WEBVTT - Education Disparities in America 0:00:01.639 --> 0:00:05.560 Positively. GAM is sponsored by Basiline. See how they are 0:00:05.600 --> 0:00:14.280 working towards equitable skin care for all at basiline dot com. 0:00:14.280 --> 0:00:18.240 Not all care is created equal. Alaska's care stands wings 0:00:18.280 --> 0:00:20.919 and tails above the rust, and we want people to 0:00:21.000 --> 0:00:22.800 know so that the next time they book a flight, 0:00:23.040 --> 0:00:26.680 they'll book it with the most caring airline in the sky. US. 0:00:27.240 --> 0:00:30.560 To Alaska, every customer is a guest, and every guest 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:33.360 is a priority. That's why they go the extra mile, 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:36.280 day after day, flight after flight to treat you right. 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:39.840 Because Alaska Airline is the only airline that cares about 0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:42.680 you as much as you do. 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And we talk about privilege and it should 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:31.319 not be a privilege, it's a right. What's up, everybody, 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:35.360 I'm Gammy and this is positively gam Every week I 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:39.480 have raw, in depth conversation with inspirational people pushing for 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:44.520 change on everything from aging, relationships, politics and wellness to 0:01:44.600 --> 0:01:48.040 the current issues facing the black community. In this episode, 0:01:48.080 --> 0:01:51.840 we're going to be discussing the disparity and education in 0:01:51.880 --> 0:01:57.080 America with my friends John Lucas and Charette Chambers. John 0:01:57.320 --> 0:02:00.760 is returning guests. I always love my com versations with 0:02:00.840 --> 0:02:04.440 him on and off the show, so welcome back John, 0:02:04.600 --> 0:02:08.760 and welcome Sharette. John. Let's just talk about a little 0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:11.760 bit about what is the privilege of having a good 0:02:11.919 --> 0:02:16.720 education and what privileges make a good education. I think 0:02:16.760 --> 0:02:19.720 that a good education is having a solid foundation of 0:02:19.760 --> 0:02:23.280 just overall academic skills and skill sets to help a 0:02:23.320 --> 0:02:28.919 person navigate into higher education or to go into straight 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:32.280 into the workforce with ease and confidence. And that's what 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:34.239 I think, that's what we're having the problem that the 0:02:34.320 --> 0:02:38.680 ease and the confidence knowing that we have fully educated 0:02:38.800 --> 0:02:41.960 our children so that they have all the tools and 0:02:42.000 --> 0:02:47.160 the tool bell to go out and handle what they need. Now. Privilege, 0:02:47.320 --> 0:02:51.799 But that's that's the interesting word, because with the privilege 0:02:51.840 --> 0:02:57.320 of the good education can be various things. Extracurriculars that 0:02:57.440 --> 0:02:59.520 kind of open the mind and the spectrum to new 0:02:59.560 --> 0:03:02.600 and different things, networks of people that you would not 0:03:02.639 --> 0:03:08.280 normally have, and those things also set your trajectory when 0:03:08.320 --> 0:03:12.519 you are coming into adulthood and everyday life exactly. And 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:17.480 I know from my experience we were educated and the 0:03:17.560 --> 0:03:21.800 public school system. Now that is not necessarily the route 0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:25.960 that the next generation of my family is taking, but 0:03:26.440 --> 0:03:30.160 my sisters, my brother, all of us we were raised 0:03:30.200 --> 0:03:34.720 and Jada was raised in the public school system. And 0:03:35.240 --> 0:03:38.720 for me and doing my research, I have to tell 0:03:38.760 --> 0:03:42.880 you that it just put me in a really it 0:03:42.960 --> 0:03:49.200 hurt my spirit. The challenges that we as Black Americans 0:03:49.240 --> 0:03:53.640 just fighting for a decent education and a quality