A Framework for Understanding Poverty

A Framework for Understanding Poverty

Interview with Ruby Payne w/ audio,articles ,and other resources:

"From this page, you can listen to the interview online or download the content to your drive to listen offline with iTunes on the Mac or your favorite MP3 player on any platform. You can even transfer the audio to portable listening devices such as the iPod, thus extending your opportunity for professional growth to wherever and whenever it is most convenient."

MSNBC - How well do you know MLK?

MSNBC - How well do you know MLK?
How well do you know MLK?
Take a quiz on the slain civil rights leader

Use the link above to take the quiz.

BAW: Foundation - Main

BAW: Foundation - Main

The Tom Joyner Foundation

The Tom Joyner Foundation only does one thing…it helps students continue their education at Black colleges. All too often a student will get into college, then encounter financial difficulties that will force them to drop out. The Foundation provides money directly to the Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) for the purpose of helping these students complete their education.

Each month the Tom Joyner Foundation designates an HBCU to receive its support. The scholarship support money is sent directly to the HBCU for the students. The scholarships are awarded to the students through the Financial Aid Department at the HBCU based on financial need and other requirements from the school and the donor.

Now, the Tom Joyner Foundation has teamed up with the National Education Association (NEA) to help tomorrow's teachers. The Foundation and NEA are offering financial assistance and professional development assistance to help teachers who are working under provisional certification and teacher candidates.

AAME : Home

AAME : Home

The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture's new web site on 400 years of black migration seeks to teach visitors about the profound impact blacks have had on American culture and history. The site includes thousands of pages of text, photographs and maps about the international and domestic migration patterns of 35 million blacks and their ancestors.

TV Program on Slavery

TV Program on Slavery

Coming to PBS on Feb. 9th and the 16th from 9PM to 11PM is the four part series Slavery And The Making Of America, produced by Dante James, and narrated by Morgan Freeman. Dante is an incredible filmmaker who has produced many award winning films, among them biographies on Marian Anderson and A. Philip Randolph. He worked with the late great filmmaker Henry Hampton at Blackside and was the executive producer of Hampton's last series This Far By Faith: African American Spiritual Journeys.

Slavery And The Making Of America tells the story of slavery from the point of view of the enslaved. The series recognizes the strength, humanity and dignity of the enslaved and redefines them as pro-active freedom fighters not passive victims.

There are also two web sites for the series they are www.pbs.org/slavery and www.slaveryinamerica.com

Maryland second in AP scores; Virginia school on top - The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - January 26, 2005

Maryland second in AP scores; Virginia school on top - The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - January 26, 2005
"Significant performance gaps between white, Asian and traditionally underserved minority students call for ongoing efforts to invest in the preparation of students in their middle school and early high school years, helping them sequentially develop the skills and content mastery needed to succeed in the college-level AP courses," the report said.
Black students comprise just 6 percent of all AP students nationally, although they are 13.2 percent of the total student population. Hispanics, representing about 13 percent of all students, are also about 13 percent of students in AP classes. Asians, with 5 percent of the student population, have twice that percentage in AP. Whites, 68 percent of all students nationally, represent 65 percent of AP participants.
Asians led all students in academic performance with a mean grade of 3.04 on AP exams last year, the report said. Whites scored a mean grade of 2.99, Latinos 2.6, and blacks 2.03 — almost a full point below the national average of 2.9.
"Efforts of states are paying off," the report said. "Thousands more African-American, Latino, and Native American students demonstrated college-level mastery of AP courses in 2004 than were doing so four and eight years ago."
But although Hispanic students are making big strides in both participation and performance, less than half of all black high school students in 41 states are taking AP courses, the report says.

Use the link above to read the full story.

baltimoresun.com - Motivating black males to learn

baltimoresun.com - Motivating black males to learn: "If black males are to succeed in school, their parents must push them academically, develop relationships with their teachers and surround them with people with positive values, according to an Atlanta-based education consultant.

Use the link above to read more.

Decoding Why Few Girls Choose Science, Math (washingtonpost.com)

Decoding Why Few Girls Choose Science, Math (washingtonpost.com): "The issue has new relevance since Harvard University President Lawrence H. Summers roiled the academic world last month by suggesting that the country's shortage of elite female scientists might stem in part from 'innate' differences between men and women. Critics accused him of saying that women are not genetically capable of doing math and science as well as men; Summers said he was misunderstood."

Use the link above to find out more.

