How Do You Know Your Future Path?: Private Schools Vs Public Schools

Now this is something that I have talked about a couple times lately with friends and seen many people discuss. Also saw a number of wonderful documentaries talking about the U.S. school system and the success behind charter schools. So what am I here to say to you all? That my kids...will never go to a public school lol. And here's why: *Be warned, many stereotypes and generalizations are about to occur*

So lets start with public schools. Went to them my entire life and even for college. What's the problem with these public schools?

• The teachers. Not all of them, but I knew of many teachers that didn't care. Especially when teachers get their tenure lol. There is even a show coming out called Bad Teachers that covers this. Teachers get tenure and CAN NOT BE FIRED WHATSOEVER. So what happens to them? They are moved to another school or go through a slap on the wrist punishment.
• Violence. A lot of bad kids (yes, I believe in there being bad kids) end up just going to their zone schools. So a number of students from the wrong neighborhoods ends up with James bringing a gun to school (which happened in my high school and I had beef with James, so happy he was caught). And yes, it can happen in a private school...but how many fights and out of order issues do you think happen between the two?
• Education. The most important one. We all know that the education system we have is horrible. There are tricks used to fix and work around this. One of which being longer school days, incorporating technology, and the simplest...creating person relationships with students.
• Possibilities. Now anything can happen anywhere. But with less attention being given to students, the possibilities are endless. We all know about the girls giving head in the back hallways and on the staircases. I remember in the 7th grade, I would hang out with girls every day in the back staircase instead of going to lunch.

Problems with private/charter schools:

• The biggest issue I hear are the other students there are snobby...but I rather my kid have to be around snobby kids he can ignore or grow to want to beat out in life, then around kids that just want to hang out and do nothing.
• The girls end up going wild. And you telling me Shaquetta from M.S. 234 wasn't just on the block prostituting? People with that remark make it seem like girls in public schools don't end up wild and slutty. Some worse since they have less opportunities.

Though I made it a good distance with a public school education, don't be fooled...I know I would be ten times better off if I had a private school education. My biggest problem now that I'm working on is my vocabulary. I remember testing to go into a special middle school and got in, but my parents couldn't afford it. Then for high school, I barely missed the score needed to get into a school for science and math. Had a girlfriend that went there, she told me universities would come and they would be admitted wherever they liked. She ended up going to University of Florida. When my school had college fairs...the main stands in our gym were all military services and community colleges. So you look at me and tell me private and charter schools aren't the best thing for kids. On average, your goals are smaller, your opportunities are smaller, and the people laying out the right path for you just aren't there.

Searching For The Next Move Wont Help: God's The Answer?

I've come to a conclusion these days...people expect for everything to be solved with God and religion. Is this actually true that it will? No. If you know me, you would know that I am a very religious Muslim man. I praise God and thank him daily for all that he has done for me and my family. We're very blessed. But that being said...even during times of poverty, sadness, and whatever else the world throws at people to have them in a state of needing an answer...we prayed to God for help in doing what we needed to do and went out and did it ourselves hoping he would be there. But what is the main point there? That we didn't use God as a crutch or to put everything on him, like he's going to magically come down and throw us a million dollars with some answers to questions.

And that's what I think is wrong today with some of the people out there. Not to mention the nuts in these mega-churches that think the pastor/reverend is some kind of messiah or prophet. Can someone explain to me when it became God's job to fix your relationship or take you out of your situation? That's crazy talk to me. I say God is there in order to guide us in the right direction, not to come from the sky with baby milk since you spent the money on the club. Yes, I know there are tons of families out there in bad situations because of chance or life...but that still doesn't give them a reason to go and put everything in hopes that God will save them without them putting in some work also. Pastors say it all the time, "God helps those that help themselves". Putting all your cards on God while holding your weed in one hand, a bottle of Ciroc in the other, and crying about not being able to make it out the projects after losing your job and not having enough money to pay the mortgage instead of doing your best to solve the issue (even if it includes filling for Bankruptcy) is what will lead to a long line of living on the edge. Once saw a woman with a kid on True Life (on MTV)...her income (which was only from child support) couldn't pay all of her bills (though she lived alone instead searching for someone to live with). How did she manage? She would randomly end up with money each month from different sources. How long can you last like that?

