I enjoyed the show, liked Dr. Cherry, and am very interested in all the topics he and Dr. Loury discussed. I have found in my work that people who are highly motivated to change their behavior do so incrementally most of the time. That is how change happens in human beings with respect to managing their own lives, changing entrenched habits, and improving self-evaluations.
I am not highly familiar with scholarly work on multigenerational poverty, but what I understand is that there is considerable inertia to cultures of that kind. Creating change in habits, or more so, motivation to improve habits, is more difficult than it is in more affluent communities. Belief that change is possible, that one's own efforts will cause it, and that the outcomes of the changes will be worth the effort is not necessarily present
I think that Dr. Cherry's approach to the social problems of poor black neighborhoods makes a lot of sense. I agree that when motivation may be in short supply it could be helpful to build up a scaffold of small successes.
One question I always have about such proposals is, "How many times have approaches like Dr. Cherry's already been tried, and what was the outcome?" I think it is dysfunctional to try one program after another unless we track the results and use them to refine our approach to social needs and problems. It is also very expensive, and not worth the investment if young black men aren't doing better vocationally and financially as a result. The description of his book suggests that Dr. Cherry reviewed the history of previous social initiatives designed to assist black families, and I will look forward to reading it.
I haven’t read the book. Hopefully, he points out programs already working to improve the situation. I work with an organization that focuses on children in high risk situations (poor parenting skills and poor school performance). In an amazingly short period of time, children improve math and reading scores dramatically. Dr. Cherry seemed more focused on blaming Liberals than pointing out programs that worked.
We saw schools built after enslavement, followed by colleges. Marva Collins was considered a wizard. Children are eager to learn. The question is what societal pressures are being put in place to discourage learning. What I see from Conservatives is rejoicing over the failure of public schools in Black neighborhoods. Putting Betty DeVos as head of the Department of Education did not send a signal that Conservatives were being serious when it came to educating Black children.
Grandparents are playing a larger role in raising children. A different set of programs will be needed to help them address life in a digital world. The children are starved for affirmation. Once they feel valued, they can excel.
I was wondering how much of your success is related to the personal relationships you form with the kids. I am very interested in hearing more about what you are doing, and what specific interventions you think may be helpful to the kids.
In my therapy practice I see situations in which grandparents are providing most of the care and structure for kids whose parents are addicted or not willing/able to take on parental responsibilities. I think the kids still suffer from neglect and rejection from the parents, but they benefit from the stability, love and wisdom of the grandparent (s). There is research showing that when kids have at least one caring adult in their lives, within or outside of the family, their future health, mental health, and education outcomes improve.
I am not a therapist. I am a sponsor and board member. The real work is done by fee program director, teachers, and volunteers from a group, AmeriCorps.
The program won national and international awards. The results of instilling a sense of worth is amazing.
From where I sit, people keep trying to reinvent the wheel. There were successful schools prior to integration. Ask elders about Dunbar High schools in multiple cities and you will hear about how they created scholars. When integration came, great teachers were moved to white schools or fired. Black principals lost jobs.
Now we have DeVos, Rufo, Governors DeSantis and Abbott trying to destroy the education of Black children. We don’t expect Democrats or Republicans to fully address public education, but the Republican contempt for Black students is palpable. Instead of addressing problems, Republicans and Conservatives divert to nonsense like fringe groups suggesting math is racist. Conservatives are never going to be allies when it comes to education.
The segment with Dr. Cherry suggests he is going to repeat practices done in the past in the Black community. He is going to pretend that he has found something new and magical that”owns the Libs”. Black students have been failed by the powers that be, Liberal and Conservatives. Dr. Cherry saves his barbs for the “Left”.
I am interested in finding solutions to problems. Teaching kids to read shouldn't be an insurmountable obstacle.
What I have seen locally is that when problems are politicized there can be a huge wave of support followed some time later by a discard of a program, whether it worked or not.
I am really glad to hear about the success of the program you work with. It must be incredibly rewarding for you to see children blossoming! Thank you for sharing some good news about what people can do when they put their hearts in their work.
I agree! Both the liberals and conservatives have failed Black folks. At the end of the day, Black people need to solve their own problems or become a permanent underclass. The [buffer class] is exponentially growing and increasingly distracting from seriously addressing the benign neglect of Black folks. Black mass prison incarceration creates lucrative benefits for whites and other minorities.
