Background to the Underground

In order for readers to continue to follow the content of my blogs, I felt it necessary to explain the method to my madness.  Where did it all originate? The Underground Philosophy of Education Blog is an extension of the recently published book, The Underground Philosophy ofEducation: Teaching is NOT for Dummies.  The idea came from my love and involvement in performance of rap and hip hop. 

Underground Hip Hop, which is considered the opposite of mainstream popular music, has a reputation of being uncut, true to personal artistry, relatable to the streets, and relies on word of mouth. In essence, it uses a grassroots approach to popularity, which creates a stronger following.  I felt that my approach to education takes a similar platform because I started out as product of a single-parent household of eight in public housing.  I wanted to stay connected to my roots rather than take the clinical approach.  The idea manifested into a narrative nonfiction work.

The title of the book itself suggests the intricacies of education contrary to popular beliefs.  It more deeply suggests that dealing with the issues of education should not be taken lightly.  I take personal experiences from the field and express the opinions that were shared by others, even if they would not openly express them. It some instances the envelope may be pushed, but it was done so to bring into perspective issues that are so often taken lightly.

Chapter 1 of the book is an adaptation of a paper written during my collegiate years to share my formal philosophy of education.  The content may be the most difficult to digest out of all chapters of the book, but it was necessary to include it to express my core beliefs as well as to show that my thoughts and beliefs are embedded in research; not impulsive reactions to experiences.  However, I do attempt to somewhat break down the clinical language to everyday terms.

Chapters 2 – 5 are dedicated to teachers, students, parents, and the administration respectively.  The objective in these chapters is to spark a reflective response.  I am certain that the natural response to some things might be opposition. I will allow that.  However, we all know that the best way to solve a problem is to first understand the role we as individuals play in the problem.  I am a firm believer of a “People, not Programs” focus of improvement. 

Chapter 6 paints a picture of what has gone awry.  Again, the objective is cause the reader to reflect upon their role in the problem.  It moves from specific groups as shown in Chapters 2 – 5 to specific problems as compared to themes uncovered in the move The Wizard of Oz.

Chapter 7 is the conclusion of the book.  It explores what needs to happen next.  It is not meant to be a clinical cure.  The purpose is actually to bring all stakeholders to a common viewpoint of a simple solution, which also reveals the overarching point of the book:  Leaning not to your own agenda, but catering to the affairs of those who matter most—the students.

As I continue to actively serve as an educator, the blog is used to create a platform to continue conversations necessary to improve our education system.  Like the book, it exists to bring together all stakeholders to direct the main focus on the students.

The Underground Philosophy of Education Blog: Rationalizing Bad Behavior

In a discussion from a previous blog called Eye in the Sky, I began to process the idea of student behavior.  Some see that child behavior have fallen to an all time low, and I think there are reasons behind it.  One major problem is how some misbehavior in recent years has been labeled as a “manifestation of a disability.” To me, that rationalizes bad behavior due to a disorder.  It essence, “it is okay to misbehave because you can’t help yourself.   I believe that behavior is not a disorder, it is a dysfunction.  The two may seem synonymous, but the term “disorder” suggests a diagnosable condition caused by a natural catalyst.  A dysfunction is simply just a disruption in normal behavior; the difference being that a dysfunction is a product of choice as opposed to a natural catalyst. 

To continue reading, go to Great Black Speakers Blog.   

The Undergound Philosophy of Education Blog: Eye in the Sky

The recent incident with Karen Klein, the 68 year old bullied bus monitor, has taught us a couple of things:  1.) students are not what they were years ago, 2.)  some parents have no idea what their children actually carry on in their absence, and 3.)  drastic action must be taken to curtail such incidences, because this one stood as an example of countless others that are and have taken place. In the true Underground Philosophy fashion, I am addressing this issue in terms that should not be skipped around.  Is it a coincidence that bullying is on the rise?  Is it justified to blame media and social media?  What can we do to bring long term solutions to such problems?

To continue reading, go to the Great Black Speakers Blog.

Community and Schools

We all have heard the old adage that “you are what you eat,” but on similar terms, an idea should also exist stating that “you are where you live.” This idea reflects the concept of community, and what it means to live as a community.  The general definition of a community is “people with common ground” (Encarta Dictionary).  It can be literal in geographic terms, but it also means shared background, interests or ideas.    The latter idea stretches further to include schools in a sense that schools are generally referred to as community schools.  It is important to address this idea because of the growing discontent with public schools and the growing gap in communication between parents and school personnel.  The clearest example could be seen in the explosive conflict that was created about a year ago when renowned teacher Ron Clark posted an article on CNN called “What teachers really want to tell parents,” and the fired up response he received from parents that CNN called “Teachers v. Parents:   Round 2.” What we all fail to realize is that from the outside looking in, if we see a dysfunctional school or school system, we are not looking at individualized and unrelated causes, we only see a dysfunctional school in an equally dysfunctional community.  So while the internal battle rages on, the external perception is handed upon the community as a whole.  I take a unique perspective on this issue being that I am a transplant into this community, not being a born and raised here, and not knowing the history of the area.  When the word got out about where I received my first teaching position, some didn’t hesitate to give me some “history.”  This immediately struck me in the fact that where I was born and raised, the entire city supported all of the schools.  There was the “city” system, and the “county” system, but it was for geographical reasons only.   There were no added tags that separated the two or set precedence of one over the other.  The deeper issue lies in the fact that no matter which system one represented, there were an alarming amount of people who supported the “history.”  Let me speak clearly on what I saw, being an outsider.  I saw competition between areas, which is natural.  Healthy competition challenges expectations and calls for those involved to push to their greatest potential to be the best.  However, there were some with negative and borderline derogatory attitudes either towards the other zone, or towards their own zone.  As an outsider, I thought if you could easily put down your zone or school, you have no esteem for yourself.  People who think that their own school is bad, in a sense, is saying that they themselves are bad.  It goes without saying that comments come out of genuine protection of their own children, but part of protecting family is protecting community.  Community is the closest bond a group of people has next to family.  All families have issues.  How many people would have the routine of publically labeling their family as a “bad family” because they have issues?  The normal response is to resolve the issues while still respecting the value and integrity of your family.  Community should have a similar respect, as well as the school, with it being a community institution. Putting down the school in which your children attend only give outsiders the justification and also put down the school and the community.  In my outside opinion, if you do have issues in your community, first take personal ownership.  See if you are contributing to the problem, or the solution.  The hardest part, especially with adults, is admitting their own fault.  Next, make it a family and community effort for everyone to take a personal and internal stance on locating the issues.  The most important step is then unselfishly addressing the issues as adults, remembering that with schools, the focus is on the children; not just YOUR children, but letting all children have the same opportunities that schools present.  The added part is having pride in your school and your community.  Pride is contagious and leads to motivation.  Those things support healthy competition among areas. But, in the end, everyone will win by have thriving communities that can be sustained throughout generations. 

