Brandon Stallings...STILL doing great things!

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you one of MY mentees...Mr. Brandon J. Stallings.  Brandon is a 2009 honors graduate of Lithonia High School.  He was the senior class president and graduated with a 3.95 GPA while taking AP classes.  He comes from a good home in which both his mother and his father raised him.  In this picture above he is sitting in his room on top of the hundreds of college information letters and acceptance letters.  He is now a sophomore at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut where he continues to excel.  During his graduation speech/address to his high school graduating class, he stated something like, "Most of us in the graduating class have had the pleasure of having a mentor to help us throughout our high school career.  I have been fortunate to have 5 of them, Mrs. Natasha Rachell, Mrs. Katrina Stanfield, Mr. Rodney Stanley, Mr. Brandon Thompson, and Mr. Ken Henderson."  He publicly thanked us...not only in front of his graduating peers, but in front of an audience of almost 10,000 people in the church facility.    What an honor to be publicly validated for what we do on a daily basis.

Brandon rose above his peers and his community to separate himself to move towards excellence.  He took advantage of the education that was made available to him and made the decision to be present and an active part of his learning on a daily basis.  He NEVER settled for mediocrity.  He ALWAYS sought to be better than the next person.  HE is the reason that teachers enjoy teaching....because he has a desire to learn and to motivate the person sitting next to him to do the same thing.  It is because of his astonishing personality, leadership abilities, and the ability to charm a crowd, that I invited him to return to the school at the completion of his freshman year to address the class of 2010 and give them their "charge" as they were preparing to go out into the world.

Here is some of what he said:

"My name is Brandon Stallings, and I am a PROUND LITHONIA HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNUS from the "fine class of 200-."  I'd like to begin by thanking Mrs. Natasha Rachell for giving me the opportunity to speak at yet another wonderful Lithonia High School Graduation Ceremony.  It will always be a pleasure to come back and speak on behalf of the institution that made me EVERY BIT of the man I am today."

"Looking back at the many "learning experiences, not mistakes," I've had this year in college, I'm a firm believer that success ONLY comes to those who have the resilience to keep getting up when life knocks them off their feet.  I've learned that no one's keeping track of your knockdowns, but everyone notices if you always seem to get back up!"

"My whole point, Class of 2010, is that by getting to this moment, you've already become a product of what, in my opinion, Lithonia High School does better than ANY other school: it teaches you 1) everyone falls, it's a part of life and 2) how to be one of the few who gets back on their feet.  The teachers HERE are unlike any other; they teach life to go along with what's in those textbooks, because your understanding of the former is what really makes the difference."

He closed by stating....

"I challenge you to be incredible, spectacular, and maybe even ground-breaking.  Break away from what is expected, take a job in London, learn to speak not just one, but a couple languages, do some community service in Uganda, plan a Spring Break to Cancun, and trust me when I say be careful with that last one!"

Brandon continues to do great things at Yale and comes back to visit when he can.  I am proud to say that he has just secured a two year internship for the next two summers in Washington DC.  I am so proud of him for being such a great example of what a young African American male can live up to be and what they can accomplish.  He is an example of excellence!  He publicly took the time to thank me for being a part of his life....and now it's my turn....

Brandon,  thank you for being a role model to MY sons and for allowing me to be a part of your life.  My life is better because you are a part of it.  Continue to do great things and strive for excellence!  I know that you can do everything you set your mind to and more!!!!!

Rick Wormeli: Redos, Retakes, and Do-Overs, Part One

I recently saw this powerful and passionate educator at an SDE conference in Orlando, FL and his energy is intoxicating!  What he has to say in this video to educators in regard to redos, retakes, and do-overs really makes you think twice about your teaching practice.  I was once that teacher that wouldn't allow redos, retakes and do-overs.

Rick has a valid point.  If everyone else in the world has the opportunity to do these three things for full credit, then who are we as teachers to not allow them to do the same thing?  Are we REALLY passionate about what we do?  Are we there to really teach the students or are we there to put them through the ringer?

I love when he states that his punishment for not completing an assignment is to.....complete the assignment!  How awesome is that?  You are telling the student that you care about whether or not they master the content and that you really care about them learning it and want to see them be successful!

"Look Me In The Eyes"

Our students simply want us to "look them in their eyes."  If we could look into their eyes and see all that they had to offer, we may begin to appreciate them a little bit more.  We might be able to remember back to when we were their age and wanted our teachers to look at us in our eyes.  We wanted to be seen as an individual and not just as a child.  You see, although our students are young children, they are still people and they have something to offer.

