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BASIC BLAQUE AFTER DARK 3-7-25 · DA CREW Podcast

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Speaker 1: Think ladies and gentlemen, they I have your attention please,
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Speaker 1: and the show starts in ten lie eight, seven, six, five,
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Speaker 1: four three two one go.
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Speaker 2: Hey, everybody, Welcome to Basic Black after Dark. This Joe
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Speaker 2: that meets you where you are and give you what
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Speaker 2: you ask for. I'm your hosts Black Diamond, and we
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Speaker 2: are celebrating National Reading Month tonight. We're dividing. We're diving
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Speaker 2: into the idea that readers are leaders. Throughout history, great
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Speaker 2: leaders have emphasized the importance of reading for growth, leadership,
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Speaker 2: and success. But what does that mean for our children today?
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Speaker 2: How does readings shape their mindset, expand their opportunities, and
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Speaker 2: make them better leaders? Harry S. Truman said it best.
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Speaker 2: Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers. Tonight,
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Speaker 2: I am honored to welcome a very special guests and
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Speaker 2: then right here in my studio, that's Veronica Randolph. That's right.
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Speaker 2: She is the chairperson for Readers our Leaders with Shallow
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Speaker 2: Baptist Church of Edney. She is a passionate advocate for
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Speaker 2: literacy education. She is dedicated to empowering young minds through
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Speaker 2: the power of reading. Please welcome Veronica to Basic Black
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Speaker 2: after Dark.
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Speaker 3: Hi to be here. Good to be here.
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Speaker 2: Hi, so Veronica, you are with readers? Are leaders? Can
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Speaker 2: you tell me about the show that the program and
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Speaker 2: how you got it started?
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Speaker 3: Readers our leaders at my church, Shallow Baptist Church of
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Speaker 3: edge Man. Pastor is Bishop ever Brand Me being the
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Speaker 3: person that I am, and I'm a substitute teacher in
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Speaker 3: the Baltimore County Public school system. Being in school with
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Speaker 3: the kids and listening to the kids and realizing that
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Speaker 3: the kids are having problems reading from I sub from
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Speaker 3: pre K to twelfth graders. So being with those kids,
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Speaker 3: money through money through Wednesday, being in classes with them,
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Speaker 3: listening to them, doing work with them. I see that
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Speaker 3: they're the readings. The reading levels are very.
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Speaker 2: Very love some of them are behind grade levels, Like
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Speaker 2: you may have a fifth grader that could be on
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Speaker 2: a second grade reading level. How does that happen where
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Speaker 2: a child is just pushed through and allowed to go on.
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Speaker 2: Is it because they're doing it because of the child's
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Speaker 2: age or because the school is so full? I don't.
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Speaker 3: I don't know those I don't know those statistics. I
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Speaker 3: don't I don't know those because I'm not a teacher. Okay,
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Speaker 3: I'm just a sub looking in, so me looking in
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Speaker 3: I see that these kids just don't know how to
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Speaker 3: read little words like it the was when so Me
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Speaker 3: going through those and hearing kids say, oh, I don't read.
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Speaker 3: My teacher reads for me. And I'm like, well, I
6:12
Speaker 3: need you to read for yourself, because if you never
6:14
Speaker 3: learned how to read, you'll never learn how to read.
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Speaker 3: So you can't keep having your teacher read for you.
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Speaker 3: You need to get the reading for yourself so that
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Speaker 3: you can carry that throughout your life.
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Speaker 2: Right, So it sounds like they're missing the phonics.
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Speaker 3: I do what they're missing. They maybe getting it in
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Speaker 3: may of that backstory. I just know from what I saw.
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Speaker 3: So from what I saw, I took that and I
6:42
Speaker 3: ran with it. Like I said, my bishop challenge us
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Speaker 3: to do something for the community or anything that we
6:49
Speaker 3: wanted to do, and I took that. I said, well,
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Speaker 3: let me just create something for the kids that help
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Speaker 3: them to learn how to read. So I came up
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Speaker 3: with a plan that I'm gonna just open it up
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Speaker 3: for the community, for my community. I'm gonna open it
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Speaker 3: up for my kids and my community for them to
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Speaker 3: be able to come in and just read books. I
7:12
Speaker 3: don't care well book they read. I don't care any
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Speaker 3: of that. I just need them come in and learn
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Speaker 3: how to read, so and I would take the time
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Speaker 3: and help them guide them the way that I know how.
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Speaker 3: I wasn't doing no curriculum. I wasn't doing any that.
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Speaker 3: I just need to get my kids on a level
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Speaker 3: higher than where they are.
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Speaker 2: I'm glad that you picked that kind of program because reading,
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Speaker 2: and it sounds like a pun, it is fundamental and
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Speaker 2: it's very important for them, our children, to learn how
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Speaker 2: to read and to get that foundation.
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Speaker 3: And there's so many of them that don't get that foundation.
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Speaker 2: To be able to even read beyond a third grade
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Speaker 2: reading level. I know here in this state, for some
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Speaker 2: that are adults, if they don't have an eighth grade
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Speaker 2: reading level, they don't even qualify for certain employments correct.
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Speaker 2: And that's hard because you have a just say, a
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Speaker 2: thirty year old man who can't read beyond the eighth grade,
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Speaker 2: so he can't get a job, right And I'm not
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Speaker 2: gonna use the name of a certain fast food place
8:17
Speaker 2: that he can't even get a job in there. He
8:19
Speaker 2: can't get a job in a pie Factor exactly. And
8:21
Speaker 2: that's really said that that he has to wait to
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Speaker 2: get that agent. It becomes frustrated that he can't read
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Speaker 2: or he can't work, so they try to find the
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Speaker 2: best way they can. What do you can you share
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Speaker 2: your thoughts on the impact of literacy on leadership.
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Speaker 3: Well, the impact of literacy on the leadership is significant.
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Speaker 3: It really is. The literacy leads It plays a It
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Speaker 3: just plays a critical role in that part that we
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Speaker 3: need leaders. We definitely need leaders to help. We need
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Speaker 3: people to step up and help with three. Like I said,
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Speaker 3: with the program, I opened up the program to run
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Speaker 3: from September through May. It's once a month, the third
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Speaker 3: Saturday of every month. A friend of mine a getting
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Speaker 3: a community of turner stations. Open up his church friendship.
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Speaker 3: Baptist Church pastor Donald Jones opened up his church for
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Speaker 3: me to allow kids to come in and read again.
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Speaker 3: Critical they need that. But the problem is the kids
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Speaker 3: not coming in.
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Speaker 2: So how should the parents help their children incorporate reading
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Speaker 2: into their daily routine.
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Speaker 3: If you think about how you read when you spoke
9:41
Speaker 3: when you were young, back in the day, we read.
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Speaker 3: We started reading the funny pages, the comics. We was
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Speaker 3: reading off the back of the cereal boxes, those little things,
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Speaker 3: right that started us to reading, and then I can
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Speaker 3: remember reading for myself. My dad used to come on
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Speaker 3: from work, you make us stand up from kid, give
10:01
Speaker 3: us a book, and he'll make us stand up and
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Speaker 3: read the book. It was seven of us. We all
10:06
Speaker 3: had to take a paragraph and stand up and read.
