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Speaker 1: caring airline in the Sky. The challenges that we as
Speaker 1: Black Americans just fighting for a decent education and a
Speaker 1: quality education. And we talk about privilege and it should
Speaker 1: not be a privilege, it's a right. What's up, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'm Gammy and this is positively gam Every week I
Speaker 1: have raw, in depth conversation with inspirational people pushing for
Speaker 1: change on everything from aging, relationships, politics and wellness to
Speaker 1: the current issues facing the black community. In this episode,
Speaker 1: we're going to be discussing the disparity and education in
Speaker 1: America with my friends John Lucas and Charette Chambers. John
Speaker 1: is returning guests. I always love my com versations with
Speaker 1: him on and off the show, so welcome back John,
Speaker 1: and welcome Sharette. John. Let's just talk about a little
Speaker 1: bit about what is the privilege of having a good
Speaker 1: education and what privileges make a good education. I think
Speaker 1: that a good education is having a solid foundation of
Speaker 1: just overall academic skills and skill sets to help a
Speaker 1: person navigate into higher education or to go into straight
Speaker 1: into the workforce with ease and confidence. And that's what
Speaker 1: I think, that's what we're having the problem that the
Speaker 1: ease and the confidence knowing that we have fully educated
Speaker 1: our children so that they have all the tools and
Speaker 1: the tool bell to go out and handle what they need. Now. Privilege,
Speaker 1: But that's that's the interesting word, because with the privilege
Speaker 1: of the good education can be various things. Extracurriculars that
Speaker 1: kind of open the mind and the spectrum to new
Speaker 1: and different things, networks of people that you would not
Speaker 1: normally have, and those things also set your trajectory when
Speaker 1: you are coming into adulthood and everyday life exactly. And
Speaker 1: I know from my experience we were educated and the
Speaker 1: public school system. Now that is not necessarily the route
Speaker 1: that the next generation of my family is taking, but
Speaker 1: my sisters, my brother, all of us we were raised
Speaker 1: and Jada was raised in the public school system. And
Speaker 1: for me and doing my research, I have to tell
Speaker 1: you that it just put me in a really it
Speaker 1: hurt my spirit. The challenges that we as Black Americans
Speaker 1: just fighting for a decent education and a quality education,
Speaker 1: and we talk about privilege, and it should not be
Speaker 1: a privilege, it's a right. Everybody has should have a
Speaker 1: right to a decent quality education. The frustration from me
Speaker 1: is overwhelming because my parents, the goal for them was
Speaker 1: that we would be able to stand in a room
Speaker 1: with anybody at any time, any place, and feel confident
Speaker 1: about who we were, and feel like we're able to
Speaker 1: have a conversation and we're as smart as and we're
Speaker 1: as worthy as anybody else to be standing where we are. Yes, absolutely, yeah.
Speaker 1: And it's not just about book learning, it is about
Speaker 1: your experiences as well. Yes, right, yeah, absolutely, And we
Speaker 1: all know that we have. This has just been an
Speaker 1: ongoing conversation over and over. I know, I'm a eighties
Speaker 1: and nineties kid coming up, and even the quality of
Speaker 1: education versus what we have now is just different, and
Speaker 1: there are many different factors. I know when I was
Speaker 1: coming up in school, there were still a lot of
Speaker 1: what we called the good union jobs that were around
Speaker 1: the city pumping tax dollars into the education systems. So
Speaker 1: even though the school I went to wasn't known as
Speaker 1: the top high school to go to, actually it was
Speaker 1: known as the hood school. I went to Juliet Central
Speaker 1: High School. It had three different rival gangs in it
Speaker 1: about students, but it also had the best band in
Speaker 1: the state. We would take state competition every year. Our
Speaker 1: salutatorian is a financial officer for the United Nations and
Speaker 1: she came out of julia Central Public school. So there was,
Speaker 1: you know, a quality education that came out in the
Speaker 1: level of quality has just gone down for various reasons
Speaker 1: like funding but also dependence on technology. I'm noticing I'm
Speaker 1: in the process of helping students with my program with
Speaker 1: college essays, and they handed this essay and I'm like,
Speaker 1: do y'all still use commas? Do they still use commas?
Speaker 1: It's rough shirette. What is your feeling about all this.
Speaker 1: I don't want to leave you out of the conversation
Speaker 1: because you're specifically going through this now with your son,
Speaker 1: deciding how you're gonna educate your son and you we're
Speaker 1: not raised in the public school system, Is that correct? No.
Speaker 1: I started off in the public school system, so from
Speaker 1: first through eighth grade, from you know, kindergarten to eighth grade,
Speaker 1: I was a part of the public school system. But
Speaker 1: when I was in middle school, I was introduced to
Speaker 1: a summer program, a summer enrichment program that took place
Speaker 1: um in Silston, which is a school is actually an
Speaker 1: independent day school in Riverdale and the Bronx, And through
Speaker 1: that they introduced me to a better chance and a
Speaker 1: better chance. It's a program that allows students of color
Speaker 1: to get introduced into high schools that will pretty much
Speaker 1: lead them into higher academy or like collegiate schools like
Speaker 1: Harvard Yale. I ended up going tough. So I went
Speaker 1: to a private school for high school, which was a
Speaker 1: boarding school in Pennsylvania. So that was the first time
Speaker 1: being away at the age of fourteen and then coming
Speaker 1: from Harlem, New York to go into Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. That
Speaker 1: was huge. So you went to a boarding school, then yes, wow,
Speaker 1: that must have been interesting. Yeah, that definitely was. Well, no, seriously,
Speaker 1: what what was that experienced like? Was it mostly white children?