ADAgame | Index

ADAgame | Index

This free, online game is available to play at anytime and simulates how advocacy can promote positive changes in communities. Players take on the role of advocates for disability rights and work together to improve compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in their virtual communities.

Misunderstood Minds | PBS

Misunderstood Minds | PBS

Companion site to the PBS special on learning differences and disabilities. Many interactive activities.

CNN.com - Wealth gap seen as top civil rights issue - Jan 17, 2005

CNN.com - Wealth gap seen as top civil rights issue - Jan 17, 2005

Forty years after the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and decades after the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. made strides in racial equality, America remains split along racial lines -- divided by the color green.

Use the link above to read the entire article.

Dolls Based on African-American Heroines Harriet Tubman and Bessie Coleman Available from Girls Explore(TM)

Dolls Based on African-American Heroines Harriet Tubman and Bessie Coleman Available from Girls Explore(TM): "# BASKING RIDGE, N.J., Jan. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Life-like, bendable 12' dolls based on the inspirational African-American role models Underground Railroad heroine Harriet Tubman and Bessie Coleman, America's first female black pilot, are available from Girls Explore(TM).

The Girls Explore line of dolls highlights exceptional female role models, each doll accompanied by a hard-cover biography. See http://www.girls-explore.com

'True stories of courage, gusto and determination can encourage girls to reach for the stars, and explore their own limitless possibilities,' says Girls Explore founder and CEO, Ms. Randy L. Allen.

Harriet Tubman achieved fame by leading hundreds of slaves to freedom in the 1850s, helping them navigate a series of safe houses known as the Underground Railroad.

Bessie Coleman attained a pilot's license in France when no American flight school would accept a black female. 'Queen Bessie' gained fame in the 1920s performing tricks at air shows, lecturing, and by opening a flight school that did not discriminate.

'More than ever, young African American girls need and deserve real role models,' said Antoinette D. Wright, President and CEO of the DuSable Museum, Chicago, Illinois, which carries the reality dolls in its gift shop. 'Black History Month is the perfect time to celebrate trailblazing black women who led rich and varied lives.'

Although Harriet Tubman was an illiterate runaway slave, she used her gritty determination to become known as the 'Moses of the colored people.' Over and over again, she outwitted authorities and guided over 100 slaves to freedom during her 19 courageous return trips to the South. Slave owners offered thousands of dollars for her capture, but Harriet always eluded them, ensuring her legacy.

Born in rural Texas in 1892, Bessie Coleman became fascinated by planes while reading about the air war in Europe. She was the first African-American to earn an international pilot's license. She had to master French, scrape together money, and travel to Paris to realize her dream. Ultimately, Coleman helped other women and African Americans overcome poverty, prejudice and injustice. Thousands mourned Coleman's death in 1926.

Each Girls Explore doll set sells for $65 and is available at http://www.girls-explore.com. A portion of the company's profits supports girls' education and the advancement of women in all fields.

"

HoustonChronicle.com - At Home: Spanish games added to market

HoustonChronicle.com - At Home: Spanish games added to market: "Hola! The golden oldies of children's educational products have gone bilingual.


After 25 years in the business, School Zone Publishing just released a new series of flashcards, workbooks and software in Spanish and English. It's a smart move, acknowledging the large and rapidly increasing Hispanic population in the United States.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic community is the nation's biggest minority, numbering 38.8 million people in 2002. Texas has the second-largest Hispanic population in the country after California.

'School Zone is good at listening,' CEO Jonathan Hoffman says. 'We heard the need of many schools and parents for Spanish educational products. By making our workbooks, flashcards and software both Spanish and English, we hope to better serve this country's fastest growing population.'

Use the link above to find out more.

Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Launches Online Multilingual Math Glossary

Glencoe/McGraw-Hill Launches Online Multilingual Math Glossary: "Company responds to booming growth in population of English language learners

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Education's data speaks for itself: The number of English-language learners (ELL), now estimated at 5.5 million, is growing at an explosive rate. In fact, this population increased by 95 percent from 1992 to 2002. That growth is particularly pronounced in states like California, where one out of four students is an English- language learner. As a result of that growth, there are more students than ever who need special resources to help them learn. Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, the nation's leading provider of secondary school electronic and print products and services, is responding to this need by launching an online multilingual glossary specializing in math terminology, at http://www.math.glencoe.com/multilingual_glossary."

