DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

       As people of color, it is important that we raise our children in a way in which they not only value and respect themselves, but that they value and respect each other. I say this because Black people, from the days of slavery and even now, are taught that they are less than, inferior, and aren't worth anything. Years and years of being told these things and treated in disrespectful ways has made Blacks believe it and believing that you aren't worth anyhing can be the beginning of an end. The readings for this response, Still Separate, Still Unequal: American Apartheid by Jonathan Kozol and Black Teachers on Teaching by Michele Foster, talk about the "Miseducation of the Negro", as Carter G. Woodson called it, but that miseducation goes beyond the school house. It can come from home. Throughout this response I will refer to the entire colored population but of course there are exceptions to every rule. 

       In his article, Kozol mentioned that money alone is not the problem of how people of color are separated in the school system, but that values, housing, social factors and health also play a part in that. From what I read, I don't think that he believes that but I do. Lets look at values. People of color are viewed as stupid, illiterate, trouble makers, and so on. Because this has been embedded in our brains, many of us believe that. We believe we can't ever be more than drug dealers, murderers, prostitutes, etc., so this is how we behave. Even though this has been proven wrong on numerous occasions by many successful and educated people of color, some of us still believe this. We are raised this way, we see that we are treated differently than others as children so we grow up believing this is how we were meant to be. Then we have children and don't teach them any better so the cycle continues. If we do not change the way we think about ourselves, how in the world will anybody else change the way they think about us? Our young males are filling up the jails, not attending college, having babies all over the place, not finishing school, and disrespecting and killing each other. If that changes, a lot of other things will change too.

       A major problem, which is one that Foster spoke about, is what we learn in school. "And I know that race prejudice in the United States today is such that most Negroes cannot receive proper education in white institutions" (p. 182), is something that W.E.B. Du Bois said many years ago but it applies today. White teachers who don't value blacks because they think we can't learn and we will never be anything don't bother to teach us about us. We don't come out of public school extensively knowing about our people's accomplishments, so we believe we are incapable of accomplishment. Kozol mentioned schools named after prominent Black people like Thurgood Marshall and Paul Robeson that were filled with people of color but I bet more than half of those students won't be able to tell you about the people who their school was named after. I know it is a fact because in public school we don't learn about us. We learn about some people and we learn few things about them. Dr. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks are the two people who are taught about the most. What happened to everybody else? 

       "There are expensive children and there are cheap children" (Kozol). Of course we are the cheap children. Our schools are broke down, our resources are scarce, if there are any at all, the people who we are supposed to look up to don't care and show us everyday, and we are reminded of how little we mean all the time so why should we care about ourselves? If there could be just one person in Black childrens' lives that shows them they care, somebody to allow them to be themselves, to show their talents, to embrace their gifts, to love people, to love themselves, then maybe there will be less children and adults without values. We need more teachers like Leroy Lovelace and more principals like Ethel Tanner to show us that they care. Ethel Tanner doesn't allow teachers in her school who do not show her that they are child- oriented. I think that that is so important when it comes to people coming in contact with children of color. We are one group but in that group there is so much diversity and so much love and so much talent and so much accomplishments that can be brought out but if the wrong person is around, someone who doesnt get us or doesnt care, we are doomed.

       I am lucky to have been raised in a home where I am valued for my gifts, talents and also my deficits. My mother always made me believe in myself because she believed in me. She taught me that once I respect myself, others have no choice but to do the same. Her values that were instilled in her are instilled in me. Even though she does not have the education that she would have liked to have, she raised me and my siblings to go after whatever we want because we can achieve anything we put our minds to. Before we started school we knew how to count, how to spell and read words, and how to write, among other things. Our teachers were always amazed and always praised my mother and I never understood why. I always assumed at a young age that it was the normal thing to do. As I grew older I began to understand why we were so different from some of the other students. My mothers values made her teach us things that we "weren't supposed to know" because she knew what we were capable of. Other parents didnt believe in their children so they didn't teach them anything. Now as a parent, I see why my mother did what she did. I get praised for my daughter being "so smart" and knowing things that she "shouldn't know at her age" but this should be the norm. If only there were more people of color who value themselves, we could be further as a whole.

       I chose to talk about values because without values, you have nothing. We cannot value ourselves if we arent taught how to and if we see that we are not valued. The miseducation of the negro will never be a thing of the past in this world, but it can be used as a stepping stone to a better future and the betterment of our people if we looked at what we value differently and go the extra mile to make sure we are valued. If we knew better, we would do better!

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.