My Supports

     12 years ago I decided to start an afterschool program for at-risk kids in the community where I live. I named the program the Dare 2B Different Program because I wanted the youth in the program to believe that they can be different by staying out of trouble, saying no to drugs and peer pressure, by staying in school and believing that they have the potential within them to overcome any challenges they might face.
    Since the youth in the program are mainly teenagers no one not even parents are willing to pay for children who are old enough to care for themselves. There is very little money that  comes into the center weekly and many times there are no funds.
     Without a support group for the past 12 years I would not have been able to keep the program open. My biggest supporter I would say has been my family. My husband opened up the doors of the church dining area to allow me to meet with tht children daily with no price or charge. For 12 years we have used the building, electricity, phone service, and gas. My husband has volunteered to pick up the elementary students daily for over 12 years and you sometimes can catch him in the kitchen helping to prepare meals for the children.
     I also have 3 children who have supported me in the afterschool program. For many years my two daughters have braided, twisted, permed and cared for the girls hair for free and my son has kept the boys hair cut. As a family I must say we have pulled together and  accomplished what others would not challenge. Because of a supportive family there is a safe place where children can come every evening, receive a home cooked mean, get help with their homework and build positive relationships with their peers.
     Each year for Spring Break we take the youth in our program on a weeks vacation. After much planning and raising  money I feel honored to be able to say that today Easter Sunday a group of 21 youth and 11 parents and adults will be leaving on the Amtrak train for New Orleans Louisiana to step in front of over 500 people at the Hyatt Regeancy COOL JC Youth Convention  . For most of the youth this is their first train trip and first time going to New Orleans.
     With out the support of my family both natural and spiritually, the community and my principal along with some of the teachers this trip would not have been a success. The children are excited and all that matters to them is that they board that train today even if it means going without money and all the new clothing most children would receive when going on vacation. These children have learned to be thankful over small things( the kitchen) and in return they are receiving big things (New Orleans)
     Having a good support system has brought me this far, having a supportive husband has given me the courage to go forward and not give up. Having a supportive pastor as my husband has made all the difference and given me the courage to "Dare 2B Different"
(KEEP US IN YOUR PRAYERS THIS WEEK)


  

Mt Connection to Play

Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning
Fred Rogers

Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity
Kay Redfield Jamison

As a child my biggest support system were our neighbors. Everyone looked out for all the children in the neighborhood.

Play today is so different from the play of my childhood. There were no electronic games to play, no cell phones, no cable, no computers. Just good wholesome fun played by all the children in the neighborhood.

Hop Scotch, Double Dutch, Jacks, Sticks, Relay Racing, and plenty of fresh outdoor air.

As I look back on play throughout my life I have never forgot how to jump double dutch. It amazes me that many of our youth of today do not  know how to jump rope and have no interest in learning.

Relationship Reflection

Healthy relationships are important to me because I value those who invest their time and believe in me. I have learned there are healthy relationships and unhealthy ones. I have been blessed to survive and learn from the unhealthy relationships. There are people presently in my life that have made a positive impact on my life.

First and above all the best relationship I could ever have is the personal relationship I have with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I am so blessed to have him in my life.

Next I have a family that is very supportive of me. I have a long standing relationship with my husband of 36 years, I am blessed to have 4 wonderful children who have been there for me as I have traveled on this educational journey and I have a supportive spirtual family.

Then there is Shirley, she has been my friend for over 30 years. I call her my traveling partner. She has always been there for me even when my children were born. I am so blessed to have her in my life.

Sheila is my best friend. We met in 1972 while attending Morgan State College in Baltimore Md. Sheila is from Saint Thomas in the Virgin Island and was only able to go home once a year. So that Sheila would not have to stay on campus alone for the holidays I would take her home with me to New York. Over the past 40 years Sheila and I have remained friends. After graduation Sheila continued to come back to the states to visit me and I also had the opportunity to vist her beautiful island. I do not get the opportunity to visit or talk to Sheila much but she is always in my heart.