Speaker 1: There was? Out of three hundred and seventies students, I
Speaker 1: was one of eleven students had attended the school. One
Speaker 1: of eleven. Yes, okay, Now what was that like for you? No?
Speaker 1: Seriously because because no, no seriously, because that is a
Speaker 1: very important issue. Because in ending my some of my research,
Speaker 1: we will put the articles that I looked at. We'll
Speaker 1: put it in the in the show notes so that
Speaker 1: people can read and listened to the same information that
Speaker 1: that I was listening to. And one of the issues
Speaker 1: that the author of the articles was Nicole Hannah Jones,
Speaker 1: and one of the challenges that she faced. She talks
Speaker 1: about going to a school that was the majority was white,
Speaker 1: and it was the social aspect of it that was
Speaker 1: so difficult for her. The education what was She's described
Speaker 1: it as academically stimulating and world expanding, but her personal
Speaker 1: experience was emotionally and socially challenging. And that's what it's
Speaker 1: like when you're taken out of your element and put
Speaker 1: into an element that's totally foreign to you. One thing
Speaker 1: I would say that's different boarding versus a day school
Speaker 1: where you can come home and then still be around
Speaker 1: your cousins and them on the weekends versus where I was.
Speaker 1: I didn't see people until the holidays, So it's definitely
Speaker 1: a different experience. But yeah, attending Mercersburg Academy, I would
Speaker 1: definitely relate to the quote that you just read. Academically,
Speaker 1: it was challenging and it definitely prepared me for attending
Speaker 1: Touch University. But as far as socially, the difference is
Speaker 1: that my neighbors on my roommate we all learned together
Speaker 1: because a lot of us, again, we grew up from
Speaker 1: different parts of country of the country, whether it be
Speaker 1: South Carolina, I'm from New York City or someone from
Speaker 1: m l A. Or even I had a roommate that
Speaker 1: was from Media, which is in Mexico. So having people
Speaker 1: from all over the country and other parts of other
Speaker 1: parts of the world that came in, you're learning about
Speaker 1: different cultures and again learning about ourselves and so things
Speaker 1: that if you get down to the minute details, if
Speaker 1: you ask me for like some of the interesting things
Speaker 1: like hair, like dealing with aspects of hair are being
Speaker 1: a female and the things that you go through, the
Speaker 1: processes that we go through, and knowing that it might
Speaker 1: be different for my white counterpart, why don't you wash
Speaker 1: your hair every day? And it's like, why don't I
Speaker 1: wash my hair every day? And talking to my mutition
Speaker 1: because your hair will fall out if you do that
Speaker 1: every day. So things that I had been learned about
Speaker 1: myself and why am I considered different to my neighbor
Speaker 1: or my roommate. But yet how we were able to
Speaker 1: learn from each other. So it wasn't so it could
Speaker 1: have been socially awkward at some points, but we learned
Speaker 1: so much from each other and in the end, ultimately
Speaker 1: it made me so much more prepared for what I
Speaker 1: had to face when I went to Tufts go unto
Speaker 1: Tufts was like a piece of cake socially, because again
Speaker 1: I came into a realm that I wasn't the only
Speaker 1: one in my freshman class at at Mercersburg. I was one.
Speaker 1: It was just me and then there was another African
Speaker 1: American male and we happened to both come from the
Speaker 1: same program in the Bronx. Actually, okay, okay, let's talk
Speaker 1: about the state of education in a manor Ka for
Speaker 1: blacks versus whites, because I think that is we've touched
Speaker 1: on it already, but it is definitely different. Like even
Speaker 1: in Baltimore, most of the tax dollars for education goes
Speaker 1: to the areas where the property taxes are higher, so
Speaker 1: we already know that is where the white folks are.
Speaker 1: That's where the money is, and then the people who
Speaker 1: really need it are are getting the support, aren't getting
Speaker 1: it and also getting thrown into jail for trying to
Speaker 1: access it. When when you just look at the education
Speaker 1: system as a whole, there are so many things missing,
Speaker 1: and so when you look at the state of education
Speaker 1: for Black America, you add on the multiple factors that
Speaker 1: go on with what's going on with the system in general.
Speaker 1: So you add poverty, a single parent homes, lack of
Speaker 1: healthy foods, drugs and violence in the community, mass incarceration,
Speaker 1: broken judicial system. And you just, sir, all that up
Speaker 1: and put it on top of the broken education system.
Speaker 1: And that's what you get from Black America. A lot
Speaker 1: of our kids are so brilliant, but they are not
Speaker 1: giving the opportunity because they can't afford. They don't They're
Speaker 1: dealing with issues because a lack of parental guidance in
Speaker 1: their lives, issues that they have absolutely no control over.
Speaker 1: Now you throw COVID on top of that, and I
Speaker 1: can't imagine what how those children and those empowers areas
Speaker 1: are able to thrive. Where are they getting computers from?