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Speaker 3: So that's how reading helped me. It started me out helping.
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Speaker 3: And I just feel as though what I know, I'm
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Speaker 3: gonna share what I know. So that's what I said.
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Speaker 2: This here is National Reading Month, and I know a
10:22
Speaker 2: lot of schools are having projects and programs regarding National
10:26
Speaker 2: Reading Month. Do you think National Reading Month is important?
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Speaker 3: I do think it's important. I think National Reading Month
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Speaker 3: should be every month. We all gotta read, we all
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Speaker 3: And I keep going back to substitute and teaching just
10:40
Speaker 3: because that's why I'm at right now. And that's what
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Speaker 3: I see when I'm in these classrooms. These kids are
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Speaker 3: not reading. There are books in there are plenty of
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Speaker 3: books in the in the classrooms, but I don't see
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Speaker 3: them reading.
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Speaker 2: I don't.
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Speaker 3: I don't see them reading their assignments. I don't see
10:55
Speaker 3: them reading out of a book like we did to answer.
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Speaker 3: But I don't. I don't see that. I don't see
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Speaker 3: reading being pushed, and it might be because, like I said,
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Speaker 3: I'm only that three days.
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Speaker 2: Those are important three days, you know, to have somebody
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Speaker 2: in there with our children. One of the things I noticed,
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Speaker 2: and some people do blame it on COVID, that since
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Speaker 2: COVID that the reading levels have went down and that
11:20
Speaker 2: a lot have contributed to mental health, which is a
11:24
Speaker 2: totally different subject, but it does impack our kids. What
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Speaker 2: do you think about the technology because a lot of
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Speaker 2: our kids are using laptops and their cell phones and
11:35
Speaker 2: they got these emojis going on and half spelled words,
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Speaker 2: like if they're talking about something, it's a few letters
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Speaker 2: instead of the entire entire thing letter. So what is
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Speaker 2: what is your take on that.
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Speaker 3: I think the technology is good because you can always
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Speaker 3: have something to read, you can always open up that technology.
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Speaker 3: Boom is something that to read. But again, we shortened stuff.
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Speaker 3: We're not completely reading things. We keep chopping it up
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Speaker 3: and making it simple, but it's not simple because we're
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Speaker 3: not getting the whole understanding and we're not making it
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Speaker 3: out to be something that we're doing. We're just losing out.
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Speaker 2: Do you prefer the physical books over digital reading?
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Speaker 3: Digital reading could be good because, like I said, they
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Speaker 3: can have it, but a physical book is something that
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Speaker 3: I have in my hand. I can open it up,
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Speaker 3: I can look at the pictures. I can figure it
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Speaker 3: out through the pictures. I can share this book with somebody.
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Speaker 3: So I do like the physical I guess that's this
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Speaker 3: old school.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm gonna stick up for old school because the
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Speaker 2: kids are not even coming home with textbooks now, right,
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Speaker 2: They're coming home with dittle paper, yes, And that's annoying
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Speaker 2: to me. I complain and I ain't fight about that.
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Speaker 2: Every year. Every year I go to my children's school
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Speaker 2: and I have to argue to give them those backbreaking
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Speaker 2: books that we used to have to carry all the time.
12:54
Speaker 2: And it was it was the thing. It was a
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Speaker 2: go to for parents because if your parent is at home,
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Speaker 2: t you they have something to reference. Yes, But now
13:03
Speaker 2: parents don't even have anything to reference. They're saying, here,
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Speaker 2: here's a piece of paper and just do the best
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Speaker 2: that you can. Who are they gonna speak to when
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Speaker 2: they can't figure out what it is? And with this
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Speaker 2: new Math, I'm at a lost. I'na be honest, I'm
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Speaker 2: at a loss with the New Math unless I have
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Speaker 2: the book to be able to reference it for me
13:22
Speaker 2: to be able to see. Oh, so this is how
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Speaker 2: you do that problem and I can help my child.
13:26
Speaker 2: And that goes the same thing with reading, because I
13:29
Speaker 2: feel as though it breaks it down for them. So
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Speaker 2: I'm one that I'm all for the books.
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Speaker 3: I'm all for the books too.
13:36
Speaker 2: I get that we can use technology maybe if you're
13:42
Speaker 2: looking up something, right, you know, looking up history or
13:45
Speaker 2: something like that. But I think that they can do
13:48
Speaker 2: away with a lot of that technology because the kids
13:52
Speaker 2: are gonna get to it anyway anyway, no matter what
13:55
Speaker 2: we think or what we do.
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Speaker 3: When they broke, just leave alone. Just let the kids
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Speaker 3: get their books.
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Speaker 2: How have social media and technology impact the children's reading habits?
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Speaker 3: I think it impacted their habits where it made them
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Speaker 3: less of doing things because first of all, everybody do
14:18
Speaker 3: have technology, but a lot of people still don't have technology, right,
14:22
Speaker 3: you know what I mean. Some people have Internet and
14:24
Speaker 3: some people don't have internet. So they see in two
14:27
Speaker 3: different types of learning here. So I just give my
14:38
Speaker 3: baby a book, let them read it, Let him read it.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, And you know, when we talk about technology, you
14:42
Speaker 2: have a lot of grandparents raising their grandchildren and a
14:46
Speaker 2: lot of them are not.
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Speaker 3: Text, saturgy, not text. And I know I'm one of them.
14:50
Speaker 2: I do have. I ain't gonna see here. I'm not
14:53
Speaker 2: gonna sit here and say that I'm one of them, either,
14:56
Speaker 2: but yeah I am. Yeah, And because I have to
14:58
Speaker 2: go to my kids sometimes to ask them about certain
15:00
Speaker 2: simple little things I would think that I would know
15:02
Speaker 2: how to do, and I just can't. And my grandchildren
15:05
Speaker 2: will come to me and say, Grandma, this, that and
15:07
Speaker 2: the other, and I'm too embarrassed to tell them that
15:09
Speaker 2: I don't know how. And they're sitting there going on
15:12
Speaker 2: like this and the thing is just moving, and it's
15:14
Speaker 2: amazing that they can do those things. But how are
15:17
Speaker 2: they going to apply that to the fundamentals of reading?
15:21
Speaker 3: Because you know, like you said, they just on their
15:25
Speaker 3: moving it. They not reading the directions as to what
15:29
Speaker 3: to do. They just taking their finger and just figuring
15:31
Speaker 3: it out how to do it. So even though the
15:33
Speaker 3: technology there, they're not reading how to do it. They
15:37
Speaker 3: just scanning and let me just try this, and let
15:39
Speaker 3: me try that. So they still not reading. They just
15:46
Speaker 3: going my memory and what someone else did and I
15:49
Speaker 3: remember she did this, and she did that. So I'm
15:51
Speaker 3: not reading as to what I'm doing. I'm just like
15:53
Speaker 3: you said, I'm just doing my memory and I'm just strolling.