Use the link above to learn more about this free internet resource.

NEA: NEA Today January 2005

NEA: NEA Today January 2005:

Closing the Gap

"In 2003, 75 percent of white fourth-graders showed competency in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), compared with 44 percent of Hispanic fourth-graders and 40 percent of Blacks.

But race isn't the only issue. If their parents have time-shares and nannies, kids are much more likely to score better than their poor peers. Last year's NAEP scores showed just 45 percent of fourth-graders eligible for free or reduced-price lunch were competent readers, compared with 76 percent of their wealthier classmates.

Then there are the other gaps: girls are better readers than boys, but girls often trail boys in secondary math and science. Special education students, even with testing accommodations, often are outscored by regular classmates."

Use the link above to read the entire article.

MSNBC - Blacks dying for lack of health care

MSNBC - Blacks dying for lack of health care: "More than 886,000 deaths could have been prevented from 1991 to 2000 if African Americans had received the same care as whites, according to an analysis in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health. The study estimates that technological improvements in medicine -- including better drugs, devices and procedures -- averted only 176,633 deaths during the same period."

Reduced access to health care doesn't account for all the racial disparity in preventable deaths. Blacks have greater incidence of some diseases; some of this greater morbidity results from education, income level and environment as well as access to health care. The challenge, the authors said, is to deliver the same quality health care to everyone, despite these factors.

Use the link above to read more.

Yahoo! News - What's in a Racial Identity? American Latinos All Over the Map, Study Finds

Yahoo! News - What's in a Racial Identity? American Latinos All Over the Map, Study Finds: "The analysis of Census data and recent surveys is perhaps the most detailed in a relatively new field of research on how Latinos adapt to the rigid racial categories they encounter in the United States. It is the first to probe the differences between Latinos who consider themselves white and those who say they are of some other race.

In many Latin American countries, race is a flexible concept and can change with a person's status in society. Historical and contemporary evidence shows that a Latin American strain of racism favors lighter-skinned over darker-skinned people, but as an old Caribbean proverb says, 'Money bleaches.'

In the United States, Latinos are an ethnic group made up of people of different races, often mixed, and with a variety of ancestral homelands. In the 2000 Census, they mainly selected two racial categories to describe themselves. Forty-eight percent identified themselves as white, and 42% chose 'some other race.'

Latinos who perceive themselves as white appear to feel that their place in American society is more secure, the report found."

Use the link above to read more.

MSNBC - African Americans getting by, not ahead

MSNBC - African Americans getting by, not ahead: "Even as African Americans and other minorities have made economic progress in the last 40 years, many of those reaching the middle-income rung are finding it a hollow promise. In earlier decades, a union-protected factory worker or government employee earning such a wage could expect a comfortable life with company-provided health and retirement benefits, and perhaps enough money for indulgences such as the occasional new car.

Now, though, blacks and other minorities reaching the economic middle find the ground shifting."

Use the link above to read more.

USATODAY.com - Pay closer attention: Boys are struggling academically

USATODAY.com - Pay closer attention: Boys are struggling academically: "Girls are taking the nation's colleges by storm. They're streaming to campuses in greater numbers, earning better grades and graduating more often. The same phenomenal success shows in high schools, where girls dominate honor rolls, hold more student government spots and rake in most of the academic awards."

Use the link above to read more.

aha! Process, Inc.

aha! Process, Inc.

Dr. Ruby Payne

Ruby has been involved with education since 1972 as a teacher, principal, consultant, and administrator. The lessons learned during those years are the bedrock on which aha! Process, Inc. has been built. Her first book, A Framework for Understanding Poverty, is a powerful tool for educators to use when dealing with children from poverty.

In her book, Ruby discusses the hidden rules that govern how each of us behaves in our social class. Those rules, because they are hidden and only known to those within the group, prove to be a major stumbling block for individuals trying to move to a new social class. Students from poverty often languish in classrooms run by members of middle class because those are the rules that govern.

Ruby has developed this message for seminars and workshops as well. Speaking to approximately 200 groups a year, Ruby is working to spread the word throughout North America that children of poverty need not suffer through an educational system oblivious to their needs. More than educators are heeding her message. Judges, social workers, ministers, community leaders and health professionals are all learning from Ruby's work.

Dr. Payne will be in our area in January. Please use the link above to find out how to register for her upcoming Baltimore session.

Baltimore, Maryland January 20-21, 2005 (800) 955-6905 $225