Speaker 1: How how are they getting access to technology? That depends
Speaker 1: And we also have to be careful when we discuss
Speaker 1: education because it varies from state to state. In the
Speaker 1: Illinois for the high schoolers and I think junior high
Speaker 1: as well, all the kids, they have got the funding
Speaker 1: for them all to get like uh small like chromebooks.
Speaker 1: So is that provided by the stage. It's yeah, I
Speaker 1: think it's provided by the state. And I wonder if
Speaker 1: most states are doing that. I would think that they
Speaker 1: would have to. Yes, the real question is does your
Speaker 1: family have internet? If you have the basic tool to
Speaker 1: possibly to learn on, do you actually have the tool
Speaker 1: at home to make it work? And that's what And
Speaker 1: depending on the year the area that you live, internet
Speaker 1: could be expensive, internet cable. I really just use the WiFi.
Speaker 1: I watch Netflix all the time. I don't have the
Speaker 1: basic syndicated stations or whatever, and I'm still paying a
Speaker 1: FT price. But if I'm saying, oh, this is a
Speaker 1: little pricy, what about the parent that doesn't have money
Speaker 1: and that has three or four kids and they're trying
Speaker 1: to figure it out and survive and they can't afford
Speaker 1: that bill, but they needed in order for their child
Speaker 1: to learn. It's definitely an issue that is plaguing our
Speaker 1: community and we need to bring more light to it.
Speaker 1: And then you think about the parents who are struggling.
Speaker 1: They struggling trying to figure out how they're gonna make
Speaker 1: ends meet, and now you tell them that they got
Speaker 1: to help their kids in school, and they don't know
Speaker 1: what they don't know, They don't know what the kid
Speaker 1: is supposed to be learning. I wish somebody would ask
Speaker 1: me to help them with a man like like it's
Speaker 1: like this elaborate system that was created. And I actually
Speaker 1: took a student. A friend of mine had a daughter
Speaker 1: who had an interview for one of those top schools,
Speaker 1: and I went and I went on a whole tour,
Speaker 1: and I was able to see with my own eyes
Speaker 1: with these kids have access to. But one of the
Speaker 1: things that they have for the parents is because I
Speaker 1: was talking to one of the moms who was talking
Speaker 1: about the fact that our chess team went to an
Speaker 1: invitational in Orlando this past weekend. We're really excited, excited
Speaker 1: for the kids. And I was like, Oh, what grades
Speaker 1: get to go? And she was like, K through five?
Speaker 1: So you have kindergarteners along with first, second, third, fourth,
Speaker 1: and fifth graders traveling to Orlando for chess invitationals at
Speaker 1: this school. Wow, like real. But she also said, oh yeah,
Speaker 1: once a week on whatever day after school, they allow
Speaker 1: parents to come and get tutored on how to understand
Speaker 1: and execute common course so that they can help their kids. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Nex see, that definitely is not happening. And but that's
Speaker 1: not happening round the way. That's not happening. They don't
Speaker 1: have no tutor. Raine don't even have a tutor. So
Speaker 1: his mother dad on shore, don't factual? Yes, John, talk
Speaker 1: to us about your foundation. So I started a nonprofit
Speaker 1: November of two thousand and nineteen called Seven to the Light.
Speaker 1: I am a musical theater performer and actor and a
Speaker 1: hand model, and but I just got really tired in
Speaker 1: discouraged hearing this stories back in my hometown, which is Joliet, Illinois,
Speaker 1: about how people bearing their children that I went to
Speaker 1: school with getting sent to jail. Just so much happening.
Speaker 1: And I've always been a believer that you should get back.
Speaker 1: Even when I was fresh leaving college, I would always
Speaker 1: go back to the school and try to talk to
Speaker 1: kids and so on and so forth. But I was like,
Speaker 1: what can I do to help the community, because it
Speaker 1: can be very overwhelming, there's so much to be done.
Speaker 1: But I was like, what I do know is about
Speaker 1: the arts and parts of education. So I created a
Speaker 1: program called Seven to the Light, where I provide educational
Speaker 1: and arts programs and resources to underserved and underprivileged youth.
Speaker 1: My demographic is predominantly black people, and specifically the descendants
Speaker 1: of black freedman or emancipated slaves. That being said, I
Speaker 1: had a steppers program that I was going to implement
Speaker 1: right before COVID hit and COVID just shut it all down,
Speaker 1: and so that is on hiatus right now. But right
Speaker 1: now I have a program called next Level where I
Speaker 1: work with high school youth and even kids who are
Speaker 1: in college level, making sure that they have access to
Speaker 1: the top universities programs, resources, internships, apprenticeships so that they
Speaker 1: can reach their full potential. Wow, that's going to be
Speaker 1: quite a task, but very much needed. I'm grateful to
Speaker 1: One thing that I've learned in general is that people
Speaker 1: do not use the network and the resources around them,
Speaker 1: and when you tap into it, you'd be amazed. Um,
Speaker 1: you'd be amazed of the treasure that you already have
Speaker 1: and you didn't know, and you don't just don't know,
Speaker 1: you're not aware exactly. So once I got the kids
Speaker 1: to be part of the program, then we can make
Speaker 1: things move. The hard part was actually getting access to
Speaker 1: the kids to be part of the program. We're all
Speaker 1: three of us friends. So I'm wondering, Charette, if John
Speaker 1: had an influence on you and your decision to try
Speaker 1: to get your son into private school. So let me
Speaker 1: give the listeners a little bit of background Sherrette has
Speaker 1: her son will enter kindergarten in the fall, and she's
Speaker 1: seeking the best education for her child and has decided
Speaker 1: to apply to some of New York City's elite private schools.