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Speaker 3: So it could be helping for another skill, but reading
16:01
Speaker 3: is not because they still can't read.
16:04
Speaker 2: They're not reading, but understanding.
16:05
Speaker 3: Understanding, Yah, under that.
16:07
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a key thing. That's a pet peeve of
16:10
Speaker 2: mine for children to read something and say already, yeah, yeah,
16:15
Speaker 2: what does it mean?
16:16
Speaker 3: Yeah?
16:16
Speaker 2: I answer, well, what did they mean? Well, the guys said,
16:19
Speaker 2: and that's what I'll hear them saying, no, that's not
16:21
Speaker 2: what they actually said. And then they get frustrated.
16:23
Speaker 3: And then they get frustrated because again back to the
16:26
Speaker 3: school system with these like you said, these these dittos. Mhm,
16:31
Speaker 3: it's reading part answer questions. They just answer the questions
16:35
Speaker 3: and give me that paper. Like, I know you ain't
16:37
Speaker 3: read that that fast. You answered that too quick. I
16:40
Speaker 3: need you to go back then, I say, because I'm
16:44
Speaker 3: a teacher two hundred. I'm not a certified teacher. I
16:48
Speaker 3: ain't going to school for teachers, but I had good
16:50
Speaker 3: teachers in my life that I know how to conduct
16:55
Speaker 3: the school. When I'm in my classroom, I would go
16:58
Speaker 3: as far as okay, y'all get y'all did it. Let's
17:00
Speaker 3: read it aloud so we all can read it, so
17:02
Speaker 3: we all can hear it. I need somebody to read,
17:06
Speaker 3: not a han and go up, not a hand go up.
17:09
Speaker 3: Maybe somebody hang up in and go and then they
17:11
Speaker 3: read and then they like, I'm like, I need people
17:15
Speaker 3: read out loud. They mumbling so to me, they're still
17:17
Speaker 3: not clear as to what they're reading and listen.
17:21
Speaker 2: I'm wondering why some school systems are not picking up
17:25
Speaker 2: on that, or if they are, they're ignoring that. And
17:29
Speaker 2: then they tend to wonder why they have what they're
17:32
Speaker 2: calling nowadays ghost seats. They call them gost seats, because
17:36
Speaker 2: the children are not actually in there, but for some
17:39
Speaker 2: reason they're being accounted for us if they're in there.
17:41
Speaker 2: And I have seen it, you know on the news
17:44
Speaker 2: that they're talking about ghost seats. They're talking about the
17:47
Speaker 2: kids not actually being in the schools. These kids can't read,
17:51
Speaker 2: they cannot read, and they're shining away from that, and
17:55
Speaker 2: they're doing everything else under the sun besides what they're
17:58
Speaker 2: doing now. I My question to you is how do
18:02
Speaker 2: books help children develop empathy and understand different perspectives?
18:08
Speaker 3: It just let them see different things happening you know,
18:11
Speaker 3: each book tell a story and it sometimes it makes
18:14
Speaker 3: them go into dreaming. And a lot of kids don't
18:17
Speaker 3: dream no more.
18:19
Speaker 2: You know what I mean?
18:19
Speaker 3: As you as you read a book, it can just
18:22
Speaker 3: take you to that place where that book is nowadays,
18:25
Speaker 3: is it's not even air?
18:29
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's not even air. So how important is representation
18:33
Speaker 2: in books? Because a lot of times stuff has been
18:37
Speaker 2: taken now because I'm at the sea Jack Run phase
18:42
Speaker 2: when we started out reading. Now I'm telling my age,
18:45
Speaker 2: but see Jack Run and Sally and all of other
18:48
Speaker 2: common names. But now there's just a whole world. And
18:51
Speaker 2: I know we evolved, but I still think Jack is important.
18:56
Speaker 3: I still think Jack is important. I love me some
19:00
Speaker 3: Jack and Susan because that's how you start. I start
19:02
Speaker 3: with them little words to get to the big words them.
19:05
Speaker 3: What are they called? Sight words? And I sight words? Listen,
19:11
Speaker 3: sight words. They don't know how to spell these words.
19:16
Speaker 3: I remember being in the was in the classroom one day,
19:18
Speaker 3: I guess I can't even remember what grade left it was,
19:20
Speaker 3: but it was in the lower grade level and the
19:22
Speaker 3: teacher left an assignment for them to write a story
19:27
Speaker 3: as to where I'm at. Draw a picture and then
19:30
Speaker 3: write the story as to where you think I'm at
19:32
Speaker 3: today or whatever. It seemed like everybody once somebody said
19:38
Speaker 3: the teacher under rock, everybody did the same, made the
19:41
Speaker 3: same story. Everybody had the same picture, however it was,
19:46
Speaker 3: and anybody did Anybody just copied off the next person.
19:49
Speaker 3: They went on and went on. So and then I
19:51
Speaker 3: was like, okay, even when you finish reading me your paper.
19:53
Speaker 3: So when they brought me that paper, I don't know
19:56
Speaker 3: what to say it. But they read something. None of
19:59
Speaker 3: the words was I don't even know. That's how they
20:02
Speaker 3: saw it. That's how they saw it. But it was
20:05
Speaker 3: like and me reading it didn't say Susan was under
20:09
Speaker 3: a rock. I didn't see the word susan. I didn't
20:14
Speaker 3: see the word under, nor did I see the word rock.
20:17
Speaker 3: Like you're reading something, but I'm looking looking at it.
20:22
Speaker 3: I can't tell what you're wrote.
20:25
Speaker 2: I don't know.
20:26
Speaker 3: And everybody had the same story. It's like they they
20:29
Speaker 3: find one person to start the story, than we all
20:31
Speaker 3: do the same thing. So nobody is taking their imagination further.
20:36
Speaker 3: They're just getting stuck with one person. Or I'm all
20:38
Speaker 3: gravitate to what he said. That's why, Oh, I'll see
20:40
Speaker 3: the same thing, and I'm like, oh, y'all can't see
20:42
Speaker 3: y'all teach under rock today. Somebody had to see her
20:44
Speaker 3: in the car. Somebody have to see her. The doctors all,
20:47
Speaker 3: y'all can't see the right. But that's what they wrote.
20:49
Speaker 3: I'm not the teacher. I just went with what they said.
20:51
Speaker 3: But I did try to help them.
20:53
Speaker 2: I'm having more of a problem. I was helping my
20:55
Speaker 2: grandson do his homework and he took out a sheet
20:59
Speaker 2: of paper and I said, well, he said, that's my homework.
21:02
Speaker 2: So I'm going like this, like, well, where's the rest
21:04
Speaker 2: of it? And that's what he showed me. So I said,
21:08
Speaker 2: anybody that knows me, I'm all about the education and
21:11
Speaker 2: I'm always keeping spas. I went right into my closet,
21:14
Speaker 2: pulled out that suitcase and I got that black and
21:16
Speaker 2: white marble composition book and I said, here we go.
21:20
Speaker 2: So he looked at me and he was like grandma,
21:22
Speaker 2: and I was like, no, this is what we're gonna do.
