I'd like to give a shout out to Fructus Ventris for the link to the article on increasing the number of blacks homeschooling. I wonder why when blacks decide to take a more conservative route instead of the way to self destruction (i.e.choosing substandard public schools), it is "whoa, there's is a surprise!" I remember "mentoring" elementary school children while I was in college in "urban" (predominately black) neighborhoods. It was a fifth grade class (in NJ) and the children did not know how to construct complete sentences or even how to read. That is some scary stuff. Where is a person going to go without the ability to read? What does that say about the future generation of adults? The kicker is they did not know how to read, but they did know A.) the facts of the birds and the bees and B.) they knew to be black and proud. Is the problem that reading is secondary to other subjects?
Which brings me to another point. During last week's whole Al Sharpton fiasco, I noted that on Saint Sabina's website, there was a page for their parish school (emphases added):
St. Sabina Academy is a grade school serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The faculty and administration believe that God has a purpose for every child's life. By incorporating the gospel of Jesus Christ and African values, the faculty is committed to teaching and guiding children as they discover their place in the body of Christ. Through collective work and responsibility, the faculty and administration strive to provide a safe, stable, secure and nurturing environment in which children can achieve academic excellence.
St. Sabina Academy is committed to:
• Welcoming children of all faiths.
• Teaching our students about the Catholic faith as they participate in religion classes, services and activities.
• Responding to the needs of others by the words we proclaim and by the daily actions of the clergy, school board, administration, faculty, staff and students.
• Using our God-given talents for the benefit of the all-embracing community of God• Organizing instruction to assure that students are continuously made aware of their African-American heritage.
• Preparing students to be positive, productive, independent thinking members in a global, diverse and technological society.
• Teaching our students to apply Christian values in the resolution of conflicts to create peace in our school and communities.
What about reading and writing? Why is it a priority for the focus of a black child's education to know about being black? Wonder if someone opened a school, especially a Catholic school that stated:"...incorporating the Gospel of Jesus and incorporating European values...organising instruction to assure that students are continuously made aware of their European heritage..."
When my husband were looking into school options for our daughter before she was in Kindergarten, the first decision we made was that public school was not an option. (I described a bit about what public school was like for me before.) My husband also did not want her subjected to immoral peer pressure. Next options were the local Catholic school and an Afrikan (with a 'k') children's school which bragged academic excellence. My husband had been to the Catholic schools, and the moral climate was no better and as we were reverting back to our faith-were basically faith-less. The Afrikan with a 'k' school was just racist, period.
People want better for their children, black people white people, and families that fall in between. As long as education choices continue to be ,well, limited, and parents continue to desire excellence for their children, homeschooling will grow beyond a great deal of boundaries.