Why are we scared of them?  Is there a reason?  Are we scared of what they can and will become?  What if all teachers believed that we wouldn't allow any of our students to finish where they began?  Can you imagine the impact this would have on test scores, graduation rates and AYP???  What if we could pull out what was imbedded inside each child that we had the pleasure of interacting with each and every day?  How powerful would that be???

Our students will become what they know they are...BUT how do they know what they are if we don't take the time to expose them to the possibility of what they could become?

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....

Studentsfirst.org

I urge all of you to watch this short video (parents, students, teachers, administrators, etc.) and become a member of studentsfirst.org.  Michelle Rhee, former chancellor of DC schools started this organization to have a group in place that would serve as an advocate for students.  I believe that this may be the beginning of change for a positive education reform across the nation.  Someone has to step up and start the change...why not you???

Having the right teachers in front our students is critical!

Towards the end of this clip Michelle Rhee discusses the importance of having the right teachers in front of the kids and why it's so imperative!  It's really just this simple.  If we want students to learn, we have to have the right teachers in front of them teaching them and educating them on a daily basis.  This type of individual has to be someone that cares about them...truly and genuinely cares about them and their well being.  Someone that wants to see them succeed and be a positive influence in their lives.

There are teachers that enter the profession to receive a paycheck, for a stable job, and for a guaranteed summer off. This mentality has to change.  We need better teachers in front of our kids.  Michelle Rhee, ex-chancellor of DC schools, had this in the forefront of her mind as she was in her position.  People had the audacity to see this as wrong and shunned her because of this.  How can we demand excellence from our students if we don't want to demand excellence from our teachers?

STOP "Waiting for Superman".....YOU ARE Superman!!!!!! (or Superwoman)

I JUST saw this movie today and my mind is racing all over the place!!!!!  EVERY teacher and parent that reads this MUST go and get this movie!!!!!  

I have been on the both sides of this coin.  First, I am a parent and have tried for three consecutive years to get my middle school son into a theme middle school in which its attendees were chosen through the lottery system.  He did NOT get in to this school either of the three years.  We were that family sitting at the end of the lottery with a disappointed son, upset, not knowing what we were going to do.  He is a very smart young man and we did what we needed to do to get him to attend a school where he is involved in the magnet program.  While watching the movie, my heart broke and tears streamed down my face because I knew, firsthand, what the families in  the movie were going through.  All because they simply wanted better for their kids....

As an educator, I totally understand the lottery process but it can't help but to make me think.  If ALL schools were operating at a level of excellence, we wouldn't need theme schools and magnet programs, etc.  If ALL schools were operating at a level of excellence, we wouldn't have to have lotteries for enrollment into our "good" schools.  Parents wouldn't have to consider moving (I am guilty of this as we speak!!!!) to ensure that their kids would go to a "good" public school because ALL public schools would be "good" schools.

I have heard over my years as an educator that parents blame the schools and schools blame the parents for the lack of motivation on the students part.  The students want things handed to them.  It's an entitled generation of kids....blah blah blah.  While I personally may agree with some of these things I also understand that as a human being we must STOP placing the blame on each other and simply hold each other to higher standards and levels of accountability.  Here's the solution!!!!!

• Parents-DEMAND better schools for your students WHILE holding your students accountable.  It starts at home.  Demand excellence from your children in ALL aspects of their lives.
• Administrators-DON'T hire mediocre teachers!  Only hire the types of teachers that you would want to teach your own children!
• Teachers-Set HIGH expectations for your students and don't let any of them fail!  DEMAND excellence from ALL of them...not just your favorite students or the ones that you feel can do it....ALL OF THEM!!!

We all want better for our kids and teachers all want better for their students.  Personally, I don't know of a teacher that says, "______ just isn't smart enough...he can't do it."  I'm not dumb, I know there are teachers out there like this and you know what should happen to them???  Michelle Rhee was right on target with her practice.  I KNOW that I am a GREAT teacher.  I know a plethora of GREAT teachers and I don't think that they, nor myself would have had a problem giving up tenure (not that we have it) to risk being paid for what we do because I KNOW that we are all GREAT teachers.  Not only do we teach, we educate....I'm not saying any of this to toot my own horn, or brag, BUT I care about my students as if they were my own.  I want them ALL to succeed.  I KNOW that they can do whatever they set their minds to AND I am willing the help them get there!  

We ALL need to STOP waiting for Superman!  He's NOT coming....Instead, we need to KNOW that WE are Superman/Superwoman!  We hold the power.  If we all demand great things, the end result can be NOTHING short of greatness!!!!!  When are YOU going to step up and do something????  What are you going to do????  When does it begin???  The time is NOW and YOU are the person to get it done!  We have to stop looking around and saying that "someone" needs to do something about the problem....YOU are that someone...I am that someone!  

~Okay....I'm off of my rant and rave....for now, anyway!