21:25
Speaker 2: Open it up, and you know that when it's a
21:27
Speaker 2: new book, you hear that seal, you hear that crackling
21:33
Speaker 2: up the seal because it's a new book. Yes, it's
21:35
Speaker 2: the first one, and this is yours. And what I
21:37
Speaker 2: had him do is something that he didn't even know existed,
21:41
Speaker 2: and that was put a headache on his page. They're
21:45
Speaker 2: not doing that. So I told him, I said, your
21:47
Speaker 2: name goes here, your school goes there, your grade goes there,
21:53
Speaker 2: your class, and the date goes here. And he looked
21:55
Speaker 2: at me like I'm doing something foreigner, and I guess
21:58
Speaker 2: to him it is really farm because he had no
22:04
Speaker 2: idea of what I was talking. I said, now and
22:07
Speaker 2: on the second line, away from there, you put whatever
22:10
Speaker 2: the subject is. If it's English, it's English. If it's math,
22:13
Speaker 2: it's mad. I said. If your paper gets torn out
22:15
Speaker 2: for whatever reason, they know a class, they know what teacher,
22:19
Speaker 2: and they know what students, they have all that information,
22:22
Speaker 2: then your teacher knows what date you did it. And
22:24
Speaker 2: he just kept looking at me, and I said, this
22:25
Speaker 2: boy think that his grandmother is crazy, and he's probably
22:28
Speaker 2: gonna say I don't want grandma to help me with them.
22:30
Speaker 2: But then one other thing that I see that they
22:33
Speaker 2: shot away from that's cursing.
22:37
Speaker 3: Definitely.
22:38
Speaker 2: If these children, and there's no shade against this field,
22:40
Speaker 2: but if these children wanted to be doctors, they're going
22:43
Speaker 2: to be a doctor and it wouldn't be no problem.
22:45
Speaker 2: Because their handwriting, you cannot understand it. Letters is falling
22:49
Speaker 2: off the line. You got a capital letter where it
22:53
Speaker 2: shouldn't be, and it's just the spelling is horrible. I
22:57
Speaker 2: would have to take if my mother did this, and
22:59
Speaker 2: I remember but going to Catholic school, she would fold
23:01
Speaker 2: the paper in threes. You have to use no, no ruler,
23:05
Speaker 2: make the line because the paper folded in threes. And
23:08
Speaker 2: she kept those two rolls folded, and I would have
23:13
Speaker 2: to write my spelling words ten times, e yea ten
23:16
Speaker 2: times ten times. They didn't. They didn't.
23:20
Speaker 3: They don't do that. No, no spelling words. That's why
23:23
Speaker 3: kids can't spell. You talk about putting the paper. I
23:28
Speaker 3: need you to write your name on your paper, or
23:31
Speaker 3: it's just their first name. They don't even write their
23:33
Speaker 3: last name. Half of them don't even know their last name,
23:35
Speaker 3: can't spell that last name. And I'm like, they're like,
23:37
Speaker 3: why I put my last name just in cases two
23:40
Speaker 3: Johnny's in the class. I need to know what Johnny's
23:42
Speaker 3: paper this is. Oh, yeah, that do make sense? Yeah,
23:45
Speaker 3: your first and your last name you need to be
23:46
Speaker 3: on the paper. That's a problem holding a pencil. Oh
23:50
Speaker 3: my god, they got your fee. They upside down twisted.
23:54
Speaker 2: It's just so they're not using those first pencils, those
23:59
Speaker 2: big thick pencils, because I don't know that's what we used.
24:01
Speaker 3: We used them to be getting effect that show you
24:04
Speaker 3: how to hold a pencil. You know, everything is then
24:07
Speaker 3: lead pencils, stuff.
24:09
Speaker 2: That we don't do. We've had to get certain number
24:12
Speaker 2: number two number two pencils and whatnot. We had to
24:15
Speaker 2: get those in. It wasn't about those big thick erases,
24:20
Speaker 2: you know, it was just the erasing. You had a
24:23
Speaker 2: nice little pencil case. And I was looking forward to
24:25
Speaker 2: going to school back and then because I got a
24:27
Speaker 2: new book I got. Now, back at my mother's time,
24:30
Speaker 2: it would be a tablet called so we've all since
24:33
Speaker 2: but now this tablets again, but then different types of tabat.
24:37
Speaker 2: So it was like a chalkboard kind of tablet that
24:40
Speaker 2: they wrote on and then they used the rag to
24:42
Speaker 2: erase it. Now we got the blackboard line king erasing.
24:45
Speaker 2: Now they got smart boards, and these smart boards to
24:49
Speaker 2: me are not so smart because they're going by so quick.
24:51
Speaker 2: Of the teachers are just going like this and the kids.
24:53
Speaker 3: Had to go and yeah, back, I'm glad to as
25:04
Speaker 3: a SUBJECTE teacher because it allowed me to see some
25:07
Speaker 3: things that I just don't believe that's going on, and
25:11
Speaker 3: that's happening. And I'm just talking about learning. I'm not
25:15
Speaker 3: nothing else. We're gonna let that be another day, but
25:18
Speaker 3: just actually learning, because I have to give credit where
25:21
Speaker 3: credit is due. There are some awesome teachers that are
25:24
Speaker 3: still in these school still helping these kids learn, want
25:28
Speaker 3: these kids to learn, want things kids know, and they
25:30
Speaker 3: doing a great job doing it.
25:34
Speaker 2: And then took me back just now. I remember it
25:37
Speaker 2: was nineteen ninety two and I was taking a college
25:41
Speaker 2: course and while I was reading, I was standing in
25:44
Speaker 2: the hallway and I was reading something on the board
25:48
Speaker 2: and I couldn't quite see what it was, and I
25:52
Speaker 2: went to ask a woman that was standing next to
25:54
Speaker 2: me did she know what it meant or what court
25:58
Speaker 2: class this was? And when I looked at her, I
26:01
Speaker 2: just had this this look on my face and I
26:03
Speaker 2: just kept going like this, and excuse me, it is
26:07
Speaker 2: your last name, Kelly, it used to be, and I
26:11
Speaker 2: started crying, and I was crying because she had still
26:15
Speaker 2: had red hair. She was my former teacher, I'm standing
26:18
Speaker 2: there and I said, miss Kelly, of course you didn't
26:21
Speaker 2: know who I was. And I said, miss Kelly, you
26:23
Speaker 2: used to work at and I named the school and
26:25
Speaker 2: she said yes, I said, you used to be the teacher.
26:28
Speaker 2: I said, I'm gonna tell you used to teach. Everybody
26:30
Speaker 2: was scared to go to I said, but you were.
26:33
Speaker 2: She was affected. Being an adult, I can look back
26:36
Speaker 2: at it now and she was still a beautiful woman.
26:39
Speaker 2: And she was there, and she was telling me she
26:41
Speaker 2: was on sabbatical. And I'm drawing back like she's still teaching.
26:46
Speaker 2: I'm a grown woman with kids and she's still teaching.