Last but not least there is Mr. Brown my former principal. He is the reason I returned back to school. I was actually on a cruise ship on my way to Saint Thomas to visit my girlfriend Sheila. I was in my cabin  in the bottom of the ship, in the middle of the ocean when my cell phone rang. It was Mr. Brown someone whom I had never met before. He had heard about me from another school official. He was calling to offer me a job in In School Suspension. I explained to him that I was not in town. He called the next day and I told him I was out of the country. Upon arriving back home I was intervied by my Brown and offered the position. After I started working Mr. Brown asked me to return back to school and receive my Bachelors Degree and then go on and receive my Master's Degree. I completed my Bachelors Degree in 2010 and Mr. Brown was there to watch me receive my degree. I am looking forward to graduation at Walden University and once again I will look to see Mr. Brown there. I am so glad that Mr. Brown is part of my life and that he saw something positive in me.

Thank You

Thank you for being there for me. I have learned so much from you this past 8 weeks. Look forward to discussion in our next class. Thank you Dr. D. I truly enjoyed your class.

Quotes

Whatever they grow up to be, they are still our children, and the one most important of all the things we can give to them is unconditional love. Not a love that depends on anything at all except that they are our children.”

Rosaleen Dickson quotes

Testing Intelligence

Testing Intelligence

Children learn different. Those who learn different I feel should be taught different. My son whom I feel is very talented played a full drum set by the age of 2 years old with no lessons. By the age of 15 he had learned to play the saxophone, guitar, and organ. It was not until High School that his band teacher realized that he could not read sheet music and had been playing by ear. He draws like he has attended art school and around the age of 12 he created mountains, valleys, rivers, trees, etc. on the walls in his room. He lays floor tiles with no prior experience. Before attending barber school he was capable of creating and drawing designs in boy’s haircuts. If you talk to him it would be hard to detect that he had a severe learning problem. His actual IQ is so low that the psychologist stated that he did know how we were keeping him in school.

     My sons’ elementary, middle, and high school report card consisted of C,D, and F. I literally pulled through school without having him tested or on medication. Around the age of 12 years old I allowed the school to test them. I was informed that he had a sever learning disability. At the age of 29 his creative side of the brain works very well. He attended Barber School passed the cutting, clipping, and hands on part of the test. He has not able to pass the written part of the test. Because he does learn different the state will testing’s him orally for the written part of the test.

Testing in Jamaica

Educating youth in Jamaica start at the young age of 2 years old. The Jamaicans believe that the foundation of their system lies within early childhood which they call
These Basic or Infant School.

There are a number of assessments done during the first 6 years to determine the children’s skills and abilities. These assessments are:

·       Grade 1-Readiness Test,

·       Grade 3-Assessment Test in Mathematics and Language Arts

·       Grade 4-Literacy Test

·       Grade -6Achievements Test in Mathematics, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies.

I have a great interest in Jamaica because my two grandson’s dad is from Jamaica. I had the opportunity to visit Jamaica and attend a school. The school system is so different from the schools in the United States. Students appear to be eager to learn, and are so attentive. They are not a wealthy country but in so many ways they are rich. Education to them is very important to them and it is displayed through the children they educate.

EDUCATION IN JAMAIC

http://www.my-island-jamaica.com/education_in_jamaica.htmlA contributed by Dorrett Simmons

Poverty

Poverty

It was the summer of year 1968 and my family and I were in route from Long Island New York to New York City. Our destination was 125^th Street in Harlem. This was my first time actually going into Harlem although I had heard so much about it. As we crossed the Tri-borough Bridge I can remember coming down 125^th Street and seeing people sleeping on the sidewalk and looking for food in trash cans. As a child this was overwhelming especially since I lived in a nice neighborhood on Long Island. I asked my mom about the people and she explained to me that these were homeless people who had nowhere to live.  I never thought about people living in New York and not having anywhere to stay. As a child I always heard about people and children in Africa not having food to eat or places to stay.

As years passed and I continued to travel to New York I learned that poverty was very much alive in New York City. Instead of poverty getting better it became worse. We often hear about poverty in other countries poverty is here in the United States and it hits close to home. For the past 30 years I have sacrificed my time every 4^th Wednesday Night of the month to feed the homeless in my home time. I feel it is the least that I can do for my community. It could be me one check away from being in the homeless shelter.

Basic Facts About Homelessness

 In New York City...

• Each night more than 45,000 people -- including 17,000 children -- experience homelessness.

• Currently 41,200 homeless men, women, and children bed down each night in municipal homeless shelters, and thousands more sleep rough on the streets or in other forms of shelter.

• Each year, more than 110,000 different homeless New Yorkers, including more than 40,000 children, sleep in the municipal shelter system.

• The number of homeless families has nearly doubled over the past decade.

 http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org/pages/basic-facts