When i was younger, I heard someone say that Christianity is the poor man's religion. When you think about such a statement, the first thing that should come to mind is the fact that so many Americans are Christians (from all kinds of economic levels). Then you might stop and think...hold on...are we considering Christianity to be all sects, or are we diving them up? I know I don't consider Catholics to be the same (especially after going to a Catholic church). But then you think about all the people in low income neighborhoods that rely on God for everything. Makes you wonder why the ratio of higher economic people are in churches less often and talk about it less...or is it just based on the specific cultures they belong to. And honestly, I agree....Christianity is the poor man's religion. I can go on for days making little points about why, but that will end will an extra long post lol. Think about it yourself and tell me what you think. Does religion (all religions included) give an excuse for people in bad situations to stay there? Is it a way for people to pass the blame of their situation and what has happened to them? Or is it just the personality of those individuals all wrong??

Wonder how real or valid the below pictures are....? And if they are valid, I see a connection between economy and religion lol

Story Time (By memory): There once was a woman that was lost at sea in a small boat. Away from everyone and no way to call for help, she waited for a sign from God. A ship came by and saw her in need of help. She told him : "No thank you, God is coming to help me and will provide a sign". The ship left along with the crew. Another ship came and saw her. When they came close, she told them: "No thank you. I'll be ok. God will save me and show me a sign". As time passed...the woman died. When she got to heaven she asked God: "Hey, I was in need of your help, why didn't you save me or show me a sign?". Then God replied: "I did send you signs, I sent two ships that wanted to save you."

Try New Search Algorithms: Is Online Dating The Magic Gateway?

I just read a statistic that shows 1/8 marriages last year were from couples who met online. The funny thing about this is...a lot of the people I have met in recent years have been from online. I've made some great friends from Twitter and even had a girlfriend that I met from there. My oldest brother met and married a women he met off Match.com. One of my most important relationships ever was hooked up by a mutual friend after I saw her friend on Facebook. The closest person to me now in Michigan, I met when she hit me up online. And till this day I periodically have multiple phone numbers sent to me from females online that want to hang out and be friends, and some for more than just that. As a matter of fact, I recently went out a date with a girl from twitter. We did decide to be friends though.

But what am I getting at? With the invention of Myspace, which everyone knows is just a spot to find people to hook up with, and the invention of Facebook and Twitter, outlets for staying in contact with people while meeting new and cool people, the world is becoming more internet based. We can have a whole conversation and never say a word to one another. We could keep in contact with one another and never have to reach for a phone or a pen. We are in a world where there are 1,001 ways to be in contact with one another and so why wouldn't this be true.

Some feel that meeting people online is strange and weird. Especially someone to hook up with or maybe go into a relationship with. I honestly don't. Maybe because I'm such a technology person or because I'm a guy without fear of being raped lol. But honestly, there isn't much difference when meeting someone that could be crazy and you meet them in a mall or on a school campus. So what do I say to this new statistic....congrats to those people who found love and are now married. That's it really. Not much I could say. I'm happy for them and hope things work out. I actually saw two groups of people taking pictures after their weddings. Did they meet online? Who knows. But there are tons of ways to meet online. Whether because it was an intention while using e-harmony or by accident while having a debate over a friend's status on Facebook.

My point is...you never know where you will meet the one. So why limit yourself nowadays. But do be careful, some people are uglier than what their pictures show lol. Advancements in technology also means more ways to lie to you.

Were You Prepared For This?: The School System

So today I watched a documentary and currently watching one. Both about the education system. And both showing the little things that majority of people didn't know or really think about, but some live with and think about every day. The first documentary was 'Waiting for Superman'. The second is the 'College Conspiracy'. So let me do a quick breakdown if you haven't seen either film.