education, 0:03:54.000 --> 0:03:57.200 and we talk about privilege, and it should not be 0:03:57.240 --> 0:04:01.520 a privilege, it's a right. Everybody has should have a 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:06.520 right to a decent quality education. The frustration from me 0:04:06.920 --> 0:04:10.720 is overwhelming because my parents, the goal for them was 0:04:10.800 --> 0:04:14.040 that we would be able to stand in a room 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:18.960 with anybody at any time, any place, and feel confident 0:04:19.000 --> 0:04:21.760 about who we were, and feel like we're able to 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:24.640 have a conversation and we're as smart as and we're 0:04:24.720 --> 0:04:32.120 as worthy as anybody else to be standing where we are. Yes, absolutely, yeah. 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:35.360 And it's not just about book learning, it is about 0:04:35.400 --> 0:04:41.040 your experiences as well. Yes, right, yeah, absolutely, And we 0:04:41.120 --> 0:04:42.960 all know that we have. This has just been an 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:47.200 ongoing conversation over and over. I know, I'm a eighties 0:04:47.240 --> 0:04:51.560 and nineties kid coming up, and even the quality of 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:55.880 education versus what we have now is just different, and 0:04:55.920 --> 0:04:59.320 there are many different factors. I know when I was 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:03.200 coming up in school, there were still a lot of 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:06.360 what we called the good union jobs that were around 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:10.679 the city pumping tax dollars into the education systems. So 0:05:10.960 --> 0:05:15.160 even though the school I went to wasn't known as 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:17.919 the top high school to go to, actually it was 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:20.279 known as the hood school. I went to Juliet Central 0:05:20.360 --> 0:05:22.800 High School. It had three different rival gangs in it 0:05:22.839 --> 0:05:26.359 about students, but it also had the best band in 0:05:26.400 --> 0:05:29.520 the state. We would take state competition every year. Our 0:05:29.720 --> 0:05:33.760 salutatorian is a financial officer for the United Nations and 0:05:33.839 --> 0:05:37.719 she came out of julia Central Public school. So there was, 0:05:38.520 --> 0:05:41.719 you know, a quality education that came out in the 0:05:41.839 --> 0:05:45.560 level of quality has just gone down for various reasons 0:05:45.600 --> 0:05:51.120 like funding but also dependence on technology. I'm noticing I'm 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:54.760 in the process of helping students with my program with 0:05:54.839 --> 0:05:58.400 college essays, and they handed this essay and I'm like, 0:05:59.560 --> 0:06:02.240 do y'all still use commas? Do they still use commas? 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:08.440 It's rough shirette. What is your feeling about all this. 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:10.640 I don't want to leave you out of the conversation 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:14.320 because you're specifically going through this now with your son, 0:06:14.560 --> 0:06:20.080 deciding how you're gonna educate your son and you we're 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:24.240 not raised in the public school system, Is that correct? No. 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:27.320 I started off in the public school system, so from 0:06:27.360 --> 0:06:30.159 first through eighth grade, from you know, kindergarten to eighth grade, 0:06:30.400 --> 0:06:32.599 I was a part of the public school system. But 0:06:33.240 --> 0:06:35.800 when I was in middle school, I was introduced to 0:06:36.240 --> 0:06:40.000 a summer program, a summer enrichment program that took place 0:06:40.520 --> 0:06:43.200 um in Silston, which is a school is actually an 0:06:43.200 --> 0:06:46.400 independent day school in Riverdale and the Bronx, And through 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:48.520 that they introduced me to a better chance and