If Urban Prep can...so can we....

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http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-02-16/news/ct-met-all-accepted-to-college-0217-20110216_1_urban-prep-academy-charter-school-acceptance-letters

Urban Prep Charter School in Chicago has done it for a second consecutive year!  If they can, we can too! Sure they get to pick who attends their school every year and we don't BUT should that matter?  We can educate all of our students and move towards a 100% graduation rate from high school and have ALL of our senior class attend college, trade school, or enter the military.  Why not!  When we begin to seriously invest in ALL of our students...not just say that we are...but really and truly do it...we will begin to move towards these type of results.  The school will graduate 104 African American males this year...very sharply dressed, I might add.  They have been accepted to 103 different institution of higher learning.  

"On Wednesday, Urban Prep Academy for Young Men celebrated its repeat with a tie-exchanging ritual in which the final three seniors to receive acceptance letters exchanged their red uniform ties for red-and-gold ones as the other seniors did before them."

We must adopt the "by any means necessary" mentality.  That means not rushing out of the door at 3:00pm because that's the end of your work day.  You may have to tutor on the weekends, after school and before school.  Think back to when you were in school.  I'm sure someone reached out their hand to you just as someone did for me.  We have been passed the torch and bear that same exact responsibility.  After all, that is why we entered the field of education, isn't it?  It wasn't for the money and I think we can all agree on that!  Urban Prep has grasped the mentality of going above and beyond...

"Skeptics last year had questioned whether grads would actually attend college and be able to succeed in higher ed programs. One of the school's missions is to ensure students earn that bachelor's degree, so King and his staff have helped secure money for plane tickets, driven students to college campuses, held workshops for alumni in the summer and winter, and checked up on them. Of the 107 seniors in 2010—the school's first graduating class—101 enrolled in college, King said. Three went into the military and another three joined the work force."

If this doesn't inspire you, I don't know what will!  There are positive African American males all over the world!  This is just a small story....

"Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life"....reflections

So...if anyone is reading my blog...by now you know that I am in the process (almost done) of reading the above mentioned title by Principal Baruti Kafele. The more and more that I read of this book, the more passionate I continue to get....as if I'm not passionate enough about it already I have stopped to reflect that some may wonder what a 5'3 female may have in common with young African American males or why I have a passion for helping them, or just plain out...what can I possibly have to offer the situation or conversation. My answer is simple....while everyone else is sitting around waiting for "someone" to do something about the problem...I REALIZE THAT I AM THAT SOMEONE!!! I may not be able to save the world, but I am saving (or attempting to) the young African American males that I encounter on a daily basis. I am not afraid to speak to them, nor tell them to pull up their pants. Principal Kafele, through reading his book, is affirming everything, EVERYTHING that I believe.

Kafele offers a startling statistic that "almost 70 % of black children are born into households where there is only one parent present, typically the mother." I knew it was a high percentage but never would I think that it was 70%. My eyes are WIDE open to the fact that something needs to change....He also goes on to speak about the teachers/educators that interact with these young men. They MUST be passionate about what they do on a daily basis. He made me take a look at what I do on a daily basis and had me reflecting on some serious questions. Questions that all educators of African American young men need to ask themselves consistently until we have a clear understanding of what we do. I am a firm believer that God places us all in a particular place, at a particular time, and for a particular reason. There is a reason that you teach in the school that you do...not because YOU chose to be there, but because He had a plan for you to make a difference and inspire those students that you come in contact with everyday. Kafele states, "your students are in the best place because they are with you, and you can think of no better person to educate your students than you." We cannot choose the students that enter our classrooms everyday, but we can choose to care about them, love them, and make them feel important. After all, you may be the only positive adult that those students come into contact with that day...make the most of it.

The questions that Kafele had me reflect upon are:

1. Have you defined your purpose for teaching?
2. What is your purpose for teaching?
3. Why do you do what you do every day?
4. What drives your words and actions in your classroom?
5. Do your students know and understand your purpose?
6. Can they relate to it?
7. Do they respond to it?

I challenge you to take heed to Kafele's advice and seek to answer these questions for yourself. In turn, you will not only be defining your purpose, but you will also be adding value to those that you teach and their purpose in life as well.