'Waiting for Superman' talks about the entire school system. From the horrible number of students that can pass reading or math exams nationwide (20%-40% passing when nationally tested after the No Child Left Behind movement)...to the number of high schools over 40% when it comes to their drop out rates (2,000 in the U.S.). It shows multiple forms of the school system failing children, from bad teachers not being able to be fired after they hit tenure (which is time based) or chancellors not having free range to extend the length of the school day. It was a great documentary that really opened up the school system for what it was.....a Failing One.

As I watch 'College Conspiracy', the topic thus far is the school system...but more about around college obviously. They are hitting home right now about the great idea that any kid can go to school, go to college, be whatever they want to be, and then end up with the exact life they want. Which everyone that has graduated college knows is a load of bull. Nevertheless as I watch, I am split on this movie. Why? I am a person that is living that life of bull. I went and got an education, now living the life I want, and doing what I see fit. But of course, I can't go in on this movie without watching the whole thing....so that shall come later.

So what am I to talk about right now? Well the school system period. When I look back at my younger years, the school system failed me and the people I know. Now I won't go on about the horrible teachers I have had in my past...because honestly I didn't have too many bad ones. My friends would tell me all the time about their teachers telling them that they didn't care or that they didn't learn anything. And nevertheless, our school system is half day care school because of all the things going on inside of them and parents expecting teachers to raise their kids (which to me is idiotic). But how did the school system fail me? Well there aren't many ways, but they are strong. The rest of my failures in school was based on my own actions.

For starters, overcrowded classrooms. Not much I could do about it, and I hope the school would not be happy with giving them out to students, but so is life. Its hard to get the attention you might want or need when you have 30+ students in a class and a fight breaks out. In high school, a lot of the times I would go to one of my favorite math teachers and ask him for math problems. I would have him help me solve complex math problems I saw somewhere. I was in his class during other classes so I could gain extra information. I loved being in his room and around him. But not everyone can find a teacher to get that extra help.

Another...Safety. The school tried with metal detectors and guards, and agents coming in, but something else should have been done. From fights in basketball games, to gang vs gang brawls after school, and to the things I only heard about because I left early (Thank God for lunch last period).

End of the day though....if I failed something...if I didn't get extra time on some work...if I wasn't on a level I should have been...it was my fault. I made the choices I made. I could have found problems in centers to help me, but I chose to hang out with friends or get a job. So the school system failed me when I was younger, but I failed myself most of all. But thank God again that I was never left back or had to drop out in high school. I read on the right level (I made sure to always read books even outside of the curriculum), my math  scores were good (look where it landed me) and I've always been one for science.

Chemistry Olympiad. Advanced Placement and Honors every single year. A great degree and the ability to pay off my school loans....I'm happy with the education system...but I'm only one person. It's failed others Greatly.

How Much Further?: Never Saw This Coming

Recently I've made a decision to put my efforts into attending University of Michigan for my masters. Now this is a big thing for me. I don't think its a big deal with people that went/go to University of Michigan, and definitely not something big for people that already live in Michigan (because MSU and UofM are like the schools you just go to here)......but for me...its EVERYTHING. You have to remember who this is coming from. I'm a person that didn't even hear of University of Michigan until I was already in college. Didn't think about going to a division one school until I already graduated college. Yes, the college I graduated from was Division 1, but it was Division 1AA, which is different. Now I am putting forward my efforts for a school that has a huge amount of history, tradition, and a BIG name. Guys like me don't think about going to a school like Michigan. Guys like me dream about just going to college and graduating. NONE of who I am today is who I was years  ago. Before I was only about graduating and having a good job. NOW....I'm about progressing and being as successful as possible.