a 0:06:48.520 --> 0:06:52.560 better chance. It's a program that allows students of color 0:06:52.720 --> 0:06:55.040 to get introduced into high schools that will pretty much 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:58.200 lead them into higher academy or like collegiate schools like 0:06:58.240 --> 0:07:01.200 Harvard Yale. I ended up going tough. So I went 0:07:01.240 --> 0:07:03.680 to a private school for high school, which was a 0:07:03.680 --> 0:07:06.280 boarding school in Pennsylvania. So that was the first time 0:07:06.320 --> 0:07:08.760 being away at the age of fourteen and then coming 0:07:08.800 --> 0:07:12.680 from Harlem, New York to go into Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. That 0:07:12.800 --> 0:07:18.760 was huge. So you went to a boarding school, then yes, wow, 0:07:19.920 --> 0:07:25.800 that must have been interesting. Yeah, that definitely was. Well, no, seriously, 0:07:25.880 --> 0:07:29.400 what what was that experienced like? Was it mostly white children? 0:07:29.440 --> 0:07:32.160 There was? Out of three hundred and seventies students, I 0:07:32.240 --> 0:07:35.920 was one of eleven students had attended the school. One 0:07:35.960 --> 0:07:42.880 of eleven. Yes, okay, Now what was that like for you? No? 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:47.200 Seriously because because no, no seriously, because that is a 0:07:47.400 --> 0:07:52.640 very important issue. Because in ending my some of my research, 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:56.080 we will put the articles that I looked at. We'll 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:58.760 put it in the in the show notes so that 0:07:58.840 --> 0:08:02.280 people can read and listened to the same information that 0:08:02.280 --> 0:08:04.920 that I was listening to. And one of the issues 0:08:04.960 --> 0:08:09.600 that the author of the articles was Nicole Hannah Jones, 0:08:10.040 --> 0:08:13.800 and one of the challenges that she faced. She talks 0:08:13.840 --> 0:08:18.160 about going to a school that was the majority was white, 0:08:18.760 --> 0:08:23.480 and it was the social aspect of it that was 0:08:24.320 --> 0:08:29.960 so difficult for her. The education what was She's described 0:08:29.960 --> 0:08:36.880 it as academically stimulating and world expanding, but her personal 0:08:36.960 --> 0:08:42.360 experience was emotionally and socially challenging. And that's what it's 0:08:42.440 --> 0:08:45.480 like when you're taken out of your element and put 0:08:45.520 --> 0:08:49.560 into an element that's totally foreign to you. One thing 0:08:49.640 --> 0:08:53.680 I would say that's different boarding versus a day school 0:08:53.760 --> 0:08:56.280 where you can come home and then still be around 0:08:56.320 --> 0:08:59.360 your cousins and them on the weekends versus where I was. 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:02.840 I didn't see people until the holidays, So it's definitely 0:09:02.920 --> 0:09:08.079 a different experience. But yeah, attending Mercersburg Academy, I would 0:09:08.080 --> 0:09:11.480 definitely relate to the quote that you just read. Academically, 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:14.280 it was challenging and it definitely prepared me for attending 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:17.959 Touch University. But as far as socially, the difference is 0:09:18.080 --> 0:09:21.640 that my neighbors on my roommate we all learned together 0:09:21.640 --> 0:09:23.520 because a lot of us, again, we grew up from 0:09:23.559 --> 0:09:25.920 different parts of country of the country, whether it be 0:09:26.440 --> 0:09:29.000 South Carolina, I'm from New York City or someone from 0:09:29.400 --> 0:09:31.520 m l A. Or even I had a roommate that 0:09:31.600 --> 0:09:35.800 was from Media, which is in Mexico. So having people 0:09:35.840 --> 0:09:38.920 from all over the country and other parts of other 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:41.800 parts of the world that came in, you're learning about 0:09:41.800 --> 0:09:46.480 different cultures and again learning about ourselves and so things 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:48.480 that if you get down to the minute details, if 0:09:48.480 --> 0:09:52.280 you ask me for like some of the interesting things 