26:49
Speaker 2: So if you're still out there, miss Kelly High, Hi
26:52
Speaker 2: High High, I wish you were still around to teach
26:55
Speaker 2: my children. If you're not teaching that that's a loss
26:57
Speaker 2: for the public school system. But yeah, I just remember
27:02
Speaker 2: her so well that I wish.
27:06
Speaker 3: That missus Kelly's was in every school school. Yeah, and
27:09
Speaker 3: there is still some Miss Kelly's and some schools. It
27:12
Speaker 3: really are some awesome teachers out there, and I deplaud
27:15
Speaker 3: them for that for what I see.
27:18
Speaker 2: I see now because I worked in a private school
27:22
Speaker 2: back home, and I worked in some schools here and
27:25
Speaker 2: the teacher that I had in the school that I
27:28
Speaker 2: worked in, this gentleman took learning to a level that
27:34
Speaker 2: I didn't think that I would ever see. And I
27:37
Speaker 2: was just another person in the class, one of the
27:40
Speaker 2: aides I guess that they would consider because it was
27:43
Speaker 2: a special school and each child in that class had
27:48
Speaker 2: like a one on one to work with them. But
27:52
Speaker 2: the way that he taught that class, and he taught
27:56
Speaker 2: the parents to be able to teach their children just
27:59
Speaker 2: by the conversations he had. Yeah, if I had not
28:04
Speaker 2: already chosen a feel, I guess I would have went
28:07
Speaker 2: into teaching because he made it in a way. And
28:09
Speaker 2: it's not that he made it fun, but he made
28:12
Speaker 2: it worthwhile and that's what made all the difference. And
28:15
Speaker 2: then when he left, I was said that he left,
28:18
Speaker 2: but I was very honored and proud of him because
28:20
Speaker 2: he opened up doors to other programs to which is
28:24
Speaker 2: still running today. And I would love to say hello
28:28
Speaker 2: to I'll say, mister Jail, I'll call him that, Hi, Joe,
28:32
Speaker 2: And I just wanted to let you know that you
28:35
Speaker 2: were and you still are a very awesome man to
28:39
Speaker 2: do the things that you did by these children. And
28:42
Speaker 2: I just can't believe it. But one of the things
28:44
Speaker 2: I'm gonna go back to some of the schools that
28:47
Speaker 2: I see they're talking about what professional development day. I'm sorry,
28:54
Speaker 2: but I don't really think that they're really doing professional
28:58
Speaker 2: development during that time they're calling it, and it's you're
29:02
Speaker 2: supposed to be in this uh having little meetings. You're
29:06
Speaker 2: supposed to be setting up your class. You're supposed to
29:08
Speaker 2: be getting certain trainings to advance yourself and advance the
29:11
Speaker 2: students and coming up with other ways that you can
29:14
Speaker 2: work with the students or whatn't. But I've been to
29:17
Speaker 2: a couple of those professional development days when I was
29:20
Speaker 2: teaching in some of the schools and they're ordering pizza,
29:23
Speaker 2: they're sitting around talking, they're just in and out, they're
29:27
Speaker 2: running errand they're doing it. I'm just sitting there working
29:29
Speaker 2: And I was like, you know, yeah, but you know,
29:34
Speaker 2: break and I get there. But that's what the summers
29:37
Speaker 2: for now. I'm a city that because my kids is
29:40
Speaker 2: in that school. But you know, and then that's when
29:45
Speaker 2: they take their break or either tutor or pick up
29:48
Speaker 2: something because that's when the kids fall too. But don't
29:52
Speaker 2: use the time that taxpayers and I hate to go
29:55
Speaker 2: down that road. And I'm not trying to agree with
29:58
Speaker 2: certain elements of so things by trying to cut education.
30:03
Speaker 2: But if that's a reason, then that's gonna be no
30:06
Speaker 2: reason because they're looking at things in a way that
30:09
Speaker 2: I and I don't agree with it. I'm not saying
30:11
Speaker 2: I do agree with cutting education because because I'm gonna
30:14
Speaker 2: fight for that, but I'm just saying, for those teachers
30:17
Speaker 2: that's not using and utilizing the professional development the way
30:21
Speaker 2: that it was meant to be, please do Yeah.
30:25
Speaker 3: Maybe maybe they just maybe they just need a little
30:28
Speaker 3: break and maybe that's not the job for them anymore.
30:33
Speaker 3: But I think, yeah, I'm gonna go with a professional
30:37
Speaker 3: study day that the teachers are doing what needs to
30:39
Speaker 3: be that.
30:40
Speaker 2: I truly hope. So maybe it was just that batch
30:42
Speaker 2: that I just.
30:46
Speaker 3: What they're doing what they're supposed to eating pizza and
30:49
Speaker 3: all because sometimes they need a break.
30:53
Speaker 2: What are some effective strategies that parents can use the
30:56
Speaker 2: balance screen time and reading time?
31:00
Speaker 3: They just gotta they just gotta figure out what works
31:02
Speaker 3: for them, because parents still have a lot on that
31:05
Speaker 3: on that plate as what Some parents work two jobs,
31:08
Speaker 3: some parents don't work, Some parents do something don't. Some
31:11
Speaker 3: parents got a lot of kids, some parents don't. Some
31:13
Speaker 3: parents gotta take it of a kid. I don't know.
31:16
Speaker 3: But they have to figure out what works for them
31:19
Speaker 3: because they have to cut the screen time off to
31:22
Speaker 3: let them read. They gotta take some time to read.
31:25
Speaker 3: That's the most important thing that I say. Kids gotta read.
31:29
Speaker 3: You gotta read to your kid. I don't care if
31:30
Speaker 3: it's five minutes here, five minutes that I don't know.
31:35
Speaker 3: That's a whole nother sit down. Let's figure something out.
31:40
Speaker 2: I know. It's some kids that they go to school,
31:46
Speaker 2: they're in school for the duration. They come out of
31:48
Speaker 2: school and you see them walking down the block or
31:49
Speaker 2: sitting on the bus, and they got something in their hands.
31:52
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, some form of technology. And of course there's
31:56
Speaker 2: some reading going on, but it's not the reading that
31:58
Speaker 2: I'm thinking that should be going on. And then when
32:00
Speaker 2: they get home, they're turning the television on and they
32:04
Speaker 2: still have that equipment in their hands, and I haven't
32:07
Speaker 2: seen the book. The book bags are going to thrown
32:09
Speaker 2: across the floor or left wherever they at and in
32:12
Speaker 2: the morning time they're picking up. And I'm gonna speak
32:13
Speaker 2: sometimes for minds because I have to yell in the morning,
32:16
Speaker 2: or I have to say no, turn the TV off,
32:19
Speaker 2: you know, and I guess from the bed auntie, the bed,
32:21
Speaker 2: grandmother or whatever. But your kids come to my house,
32:23
Speaker 2: you better bet your bippy and I'm gonna use that
32:25
Speaker 2: word that they gotta have, you know, some books in
32:29
Speaker 2: their hands, or either they're not gonna be visiting my home,
32:32
Speaker 2: those that live with me. I'm I'm a stickler for
32:34
Speaker 2: it because see, my mom always told me that that
32:40
Speaker 2: sheep skin. They can't take from you that right, no
32:43
Speaker 2: matter what they do, no matter what they changed. Once
32:46
Speaker 2: that education is in there, they can't take it from you.