Speaker 1: And I want to know what made you decide to
Speaker 1: do that, Sherrette, And there it lies by question, did
Speaker 1: John have an influence on you? And I understand that
Speaker 1: your son is a pretty smart little guy. Yes, he's
Speaker 1: a smart cookie. Now, John has always been for education.
Speaker 1: I specifically have a friend though, that's who introduced me
Speaker 1: to this program called Early Steps, which she actually utilized
Speaker 1: for her kids to get her kids into the independent
Speaker 1: school system. She has started working again. When you're a teacher,
Speaker 1: you're able to see both sides. Being a parent, you're
Speaker 1: seeing what you want for your child, but being a
Speaker 1: teacher and then becoming administrator, you really see the inner
Speaker 1: workings when you're working at a public school versus working
Speaker 1: at a charter school or attending a charter school. And
Speaker 1: then now what you receive a type of education you
Speaker 1: received from an independent school. So my good friend who
Speaker 1: I went to college with, she's the one who actually
Speaker 1: was too, was like, you need to find look into
Speaker 1: this program called Early Steps, and that program is actually
Speaker 1: one that is used for they make sure that children
Speaker 1: of color are able to get into independent schools. They
Speaker 1: work with the various independent schools in New York City
Speaker 1: and they're their advocate. Let me let me stop you
Speaker 1: right there, because I want you to give us a
Speaker 1: description or differentiate the difference between an independent school and
Speaker 1: a charter school, Like what is the difference? Okay? Now,
Speaker 1: I can't speak much to charter school, but I will
Speaker 1: tell you about public school versus the independent school. Of
Speaker 1: public schools, we were what you were mentioning earlier, funded
Speaker 1: from the state versus an independive school. They're funded privately,
Speaker 1: so when they have endowments and other private funding, they're
Speaker 1: able to have their equipped with more things. Especially if
Speaker 1: you think about when I went to public school, I
Speaker 1: remember being a part of a music program. A lot
Speaker 1: of those things are not available anymore. Things have changed
Speaker 1: since when I was in public school. So an independent
Speaker 1: school is pretty much like a private school then, right, yes, okay,
Speaker 1: But a private school can be run solely by an
Speaker 1: owner versus an independent school has a board of members
Speaker 1: and the tuition costs in the tuition, yes, honey, The
Speaker 1: people who are able to cut those checks and in
Speaker 1: many of those cases over fifty k. So that's the
Speaker 1: other thing that blew my mind. I'm just like, wow,
Speaker 1: these independent schools is a great chance to further education
Speaker 1: for a child of color versus what they're going to
Speaker 1: have access to in a public school. However, when you
Speaker 1: think about the tuition, it's okay, obviously I don't have
Speaker 1: have it to cut a check for that, but knowing
Speaker 1: that they provide grants in the final financial lad to
Speaker 1: make sure that you can attend these schools for the
Speaker 1: full time that you'll be being attendance. I was also
Speaker 1: going to say, and just to think about what a
Speaker 1: child is able to access because his, his or her
Speaker 1: parents have that money to give that fifty dollars, Like
Speaker 1: it costs more to go to these schools than a
Speaker 1: year than it costs to go to a lot of colleges.
Speaker 1: Crazy crazy to me. And then you still have secondary
Speaker 1: school and college to pay for. Oh my god, it's outrageous. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and I was gonna say that. So Sharette is one
Speaker 1: of my great friends. I am her son's godfather. But
Speaker 1: so where I come in is I'm like, Okay, we
Speaker 1: know Shaun is brilliant, and he most likely has a
Speaker 1: great chance of getting into one of these schools. Make
Speaker 1: sure he has black friends. I think that is so
Speaker 1: important as we try to navigate our children into whatever
Speaker 1: type of environment or setting, making sure that they still
Speaker 1: identify and are able to play and just be around
Speaker 1: their own people. Because one thing, as I've learned in
Speaker 1: my forty four years of life, is just because you
Speaker 1: were raised by black parents and a black family does
Speaker 1: not mean that you love black people. Oh you want
Speaker 1: to say that again, Just because you were raised by
Speaker 1: black people, you are a black person in a black family,
Speaker 1: and even in a black neighborhood, that does not necessarily
Speaker 1: mean that you love black people. And our things are
Speaker 1: built in this society, unfortunately, to tell us that we
Speaker 1: are subpar, Like we are just getting dark skinned women
Speaker 1: to be seen as beautiful. When you look back in
Speaker 1: the eighties at black women who were considered beautiful or
Speaker 1: sexy or and admired, all of them were light, bright
Speaker 1: or brown, but nobody was dark skinned. And those types
Speaker 1: of things have an effect from a child on a
Speaker 1: child from a very young age. Exactly is that something
Speaker 1: that you would be concerned about your red having him
Speaker 1: in a predominantly you know, white school the issue of
Speaker 1: about pride about who he is and an awareness about himself?