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:55.680 like hair, like dealing with aspects of hair are being 0:09:55.720 --> 0:09:58.120 a female and the things that you go through, the 0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:00.240 processes that we go through, and knowing that it might 0:10:00.240 --> 0:10:03.400 be different for my white counterpart, why don't you wash 0:10:03.440 --> 0:10:05.240 your hair every day? And it's like, why don't I 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:07.080 wash my hair every day? And talking to my mutition 0:10:07.080 --> 0:10:08.600 because your hair will fall out if you do that 0:10:08.640 --> 0:10:11.120 every day. So things that I had been learned about 0:10:11.160 --> 0:10:14.280 myself and why am I considered different to my neighbor 0:10:14.400 --> 0:10:17.000 or my roommate. But yet how we were able to 0:10:17.080 --> 0:10:19.680 learn from each other. So it wasn't so it could 0:10:19.679 --> 0:10:22.120 have been socially awkward at some points, but we learned 0:10:22.160 --> 0:10:25.439 so much from each other and in the end, ultimately 0:10:25.840 --> 0:10:28.080 it made me so much more prepared for what I 0:10:28.120 --> 0:10:29.760 had to face when I went to Tufts go unto 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:32.720 Tufts was like a piece of cake socially, because again 0:10:32.760 --> 0:10:34.960 I came into a realm that I wasn't the only 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:38.520 one in my freshman class at at Mercersburg. I was one. 0:10:39.160 --> 0:10:41.440 It was just me and then there was another African 0:10:41.480 --> 0:10:43.360 American male and we happened to both come from the 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:57.440 same program in the Bronx. Actually, okay, okay, let's talk 0:10:57.480 --> 0:11:00.400 about the state of education in a manor Ka for 0:11:00.640 --> 0:11:06.840 blacks versus whites, because I think that is we've touched 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:10.000 on it already, but it is definitely different. Like even 0:11:10.000 --> 0:11:14.280 in Baltimore, most of the tax dollars for education goes 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:19.400 to the areas where the property taxes are higher, so 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:22.920 we already know that is where the white folks are. 0:11:23.160 --> 0:11:25.560 That's where the money is, and then the people who 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:29.000 really need it are are getting the support, aren't getting 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:31.920 it and also getting thrown into jail for trying to 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:35.480 access it. When when you just look at the education 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:38.920 system as a whole, there are so many things missing, 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:43.240 and so when you look at the state of education 0:11:43.320 --> 0:11:47.600 for Black America, you add on the multiple factors that 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:51.320 go on with what's going on with the system in general. 0:11:51.440 --> 0:11:54.800 So you add poverty, a single parent homes, lack of 0:11:54.800 --> 0:11:58.480 healthy foods, drugs and violence in the community, mass incarceration, 0:11:58.679 --> 0:12:02.120 broken judicial system. And you just, sir, all that up 0:12:02.280 --> 0:12:06.120 and put it on top of the broken education system. 0:12:06.480 --> 0:12:08.720 And that's what you get from Black America. A lot 0:12:08.800 --> 0:12:13.600 of our kids are so brilliant, but they are not 0:12:13.760 --> 0:12:18.080 giving the opportunity because they can't afford. They don't They're 0:12:18.120 --> 0:12:21.440 dealing with issues because a lack of parental guidance in 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:25.120 their lives, issues that they have absolutely no control over. 0:12:25.400 --> 0:12:27.760 Now you throw COVID on top of that, and I 0:12:27.800 --> 0:12:32.480 can't imagine what how those children and those empowers areas 0:12:32.600 --> 0:12:36.320 are able to thrive. Where are they getting computers from? 0:12:36.400 --> 0:12:40.480 How how are they getting access to technology? That depends 0:12:40.520 --> 0:12:43.280 And we also have to be careful when we discuss 0:12:43.520 --> 0:12:47.440 education because it varies from state to state. In the 0:12:47.520 --> 0:12:50.559 Illinois for the high schoolers and I think junior high 0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:53.520 as well, all the kids, they have got the funding 0:12:53.720 --> 0:12:57.640 for them all to get like uh small like chromebooks. 