32:48
Speaker 2: They can take your job and a whole bunch of
32:50
Speaker 2: other stuff, but that's a piece of paper that they
32:52
Speaker 2: can't take from it. They can literally pull it out
32:54
Speaker 2: of your hand, but the knowledge is still there. Yeah,
32:57
Speaker 2: getting on, you know. I came home from school that work,
33:00
Speaker 2: so she didn't get off to at night. But I
33:02
Speaker 2: had older ones there, older brother, you know what way
33:07
Speaker 2: you school work? Wait your book, Let me look for
33:08
Speaker 2: your book. Parents went through your book bag. My mother
33:10
Speaker 2: woked through our.
33:11
Speaker 3: Books at nighttime when she came on or whatever. They
33:14
Speaker 3: looked and they read it was stuff to give to
33:17
Speaker 3: your parents that you had it from the sign them
33:19
Speaker 3: to look at us something. Nowadays, there's nothing, nothing, it's nothing.
33:24
Speaker 3: There's nothing in on the book bags but a computer
33:26
Speaker 3: that they bring on lap time.
33:29
Speaker 2: They and there's the bags they got those any chronic
33:34
Speaker 2: days or whatever they call them, those kids is nothing.
33:37
Speaker 3: They're not doing nothing with those computers when they bring
33:40
Speaker 3: them home, unless somebody else from there on the corner
33:43
Speaker 3: using a computer for whatever reason.
33:45
Speaker 2: But a lot of those kids is on there and there.
33:48
Speaker 2: The schools are saying, well, some of the schools are
33:50
Speaker 2: saying that they can't get on these sites. These kids
33:54
Speaker 2: are on those sites. They know how to get on,
33:55
Speaker 2: they know how to use them. They they're just like
33:57
Speaker 2: they were born with a tablet in their hands. Kidding
34:00
Speaker 2: me but telling me that they're not on these sites.
34:03
Speaker 2: You can walk past a whole bunch of them in
34:05
Speaker 2: library time and you're gonna see them on YouTube and
34:08
Speaker 2: whatever else that they're on I G, Instagram, whatever they
34:11
Speaker 2: want to call these things. Facebook, they're run all of
34:13
Speaker 2: those things. They're not doing what you're doing. You can
34:16
Speaker 2: see them behind it looking at their friends doing all
34:18
Speaker 2: of this, and they're not doing what they're supposed to do.
34:20
Speaker 3: Yeah, we got to create something for our kids. You know,
34:24
Speaker 3: we have to just create something because our kids they
34:27
Speaker 3: just have to get out here and read a little bit,
34:29
Speaker 3: just a little bit. If parents figure out how to
34:32
Speaker 3: set up something for their kids. Okay, you come on
34:34
Speaker 3: from school or whatever. I need you just to read this.
34:37
Speaker 3: If you read this, then you can go play. But
34:40
Speaker 3: before you play, just read this. Yeah. It might be
34:44
Speaker 3: a little unna help you. But let's let's let's figure
34:47
Speaker 3: out something where everybody can get the same thing. Let's
34:51
Speaker 3: make an app on a on a thing.
34:53
Speaker 2: Read it.
34:55
Speaker 3: Let me hear you read it. I need to hear
34:57
Speaker 3: the words. It ain't no mumbling and ain't I need
35:01
Speaker 3: to hear you to say the word. Pronounce these words.
35:04
Speaker 3: You're not pronouncing words right, You're just saying whatever. And no,
35:07
Speaker 3: that's not it. Let's go back, start over. I have
35:10
Speaker 3: a kid read and they might be reading. I said,
35:13
Speaker 3: use your finger point to the words so you know
35:15
Speaker 3: the word what you're reading. So if you see it again,
35:18
Speaker 3: you know it. No start over and they get no.
35:21
Speaker 3: I need your start over, and they you know, they
35:23
Speaker 3: get upset. But I need you to start correct Patience,
35:27
Speaker 3: I need you to address some of this here, Patrice says,
35:32
Speaker 3: tag reading bring it back. She also says using their imagination,
35:37
Speaker 3: and she says she loves the diversity, and she says, yes,
35:40
Speaker 3: tag team read it's fun, said my house. You have
35:44
Speaker 3: to read for thirty minutes in order to play technology
35:47
Speaker 3: for thirty minutes on the weekend.
35:48
Speaker 2: That's not like that. And we all got to get
35:51
Speaker 2: on that.
35:52
Speaker 3: Yeah, and we all if we all get on that
35:54
Speaker 3: same page as parents, then we can work with each
35:57
Speaker 3: other's parents. In case I can, I can bounce off here.
36:00
Speaker 3: Let me bounce off that. Yes, that's good.
36:02
Speaker 2: She also said, Nat, thank you so much for joining us.
36:05
Speaker 2: She also says that she hates that and that she
36:08
Speaker 2: needs they need books and what happened to textbooks? They
36:11
Speaker 2: have the technology and won't read. She says, they are
36:14
Speaker 2: not own g I deal with this every day. Yes,
36:17
Speaker 2: I want to let you know that I do know
36:19
Speaker 2: Patrisea and Patrice and I'm gonna say it. You might
36:21
Speaker 2: not want me to say, but I'm gonna say. She's
36:23
Speaker 2: that black librarian that I know. And I keep saying
36:25
Speaker 2: it because growing up, we didn't have black librarians. And
36:29
Speaker 2: she knows her stuff. So you you didn't, I didn't.
36:33
Speaker 2: I will see my community in that kind of community.
36:37
Speaker 2: You didn't have no black library. Yes, And when she
36:40
Speaker 2: told me that she was a librarian, I was in
36:43
Speaker 2: awe of her telling me because I said, this is
36:45
Speaker 2: the first time I had ever met a black library. Now,
36:49
Speaker 2: somebody may say, oh, you gotta be kidding me. No,
36:51
Speaker 2: I'm honest. The schools that I went to they were
36:53
Speaker 2: not black. And not to say they weren't, they were
36:56
Speaker 2: not black librarians where I went, even when I went
36:59
Speaker 2: to high school was all African American school and it wasn't,
37:04
Speaker 2: to tell you the truth, it wasn't even what you
37:06
Speaker 2: call a librarian in there. It was you got to
37:08
Speaker 2: pull these numbers down and do all of this stuff.
37:11
Speaker 2: Because things started changing. We had read black librarians in
37:15
Speaker 2: our community. One still living today. But we will go
37:18
Speaker 2: in that library.
37:20
Speaker 3: You make a noise to get you one time, but
37:23
Speaker 3: that second time, you won't have to get off this
37:25
Speaker 3: library because I need you here ready. And they allowed
37:28
Speaker 3: us to read, and they made us read.
37:30
Speaker 2: There used to be groups.
