This is not a new anecdote—many people have had similar experiences, but I was once witness to a newly appointed U.S. Air Force Major General’s first visit to one of his Airlift Divisions as Commander of a Numbered Air Force. As routinely expected, the unit prepared for the general’s visit by sprucing up the base and painting many of the facilities. When the general arrived for his visit and was touring the facilities, he merely mentioned in passing the seemingly pervasive color scheme in most of the buildings (“Oh, you painted the walls in most of the facilities light green.”). As soon as the general departed, there was a mad scramble from the top brass down to determine what the general’s favorite colors were and a plan to change the new and existing color scheme if light green was not among the general’s favorite colors. Fortunate for we enlisted airmen, light green WAS a favorite color of the general’s. The power of suggestion (especially in a chain of command) is a real, elusive and powerful arrow in the quiver of the chief that can be used at will. Be forever vigilant!

NOTE: Sometimes we are so focused on “Thinking Outside of the Box” that we neglect what is working extremely well inside the box. My friends, stay vigilant in both environments—on both fronts.

Imagine this, if a backpack could speak what would it say? Would it congratulate the two year old for convincing her/his parents to purchase the backpack for the artistic attraction of its design, as a fashion statement that flaunts the child’s favorite cartoon character or super hero, to continue the trend set so many years ago by the first backpack carriers, or to perpetually feed the coffers of the backpack making industry of the world?

Would it convince the child that it is a happy and benign companion, that they are the best of friends for life, and that that friendship will prevail through the next generations of backpacks to come?

Would it inform the three year old that before the family takes its airplane trip the child should empty the backpack, but don’t forget to take it along, even though temporary transfer of ownership of its empty space will be necessary to allow room for grown-up things that can be overstuffed into it and it be considered an additional overhead carry on piece of luggage?

Would it advise the four year old to fill it with heavy bricks, stand tall like a trooper and get use to the extra weight, knowing full well that in a few years that four year old will actually look like a trooper on military maneuvers with the backpack stuffed with a multitude of textbooks, a variety of school supplies, an I-pad, daily lunch and who knows what else? Should the backpack echo “Back straight, shoulders back,” knowing full well that in middle/old age it will have made a major contribution to the child’s experience with poor posture and back and shoulder aches and pains?

Would it advise the pre-teen to mentally and physically place a private property, keep out sign on it for all curiosity seekers, thus making available the opportunity to possibly store contraband, paraphernalia, alcohol, and the child’s deepest and perhaps most troubling /disturbing secrets inside of it, along with the never seen again homework assignments that entered there and the uneaten half of that peanut butter and jelly sandwich that his/her parent so carefully prepared, wrapped and placed there a month ago?

Would it remind the runaway homeless teenager or destitute young adult not to lay it down or misplace it because it contains all of her/his worldly possessions and token memories of a simpler, safer and more secure and promising life, but that they can jettison the Bible to lighten the load?

What do you think the backpack would say if it could speak?…  I solicit your contributions!

Irrespective of the generalized assumption that a novice trapeze artist will be a fast track prodigy, the trapeze artist still works with a safety net well into the perfection of the routine. Even seasoned veteran trapeze artist will work with a safety net when establishing a new routine. Yet, I have been advised that initially the cyberspace California Common Core State Standards Program will be established and utilized without the presence/use of paperback textbooks.

Please tell me that this is not so. Please tell me that someone in the decision making structure understands that paperback textbooks are the safety net for thousands of students who do not have the cyberspace technology available to them at home and only very few other means of studying for quizzes/test or reviewing of class lessons. Please tell me that textbooks will not be abandoned until all of the “glitches” associated with the California Common Core State Standards Program are eradicated. Please tell me…

Most people have come to agree with the Nigerian Igbo African culture proverb or Hillary Clinton’s book “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child,” but what is the present state of that village and what is the condition of that child?

From my experience as a public school teacher, I find conflict in the general belief of many educators, administrators and appointed/elected public officials that “children come first” in our teaching profession and the widely accepted premise of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs whereby personal physiological, safety, love/ belonging, and esteem needs all come before self-actualization which embraces the caring and assistance of others.

Oh, I do believe that children MUST come first, but this “Children come first vs Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs conflict is fleshed out when the village’s public school is replaced by chartered schools, magnet schools, private schools, parochial schools, Montessori schools, military schools, vocational schools, gifted and talented schools, special needs schools, virtual schools, home schools, and even closing and restructuring schools while the village’s public school is left short on highly qualified teachers, support and resources and long on criticism, sanctions and consequences.

I find conflict when the public school complex allows three unified school districts with three different facilities, three different administrative staffs, and three different budgets to be built and sustained within seven miles of each other when one would suffice and while public schools suffer in disrepair, a shortage of teachers, lack of equipment and anemic funding.