0:12:58.160 --> 0:13:01.320 So is that provided by the stage. It's yeah, I 0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:03.600 think it's provided by the state. And I wonder if 0:13:03.679 --> 0:13:05.960 most states are doing that. I would think that they 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:10.280 would have to. Yes, the real question is does your 0:13:10.280 --> 0:13:15.199 family have internet? If you have the basic tool to 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:18.920 possibly to learn on, do you actually have the tool 0:13:18.960 --> 0:13:21.680 at home to make it work? And that's what And 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:24.840 depending on the year the area that you live, internet 0:13:24.880 --> 0:13:29.199 could be expensive, internet cable. I really just use the WiFi. 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:31.680 I watch Netflix all the time. I don't have the 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:35.800 basic syndicated stations or whatever, and I'm still paying a 0:13:35.880 --> 0:13:38.880 FT price. But if I'm saying, oh, this is a 0:13:38.920 --> 0:13:41.600 little pricy, what about the parent that doesn't have money 0:13:41.720 --> 0:13:43.520 and that has three or four kids and they're trying 0:13:43.559 --> 0:13:45.880 to figure it out and survive and they can't afford 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:48.960 that bill, but they needed in order for their child 0:13:49.000 --> 0:13:54.360 to learn. It's definitely an issue that is plaguing our 0:13:54.440 --> 0:13:57.000 community and we need to bring more light to it. 0:13:57.240 --> 0:13:59.679 And then you think about the parents who are struggling. 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:02.959 They struggling trying to figure out how they're gonna make 0:14:03.040 --> 0:14:05.480 ends meet, and now you tell them that they got 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:08.360 to help their kids in school, and they don't know 0:14:08.400 --> 0:14:10.920 what they don't know, They don't know what the kid 0:14:11.000 --> 0:14:13.600 is supposed to be learning. I wish somebody would ask 0:14:13.640 --> 0:14:16.520 me to help them with a man like like it's 0:14:16.559 --> 0:14:20.200 like this elaborate system that was created. And I actually 0:14:20.240 --> 0:14:22.800 took a student. A friend of mine had a daughter 0:14:23.360 --> 0:14:27.040 who had an interview for one of those top schools, 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:29.960 and I went and I went on a whole tour, 0:14:30.960 --> 0:14:32.600 and I was able to see with my own eyes 0:14:32.600 --> 0:14:35.760 with these kids have access to. But one of the 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:38.200 things that they have for the parents is because I 0:14:38.240 --> 0:14:40.520 was talking to one of the moms who was talking 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:43.240 about the fact that our chess team went to an 0:14:43.240 --> 0:14:47.240 invitational in Orlando this past weekend. We're really excited, excited 0:14:47.280 --> 0:14:49.920 for the kids. And I was like, Oh, what grades 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:52.480 get to go? And she was like, K through five? 0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:57.960 So you have kindergarteners along with first, second, third, fourth, 0:14:58.000 --> 0:15:01.680 and fifth graders traveling to Orlando for chess invitationals at 0:15:01.760 --> 0:15:06.080 this school. Wow, like real. But she also said, oh yeah, 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:10.120 once a week on whatever day after school, they allow 0:15:10.200 --> 0:15:13.760 parents to come and get tutored on how to understand 0:15:13.760 --> 0:15:16.840 and execute common course so that they can help their kids. Yeah. 