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National news: Philly’s Black Teacher Pool Is Drying Up; Racists Terrorize A Girl In Idaho; Texas University Isn’t Cheering This Student On
September 11th, 2008Philly’s Black teacher pool is drying up
The already shallow pool of Black teachers in Philadelphia schools is evaporating at an alarming rate. District officials, who understand that increasing the number of African Americans in the classroom is one - perhaps the only - surefire method of closing the achievement gap between Black and White students, are scrambling for solutions. When school began this year, The Philadelphia Daily News reports, the percentage of Black teachers in the city was the lowest it has been in decades. And some argue that the dearth of African American teachers has put the district in violation of an agreement it made with the federal Office of Civil Rights three decades ago to achieve a racially balanced teaching force, the News reports. In 1978, more than a third (36 percent) of the teachers were Black. Fast-forward to now, and the number has dropped to 29 percent. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that the Black student body has remained 60 percent. While other school districts nationwide also have a paucity of Black teachers, Philly’s Black-teacher pool has shrunk by 739 over the past half-decade; the percentage of White teachers has grown from 62.5 percent to 65.4 percent over the same period. “Clearly, more must be done to recruit and retain African-American teachers,” said Jerry Jordan, president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT), told the News. Reg Weaver, who heads the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teacher union, with about 3 million members, said that, “While race doesn’t determine anyone’s ability to master and teach a subject, research does show that teachers of color have higher performance expectations for minority kids, which in turn can impact student achievement.”
Racists terrorize a girl in Idaho. Federal investigators want to know what would motivate two grown men would go through lengths to terrorize a Black girl in the Idaho town of Post Falls. On Monday, 15-year-old Rai Franklin said she woke up to dogs barking outside her family home. They had been aroused by two White men who allegedly threw eggs at her parents’ car and left fliers in the neighborhood telling Black people that they didn’t belong in the neighborhood. Rai said that one of the men grabbed her, punched her in the face and fled while yelling racial slurs. Post Falls is apparently a short distance from Hayden Lake, the home of a compound where members of the Aryan Nations, a violent militant White supremacist organization, used to meet. FBI officials say that if the me are caught, they could face federal hate-crime charges.
Texas university isn’t cheering this student on. It doesn’t matter that Jamie Burns has let the campus off the hook, that her doctors have cleared her medically, and that her mom has said to let her daughter do what she was recruited for, officials at Southern Methodist University say that she won’t be cheerleading. Find out why at BET.com/News.
Jamie is a nice baby. But I think she is too young to join that celeb dating site http://MillMatch.com
where beautiful people and wealthy guys are looking for romances.
blab,blab,blab.
“RED NECKS”..Hiring ..”RED NECKS”..Tihis his how you get the shortage in everything worth working for in America!!!
Take the young girl to the ..”RED NECK TRAILER COMPOUND”…and have her I.D…His colorless body.
this is 2much. now they kno they should just let that baby do her, this ant back in the olden days nomre it aint no racist country nomore! so they need to really get over that like 4real 4real. And the thing about the burns girl well dang you have to look at it both ways, cause both of them do have a point. So I dont really no what ta say o that part.
“While race doesn’t determine anyone’s ability to master and teach a subject, research does show that teachers of color have higher performance expectations for minority kids, which in turn can impact student achievement.”
My question is: Why do non-white teachers have lower performance expectations for minority kids if i’ts known that this can impact student achievement?
Honey take the money and run! You have a scholarship to an expensive big name Texas University. I’m sure that you worked hard to earn it. …but you’re being selfish and this shows your immaturity. I side with the University. You open them up to multiple lawsuits if in fact you would be so unfortunate to have an attack or sympton while in a pyramid. The results could be catastophic not only for you but the other students. Baby girl suck it up an be strong…sometimes it’s not about being seen and heard…which you have–it’s about doing what’s right!
They should not have given her the scholarship if they knew of her physical being in the first place and now that they have NO excuse to let her be on the squad they want to blame it on her health. She have been cleared by experts of doctors, come on life is full of risks. Something could go wrong with the other cheerleaders causing a pyramid to collapse as well, causing injuries to other cheerleaders. So let her enjoy what she loves doing while getting an education.
