools.


Marc Sims
Chicago
viewpointchicago@yahoo.com