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:19.560 Nex see, that definitely is not happening. And but that's 0:15:19.560 --> 0:15:23.000 not happening round the way. That's not happening. They don't 0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:26.240 have no tutor. Raine don't even have a tutor. So 0:15:26.360 --> 0:15:40.560 his mother dad on shore, don't factual? Yes, John, talk 0:15:40.640 --> 0:15:45.040 to us about your foundation. So I started a nonprofit 0:15:45.240 --> 0:15:48.840 November of two thousand and nineteen called Seven to the Light. 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:52.120 I am a musical theater performer and actor and a 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:57.160 hand model, and but I just got really tired in 0:15:58.040 --> 0:16:03.440 discouraged hearing this stories back in my hometown, which is Joliet, Illinois, 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:06.760 about how people bearing their children that I went to 0:16:06.760 --> 0:16:10.760 school with getting sent to jail. Just so much happening. 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:14.440 And I've always been a believer that you should get back. 0:16:14.480 --> 0:16:16.840 Even when I was fresh leaving college, I would always 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:18.360 go back to the school and try to talk to 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:20.720 kids and so on and so forth. But I was like, 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:23.080 what can I do to help the community, because it 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:25.400 can be very overwhelming, there's so much to be done. 0:16:25.800 --> 0:16:29.280 But I was like, what I do know is about 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:31.840 the arts and parts of education. So I created a 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:35.080 program called Seven to the Light, where I provide educational 0:16:35.080 --> 0:16:39.520 and arts programs and resources to underserved and underprivileged youth. 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:44.160 My demographic is predominantly black people, and specifically the descendants 0:16:44.160 --> 0:16:48.720 of black freedman or emancipated slaves. That being said, I 0:16:48.840 --> 0:16:51.360 had a steppers program that I was going to implement 0:16:51.880 --> 0:16:55.400 right before COVID hit and COVID just shut it all down, 0:16:55.840 --> 0:16:58.520 and so that is on hiatus right now. But right 0:16:58.520 --> 0:17:01.000 now I have a program called next Level where I 0:17:01.200 --> 0:17:04.560 work with high school youth and even kids who are 0:17:04.640 --> 0:17:09.040 in college level, making sure that they have access to 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:15.440 the top universities programs, resources, internships, apprenticeships so that they 0:17:15.640 --> 0:17:20.280 can reach their full potential. Wow, that's going to be 0:17:20.400 --> 0:17:24.119 quite a task, but very much needed. I'm grateful to 0:17:24.840 --> 0:17:27.720 One thing that I've learned in general is that people 0:17:27.760 --> 0:17:32.280 do not use the network and the resources around them, 0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:35.240 and when you tap into it, you'd be amazed. Um, 0:17:35.280 --> 0:17:37.520 you'd be amazed of the treasure that you already have 0:17:37.760 --> 0:17:40.160 and you didn't know, and you don't just don't know, 0:17:40.640 --> 0:17:44.560 you're not aware exactly. So once I got the kids 0:17:45.280 --> 0:17:48.000 to be part of the program, then we can make 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:52.080 things move. The hard part was actually getting access to 0:17:52.119 --> 0:17:55.480 the kids to be part of the program. We're all 0:17:55.680 --> 0:17:59.399 three of us friends. So I'm wondering, Charette, if John 0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:04.520 had an influence on you and your decision to try 0:18:04.640 --> 0:18:07.800 to get your son into private school. So let me 0:18:07.840 --> 0:18:11.439 give the listeners a little bit of background Sherrette has 0:18:11.440 --> 0:18:15.560 her son will enter kindergarten in the fall, and she's 0:18:15.920 --> 0:18:18.960 seeking the best education for her child and has decided 0:18:19.000 --> 0:18:22.920 to apply to some of New York City's elite private schools. 