But wait...you ask what kind of Guy am I exactly?? Well I'm a guy that grew up in the projects with a small vision. You could tell me "the sky's the limit" and I am going to say it to myself, but end of the day I didn't see that. The people around me were all poor. The successful people were the people NOT in the projects. Not that they lived well, but they didn't live in the projects. So that was my dream....not living in the projects anymore. You have a guy coming from a household where his mother was a nursing aid working two jobs. Sometimes waking up at 5:20am (Exactly!), to go outside and wait for the bus (3 buses to be exact), work with old people all day.....get off at 3pm, then run to a second job where she didn't get off until 11pm, and had to walk home in the dark through the projects and the streets. Then my father.....he was a janitor at a kid's community center. So yeah...I had hard working parents.....but I was still a Product of My Environment. And its not easy telling someone that feels trapped in his community with no money to see the outside world that he can go to a Division 1 school....when he doesn't even know what a Division 1 school is....or a division for that matter. Never heard of Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. Never had a job pay more than minimum wage much less a benefits package. Coming from a neighborhood where there were 2 police stations within a block and police mobile stations on my block. Just a place where the people I considered rich were my aunt and uncle, that had a house. But why were they rich to me? Because they had food they could get up and go eat at any time. They weren't ducking on the ground to bullets outside their window. Not having mice run over their feet as they watched tv. And especially since they weren't woken up by roaches crawling them at night. So yeah.....that is what kind of guy I'm talking about.

So that's what I am saying. That a boy that saw his parents work hard for everything they ever had....that pictured his life still being in the hood...BUT outside of the projects..........So when I say I'm going to the University of Michigan....its not just a big deal to him........its a big deal to everyone that knows hims.

In 2005, months before I started college...my friends and I were in an apartment just having a good time and they were drinking. Even though they were tipsy and some drunk, they told me they were proud and that I was the only one capable of making it out the projects and surviving. So on my school book bag with white out I wrote:  "All Eyes On Me". People that didn't know me would talk behind my back (females especially) and laugh at this as if I didn't hear them. They thought it was me being cocky. Honestly....its a feeling then that I never lost....that I'm the one that made it out the projects and I have everyone still there watching me now and hoping I make them proud still. So as I feel like crying through all the things I've seen and hold back tears that need not to come out.....I announce....one more time.....that I'm aiming for University of Michigan!

Its A Place Known By Many....But A Place I Called Home

Turn Around or Go Around Corner: African American Males (School Version)

Based on the 2010 Census, 47 percent of African-American males graduate from high school. (New York City 28 percent, Philadelphia 28 percent, Broward County, Florida 39 percent, Washington D.C. and Chicago 44 percent, Nashville 47 percent).

So you tell me....what's the problem here??

Is it the fact that the Black boys aren't graduating?? Is it the fact that their parents or family structures don't care?? The communities complaining about these boys not being in school and going to crime, but allowing it to happen at the same time....sometimes even encouraging it. Or should we go with just blaming teachers?? "They don't care about the students, make the class fun, and try to reach out to them"....since when was that in the job description?? Its a good thing for them to go the extra yard...but dont blame teachers. Who should we blame? Everyone as a whole.

We failed things young black boys. Myself included. Without a high school education, you can't even be a manager at most fast food chains. So what kind of future are the looking forward to without the proper steps? Hard labor for small pay, a life of crime that leads to so many other issues, and even just plain old nothingness.

My senior year of high school (I went to a mostly boy school, about 90%-95% when I entered)...they brought us to the auditorium and told us to look left, right, front, back, and diagonal.....and that most of the people we saw weren't going to go far. Either drugs, death, or jail. Who the F*** tells someone that?? But end of the day.....they were wrong...but they were right when it comes to those around New York City.

How can we fix it? I can go on and on about how to do that. I can say I will donate to different initiatives....but end of the day....its up to those boys and their support systems. I thought about dropping out of high school. Definitely thought about dropping out of college.....but it was the people behind me that wouldn't let me.

I just dont want to see more black boys in the street instead of in the office