Speaker 1: Is that a concern for you? So it is, but
Speaker 1: it isn't. That's one of the things that I asked
Speaker 1: during these interviews with these various schools. What are how
Speaker 1: are they implementing curriculum that reflects him? That was one
Speaker 1: of my questions, like, how is diversity implemented into your curriculum?
Speaker 1: And going based off of the answers, and then the
Speaker 1: parents who have been able to speak to our parents
Speaker 1: who I know who attend these schools or teach at
Speaker 1: these schools, I've been fortunate enough to get the inside scoop.
Speaker 1: But that and still today a lot of those schools
Speaker 1: are still fighting to make sure that the curriculum um
Speaker 1: that they're incorporating more information regarding African American culture. I
Speaker 1: feel like ever since for what happened with George Ford,
Speaker 1: everyone is trying to it's all about diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Speaker 1: I heard that term being found around so much during
Speaker 1: all of these interviews that I was going on, And
Speaker 1: it's okay if they're all under a microscope now because
Speaker 1: they know flat out were predominantly white. We need to
Speaker 1: be diverse. What are we doing to make sure that
Speaker 1: our schools are more diverse in light of what's the
Speaker 1: current We want to make sure that we're not put
Speaker 1: in the spotlight for not having enough diversity, right, So
Speaker 1: trying to figure out how that's gonna play out, if anything,
Speaker 1: if he's gonna be learning it at home, So that's
Speaker 1: first and foremost, Like the foundation definitely have to come
Speaker 1: from home. And in his village, we have a I
Speaker 1: have a great village of aunties. And Uncle's not mind you.
Speaker 1: I'm an only child, but I have many sisterism brothers,
Speaker 1: and it's so funny a lot of them that I
Speaker 1: have acquired through stepping, which I'm so grateful for. Y Yes,
Speaker 1: Auntie Gain, we'll be hitting you up to so well,
Speaker 1: let me ask you this sharette, what was it that
Speaker 1: you saw in your son to make you realize that
Speaker 1: he was a little bit more advanced, Because let me
Speaker 1: just tell you something. Data went to public schools. She
Speaker 1: was not intellectually advanced. Okay, she was just a regular kid.
Speaker 1: What she was talented, So I saw that immediately, But
Speaker 1: there wasn't anything about her that I thought we was
Speaker 1: she super smart too, So what was it about your son?
Speaker 1: He has an amazing memory, He's extremely articulate, and he
Speaker 1: is a self made mathematician. At the three he's able
Speaker 1: to count past one hundred in English in Spanish. I
Speaker 1: was a Spanish major at Tufts, so I used to
Speaker 1: try to teach him things, and he was picking up
Speaker 1: on things so early. And when I tell you this
Speaker 1: is an age of technology, he figured out I feel
Speaker 1: so slow. He would pick up the tablet and I'm like,
Speaker 1: I know he can't spell, so how are he getting
Speaker 1: all these apps? He would say, sorry, download in the
Speaker 1: name of the program he wanted. I'm like, dude, are
Speaker 1: at three at three? And he knows? So there's is
Speaker 1: that he would see on TV. So one of the
Speaker 1: programs is called number Blocks, so I downloaded that for
Speaker 1: him because I had heard about that from some other
Speaker 1: people as well. He fell in love with Number Blocks
Speaker 1: and ever since then he would always ask, even any
Speaker 1: conversation I was ever and whoever I was talking to,
Speaker 1: can I talk to them too? Can I say, Hi,
Speaker 1: asked me a math question? And then these people are like,
Speaker 1: what now, let's talk about a program or some song
Speaker 1: or famous musician asked me a math problem. Wow, what
Speaker 1: about you, John? What did you see in Sean? Because
Speaker 1: I haven't seen him in years, Like when I saw him,
Speaker 1: he was still on the stroller. But I understand he's
Speaker 1: got like this, like really why vocabulary he does so
Speaker 1: on top of being able. Most kids that are going
Speaker 1: to kindergarten can't count to two hundreds in general in
Speaker 1: any language. But he he uses. He'll figure out a
Speaker 1: new word and he will be able to use it
Speaker 1: in context, like immediately, like after he saw it on
Speaker 1: social some shows. So I was literally riding with Sharette.
Speaker 1: This is pandemic time. So I'm like, yo, I need
Speaker 1: to get out on the sidewalk and jump some rope
Speaker 1: because I'm getting wide bodied. And so she was like, oh,
Speaker 1: me too, And he in the backseat because he loves
Speaker 1: to jump in the conversation, was like, yeah, Mommy, we
Speaker 1: need to go home so I can do some chalisthetics.
Speaker 1: And so I looked over to Sharrette and she was like,
Speaker 1: I don't know where you learned that word. I don't know.
Speaker 1: And so the next day one of them my neighbors
Speaker 1: that has two kids that are on Sean's age, and
Speaker 1: it's also a friend of Sharrette. They have play dates.