0:18:23.720 --> 0:18:26.439 And I want to know what made you decide to 0:18:26.560 --> 0:18:29.480 do that, Sherrette, And there it lies by question, did 0:18:29.560 --> 0:18:33.320 John have an influence on you? And I understand that 0:18:33.400 --> 0:18:38.520 your son is a pretty smart little guy. Yes, he's 0:18:38.520 --> 0:18:42.119 a smart cookie. Now, John has always been for education. 0:18:42.640 --> 0:18:45.439 I specifically have a friend though, that's who introduced me 0:18:45.520 --> 0:18:49.120 to this program called Early Steps, which she actually utilized 0:18:49.160 --> 0:18:51.359 for her kids to get her kids into the independent 0:18:51.680 --> 0:18:55.240 school system. She has started working again. When you're a teacher, 0:18:55.280 --> 0:18:58.160 you're able to see both sides. Being a parent, you're 0:18:58.160 --> 0:19:00.439 seeing what you want for your child, but being a 0:19:00.440 --> 0:19:03.320 teacher and then becoming administrator, you really see the inner 0:19:03.320 --> 0:19:05.879 workings when you're working at a public school versus working 0:19:05.880 --> 0:19:08.480 at a charter school or attending a charter school. And 0:19:08.520 --> 0:19:10.639 then now what you receive a type of education you 0:19:10.680 --> 0:19:13.800 received from an independent school. So my good friend who 0:19:13.840 --> 0:19:16.080 I went to college with, she's the one who actually 0:19:16.480 --> 0:19:18.640 was too, was like, you need to find look into 0:19:18.720 --> 0:19:21.960 this program called Early Steps, and that program is actually 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:26.359 one that is used for they make sure that children 0:19:26.359 --> 0:19:29.320 of color are able to get into independent schools. They 0:19:29.320 --> 0:19:32.560 work with the various independent schools in New York City 0:19:32.800 --> 0:19:35.679 and they're their advocate. Let me let me stop you 0:19:35.760 --> 0:19:38.640 right there, because I want you to give us a 0:19:38.680 --> 0:19:44.000 description or differentiate the difference between an independent school and 0:19:44.080 --> 0:19:48.439 a charter school, Like what is the difference? Okay? Now, 0:19:48.440 --> 0:19:50.320 I can't speak much to charter school, but I will 0:19:50.320 --> 0:19:53.639 tell you about public school versus the independent school. Of 0:19:53.640 --> 0:19:56.879 public schools, we were what you were mentioning earlier, funded 0:19:56.920 --> 0:20:00.520 from the state versus an independive school. They're funded privately, 0:20:01.240 --> 0:20:06.360 so when they have endowments and other private funding, they're 0:20:06.400 --> 0:20:08.959 able to have their equipped with more things. Especially if 0:20:08.960 --> 0:20:10.639 you think about when I went to public school, I 0:20:10.680 --> 0:20:12.840 remember being a part of a music program. A lot 0:20:12.880 --> 0:20:16.119 of those things are not available anymore. Things have changed 0:20:16.119 --> 0:20:18.880 since when I was in public school. So an independent 0:20:18.960 --> 0:20:23.240 school is pretty much like a private school then, right, yes, okay, 0:20:23.800 --> 0:20:26.760 But a private school can be run solely by an 0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:30.280 owner versus an independent school has a board of members 0:20:30.320 --> 0:20:34.399 and the tuition costs in the tuition, yes, honey, The 0:20:34.400 --> 0:20:36.680 people who are able to cut those checks and in 0:20:36.800 --> 0:20:39.359 many of those cases over fifty k. So that's the 0:20:39.400 --> 0:20:41.600 other thing that blew my mind. I'm just like, wow, 0:20:41.840 --> 0:20:44.640 these independent schools is a great chance to further education 0:20:44.720 --> 0:20:46.760 for a child of color versus what they're going to 0:20:46.840 --> 0:20:49.560 have access to in a public school. However, when you 0:20:49.600 --> 0:20:52.400 think about the tuition, it's okay, obviously I don't have 0:20:52.880 --> 0:20:54.760 have it to cut a check for that, but knowing 0:20:54.800 --> 0:20:57.600 that they provide grants in the final financial lad to 0:20:57.640 --> 0:20:59.760 make sure that you can attend these schools for the 0:20:59.760 --> 0:21:02.760 full time that you'll be being attendance. I was also 0:21:02.760 --> 0:21:05.520 going to say, and just to think about what a 0:21:05.640 --> 0:21:09.920 child is able to access because his, his or her 0:21:09.960 --> 0:21:14.840 parents have that money to give that fifty dollars, Like 0:21:15.080 --> 0:21:17.359 it costs more to go to these schools than a 0:21:17.440 --> 0:21:20.000 year than it costs to go to a lot of colleges. 