I enjoyed the show, liked Dr. Cherry, and am very interested in all the topics he and Dr. Loury discussed. I have found in my work that people who are highly motivated to change their behavior do so incrementally most of the time. That is how change happens in human beings with respect to managing their own lives, changing entrenched habits, and improving self-evaluations.
I am not highly familiar with scholarly work on multigenerational poverty, but what I understand is that there is considerable inertia to cultures of that kind. Creating change in habits, or more so, motivation to improve habits, is more difficult than it is in more affluent communities. Belief that change is possible, that one's own efforts will cause it, and that the outcomes of the changes will be worth the effort is not necessarily present
I think that Dr. Cherry's approach to the social problems of poor black neighborhoods makes a lot of sense. I agree that when motivation may be in short supply it could be helpful to build up a scaffold of small successes.
One question I always have about such proposals is, "How many times have approaches like Dr. Cherry's already been tried, and what was the outcome?" I think it is dysfunctional to try one program after another unless we track the results and use them to refine our approach to social needs and problems. It is also very expensive, and not worth the investment if young black men aren't doing better vocationally and financially as a result. The description of his book suggests that Dr. Cherry reviewed the history of previous social initiatives designed to assist black families, and I will look forward to reading it.
I haven’t read the book. Hopefully, he points out programs already working to improve the situation. I work with an organization that focuses on children in high risk situations (poor parenting skills and poor school performance). In an amazingly short period of time, children improve math and reading scores dramatically. Dr. Cherry seemed more focused on blaming Liberals than pointing out programs that worked.
We saw schools built after enslavement, followed by colleges. Marva Collins was considered a wizard. Children are eager to learn. The question is what societal pressures are being put in place to discourage learning. What I see from Conservatives is rejoicing over the failure of public schools in Black neighborhoods. Putting Betty DeVos as head of the Department of Education did not send a signal that Conservatives were being serious when it came to educating Black children.
"In an amazingly short period of time, children improve math and reading scores dramatically"
This is good to hear!
"The question is what societal pressures are being put in place to discourage learning."
Yes! It is obscene that our society is accepting increasing levels of illiteracy.
Grandparents are playing a larger role in raising children. A different set of programs will be needed to help them address life in a digital world. The children are starved for affirmation. Once they feel valued, they can excel.
I was wondering how much of your success is related to the personal relationships you form with the kids. I am very interested in hearing more about what you are doing, and what specific interventions you think may be helpful to the kids.
In my therapy practice I see situations in which grandparents are providing most of the care and structure for kids whose parents are addicted or not willing/able to take on parental responsibilities. I think the kids still suffer from neglect and rejection from the parents, but they benefit from the stability, love and wisdom of the grandparent (s). There is research showing that when kids have at least one caring adult in their lives, within or outside of the family, their future health, mental health, and education outcomes improve.
I am not a therapist. I am a sponsor and board member. The real work is done by fee program director, teachers, and volunteers from a group, AmeriCorps.
The program won national and international awards. The results of instilling a sense of worth is amazing.
From where I sit, people keep trying to reinvent the wheel. There were successful schools prior to integration. Ask elders about Dunbar High schools in multiple cities and you will hear about how they created scholars. When integration came, great teachers were moved to white schools or fired. Black principals lost jobs.
Now we have DeVos, Rufo, Governors DeSantis and Abbott trying to destroy the education of Black children. We don’t expect Democrats or Republicans to fully address public education, but the Republican contempt for Black students is palpable. Instead of addressing problems, Republicans and Conservatives divert to nonsense like fringe groups suggesting math is racist. Conservatives are never going to be allies when it comes to education.
The segment with Dr. Cherry suggests he is going to repeat practices done in the past in the Black community. He is going to pretend that he has found something new and magical that”owns the Libs”. Black students have been failed by the powers that be, Liberal and Conservatives. Dr. Cherry saves his barbs for the “Left”.
I am interested in finding solutions to problems. Teaching kids to read shouldn't be an insurmountable obstacle.
What I have seen locally is that when problems are politicized there can be a huge wave of support followed some time later by a discard of a program, whether it worked or not.
I am really glad to hear about the success of the program you work with. It must be incredibly rewarding for you to see children blossoming! Thank you for sharing some good news about what people can do when they put their hearts in their work.
I agree! Both the liberals and conservatives have failed Black folks. At the end of the day, Black people need to solve their own problems or become a permanent underclass. The [buffer class] is exponentially growing and increasingly distracting from seriously addressing the benign neglect of Black folks. Black mass prison incarceration creates lucrative benefits for whites and other minorities.