Speaker 1: And we told Janisa what was said, and she turned
Speaker 1: to Sean and said, Sean, what is calisthetics? And he
Speaker 1: put his hand on his hip and started to reach
Speaker 1: from side to side. So he I was literally with
Speaker 1: him a couple of days ago, and how people have
Speaker 1: things written on their wall, like the little sayings or
Speaker 1: song and so forth. And I was like, Sean, what
Speaker 1: is that saying? Just if he could identify any of
Speaker 1: the words, and he's four years old and he said
Speaker 1: nothing is and it said nothing is impossible. But I
Speaker 1: was like, how does a four year old know how
Speaker 1: to read nothing? Where when I was in first grade
Speaker 1: we were still like see Jill run right now we
Speaker 1: have one syllable words is exactly nothing is? And he
Speaker 1: said it playing his day, Yeah, that's what it says.
Speaker 1: And so like when you really look back, you he's four,
Speaker 1: he's gonna be five soon. Even the five year old
Speaker 1: normally aren't able to read a word like that. He's
Speaker 1: already on his way to reading. So the books that
Speaker 1: we grew up reading at that age level, he is
Speaker 1: beyond his years. What what was the interview process for
Speaker 1: your son? Because you you all have already started this process, right,
Speaker 1: I'm almost at the end. I see the light of
Speaker 1: the end of the tunnel. I'm so grateful for that.
Speaker 1: Some schools require testing, so begin with Early Steps. They
Speaker 1: had an interview product process, so not just anyone can't
Speaker 1: just join and become a part of it. You have
Speaker 1: to be interviewed and they give your child an assessment.
Speaker 1: That's the first steps. Their thoughts with that is this
Speaker 1: is gonna mimic what you're gonna go to when you
Speaker 1: go through the independent process, because you're also going to
Speaker 1: be interviewed. Your child is going to be interviewed. Your
Speaker 1: child will be given an assessment, so the same things
Speaker 1: that your child go through with the independent school. They
Speaker 1: want to make sure that, Okay, let's do the same thing,
Speaker 1: and then we can work with you to prepare you
Speaker 1: for what's what you're gonna counting out next with the
Speaker 1: independent schools. And of course some of the benefits to
Speaker 1: being with a program like Early Steps you get sea
Speaker 1: waivers for the applications and then they work on your
Speaker 1: They work behind the scenes on your behalf when it's
Speaker 1: time to make that selection. When the schools are making
Speaker 1: the selection for especially that we need to add diversity.
Speaker 1: Who were the people gonna we're using Early Steps students.
Speaker 1: There are some of the kids that they're gonna use
Speaker 1: in regards to that, and they're an Early Steps is
Speaker 1: really your advocate. They're gonna step in and see, Okay,
Speaker 1: based off of what we've seen from this person's child,
Speaker 1: we think there'll be a best fit for this school.
Speaker 1: Because a lot of times, especially me being a mom
Speaker 1: of one child, have never been through this process at all.
Speaker 1: You have different types of schools. You have co ed schools,
Speaker 1: you have single sex schools, you have kindergarten through fifth grade,
Speaker 1: kindergarten through eighth grade, and then k through twelve. So
Speaker 1: it's realizing, well, what would be the best fit for
Speaker 1: my child? So trying to figure that out, and of
Speaker 1: course that comes through with tons of research because again
Speaker 1: I can say that I know my child, but his
Speaker 1: learning style is probably gonna change, or what he likes
Speaker 1: to do that's probably gonna change. So for now, based
Speaker 1: off what I know now, this is I can attain
Speaker 1: what I would like in a program for him. Okay,
Speaker 1: I'm thinking as you're talking, because I'm thinking, well, I
Speaker 1: think I would want my child in a school that's
Speaker 1: K through twelve, So he wouldn't have to keep changing,
Speaker 1: he wouldn't have to keep changing his environment. But I
Speaker 1: didn't think about what you just said, and that is
Speaker 1: his learning style may change, his interests may change, So
Speaker 1: maybe you don't want to put him in something like that.
Speaker 1: Like all of those things that you have to consider,
Speaker 1: one thing I say is that one thing that we
Speaker 1: do just as humans is we do not afford a
Speaker 1: child grace for their brains to grow like their bodies do.
Speaker 1: So your body goes through grossperts like sometimes you're gonna
Speaker 1: be the shortest in the class, sometimes you're gonna be
Speaker 1: the tallest, somewhere in between as your body develops. I
Speaker 1: think the same thing goes for your brain. There are
Speaker 1: people who start off and they're just an average student,
Speaker 1: and then all of a sudden they go through this
Speaker 1: gross furt mentally where they take off. But I think
Speaker 1: that sometimes they're like, if you don't have it by
Speaker 1: the time when you're three, you're just you're done. And
Speaker 1: so we right off a whole lot of kids, kids
Speaker 1: who have not reached their full potential yet because we
Speaker 1: stopped searching for them because they didn't show promise at
Speaker 1: the age that we thought they should so true and
Speaker 1: recognizing that children learn different ways, and I think that
Speaker 1: for most kids, I don't think that most kids do
Speaker 1: well just sitting at the desk all day long just
Speaker 1: learning that way. A lot of kids need more interaction,
Speaker 1: needs more movement, need different kinds of stimulations. Is one
Speaker 1: of the first things to get cut from programming, and
Speaker 1: a lot of our children are oftentimes missed their calling
Speaker 1: because they're really that artistic brain. They like singing, they
Speaker 1: like dancing, they like music, they like painting, especially with
Speaker 1: a lot of our black kids. There's so much talent
Speaker 1: artistically amongst our people that does not get cultivated because
Speaker 1: of programming, but also because parents do not see their
Speaker 1: children being financially successful in that field. Right, Charrette, I
Speaker 1: want to ask you what was the interview process like?
