Jackson Jambalaya

Okay, previously we discussed the definition of "racism" . . . do you really think that ALL of the students will blame "racism"?

I was a terribly lazy (white) student at Mississippi State who could have fit many of these criteria. What I needed was to grow up . . . it's not peculiar to being black or white. It's just kids being kids.

You are correct. I was exaggerating to make a point.

I think the failure comes earlier by the teachers not demanding excellence and enforcing the rules. Teachers AND principals. No way at Baton Rouge High or Broadmoor High School I would've gotten away with text messaging in class or blowing off teachers like that.

And at MC and Hinds, none of my professors would've put up with that behavior either.

What was sad to me was the kids were obviously passed along, not taught the right skills, then are shocked when they are told their work is a joke or not acceptable and don't know how to handle it. That was the sad part.

kingfish

I think you do a total disservice here when you try and make a point by lying. This in no way is an indicator that these students will blame racism. You are not in a position to speak for black folk. What you did in Baton Ropuge and what I did at Callaway are two totally different experiences. And what you did at whatever college you attended and what I did at jackson State are also two totally different experiences. I can make claim your posting here is racists..and it is!!!

lying?

Othor, don't impugn my integrity unless you can prove it and I damn sure am not lying. period. Having said that, I would like to know how exactly I am lying.


If you read what I posted in the comments I stated that I was exagerrating to make a point. Racist? not hardly. Frankly, I thought the editor was someone to be admired by all of us as he sought to improve the lives of students and give something back to a community that he thought had helped him earlier in his life. Frankly it angered me a little when I read about his treatment by those fools.

Having said that, I guarantee you most of them will turn out to not be much in life. First of all, most of them come from poor backgrounds and have lower SAT scores. If there was a lesson that needed to be drummed into their heads it was that they need to work their butts off to get ahead. Yet they blow him off, can't put two words together, text back and forth, and get mad because a Professor dares to hold them accountable.

Now if it is racist to say that then so be it. As I stated, I was exagerrating to make a point. The point being that it will not surprise me if those kids one day when things don't work out for them blame everyone else but themselves. And I'm sure a few, NOT ALL, will say its because of racism.

And don't tell me that some candidates don't make that claim to win votes. Don't even think of saying that because you know as well as I do how true that is. In fact, I can remember Stokes and Armstrong making similar statements. We won't even get around to Ike Brown's racist letter to the Clarion Ledger this summer.

Lying? prove it.

your exagerration is a LIE..point proven. You tend to do that alot. How in the hell can you predict a person's outcome in life. You sound like someone else that I know!

But be that as it may..your mind is made up. It's funny how you tend to dump so m any things into one thread....you are not GOD, you don't know these kids future..you don't know what will happen to them. Why embellish in the first place to prove a point..that was the LIE!!!

like someone else?

and how many posts have I zapped or people have I banned? that alone puts me in a different league than her.

I think it is not racist to say that if you blow off school, insult professors, don't go to class, etc you have probably hurt your chances of being successful down the road.

can these kids change..YES!!!I exhibited had some moderatly bad behavior in school, but I turned out OK. It is just a matter of growing up. Give these kids a break. I'm sure you did some pretty dumb things when you were in school. If this guy can't take classroom experience then it was best for him to get out. In the classroom you are in the business of shaping young minds and helping these kids find there way.

People can change..I'm sure you have. I know I have..why embellish to prove a point? To me that remains the LIE!!!

http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/forums/threads.php?id=15927_0_16_0_C#104293

I think you will get a kick out of this Mr. C. She is in her 40's and just now figuring out the basics of renting. Sigh.

Yes, they can change. Don't deny that for one second. However, when I was at LSU, Hinds, MC, Millsaps, I never saw wholesale behavior like that from students and I've been around more than a few dumbasses.

By the way, what DID you think of the article?

I couldn't finish the article..I am assuming this man is black. I will never sit back and let another black oerson talk negatively about other blacks. This man was clearly in the wrong profession. He has no passion nor patience. I think the article was embellished. Something that you guys have in common. The article was entirely too long and if he was making a point, as a journalist, we are taught that we can make it in the first paragraph. Why all that other mess...I don't buy this at all!!!!

I agree that this editor was in the wrong profession. If Stillman College were as bad as he makes it sound, it would have already lost its accreditation.

Re HBCUs in general... I didn't go to the closest state university (JSU) as an undergraduate because I had a fairly debilitating immune deficiency until I hit my late teens; once I got over that, a combination of negative PR and the fact that JSU didn't have exactly what I wanted in terms of graduate programs persuaded me not to go. Since that time, I've visited the campus of JSU many times and kind of wished I had an excuse to attend. I may do a second master's there when I'm done with my Ph.D.

My feeling is that the distinction between white universities and HBCUs is unfortunate. The post-apartheid South African government had the best idea, IMHO: They merged white and black universities. Potchefstroomse Universiteit (white) and the University of Natal (black) merged to become Southwest University. Mississippi never did that. I think Mississippi would be better off if JSU were made the flagship university of the state, and all other universities redesignated as branches of same. But that's never going to happen.

One day, there will be no HBWUs or HBCUs. I feel quite confident about this. One day, the campuses of JSU and Tougaloo will have a more diverse student body. But until we reach that point as a culture, I think HBCUs serve a useful purpose.

For what it's worth, if I were to apply for a college-level teaching position tomorrow, it would be at JSU. The more I've gotten to know that university, the more I've grown to love it--and the more convinced I've become that while students do tend to come from a struggling economic background, with all of the problems that come along with that, it is nowhere near as bad as I was initially led to believe.

One postscript: Instead of going to JSU, I did my master's by distance learning from California State University, Dominguez Hills. While I was enrolled, JSU president James Lyons accepted a position there...as president. His signature is on my diploma.

"I will never sit back and let another black oerson talk negatively about other blacks."


You do that every day on your blog, especially when it comes to Melton.

different context and you know that...Melton is the epitome of balck on black crime.

This post is different..he is down playing and downgrading young people..don't even try it..and of course you know this isn't a subject that you have any expertise on....

I don't blame the kids at all. They are the product of bad leadership. If you read the article you might have some sympathy for him.

I remember a couple of years ago the CL reported that Lanier only had two boys that had GPA's over 3.0 in its senior class. Am I supposed to ignore that? Not criticize that? Just because it might be criticizing black people? I look on those students as victims to some degree. They went to school as a blank slate for the most part and were failed by their teachers and principals.

read the story and you will see that he was dealing with whole classes that did not know how to write sentences, practice basic spelling, or perform other basic language skills you need to perform in society, if it is as bad as he claimed.

If those kids had not been pushed along the way or were merely passed through grammar school, then I'm sure it was a rude surprise when they were told their work was not satisfactory.

You see Othor, I'm weird. I think if you are teaching a student you owe that student your best. If he doesn't want to learn, then its your job to motivate him. If he is not doing well, its on you to point out his mistakes and then correct them and help him to learn from them. If the mistakes are ignored, you are not doing that student any favors and are just making it more difficult for him later on in life. I won't hesitate to criticize bad teachers or school systems. or parents that don't care if their kids can't read, don't push their kids to learn, and raises hell whenever a teacher cares enough about his/her students to actually teach them.
A friend of mine taught chemistry at wingfield. He had a year between college and med school so he taught for one year and taught the honors class. Here came the cheerleader moms complaining that he was pushing their babies too hard as they didn't have time for all the work because of their cheerleading. He just told them they could switch to regular chemistry or find another class because those HONORS students were going to be ready for college chemistry when he was through at the end of the year.