I find conflict when more prisons are being built while fine arts, industrial arts, music, business classes, technology, life skills, health, humanities, and theatre previously offered in public school programs are being dismantled.

I find conflict when No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top mantras are uplifted while in the public school trenches children are actually continuously left behind and socio-economics, psychological, emotional, or physical conditions leave no ladder to ascend, no hill to climb, no means for children to race to the top.

I find conflict when financiers and politicians are making n-times the salary of public school teachers who educated many of them, sparked their interest, nurtured their ambitions, and encouraged and supported their dreams.

Some experts espouse that American students are lagging further and further behind other countries in terms of math science and technology, ever amongst comparable students from wealthy/affluent families. But I say, in order to consider that an equable comparison, we must ask the question, “What is the state of respect and self-discipline for those students and what is the level of parental involvement and support for those students in those countries?”

There is a quiet battle raging in the public school trenches. Day-in day-out teachers are confronted by many students who are sincerely unable to distinguish between an adult and a student peer as evidenced when they commission the same disrespectful attitude and language for both; students who are too quick to want respect at any cost but know very little about giving respect; students who are too quick to disrupt their learning environment and that of their peers for the sake of a laugh or superficial attention; students who seek instant gratification and want all of life’s secrets revealed to them in a nanosecond whether those secrets should be revealed slowly over time through maturation and life experiences or not; students who are unable or unwilling to connect a proper education with life’s successes.

Teachers are confronted by some parents who, when it comes to discipline, are more willing to believe their child than the teacher. Teachers are confronted by administrators who are pressured to support curriculum pacing guides that drive academic deadlines, but fall short on students actually learning or acquiring a skill set. Teacher are frequently challenged by home time being created to allow for students to use PlayStation III and X-Box 360 but no home time for Math Study Island, Larson’s Math, Math Blaster, Cool Math, Brain Pop, Accelerated Reader, homework, test prep, social etiquette mastery, or quiet reading time. Teachers have become surrogate parents, grandparents, doctors, nurses, counselors, psychologist, psychiatrists, baby sitters, policemen, and clergymen, but without the gratitude, respect or compensation.

How can we influence, improve or change the present state of our village and the condition of our child? We can’t burn the village down and start again, but we can start with ourselves. President Barack Obama said, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”

What can we do? We can model how and we can actually become better mothers, better fathers, better parents, better civic and moral leaders. We can model how and we can actually become better listeners and better mentors. We can advance the importance of sound processes, the necessity for accountability, the value and impact of empathy, the gravity of a tempered moral core and an unwavering work ethic — Thomas A. Edison said, “Most people miss opportunity because it wears overalls and looks like work.”
We can become more Christ-like in our actions, endorse active involvement in community service and help our children build better character. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.” We can become better participators in community (“village”) affairs, become more involved in public school organizations (i.e. PTA, PTO, Site Council, School Board), and become more knowledgeable about our children’s school activities, academic assignments and future aspirations. We can seek out and enroll our children in church community outreach programs, after school programs and tutoring programs. We can assist our children with developing a clear plan for their educational success. Albert Einstein once said, “All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual.”

We can support our teachers, visit our school classrooms and volunteer to assist, attend school district meetings, and ask how we can help. Taking specific liberties with John F. Kennedy’s words I say, Ask not what our village can do for us, but what we can do for our village.

We can spend quality time with our children. We can better understand and convey to our children that education is a cornerstone, a gateway to life’s successes and an equitable playing field, and along with faith, belief and common sense can make all the difference between a path of darkness and one of illumination. Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

When people ask, “If there is so much presently wrong with the village why do you teach?” I offer them this, A Teacher’s Creed: I am proud to be a teacher. I believe that teaching is one of the most honorable and noble professions in the world. I love what I do and I understand that my enthusiasm is contagious. I bring knowledge and understanding to my classroom and I enjoy sharing my expertise. I care about my students and I show it through dedication, kindness, and a friendly word. I know what I give to my students will come back to me in many beautiful and unexpected ways. I realize that my students will be better people because of me and I will be a better person because of them. I know that I make a positive difference in my students’ lives and that makes all my hard work worthwhile.

Malcolm X said, “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” I sincerely believe, as one school district so succinctly phrased it in its mission statement, that “All students are capable of achieving excellence through hard work and persistence. However, students must be taught and challenged by us to meet the highest educational and behavioral standards. They have inherent value and deserve to be members of classrooms and schools that affirm their worth.”

I believe that our students have the right to be served by competent and caring adults who are provided the resources, pay, and the professional development to meet clear performance criteria. Our students do benefit from positive communication and healthy relationships among members of the school community and they can be inspired by a positive image of the public school system. Our/all students deserve the close involvement of parents and guardians in their education. This helps build a strong bond, a solid citizen and a strong village. Frederick Douglass said, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men (and I add women).

