Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 15 September 2000 — Page 7

Ff^PAY, SEPTEMBER 15,2000

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

PAGE A7

education

2001 Indiana House Democrat Internship Prjogram Applications are available for the 2001 Indiana House Democrat Internship Program. The program features full-time, pa# internships at the Statehouse in Indianapolis from eaftly January through mid-May 2C|01. Internships are available to Individuals who will be college juniors, seniors, graduate students or recent graduates as pf January 2001. participants will receive weekly salaries of $250 and can receive college credit for their work. The application deadline is Oct. 18. Applications can be otagined by visiting the Indiana Hose Democrat Web site at wwfc.state.in.us/ house.democrats. For other questions or requests call (317) 232-9655 or 1-800-382-9842. After-school programs The beginning of another school year also marks the start of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Multi-Service Center afterschool programs for children ancj youth. The programs have started and will continue through June 8, 2001. There will also be activities scheduled over winter and spring breaks. The programs, for ages 5 to 15, meet daily from 3-6 p.m. and on some Saturdays. Cost is $15 per week or $60 each month. There are opportunities for financial assistance if needed. Stop by the center located on 40 W. 40th St. or call (317) 9234581 ext. 246 for school age child care or ext. 234 for the teepprogram. Magicians offer classes in inath and science The Society of Young Magicians is offering special classes to at-risk students. The society has developed the Magic Math and Magic Science curricula that use the illusions of magic to teach the scientific and mathematical principles behind them. The fun of learning magic tricks is transferred to science and mathematics. If your school would like to offer these classes this year, please write to Magic Math and Science, 7101 Buick Drive, Indianapolis, IN 462143224 or e-mail: [email protected]. Be sure to put “Math Magic and Science” on the subject line. MAC grants McDonald’s restaurants of Central Indiana are offering MAC grants, an educational initiative to assist area teachers with their job of educating ) young people. MAC grants offer financial support to help teachers “Make Activities Count” for their students. The program provides $500 to middle school teachers for interesting and educational projects. Any teacher of sixth, seventh and eighth grade

students who is interested in applying for a MAC grant should submit a one-page letter describing the hands-on activity along with a grant application. All activities must take place on school property and applications must be postmarked by Sept. 29. A limited number of grants will be chosen on or before Oct. 31. Letters should be submitted on school letterhead and include: the school’s name; district; address; phone number; number of students involved; brief overview of the project; and budget. All applicants must submit an official MAC grants application. Teachers working together should note the name of one project manager. Letters should be mailed to MAC Grants, do Bandy, Carroll, Hellige Advertising, 111 Monument Circle, Ste. 882, Indianapolis, IN 46204. For an application or more information, call (317) 684-7711. Shortridge class of 1961 seeks classmates In preparation for its 40th reunion activities in June 2001, the reunion committee for the Shortridge High School class of 1%1 is actively seeking lost members. Addresses and contacts are missing for about 200 classmates. Members of the class of 1961 are urged to contact Ellen Brodey Simon at (317) 257-6968 or by e-mail: [email protected]. NABSW announces 2000 scholarships The Indianapolis Chapter, NABSW is pleased to announce the 2000 scholarships to support the academic achievement of AfricanAmerican scholars who have a demonstrated commitment to our community. Applications are due Nov. 20 and awards will be announced during a Dec. 11 Chapter meeting/PreKwanzaa Celebration. One award will be made for the first Dr. Gayle J. Cox Scholarship. If you have any questions for the rules of eligibility, call the Chapter’s voicemail (317) 767-5502. Ron Brown Scholarship program The Ron Brown Scholarship is open to African-American high school seniors who are academically talented and highly motivated. Applicants must be able to demonstrate excellent academics, exceptional leadership potential, financial need and impact their communities through activities and service to others. Candidates must be pursuing fulltime undergraduate degrees. Awards are $10,000 per year for four years. For more information contact the sponsor by e-mail: [email protected] or log on to www.RonBrown.org. Minority Teacher and Special Education Services Scholarship Program The Minority Teacher and Special Education Services Scholarship Program 20002001 is offering scholarships

Brooks to be first principal of new Pike school

Patricia S. Brooks, principal of Eastbrook Elementary School, has been selected as the first principal of Snacks Crossing Elementary School, effective Jan. 2,2001. The school, currently under construction at 56th Street and Moller Road, will open in August 2001 to serve more than 700 studehts. Brooks, an educator for 28 years, came to Pike Township Schools as principal of Eastbrook in 1992. Previously, she served 12 years as a teacher and assistant principal fof Washington Township Schools. She’s also taught seven years in Charleston, W. Va. “I have dedicated my life to edpcating young children and I

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Patricia S. Brooks

plan to continue that dedication at Snacks Crossing,” Brooks said.