Speaker 1: So the questions come across that they want to know
Speaker 1: more details about your child, and then what are you
Speaker 1: looking for in the education? What's your reason for choosing
Speaker 1: an independent school? But ultimately, yes, they're trying to figure
Speaker 1: out what type of what's gonna be your place and
Speaker 1: your role when while sending your child to this type
Speaker 1: of program. Because I get one of the things that
Speaker 1: my friend who sent their kids to independent schools, it's
Speaker 1: like this is very hands on. The parents. They're there
Speaker 1: almost some of them are always there. Like they even
Speaker 1: talk about how like we encourage parents and grandparents come
Speaker 1: in eat breakfast with the kids. It's most likely you
Speaker 1: could come and drop off and you need to head
Speaker 1: to work and then you won't be back until the
Speaker 1: after school program is over at six o'clock, like generally speaking,
Speaker 1: that's how it usually goes. But just knowing that they
Speaker 1: expect more from the parents, because you know how you
Speaker 1: more than just p t a like how what are
Speaker 1: we doing? We're having this extracurricular activity or when as
Speaker 1: um John was talking about the chess team, they might
Speaker 1: have parents that go there like the chaperone for these trips.
Speaker 1: So wanted to know is that the level of support
Speaker 1: that you're gonna be able to provide to your child?
Speaker 1: So it's like how, yes, how what what's the extent
Speaker 1: that you're going to be involved in this process? I
Speaker 1: had talked previously about this author of this article with
Speaker 1: that with Nicole Hannah Jones, and she lives in New
Speaker 1: York and we all know that options say, we all
Speaker 1: know New York City is one of the most segregated
Speaker 1: school systems in the nation, and when she and her
Speaker 1: husband were making the decision about whether they were going
Speaker 1: to send their child to private school or public school,
Speaker 1: it was a real dilemma for them be because at
Speaker 1: some point in time, you think, are we becoming part
Speaker 1: of the problem when we put our children in private
Speaker 1: school versus public school? Should you do the research to
Speaker 1: find a decent public school or are you experimenting with
Speaker 1: your child based on your own idealistic views of what
Speaker 1: the public of what a public education should be. Because technically,
Speaker 1: you should be able to send your child to public
Speaker 1: school and get the same kind of education that you
Speaker 1: get from a private school. That's how it should be.
Speaker 1: That's how it should be. Yes, And that's the first
Speaker 1: thing I did coming back to New York. I'm thinking, Okay,
Speaker 1: my family, we all grew up and went to the
Speaker 1: same school that's literally like a hundred feet away from
Speaker 1: where I'm currently living. Everyone went to that public school.
Speaker 1: But seeing the grades, when you review the grade and
Speaker 1: the things that occur in the area, it's like, do
Speaker 1: I want to put my son in that? And especially
Speaker 1: knowing that he's already doing math and reading at a
Speaker 1: first grade level. Again, am I gonna send him to
Speaker 1: the school that's to one ratio where he might get
Speaker 1: lost in the sauce or just not be mentally stimulated
Speaker 1: versus these independent schools that have the funding to meet
Speaker 1: that teachers are able to meet the kids where they are.
Speaker 1: So some of the reasons why again I chose an
Speaker 1: independent school over a public school. Again, the type of
Speaker 1: education that he's gonna be able to receive. When they
Speaker 1: told me that, when they noticed that your child might
Speaker 1: might be over excelling or they're doing great in one area,
Speaker 1: they have special periods where they're like, Okay, we see
Speaker 1: that you're doing great in math. Let's take it a
Speaker 1: step further. Let's start to set of letting kids just
Speaker 1: wait till they go to the next grade to get
Speaker 1: that information. It's like, why not start now, we're able
Speaker 1: to do that at this school or even I love languages,
Speaker 1: So knowing that kids are able to start learning Spanish
Speaker 1: and and sometimes at pre K but definitely at kindergarten,
Speaker 1: that has blows my mind. And that's amazing when I
Speaker 1: know I didn't start learning Spanish until junior high school
Speaker 1: in public school, so some of those type of differences,
Speaker 1: and it's so crucial because it's at this age that
Speaker 1: he's at four and five, they're sponges. So this is
Speaker 1: the best time to introduce it language. As we start
Speaker 1: to wrap things up, I just I want to encourage
Speaker 1: the listeners to go to our show notes and look
Speaker 1: up these articles that I'm talking about, because at the
Speaker 1: end of the day, one of the things that has
Speaker 1: been proven to work when it comes to education is
Speaker 1: integrating the schools and what we have like starting in
Speaker 1: two thousand two, we started reverting back to segregating the
Speaker 1: schools again, and integration works, and it doesn't have as
Speaker 1: much to do with race as it has to do
Speaker 1: with plane and simply resources. It is about resources that
Speaker 1: if our children are given the same resources as other schools,
Speaker 1: they will thrive and do well. I think that definitely
Speaker 1: making sure that children have resources is key. And when
Speaker 1: you integrate, of course, that gives our black children the
Speaker 1: opportunity to have access to everything that others have had
Speaker 1: for decades or even centuries. Well, I was gonna just
Speaker 1: say that with this new administration and Dr Jill Biden
Speaker 1: coming in as first Lady, I'm very curious is what
Speaker 1: she's going to take under her belt and make a
Speaker 1: priority for the education system. But I am hoping and
Speaker 1: praying for some huge change in how money is spent
Speaker 1: and dollars are shared. Yes, because the inequity in our education.