The satisfaction of watching students in the act of discovery validates my purpose for teaching and supports my motivation towards overcoming any obstacles impacting student learning. Reflecting on the question of why I am a teacher and focusing on how much I enjoy it prepares me for the rigors of my students’ many needs, staff meetings, administrative tasks, social scrutiny, and parent’s misgivings about our education system or my abilities as an effective teacher. I find serenity in the idea that as a teacher I plant the precious seeds of learning in my students; I observe my students’ tending of the garden of knowledge; and I share with my students the harvesting of the benefits of learning to the entire village!

What is the present state of that village, my village, our village and what is the condition of that child, my child, our child? Many believe that they are on life support, but me, I believe that they are just getting their “second wind!”

Our children are precious and sensitive fresh clay on life’s pottery wheel. Let our village be gentle and gladly shoulder the responsibility of successfully molding, shaping, and creating a wholesome and exquisite masterpiece.

Our children seek guidance and direction. Let our village provide the knowledge, the wisdom, the values, the virtue, the integrity, the truth and the expectation that will become the driving forces of our children’s future.

Our children thirst for knowledge. Let our village quench their thirst. Let our village spend time with our children and let them know that we value education highly. Encourage our children to take school seriously and to set high expectations about their school performance.

Our children are preparing to become willing and capable leaders who will be ready for life’s challenges. Let our village assist them in building their self-esteem by mastering skills. Let our children know that time, affection and communication are essential to their success and well-being. Let the village be clear about our values and attitudes.

Our children are our hope, our future and our legacy for that future. The children we are raising today will be running our village, our country, our world tomorrow. Let our village invest wisely. Teach our children to be humble, sensitive and empathetic, but also teach our children to be strong, ambitious and goal-oriented.

Yes, it takes a village to raise a child so let’s get on point! Marcus Garvey said, “God and nature first made us what we are, and then out of our own created genius we make ourselves what we want to be. Follow always that great law. Let the sky and God be our limit and eternity our measurement.”

Let us reinforce our village this year, the first year of President Barack Obama’s second term as President. Let us make our village strong this month, our celebrated Black History Month. Let us protect and support our children today, our nation’s Social Concerns Day.

The present state of our village is uncertain but HOPEFUL. The condition of our children is unsure but CHARGED and WILLING.

Dr. Willie Hancock, Ed.D.

Although it might be very, very difficult to sit aside our anger, perhaps spontaneous thoughts of vigilante-style physical retaliation and/or our retribution towards Zimmerman, we must nonetheless do so; for even if such response is somehow a viable option for some in thought, it is a dead end option that does very little to ease our acute pain/disgust. It does very little to deter this unacceptable, horrific behavior from perpetuating itself. It does very little to address a long “broken” justice system and national discrimination against people of color—discrimination that has morphed from being blatantly overt to becoming densely covert to the point that many do not even realize that it still exists.

From a mature posture that initially (at first glance) appears to be highly incomprehensible, ineffective or unhealing, we should attempt to do something that is unimaginable by many at this stage–we must not wish ill will upon Zimmerman nor the jurors and from the theological perspective we must even find a way to forgive.

As individuals and as groups we must continue to address those social ills/components that exist in America that produce a nation whereby injustice, bigotry and hate can easily thrive. We must express and voice our hurt/pain and dissatisfaction throughout our communities through reasonable means. We must continue to pressure our lawmakers for change through discourse, sermons, our conversations, letters, e-mails, texts, tweets; through protests, marches, boycotts, participation in the political process and through our votes. As America’s People of Color we must close the ranks and address our plight in a unilateral manner and not permit dissention by those of any color who feel that injustice, bigotry and hate are none-issues in America. Yet, we must open our arms and embrace all people who are willing to assist in our cause. We must also be persistent with these methods and not let other “Breaking News” take media precedence, pale or dilute neither our dilemma nor our will to realize fairness and justice. And while it is imperative that we do this, we must simultaneously respect the individual right to freedom of speech for all Americans.

I know that many of us are arguably angry, hurt and have malice in our hearts at the moment, but if we ignore the acceptable and legal methods/processes designed to induce change and instead opt to take justice into our own hands in the Trayvon Martin case, we will invariably have to take vigilante-justice into our own hands in the cases of Jordan Davis, Darius Simmons and many, many other such cases. Let logic and clarity prevail my friends no matter how slowly the wheels of justice rotate.

Dr. Willie Hancock, Ed.D.

There are many unsavory, unjust, bias, polarizing and socially/economically/politically contaminated tributaries flowing into our justice system–a justice system that already struggles with its historical mandate for the rule of law, fairness, balance and blindness in addressing jurisprudence for its citizens (All of its citizens). As a nation we cannot truly move forward safely along the corridors of justice for all until these tributaries that pour so profusely into our river of justice are abated and purified.
Dr. Willie Hancock, Ed.D.