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 institution. For more information, scholarship guidelines or an application, call the State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana (SSACI) at (317) 232-2350. Looking for classmates Arsenal Technical High School class of 1970 is planning their 30th reunion for Nov. 25. Planners are having trouble locating some classmates. Coordinators of this event would like for those who see this notice to contact Mary Alice Durrett at (317) 5427507. E-mail: DurrettMaryalice® prodigy. net. or Velora Mansfield Anderson (317) 387-1964. E-mail: [email protected]. Autumn Break College Tours We’re Helping Youth! Inc. (WHY!) and R. E. Patrick & Associates announce Autumn Break College Tours, Oct. 26 and 27. Seating is available now and reservations are $185. Tour 1: Florida A&M University and Savannah State University. Tour 2: Clark Atlanta University, Morris Brown, Spelman University and Morehouse College. Tour 3: Kentucky State University, Fisk University and Tennessee State University. For more information contact your school counselor or WHY! at (317) 335-4192. Call for participation The Black Cultural Center Library at Purdue University invites applications from graduate students for participation in its fall program, “Afri- . can Americans and the Case for Reparations: Positioning the Debate,” which will be held at the center on Nov. 11, at'l p.m. The videos “Black Reparations” (an interview with Randall Robinson, TransAfrica) and “Case for Black Reparations,” will be shown during the event. Applicants should be doctoral students with evidence of completed research, work-in-progress or teaching experience relating to the topic. The selected applicant will lead an audience of Purdue students, staff and faculty and members of the community in a discussion on reparations for African Americans within a historical and socio-economic context. Submit a letter of application, CV, abstract of paper (250 words) and a review (650 words) of the “Debt: What America Owes to Blacks” by Randall Robinson: Dorothy Ann Washington Black Cultural Center Library Purdue University 1100 3rd St. West Lafayette, IN 47906 (765) 494-3093 E-mail: da Washington @ hfs. purdue. edu The chosen applicant’s review will be published in the “Focus on the Library” section of the Black Cultural Center Newsletter. The center will pay for travel and lodging as well as a small honorarium. Deadline for submission is Monday, Sept. 18. Writer’s Workshop WIN and the National Association for Female Executives in conjunction with Marguerite Press, announces its first annual Fall Writers Workshop. Location: Five Seasons Sports Country Club— 1300 E. 96th Street Indianapolis, Indiana. (In the Champion Room) Saturday, November 11-2000, (Veterans’ Day) from 10am-5pm. Topic include career journaling, literary entrepreneurship and the nuts and bolts of publishing. Contact Delores Thomton at: (317) 7250119; Fax (317) 298-8889; [email protected] OR Gaudia Gilliard at: (317) 2596136; CBGill04@aoLcom

Why you can’t wait

It becomes a very daunting task, year in and year out, of trying to figure out which students will perform well for the teacher and which ones will cause the most problems. As the open house and back-to-school night festivities come to an end, all teachers will have been asked one particular question thousands of times. “How is my child doing,” always becomes the question of the evening for the parents who venture into their child’s school to meet and greet their teachers. (Did you attend this year?) During the first few weeks of school, it is difficult for teachers to really get to know their students. Outside of elementary school, most public school teachers in the urban areas are dealing with over 100 new students. Which students do you think the teachers get to know almost as soon as the school year begins? The nice, quiet, respectable, and hardest working students? Of course not! The students who cause the teacher the most trouble are the ones that they are going to know and remember. The students who are always a constant disruption and those who have to be reminded over and over again to follow the classroom rules. These are the kids whose names you know after the second or third day of school. How disappointing it is to here on back-to-school night that, “Yes, I know your child, he has been causing a lot of problems for me and the other students.” “He just does not seem to be relating and getting along too well with the other students.” Now you have to come up with excuses like getting up to early because of busing, not eating breakfast, or being tom between joining one of the rival gangs in his area, is causing your child t® misbehave in the classrobin. The art teacher then «hows you some “free-lance” drawings

that the students had to create. One of your child’s drawings depict a violent drive-by shooting scene between cops and drug dealers and the other depicts two characters from a violent video entertainment game ripping each other’s head off, with blood spewing everywhere. The guidance counselor goes on to tell you that your child feels as if the new suburban teachers treat the Black students unfairly. The counselor said that your child has, on several occasions, mentioned that some students get more opportunities and better treatment than the students who were bused from his neighborhood do. The principal then calls you into the office to ask you a series of personal questions. The one that stands out to you is the one about you having a gun in the home. The principal wanted to know if your child had any access to a weapon in your house, relatives’ house, or neighbor’s house. We have heard of racial profiling on a variety of different fronts, most recently “Driving While Black.” The FBI’s National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crimes has created a model for assessing violent students. The FBI said this is not a profiling tool, but a tool to help them identify those students whom they deem capable of committing violent acts against their school. The FBI gave some examples on things to look for, including “recurrent themes of violence in a student’s work, resentment over real or perceived injustices, a fascination with violent entertainment, their interaction with

school and peers, and families that keep weapons in the home. A child’s environment and experiences can dictate, to a large degree, their action and thought process. Many of the above characteristics are prevalent in the lives of many of our school children. This is their world. This is the reality that they know and the one they go home to everyday. You cannot wait until your child displays one or some of these “behaviors” and begins to be “profiled” by the education system. They are already being stereotyped and profiled into remedial classes, suspensions, and dropouts. Now they are in danger of being profiled as violent students with the potential for committing a school shooting. Take the time now to help rid your child of this negative self-image. Help your child to write, speak, and behave in a positive manor. The image that the education community has of our children will not change from within. We have to change our own image and take this positive, selfconfident attitude inside the schoolhouse doors. You can’t wait until one of our students are unjustly “profiled" to begin working on this change. We must be honest with ourselves, and recognize that some of the items that the FBI is looking at could easily be seen in many of our school age children. Our image to the outside world could use some enhancement, and we should take immediate steps to begin in the halls of education. This is an arena that we all must successfully pass through, and we all know “image is everything.” Our children, our students, our “future,” depend on us each day of their existence. You can contact me at [email protected]. Or write\tne at 9701 E. 6)rJ S&! Indihndpoftr,jM j* contai:ivud)S4)lmcatJM2X* 393-2188. ■ —v :