Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 12 May 2000 — Page 17
FRIDAY, MAY 12,2000
THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER
PAGERS
Parents responsible for academic achievement
11
Education Does ■ Matter By Leroy Robinson
^ Continuing with the theme of why the majority of minority stulents (African American and His>anic) are falling further and furher behind their white counter>arts in academic achievement, this week’s focus will be on the role of iteschool, television, teacher expectations, and (he summer time. The focus again is on the many contributing factors that determine the academic success of a student in the classroom. All of which are the responsibility of parents. ' An early childhood structured education, or preschool, is critical In starting a child off on the road to success. But unfortunately, studies
show that minority children have very little access to productive and academically structured preschool programs. One study out of New York in 19%, found that only about 60 percent of African Americans and 35 percent of Hispanic parents enrolled their children in preschool. It mentioned programs like Head Start, and said even these programs for lower income families, do not reach a large number of students who qualify. Gov. Frank O’Bannon has a commercial that introduces a campaign to get all of Indiana’s school children reading by the third grade. However good his intentions may be, most children I know were reading or identifying large sets of words prior to first grade. If a child is not reading after leaving the first grade, their parents need to attend second grade with them. Parents should teach their children to read and write prior to entering first grade. Which brings us to the most important entertainment source in
over 90 percent of the homes where the minority child is performing the worst in the classroom: the television. It is no secret that many of us adults did not attend preschool, but grew up in the care of a “baby sitter.” The “sitter” was usually a close relative or friend, who charged very low weekly payments, and most importantly, one who did not charge us on holidays when our kids were not there, and who would give us a little “credit” without charging a late fee. The sitter would not kick the kids out if they were bad, because they had the authority todiscipline them (remember close relative or friend). Honestly, the sitter did offer a lot of conveniences that the good structured day cares do not provide. But the most harm that may come with the sitter is the lack of structured education and the large amounts of time spent watching television. Growing up in the ‘70s and ‘80s, there may not have been a baby sitter around in the lower income areas that provided aca-
Martin University reaches milestone ,— more than 1,000 graduates
This month, after Martin University’s 28th commencement exercise on the main campus on Sunday, May 7, and the Friday, May 12, graduation at' ^re University’s Lady Elizabeth campus in the Indiana Women’s Prison, an important milestone in the history of the
22-year-old institution was reached: After conferring degrees on the 35 undergraduate and six graduate students, the University now boasts of 1,001 alumni. President Boniface Hardin, who founded the institution in 1977, presided over the May 7 graduation in the university’s
Those graduating were:
;Raphael A. Adeniyi, Bachelor of Science, Accounting, cum laude. Tanya Marie Alien-Martin, Bachelor of ,Science, Addictions Counseling. Jesse C. Bender Sr., Bachelor of Arts, Religious Studies, cum laude. •Stephanie Blake, Bachelor of Arts, {Humanities. ;Michelle Ann Brittain-Watts, Master of jScience, Community Psychology, cum
Jlaude.
.Tynisa Brown, Bachelor of Science, 'Psychology, cum laude. iDonyale Calhoun, Bachelor of Science, (Accounting. •Carlotta Rene Campbell, Master of Science, Community Psychology, ;summa cum laude. JLula M. Cash, Bachelor of Science, SGenetic Counseling, cum laude.
Sharon Kimble, Bachelor of Science, Humane Exchange. Debra Ann Lampkins, Master of Arts, Urban Ministry Studies, cum laude. Jacqueline Mosley, Bachelor of Arts, Humanities and Education, Tenacious
Award.
Joseph A. Parker, Bachelor of Science, Business Administration, magna cum laude. Academic Dean’s Award. „ ^ _ Bernice Parish, Master of Science, Communllp Psychology, magna cum laude. Vice President’s Award. Amanda J. Pulley, Bachelor of Science, Political Science, summa cum laude. Ethel Joyce Rodriguez, Bachelor of Arts, Criminal Justice, Courage Award. Thelma L. Smalling, Bachelor of Arts, Humanities, cum laude. Margo L. Smith, Bachelor of Science,
iBenjamin Franklin III, Bachelor of Arts, Addictions Counseling, Perseverance
•Rusiness Administration. Award.
•Melinda C. Greene, Bachelor of Science, Michael E. Spradley, Bachelor of Arts,
^Sociology, magna cum laude. ;Vickie Leigh Hamilton, Bachelor of Arts, Humanities. John L. Hederington, Bachelor of Arts, .'Religious Studies. ^Tamara J. Highbaugh, Bachelor of •Science, Accounting, cum laude.' ;Cheri D. Hood, Bachelor of Science, Accounting. Kamia Lynne Jackson, Bachelor of Arts, Business Administration and Resource Management,summa cum laude. lienee Donita Johnson, Master of Arts, |Urban Ministry Studies, summa cum laude, President’s Award. Ronnell Johnson, Bachelor of Arts, ^Humanities, Perseverance Award. •Beverly G. Jones, Bachelor of Science, -Human Resource Management, cum
ude.
ris J. Kendrick-Carter, Bachelor of ience. Counseling Psychology, ommitment Award.
