Page 14
December 30, 2015
O PINION
Only With Our Help Can Our Kids Succeed
Let’s put our
children’s needs
before politics
b rian l. p auling
It’s the time of year
parents receive a prog-
ress report of their
child’s academic perfor-
mance after a fall term
of being fully engaged
in their classes.
Some will be fine,
meeting or exceeding expecta-
tions for their grade level. Unfor-
tunately, a significant number will
already have fallen behind. Their
academic success will be in jeop-
ardy unless someone intervenes.
To parents, teachers, administra-
tors and community members, I
say that someone is us!
It’s up to us to work as a co-
hesive and collaborative support
system for our children. That will
mean holding ourselves and each
other accountable to ensure that
each student has been taught and
has learned the required course-
work for their grade level and is
ready to advance to the next grade,
without remediation, by the end of
the school year.
by
We are expecting a lot from our
children, but what, in turn, should
our children expect from us?
As parents, students should
expect us to be actively involved
in their education. We must en-
sure the learning-readi-
ness basics are mastered
at home: sufficient sleep,
on-time school arrival, safe
after-school care, and qual-
ity homework assistance,
provided either by us or
someone we find to help,
such as a student in a higher
grade, a college student, or a non-
profit organization, like 100 Black
Men of America, Inc., whose local
chapters offer mentoring and tuto-
rial programs.
Then we must move to an even
higher level of engagement. For
instance, we should communi-
cate regularly with our child’s
teachers. Join the Parent Teacher
Association (PTA) at our child’s
school. Attend school board
meetings. Advocate for the needs
of our children, their school,
teachers and district. Educate
ourselves about the best available
education options in our com-
munities, from traditional pub-
lic schools to nonprofit charter
schools.
If students do their part and
we as parents do ours, then our
children also should expect their
teachers and administrators to
provide instruction, experiential
learning opportunities and school
environments that breed and
boost success.
Our children should expect
their teachers to demonstrate that
capable and well-trained profes-
sionals who teach in compelling
and creative ways.
Our students should also ex-
pect the support of people in their
communities – even those without
school-aged children – because
these students are destined to im-
pact the community through their
positive contributions or negative
When some children fail to
make the grade, they should
expect that their teachers
and school staff won’t let
them flounder, but use proven
intervention strategies to get
them back on track.
they believe that all children can
learn at high levels. When some
children fail to make the grade,
they should expect that their
teachers and school staff won’t
let them flounder, but use prov-
en intervention strategies to get
them back on track. Our children
should expect their teachers to be
degradations. Visit a local school
and ask how you can volunteer.
Partner with a local school and
offer your services or the exper-
tise and resources of your compa-
ny or organization. Serve on a lo-
cal school council. Get involved
as a tutor, mentor, guest speaker
or member of a booster club.
Stand with school boards and
policy-makers to advocate pub-
licly for high-performing schools
and better teacher evaluations
and student assessments. All are
vital ways community members
can support our students’ overall
success and make a difference in
their lives.
We at 100 Black Men of Amer-
ica know that our children are
more than capable of being aca-
demically successful. Let’s pro-
vide access to educational oppor-
tunities that equip students to be
competitive. Let’s set high expec-
tations for student achievement,
remove obstacles to progress and
provide proper interventions and
support systems. We will demon-
strate our unwavering belief in
our students by working side by
side with other concerned par-
ents, teachers, administrators and
community members throughout
the school year.
Let’s put our children’s needs
before politics and make our na-
tion’s schools the best they can be,
so all of our students can become
the best they can be.
Brian L. Pauling is the national
president and chief executive offi-
cer of 100 Black Men of America,
Inc.
Changing the Conversation on Childhood Development
Experiences
shape our
biology
source. But if our actions are the
measure, do we really mean it?
Mounting research evi-
dence from neuroscience, pub-
lic health, economics and so-
cial science supports a simple
by d r . r enée
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Yet we know that not all chil-
dren have an opportunity to ex-
perience high-quality early child-
care—and it’s because we have
chosen not to support universal
access.
Scientific research supports
the long-term value of creating
the conditions children need for
a strong start. We also know how
to scale and support effective so-
cial and educational programs and
make them accessible.
Why, then, aren’t we commit-
ted to ensuring these opportuni-
ties?
Political discussions about ear-
ly childhood generally center on
parents’ choices and responsibil-
ities. We expect parents to make
good decisions for their young
children. But wouldn’t a tighter
safety net of opportunities and
support make good decisions easi-
er, and make parents less likely to
stumble in their efforts?
We need a new conversation,
one that places what is optimal for
children at the center.
That’s what The Raising of
America, a new documentary se-
ries, is trying to do. I’m proud to
be a part of the film, which probes
how conditions faced by young
children and their families form
the foundation for future suc-
cess— and brings to light the con-
sequences of our failure to provide
adequate support for parents rais-
ing young children.
In recent years, medical pro-
fessionals have learned that health
is profoundly influenced by fac-
tors outside the healthcare system.
Study after study has shown that
social determinants influence the
ways our biological systems op-
erate.
We also know that children
who live in environments with a
lot of concentrated disadvantage
and in high-stress home envi-
ronments are most likely to have
adverse childhood experiences,
or ACEs. A higher prevalence of
ACEs can affect their emotional
regulation, which in turn can im-
pair optimal learning.
Yet with all of this knowledge,
we still haven’t bridged the gap
between data and practice.
It strikes me that as a society
we have accepted that the chal-
lenges parents face are all “just
part of raising a child.” That the
stress of trying to balance time
and cost against what’s best for
our kids is now the norm. That
it’s not imperative to offer all
children the opportunity to expe-
rience the high-quality early care
they need to succeed.
The truth is that families can-
not do it alone. It’s my hope that
the larger conversation we’re
launching—through ongoing re-
search and with The Raising of
America—will prompt a closer
look at how we can develop an
opportunity agenda for our na-
tion’s children, and steer a course
that puts children front and cen-
ter.
I hope this is the moment when
society says, “This is not our goal.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
We can change the experience of
childhood. Let’s get started.”
Dr. Renée Boynton-Jarrett is
a Boston Medical Center pedi-
atrician and researcher. She is
founding director of Vital Vil-
lage, a network of residents and
agencies committed to maximiz-
ing child, family and community
wellbeing.