37:33
Speaker 3: We did not play in that library.
37:35
Speaker 2: But you learned one of the other things that I
37:38
Speaker 2: have a pet peeve about and it does have to
37:43
Speaker 2: do with reading, and it's the results in the outcome,
37:45
Speaker 2: and that's the report cards. I have an issue with
37:49
Speaker 2: the grading on the report cards because I've seen and
37:53
Speaker 2: I've heard that a D is passing. That's a problem
37:59
Speaker 2: for me because if I see a D on my
38:02
Speaker 2: child's reporker, because I tell them you're only allowed to
38:04
Speaker 2: bring home one C and I really don't even want
38:05
Speaker 2: to see that. But if I see a D, the
38:08
Speaker 2: first thing I say is that D is not for
38:09
Speaker 2: D and D. And when I see that it is an,
38:14
Speaker 2: I don't care what letter they want to put behind it.
38:17
Speaker 2: It is a failure and they're given. They don't even
38:20
Speaker 2: haves anymore. They say e's and my time's was excellent.
38:24
Speaker 2: When I saw that when I first moved here, and
38:26
Speaker 2: I'm be honest, and I seen a couple of e's
38:29
Speaker 2: on my kids report and I was all happy and proud.
38:31
Speaker 2: My kid was standing there like I'm happy, not because
38:34
Speaker 2: I thought that E was excellent. And I understand why
38:38
Speaker 2: my child got to eat because they just moved here
38:40
Speaker 2: in that time and they didn't couldn't get a grade.
38:42
Speaker 2: So I'm thinking they got all e's and wasn't that.
38:44
Speaker 2: But they I had to go to the school and
38:46
Speaker 2: I had to explain it to me. I said, oh, well,
38:47
Speaker 2: my child was getting all these eas and they were
38:49
Speaker 2: telling me that the e's was not good. They weren't good.
38:52
Speaker 3: So I was I was shocked.
38:56
Speaker 2: I'm talking, but I was really shocked that it was
38:58
Speaker 2: not because I was like, what happened to the f's.
39:00
Speaker 3: You can get a C just for coming to class
39:02
Speaker 3: every day, or maybe a D. I mean, I know
39:03
Speaker 3: I've had a few D. But just come to school.
39:06
Speaker 2: You can get a D. You come.
39:08
Speaker 3: Just come to class every day. You get a D.
39:10
Speaker 3: You can get a D. Just come to class every
39:13
Speaker 3: day because you know it was your attendance, got every days.
39:21
Speaker 3: But as long as you need, as long as your
39:23
Speaker 3: D is turning into a C, that means you're progressing.
39:27
Speaker 3: But if that well no, I mean you gotta do
39:32
Speaker 3: the work. But nowadays you don't have to do the work.
39:37
Speaker 3: Some teachers ain't doing the work. They just like, listen,
39:39
Speaker 3: I don't want to hear next year.
39:42
Speaker 2: Yeah, I just and that's what they're doing. They just
39:45
Speaker 2: pushing them along.
39:46
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm sure that probably happened, but you know, my
39:49
Speaker 3: focus is on reading, a program to help out kids reading.
39:55
Speaker 2: And I went to.
39:58
Speaker 3: I went to East One when I met mister Jamal
40:02
Speaker 3: and he's giving away free books for kids to read,
40:06
Speaker 3: free books. I need people to be running in that
40:08
Speaker 3: room getting them free books. They books. Come on, parents,
40:12
Speaker 3: I need you to wake up and just take twenty
40:15
Speaker 3: minutes and focus on your kid reading this twenty minute.
40:18
Speaker 3: I ain't even gonna say thirty. Let's start at twenty.
40:21
Speaker 3: Let's just start at twenty.
40:23
Speaker 2: I'm going to keep it real. And I think some reasons,
40:28
Speaker 2: and it may not be for every situation in every
40:31
Speaker 2: family that you may have that problem with some parents
40:36
Speaker 2: is because the parents can't read.
40:37
Speaker 3: Then we need to get a reading for parents.
40:39
Speaker 2: I'm off of that too.
40:41
Speaker 3: I need everybody to read.
40:43
Speaker 2: That's my thing.
40:44
Speaker 3: I need you to read because if you can't read,
40:46
Speaker 3: you ain't doing something right. You missing out on some
40:48
Speaker 3: good stuff. You missing out on somewhere you need to be.
40:51
Speaker 3: You missing out on help with somebody. You missing out.
40:54
Speaker 3: So if you need help reading, then we need to
40:57
Speaker 3: open up the reading for the parents as well as
40:59
Speaker 3: for the children.
41:00
Speaker 2: But an idea that sounds a quin because I think
41:04
Speaker 2: some parents are so embarrassed to let their child know
41:08
Speaker 2: that they can't read the simple words that's on the
41:11
Speaker 2: paper for them. And you know all joke society that
41:15
Speaker 2: when it comes to things like that, I think people
41:17
Speaker 2: need to pay attention that the child is having difficulties
41:21
Speaker 2: in school with reading because they have no one at home,
41:23
Speaker 2: yes that can guide them in that way for them
41:27
Speaker 2: to be able to learn that, they can't shape them
41:29
Speaker 2: in that way. So for their child to pick up
41:33
Speaker 2: their phone or a tablet or a laptop and be
41:37
Speaker 2: on it. They're quiet in it either way, and the
41:39
Speaker 2: parent don't have to worry themselves or concern themselves with
41:42
Speaker 2: what's going on with the child.
41:43
Speaker 3: And that is just so unfortunate embarrassment. Come on, let's
41:49
Speaker 3: let me help. I'm gonna say, Nick, I can start.
41:52
Speaker 3: I got the kids Every third Saturday this month. In March,
41:59
Speaker 3: we won't have it because there's a lot still going on.
42:01
Speaker 3: But April and May, third Saturday of those months from
42:06
Speaker 3: twelve to three we had Friendship Baptist Church, three or
42:09
Speaker 3: seven Avenue Roth and turn the station, bring their book
42:13
Speaker 3: you want to read, and bring the children drop them
42:16
Speaker 3: off so they can bring their own book they can
42:17
Speaker 3: read any book that they want to learn how to read,
42:19
Speaker 3: or any book they want to read. I don't care.
42:21
Speaker 3: I don't care if it's a book beyond their control
42:24
Speaker 3: or beyond their thoughts.
42:25
Speaker 2: Bring the book.
42:26
Speaker 3: We can. We can teach you some words, but I
42:29
Speaker 3: need you to understand what you're reading. I just need
42:32
Speaker 3: you to start reading and knowing how to pronounce these words.
42:37
Speaker 2: So, what are some of the ways that make uh
42:40
Speaker 2: that we can make reading enjoyable and engaging for these kids?
42:44
Speaker 2: Because they figured that the kids borre so quickly.
42:46
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, that's another thing. We really need to find
42:52
Speaker 3: a way to make it fun. But at the same time,
42:57
Speaker 3: I'm making it fun, I need you to get it.