Humanities. Valerie A. Stanley, Bachelor of Arts, Humanities, summa cum laude. Paul E. Stockton, Bachelor of Science, Business Administration. Harvey Wayne Taylor, Bachelor of Science, Business Administration, cum
laude.
Vernon Paul Thompson, Bachelor of Arts, Criminal Justice, cum laude. Renita C. Tubbs, Bachelor of Science, Accounting. Claudia L. Watkins, Bachelor of Science, Business Administration. Mark L. Watts, Bachelor of Arts, African American Studies. Susan Whittaker-Young, Master of Science, Community Psychology. Delen E. Williams, Bachelor of Science, Business Administration. Belynda M. Williams, Bachelor of Arts, Sociology, summa cum laude. Margaret Marie Williams, Bachelor of Science, Accounting, magna cum laude.
Indiana Junior Historical Society offers camps
demic course work for its children. The sitters spent their day watching the. soaps and game shows. Leaving the kids to educate each other. Of course there are exceptions to this rule, and many baby sitters are. providing some form of academic activities today, but by far the majority of baby sitters in low income minority areas are not stressing academics and are providing the television as a source of baby sitting. Children who fall behind early very rarely ever catch up to their counterparts. It is no secret that we watch more television than any other ethnic group, but watching television is not all that bad. It is the shows that we watch that cause us the most harm. No need to explain, you know what type of shows your kids watch. Statistics show that truly gifted chi Idren watch no more than five hours of television per week. ‘Teachers are taught that all children can leant, but their own experiences may sometimes tell
them otherwise. As a result, experts and minority parents say that at least some teachers, exposed to low-achieving minority pupils year after year, may come to expect less of them. They might not hold them to high standards or encourage them to take more advanced classes.” (Debra Viadero, Education Week, March 2000). As a general rule, what an adult “expects” from a child is usually followed through upon by that child. Very few students, who are “expected” .to misbehave land do poorly in school by teachers, very rarely attempt to prove the teacher wrong. They just naturally fall into that teachers expectations of them. The summer time may be the period when our children fall the farthest behind in academic standing. Very rarely do our children get the opportunity to make academic strides in the summer. Of course those who have the finances provide a good variety of experiences for their children. But unfortunately, the masses of our children only get the opportunity to go to
summ^day camp. Day camp consists of little time Insing spent on developing educational skills, and more time being :»pent on game playing and athletic activities. Compare a summer of traveling, going to theme parks, museums, libraries, zoos, book stores, plays, musicals, and taking enrichment classes; to going swimming, playing in the park, watching music videos and laughing with Jerry Springer. After 12 years of summers like this, our students are at least four years behind. Which leads us to the sad fact that in some urban areas across the country, the educational level of a 12th-grade Afri-can-American student is equivalent to that of an 8th-grade white student in the suburban area. Hopefully the last two columns will shed some light on the many issues and experiences that affect our children’s low performance in the classroom. As you look at all of the issues that were mentioned, there is only one source that can turn this trend around: parents.
ED NOTE BOOK
Performing Arts Center. Sister Jane Schilling, vice president for academic affairs, conferred the degrees upon the graduates. Allen Wurzman, a member of the board of trustees of Martin University and a long-time benefactor of the institution, received an honorary doctorate
of laws degree.
ContiiMMd from B4 institution. For more information, scholarship guidelines or an application, call the State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana (SSACI) at (317) 232-2350. Trinity Lutheran
Preschool
Enrollments are now being accepted at Trinity Lutheran Preschool, 8540 E. 16th St. The preschool program is meant to work in partnership with parents in providing for growth and development of the preschool child. For more information call (317) 897-0243. Homework Hotline With a simple toll-free phone call, Indianapolis area middle and high school students can now receive help to better understand math and science through Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Home-
work Hotline.
There are no fees associated with this educational program. The tollfree phone number is 1 -877-ASK-ROSE. Rose-Hulman students are available to answer calls from 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday night throughout the school year. The Homework Hotline has been expanded to serve students of Central Indiana public and private schools through a $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment.
