“In Every School: The Consensus Is…”
By Nekesha Bell de Castañon (Big Education Ape's 1st Guest Blogger)
People demanded answers and wanted to be heard from the teacher at “Back to School Night”. There was no one around to take their complaints. In another instance, they stood outside of the gates on the first day of school to take their children to their classrooms. They waited outside the fence as if they were prisoners in a caged cell. Except this time, what our nation has coined, “Ghetto”, was not the case. They were trying to get their children in the cell for their own protection. The school only added to their fiery by keeping them locked up until the school day ended. When did we become a society that treats our children like criminals before they have a chance to become one? To those who claim to be unaware, it happened centuries ago. The authoritative excuse and their consensus is that “it is for their own protection”. The stereotypes danced off the chains on the gate as the police officers stood in anticipation. They were waiting for the first mess up while eating coffee and donuts. When one of the volunteers asked them about their purpose in being there on the first day of school; they really had not much to say. They mentioned something about building community relations. After school, parents were kicked off of campus or turned away. Children were shuffled around as if they were cattle in need of a good spanking in order to get them going in the direction within their fields. The brown or “barrio” children were treated, either extremely the same, or quite different. Language is culture according to the English Language Program. Language is part of a culture; it is not the only meaning of culture. Our Native American children are not being accounted for because of internal disarray, return of federal money, and a sense of direction lost. In any school or school district, discrimination has not ever effectively been talked about and resolved since the Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, 1954. The policies are in place, but every move that is made on behalf of the student is blocked. The achievement gap is a racially targeted issue that none of the people within the system can be on board about in terms of how to accomplish retention. The gap begins well before junior high/middle school. It begins now!
The reality of the situation is this: An elementary school that is in need of police reinforcement is not there to build community relations. It is the process of destroying a young child’s spirit and the spirit of the “hood”. It is to discourage the Asian woman who only speaks her native tongue from coming to the school. Next to immigration, our schools are terrified of parental involvement unless it is a controlled substance in which robotic players are at bay. The schools do not want parents to have a voice, especially ethnic ones. They want us to continue to ring that dumbbell. The best research is the one’s that have been experienced. The best complaints are the one’s that do not make it to the school district’s office; but need to. The best organizers in the community are not the ones who are federally aligned; it is the one who heads their own campaigns. The best parents-there are none. It is not a competition. The fight for the continued failures of our education system, “No Child Left Behind”, Title 1, and the lack of ability to have resolution in place for the Achievement Gap; become well rounded plans of disbelief to the parent or community member who is paying close attention. If we do not believe that there will be change, then there will be none. We do not want to address the real issues of the Achievement Gap because we would have to specify which disadvantaged groups need help and are failing within the system. Multiple committees are not addressing issues at hand, but love to be destructive by adding to the bureaucratic fever of nothing getting done. There is no accountability or responsibility, just a heavy toxin of infected corruptness across the board, locally, statewide, and nationally.
In any state or city who receives Title I funding, they should have a District Advisory Committee in place. One of the resolutions is to get involved and raise these issues. At the same time, do not depend on the education system to resolve matters in the best interest of the children. It is a business, not education. Every law could be violated; and they would still be protected due to the budget cuts and lack of importance for an education. There is hope; and the hope is in the fight. The fight should be that all of our children should succeed. We must be able to provide the means of that success to be accomplished. The most important lesson learned is that parents should be the number one advocates for their children!
Written By:
Nekesha Bell de Castañon
“I live the truth! I speak the truth! You can catch me swinging in the haloes away from all of the diablos (devils) that I could never learn to kiss up to.”
Mother of two children
World Citizen
Copyright © 2010. All rights reserved.
Bio: Nekesha Bell de Castañon hailed from
Michigan in 2006 to
California. She is an advocate for special needs and developmentally delayed children. A lifetime Xicana & ethnic poet with five self-published books, past assistant coach for children’s sports, bilingual in Spanish to the best of her ability, storyteller, and grew up in the Igbo tribe of
Nigeria, here in
America. She is a lifetime survivor of domestic and sexual violence. She knows the glue it takes to hold it together. Her many cultural bloodlines including growing up in-a then-small town-country called Turlock, California, helped her to become vibrantly colorful and cross cultural due to many different adversities. She has been a lead organizer in different venues for over 17 years: Political Strategist, Civil Rights, Equal Opportunity, Women Rights, Affirmative Action, Migrant/ Immigration Rights; currently, Human Rights on a global platform, and Indigenous Rights. She is spiritual; therefore, most of what she does and who she is comes from within. She is a performing artist, entrepreneur, conference presenter, and mother of two children who attend school in
Sacramento City Unified School District. She adamantly advocates for the youth, children, and performs yearly with them. Nekesha is a graduate student, volunteers weekly to help children with literacy, a member of the local School Site Council, District Advisory Committee, Parent Engagement, and Parent Membership under DAC. Nekesha helps families in crisis, locally and in other states, by lending a listening ear and resources that will get them results. For the last six years, she has been a voice for men in prison, gangs, and other violence that begins to affect them at a young age. She believes that by sharing an adult male’s poetry and stories; she is able to voice the victim’s stories and raise awareness. She lives life to the fullest and currently resides in
Sacramento, California. Nekesha can be contacted at:
diosadevida@hotmail.com or you catch her on her radio show at:
www.blogtalkradio.com/diosadevida