0:21:21.160 --> 0:21:25.520 Crazy crazy to me. And then you still have secondary 0:21:25.560 --> 0:21:30.640 school and college to pay for. Oh my god, it's outrageous. Yeah, 0:21:30.680 --> 0:21:32.920 and I was gonna say that. So Sharette is one 0:21:32.960 --> 0:21:36.720 of my great friends. I am her son's godfather. But 0:21:37.040 --> 0:21:41.280 so where I come in is I'm like, Okay, we 0:21:41.359 --> 0:21:43.960 know Shaun is brilliant, and he most likely has a 0:21:43.960 --> 0:21:46.199 great chance of getting into one of these schools. Make 0:21:46.240 --> 0:21:49.879 sure he has black friends. I think that is so 0:21:49.960 --> 0:21:54.439 important as we try to navigate our children into whatever 0:21:54.480 --> 0:21:58.879 type of environment or setting, making sure that they still 0:21:58.960 --> 0:22:04.120 identify and are able to play and just be around 0:22:04.160 --> 0:22:06.959 their own people. Because one thing, as I've learned in 0:22:07.000 --> 0:22:09.960 my forty four years of life, is just because you 0:22:10.000 --> 0:22:12.960 were raised by black parents and a black family does 0:22:13.000 --> 0:22:16.200 not mean that you love black people. Oh you want 0:22:16.240 --> 0:22:21.200 to say that again, Just because you were raised by 0:22:21.240 --> 0:22:24.120 black people, you are a black person in a black family, 0:22:24.200 --> 0:22:27.040 and even in a black neighborhood, that does not necessarily 0:22:27.119 --> 0:22:30.320 mean that you love black people. And our things are 0:22:30.400 --> 0:22:34.639 built in this society, unfortunately, to tell us that we 0:22:34.720 --> 0:22:39.399 are subpar, Like we are just getting dark skinned women 0:22:39.480 --> 0:22:42.560 to be seen as beautiful. When you look back in 0:22:42.600 --> 0:22:46.600 the eighties at black women who were considered beautiful or 0:22:46.680 --> 0:22:49.760 sexy or and admired, all of them were light, bright 0:22:49.840 --> 0:22:52.879 or brown, but nobody was dark skinned. And those types 0:22:52.920 --> 0:22:56.520 of things have an effect from a child on a 0:22:56.600 --> 0:22:59.760 child from a very young age. Exactly is that something 0:22:59.800 --> 0:23:02.400 that you would be concerned about your red having him 0:23:02.440 --> 0:23:06.240 in a predominantly you know, white school the issue of 0:23:06.440 --> 0:23:10.320 about pride about who he is and an awareness about himself? 0:23:11.840 --> 0:23:14.919 Is that a concern for you? So it is, but 0:23:15.000 --> 0:23:17.439 it isn't. That's one of the things that I asked 0:23:17.520 --> 0:23:20.639 during these interviews with these various schools. What are how 0:23:20.680 --> 0:23:26.440 are they implementing curriculum that reflects him? That was one 0:23:26.440 --> 0:23:29.879 of my questions, like, how is diversity implemented into your curriculum? 0:23:30.359 --> 0:23:33.000 And going based off of the answers, and then the 0:23:33.080 --> 0:23:34.879 parents who have been able to speak to our parents 0:23:34.880 --> 0:23:37.320 who I know who attend these schools or teach at 0:23:37.359 --> 0:23:40.399 these schools, I've been fortunate enough to get the inside scoop. 0:23:40.440 --> 0:23:43.560 But that and still today a lot of those schools 0:23:43.560 --> 0:23:46.160 are still fighting to make sure that the curriculum um 0:23:46.240 --> 0:23:50.000 that they're incorporating more information regarding African American culture. I 0:23:50.040 --> 0:23:53.080 feel like ever since for what happened with George Ford, 0:23:53.160 --> 0:23:56.280 everyone is trying to it's all about diversity, equity, and inclusion. 0:23:56.480 --> 0:23:58.840 I heard that term being found around so much during 0:23:58.880 --> 0:24:00.840 all of these interviews that I was going on, And 0:24:00.840 --> 0:24:03.879 it's okay if they're all under a microscope now because 0:24:03.920 --> 0:24:07.359 they know flat out were predominantly white. We need to 0:24:07.400 --> 0:24:09.760 be diverse. What are we doing to make sure that 0:24:09.800 --> 0:24:12.159