Racism places such a big part in American population to the point people truly believe it does not exist anymore! However, it does, people just found a better way to hide it and hold you back! Racist does not matter when it comes to fair education, but bias racism, sterotyping racism, and low expectation racism does! We as America allowed ourselves to fear the talk about racism so much, that we allow racist acts to take places without acknowledging the true feelings behind it! African-American youths need not just a better education but better inner-support group, building their self-esteem higher! Educating them to do more no matter the circumstances are, and to some degree “How can a white teacher relate to their struggles, thier personal doubts, hurts, worth?” No, people need to understand, especially some white people, that this children are not charity cases, this children are not a simple project, these children are not meant for you to get glory for helping someone who you feel is beneath you. When I attended an all white school, they pushed me to always give a 150%, while all the other students gave 50%! However, that did not discourage me, no it made me realize that instituational racism existes, and you need to love yourself enough to know what you are truly worth! I had a better understand of how I was, and I felt comfortable with me! There was not beneath or above, their was a God and a me! I chooses never to wear a mask to love myself or to feel except, I choose to stand strong and thank God for me! I was comfortable with being alone, I was comfortable with people who did not like me, and I was comfortable to know that people did hate me! But one thing I came to realizes is that hatered is nothing but another form of ‘jealousy’ and ‘envy’, when people hate you, the real truth behind is they envy you, for being a culture of strenght and truth! It is easy to hate someone because you never have to admit you faults, but it hard to love someone because you have bowed down and say ‘your sorry’! No matter what, we need to educate black children to love themselves and to never feel another racist is going to give them that love, they should already have for themselves!
Oh Poor poor Jamie. Hasn’t she seem the reports of cheerleaders getting permanetly injured?Come on, if cheerleading is “her life”, she needs to re-evaluate her priorites! Take on another role within the team. Become a coach, or trainer and assist THAT way.
It’s disturbing that racism still exists. I can’t understand why two grown men would target a 15 year old and her family because of their race. Idaho is definitely the wrong state for African Americans, however. That state only has a black population of 0.7% and a large number white supremacists.
I have to agree with the University. Sweetie , thank God for your scholarship, study hard and move on with the rest of your life. Cheer from the side lines..it’s ok…Thank God for what you have and what you are able to do. You are young and bright..the sky is the limit.
As a teacher, my expectations are the same for all my students, albeit black or white, or what ever race they may be…… I TEACH EVERYONE TO EXCEL IN ALL SUBJECTS!! I may seem a bit tougher on my black students and this is because I know how difficult life can be to “people of color.” I learned a long time ago that we “Black folks” have to prove ourselves many times over……(1) that we are capable (2) we are capable of doing our designated job better and (3) that we can do it better than others simply because of our skin color. I don’t mean to sound racist…but that’s just how life is. I’ve experienced racism in the job market as well as the workplace, and it only made me stronger. I can credit my tenacity to having strong black role models in the home, the community and in the school system. This is why I teach. Black educators are few and far between in this county and I am the only black teacher in my school. So, we indeed need more Black teachers…..and they should be teachers who really care about educating our youth. And no matter what some others may think or say……”It does take a village to raise a child.” Please put GOD FIRST…and all else will have it’s place in your life.
Some teachers need to be doing other jobs and some teachers need to retire. If your heart isn’t in it…you are doing more harm than good to the kids. I won’t even begin to discuss the pay.
At first I agreed with Jamie, that if she has signed all these papers and her doc says its okay, then why not. But after thinking about it, I agree with SMU. She has to think about the squad. What would be safer. I think that she should at least be grateful they are letting her stay on her scholarship.
B grateful u r still there on your scholarship and think about what is safe for all involved.
Girl do your thing and do what you want to if they let you.
I go to a school in philly and a couple of my classmates are apart of this story that started because they was upset that our black couselor for the senior class was let go as soon as we became seniors this yr. so they decided to contact the daily news in philly and go to the school district to petition. My school is majority all black but we only have a handfull of black teachers. i never really noticed it as a problem because i just want to learn, it doesnt matter whose teaching me.
it because they parents didnt teach them RIGHT at all and that some of them really need a bath really bad in Holly water or something because is (EVIL) and provokes negativity.
Ralph,
Shut the phuck up, fool!
I SAID JAMIE….. I MEANT TO SAY RAI FRANKLIN
The police need to find these two men and bring them to justice. They better be glad that it wasn’t my child that was hit in the face. I would find them myself and show them how it feels to be hit in the face. This kind of behavior should not be tolerated. This typle of behavior is what makes people go off the deep end. These men need to be made to wash this familys house and car for a whole year.
I agree with both sides of the story, first I think that the school was wrong for leading her on like this. If they already know her condition, they shouldn’t never gave her that schorlarship. She say that it her dream to cheer then let her, and it something happen then that will be on her and her mom.