Speaker 1: We can't continue to ignore this, because everybody is not
Speaker 1: going to have access to extra programs and dollars and
Speaker 1: resources to get into private schools, and and we need
Speaker 1: It's a right like we we should not have to
Speaker 1: be fighting for this, We should not have to be
Speaker 1: fighting for quality education, but we do, and so we must. Yeah,
Speaker 1: the fight continues, and you can't complain about the product
Speaker 1: that the machine makes. If the machine is broken, you
Speaker 1: have to fix the machine. I think that's important that
Speaker 1: as we hold our governments in in in city councils
Speaker 1: and school boards accountable for what we don't have, we
Speaker 1: still have to make sure that we're utilizing what we
Speaker 1: do have because a lot of times we don't do
Speaker 1: that and our kids fail because of it. Colleges, internships, apprenticeships,
Speaker 1: so on and so forth. So the problem that I
Speaker 1: was running into is one of my students I met
Speaker 1: at the gym. I just got to town because I
Speaker 1: needed to get a lay of the land because it
Speaker 1: was different than when I grew up in in Juliet, Illinois.
Speaker 1: Met him at the gym. He was registering me for
Speaker 1: my membership, and I was like, what high school did
Speaker 1: you go to? We went to the same high school
Speaker 1: and he had just graduated. I said, okay, great, congratulations.
Speaker 1: What are you What are you doing now? And he says,
Speaker 1: I'm going to Juliet Junior College and I have and
Speaker 1: I'm majoring social work. And I was like, okay, cool,
Speaker 1: what was your graduating g P A? And he said
Speaker 1: A four point three Why is someone with a four
Speaker 1: point three majority a P classes which are now that
Speaker 1: and sent to Juliet Junior College. That should never have
Speaker 1: happened because he can get a full ride to a
Speaker 1: sloop of universities across the country. And so our children
Speaker 1: are falling through the cluck cracks. And I am there
Speaker 1: to try to make sure that I can catch as
Speaker 1: many as I can um and and bring them to
Speaker 1: higher ground and just open their minds, you know. I
Speaker 1: bring in um different people that I know, UM, some
Speaker 1: I don't have been referred to. Other people that are
Speaker 1: doing great things, have awesome professions, and will tell their
Speaker 1: story how they got there, what they did, what they
Speaker 1: did wrong, to really open the spectrum of the kids.
Speaker 1: I would like to do, of course, when the world
Speaker 1: opens back up, to take these kids on more field
Speaker 1: trips and in school trips, because a child's gaze is
Speaker 1: only as far as it's family, the community, and the
Speaker 1: people that they have access to. So I'm trying to
Speaker 1: connect them to as many people as possible to open
Speaker 1: their horizons so that they know that there's so much
Speaker 1: more outfit that there, that they can be and that
Speaker 1: they can do. So. I have created a go fund
Speaker 1: me page. If you go to go fund me and
Speaker 1: just um type in step into the light fundraiser, they
Speaker 1: should come up. The picture or is a silhouette of
Speaker 1: people in their cap and gown. And I am trying
Speaker 1: to raise money to keep this thing moving. It's hard
Speaker 1: when right now I'm working out of pocket, and I
Speaker 1: believe in this, in these children. I would love your
Speaker 1: support and whatever you can give. I am just thoroughly
Speaker 1: grateful for absolutely Thank you so much, both of you. Sharrette,
Speaker 1: we are going to be praying for your son. I
Speaker 1: think by the time this airs, you will have made
Speaker 1: a decision and gotten the results and made a decision
Speaker 1: about where your son will be attending school. So we
Speaker 1: hope that all works out for you. Thank you so much,
Speaker 1: dam You're welcome. So here is my takeaway after my
Speaker 1: conversation with my good friends John and Sharrette on the
Speaker 1: disparity and education in America. We must make our voices
Speaker 1: heard loud and clear that quality at occasion for all
Speaker 1: should be a right, not a privilege. I want to
Speaker 1: leave you with this quote from Martin Luther KINNI. I
Speaker 1: cannot see how the Negro will totally be liberated from
Speaker 1: the crushing weight of for education, squalid housing, and economic
Speaker 1: strangulation until he has integrated with power into every level
Speaker 1: of American life. Thank you again to my guests. If
Speaker 1: you're listening on Apple Podcast, be sure to rate and review.
Speaker 1: Follow me on my Instagram at Gammy Narris to share
Speaker 1: with me your thoughts on the episode. I'm here, I'm talking,
Speaker 1: and I'm listening. As always, y'all, stay grateful positively. Gam
Speaker 1: is produced by Westbrook Audio Executive producers Adrian van Field Narris,
Speaker 1: Jada Pickett Smith, Amanda Brown, and Balan jethro Co Executive
Speaker 1: producer Sam Hotel, associate producer Erica Ron and Crystal Devon's
Speaker 1: editor and mixer Calvin Bayliff. Positively, GAM is in partnership
Speaker 1: with Art nineteen