The Homework Hotline received Ameritech’s Partnership In Education Award in 1994. It is also sponsored by the 3M Corp. and Electronic Data Systems. Indiana College Network class catalogs The Indiana College Network (ICN) has released its schedule of distance education classes for spring and summer 2000. Indiana colleges and universities are offering more than 1,000 courses in the new catalog. Nearly half will be; taught through the Internet, allow-; ing people to earn college creditfrom home. Free catalogs are avail-; able by contacting the ICN student service center at (800) 426-8899 or [email protected]. More information is available by logging onto www.icn.org. Student Fellowship for
Blacks
Student Fellowship for Blacks has awarded more than $110,000 since 1978. The fellowship was created to assist Black colleges and uni versifies financially and provide funds for Black students. The application deadline is June 3. Write to Student Fellowship for Blacks, P. O. Box 18107, Indianapolis, IN 46218. For more infor- ■ mation please call (317) 549-3166.
W|l«w|aiUt>
Special to The Recorder The Indiana Junior Historical ciety is offering three overnight £amps this summer for kids in grades 4-6. E* A Sports History Camp will take 4>lace June 23-25 on the University bf Indianapolis campus. In addition to playing basketball and volleyball, campers will leam about the history of both sports. They also will tour the new NCAA Hall 6f Champions, visit the NCAA Archives and Library and have a picnic lunch at Military Park. A Fossils Camp will take place July 14-16 at Walnut Hills Retreat facility in the Brown County City bf Unionville. Kids will leam how to identify different kinds and ages bf fossils, and will make their own
fossil. Other activities will include tramping around in a creek while mud hunting fossils and enjoying traditional camp fun like campfires, stories and songs, swimming and canoeing. An Indiana FurTradeCamp will take place July 28-30 at the YMCA’s Camp Crosley in North Webster in Northern Indiana. Campers will leam about the trade relationship between the French and the Native Americans in Northern Indiana. Activities will include interacting with a French fur trader, learning about the Miami Indian language, observing the night sky, taking a sensory night hike, canoeing and swimming. The cost for each three-day camp is $60. Camper drop off at each site begins at 4 p.m. on Friday. Pick-up
for the Fossils Camp and the Indiana Fur Trade Camp is at noon on Sunday. Camper pick up for the Sports Camp is at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The registration deadline is May 19. For further information or to register, contact Nikki Meyers at the Indiana Junior Historical Society, (317) 234-0085 or [email protected]. The Indiana J^tor Historical Society is the largest junior historical society in the country. Approximately 4,500 Hoosier students in grades 4-12 participate annually. A program of the Indiana Historical Society, the Junior Historical Society fosters history education through a network of history clubs in schools, historical societies, historical sites and libraries.
Summer Food Program The Christamore House MultiService Center announces the sponsorship of the Summer Food Service Program for children. Free meals will be made available to children 18 years of age and under, or persons more than 18 who are determined to by a state or local public education agency to be mentally or physically disabled and who participate in a public or nonprofit private school program established for the mentally or physically disabled. The meals will be provided without regard to race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. The Christamore House located at 502 N. Tremont will provide breakfast and lunch from June 12th - August 11th Monday through Friday. Breakfast will be from 8 to 9 a.m., and lunch will be served from II a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Minority scholarships available The Minority Teacher and Special Education Services Scholarship Program 2000-2001 is offering scholarships for minority students (defined as Black or Hispanic) seeking teaching certification, special education teaching certification, or occupational or physical therapy certification. The application deadline is set by each
e
Indianapolis Entropronourship
Academy
graduates nine The Indianapolis Entrepreneurship Academy (IEA), under the leadership of chairman Bob Engle, recently graduated nine members. Completing the two-semester course were: Robyn Cornwell; Jim Foreman, Foreman Group; Kevin Gorham, Delphi; Nate Mansue, , Garth Environments; David Maxwell, Maxwell Consulting; Peggy Novotny, ICC; Thu-Trung Nguyen; Jerry Sentman, True PrecisionCoqj.;
and Kathie York.
IEA meets each spring and Ml for 12 Friday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m. Members travel to the offices of guest speakers, such as CityCounty Council President Buert SerVaas and William Mays ofMays Chemical Co., or speakers visit the
IEA office in the IMPACTincuba- •^******A*A***********A*****AA*AA***f "mZ : f n mbeveb YOUR’S wedding chapei emy in 984. SerVaas and the IEA . c t j, e cost Call for an appointment. 920-1075 . ^^th^SngtomSr ♦»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥¥<
own businesses to network with successful business owners to leam the how to and other inside information that has contributed to the success of
the speakers’ businesses.
The fall semester starts on Sept.
15.
Toobuiitfitrther information, visit IEA's Web site at: www.entreprenenrship.ort or contact Bob Engle at (3171465-1444 oremail him at: ieBbobQaol.com.
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