Old Country Road - Original Poem

Background:  This poem began in a dream about the recent car accident in which my wife and I were in.  I could here a song playing on the radio, but I couldn't remember all of the words, so I filled in the gaps.  Some of the events have been changed, but this is loosely based on the actual accident.

Old Country Road

Just as faithful as Sunday morning

But he wouldn't appear to be

Only a year out  of high school

So young and so free

Had baby already

And his lady's naive

Trying to build a family

On a hill of instability

The conversation got heated

The words started to cut

Tears started flowing

He started his truck

Put the house in his rearview

The sun in his windshield

Rushing towards freedom

Driving over the hill

Couldn't see a future

Couldn't fight the hurt

Blinded by emotion

Couldn't handle the curve

Woke up Monday morning

To a bigger burden

From picture of the accident

And the children hurting

The parents were lying

Relatives were crying

A pickup was crashing

And he was driving

On a country road

A lonely highway

Down in a valley

Looking for redemption

Speeding towards freedom

With the pedal to the metal

But where the rubber met the road

He lost control

So many lives were shattered

When the airbags deployed

And a hysterical mother

Cries for her baby boy

Rolled away on a gurney

Escorted by cops

His mind goes on a journey

As he lies there in shock

Wish he could turn back the moments

On that old country road

When he forced all his problems

On a family he didn’t know

He paid his debt and liability

And started going to church

He kiss his baby every night

And hides his keys when he’s hurt

A couple years later

Down that old country road

He was back where he started

Be he was driving real slow

As fate might have had it

He pulls to a gas station

Ran again into the family

The kids smiling and waving

They realized that they were neighbors

Just a couple driveways away

Down that old country road

That lonely highway

On a country road

A lonely highway

Down in a valley

Looking for redemption

Speeding towards freedom

With the pedal to the metal

But where the rubber met the road

He lost control

SOUTHSIDE BOOK REVIEW

SOUTHSIDE  BOOK  REVIEWS

Reviews Of Books Recently Written By Southside Authors
Compiled by:  Forrest W. Schultz   770-583-3258   schultz_forrest@yahoo.com
April 26, 2012


 Young Teacher Speaks Out on Education Today

A review of

J. Speeks (pseud.) The Underground Philosophy of Education (Kobalt Books, 2011)
                              $15.00   128 pp   ISBN-10: 0982033079   ISBN-13: 978-0982033074

Reviewer:  Forrest Schultz

     Nigel L.Walker, a young black male public school tacher, using the pseudonym "Speeks", speaks out on today's problems in public schools, problems he has experienced both as a student and now as a teacher.  These problems are not new, but they need to be continually brought up because there are continually new people coming along who need to know them.  It is also good to get fresh restatements of these problems from various viewpoints.  The term "underground" which he uses can be misleading because, frankly, almost all the analyses and suggestions the author makes are simply common sense, but then, there has always been a lot of stuff done in the schools in violation of common sense!

     The term "underground" may possibly also connote radical, but this is clearly not the case here because all the problems dealt with, while important, are surficial ones, which do not deal with the root cause, which is the failure to recognize that genuine education only occurs when a person really wants to learn, and when he sees that all subjects are inherently interesting.  Walker concludes by saying that the teacher should "instill" a desire to learn, which is not true, because everyone has a desire to learn until it is smothered by things such as textbooks which make it look like the subjects, such as physics and history, are boring and that the teacher's job is to MAKE them interesting.  The teacher's job is to SHOW that everything is interesting.  Many other radical changes are needed which are not dealt with here, such as the need to make education voluntary, not compulsory.

     What Walker does deal with, though, is well done and interesting.  His remarks on students supposing teachers are some special kind of beings is reminiscent of a comment I heard saying the same thing about the nuns teaching in parochial schools -- this student thought God dropped them down from Heaven and all they did was teach. And there is some tough stuff which needs to be noted in regard to students coming from neighborhoods which are difficult to live in, something he himself experienced as a child.  

     There are also good comments on how disruptive students misuse their intelligence -- the problem is not lack of intelligence, but using it for the wrong purposes.  And remarks on how misguided parents can disrupt schools. And so on.

     As a discussion of these kinds of things, the book is good and is recommended.

     Information is available on the author's blog http://nigellwalker.blogspot.com.  

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