43:00
Speaker 3: Don't let it be fun and you still ain't getting it,
43:02
Speaker 3: that's a waste of time. Let's make it fun. Let's
43:06
Speaker 3: just get there first of all, let's just get there.
43:09
Speaker 3: Once you get there, we're gonna drop the elephant and
43:13
Speaker 3: we're gonna start reading words. We could just start saying words,
43:17
Speaker 3: and I need you to recognize these words. However, again,
43:22
Speaker 3: it's not school curriculum. It's just how we doing it,
43:25
Speaker 3: how you feel you're comfortable doing it that way. That's
43:27
Speaker 3: how we're gonna do it because if I get you comfortable,
43:31
Speaker 3: you will receive more because when you're not comfortable, you
43:34
Speaker 3: just shut down. So I need you to be comfortable.
43:36
Speaker 3: I need you to be open, and I need you
43:38
Speaker 3: to get the words. I need you to read to
43:41
Speaker 3: two sentences.
43:42
Speaker 2: Let's start there. What the challenge is. Do you see
43:46
Speaker 2: when it comes to getting the children excited about reading?
43:49
Speaker 2: And how does readers or leadings help overcome those obstacles.
43:58
Speaker 2: I don't know, that's honest, I don't know.
44:02
Speaker 3: I don't know. I just again my focus on just
44:07
Speaker 3: I need parents to get that children there. I need
44:11
Speaker 3: parents to be like I'm sick and tired of being
44:14
Speaker 3: sick and tired. I want my kid to do better.
44:17
Speaker 3: I want my kid to know better.
44:19
Speaker 2: I want to do better.
44:20
Speaker 3: All that, let's start.
44:24
Speaker 2: Right here.
44:25
Speaker 3: Let's start. We gotta start somewhere. We gotta stop saying,
44:29
Speaker 3: well this or well. We gotta stop making excuses that said,
44:32
Speaker 3: stop making excuses. Come. It don't cost you nothing. It's
44:37
Speaker 3: free time and it's there. We have stuff. We gotta
44:43
Speaker 3: use what we have. If it's when it's shut down,
44:48
Speaker 3: that's gonna be a problem. But now the doors are open,
44:51
Speaker 3: I need you to come through the doors. I need
44:53
Speaker 3: you to come through the door because I have plenty
44:55
Speaker 3: volunteers that want to help. I have people that want
44:57
Speaker 3: to help. I have good people that want to help,
45:01
Speaker 3: that can help your child go to the next step.
45:05
Speaker 3: But you got to bring your child there. I can't
45:08
Speaker 3: go get I can't get everybody. I need somebody to
45:11
Speaker 3: step up and say, I got five kids, Okay, bring
45:15
Speaker 3: them twelve to three and start at twelve and end
45:19
Speaker 3: of three when three o'clock come, I need you to
45:22
Speaker 3: be there to get them kids and get them home,
45:24
Speaker 3: not three or five. I need you there at three
45:27
Speaker 3: because partnership.
45:30
Speaker 2: What are your thoughts on schools? Well, Bettie, what are
45:35
Speaker 2: your thoughts on the five oh fours and I EPs
45:38
Speaker 2: because some of these kids may need them, and some
45:41
Speaker 2: of them could be misdiagnosed.
45:44
Speaker 3: Again, we need those.
45:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not.
45:47
Speaker 3: Let me just say I'm not.
45:49
Speaker 2: I'm not this.
45:50
Speaker 3: These are my opinions. I'm not certified and all this.
45:54
Speaker 3: But again, I did think when I see them in school,
45:57
Speaker 3: a lot of them kids, a lot of them kids,
46:00
Speaker 3: I think all misdiagnosed. And then the day there are
46:03
Speaker 3: all some kids that need it, and there are some
46:05
Speaker 3: kids that just need some discipline. They need some discipline. Well,
46:11
Speaker 3: some of them kids need some of them kids, Well, it.
46:14
Speaker 2: Depends on the discipline, yeah, that you're talking about. You know,
46:17
Speaker 2: I think every child should have an IEP because IEP
46:22
Speaker 2: is an individual educational plan and these children are individuals
46:28
Speaker 2: and each child learns differently than the next child. So
46:32
Speaker 2: the way that they built up i EPs, and this
46:35
Speaker 2: is my personal opinion, they're looking at children or they're
46:38
Speaker 2: targeting children that they think that have certain delays, and
46:41
Speaker 2: they're associating sometimes with ADHD, and and that big there
46:45
Speaker 2: for me is a problem because even some of our children,
46:49
Speaker 2: and I'm going off maybe a little bit, who are
46:52
Speaker 2: diagnosed with ADHD, they're misdiagnosed with ADHD because I I
46:59
Speaker 2: do some on certain subjects and I come to find
47:03
Speaker 2: in some of the things that I have discovered with
47:06
Speaker 2: that that those children really don't have ADHD as they're diagnosed.
47:11
Speaker 2: Those children were born with fast that speedo alcohol spectrum disorder,
47:18
Speaker 2: and that can show a lot of the signs of that.
47:19
Speaker 2: But when you see certain children of certain cultures, the
47:23
Speaker 2: first thing they do is want to slap them with
47:24
Speaker 2: a label and say is ADHD and then slap them
47:27
Speaker 2: on another one and that's an IEP or five oh four,
47:30
Speaker 2: and they're really not doing justice. And that sticks with
47:33
Speaker 2: that child from the moment that they slapped with that
47:36
Speaker 2: label until the moment that they they don't even graduate.
47:40
Speaker 2: They get a certificate, and that certificate is saying that
47:44
Speaker 2: you've completed the eighth grade level. But it doesn't give
47:48
Speaker 2: them the opportunity to go to college because it's a certificate.
47:52
Speaker 2: It is not a high school diploma. So parents, you
47:56
Speaker 2: are your child's best advocate when it comes to your
48:00
Speaker 2: child's education. I implore you to go to the schools.
48:05
Speaker 2: You have the right to ask for a meet and
48:08
Speaker 2: you put it in writing and within most states thirty
48:11
Speaker 2: days they have to respond in some form of fashion
48:15
Speaker 2: that they have to respond to you to let you
48:17
Speaker 2: know that they're gonna set up a meeting. But get
48:20
Speaker 2: involved with what's going on to your school. I'm telling
48:22
Speaker 2: you I do drive bys, and not the drive bys
48:25
Speaker 2: that most people may think. The drive bys I do
48:27
Speaker 2: is I go drive up to their school and I
48:29
Speaker 2: go buy the principal's office and I go in and
48:31
Speaker 2: I ask, come on, we're gonna go with my child
48:34
Speaker 2: curriculum and see what they're learning. You know, they have
48:37
Speaker 2: one of my children in school, and they was telling
48:38
Speaker 2: me that they were giving them a class to learn
48:41
Speaker 2: how to do I think it was a college prep course,
48:44
Speaker 2: and said, they don't meet that course. I got them
48:46
Speaker 2: in the college prep. Give them these classes that they
48:49
Speaker 2: need right here, and now we can do college prep
48:52
Speaker 2: on the weekends with me. I know how to read,
48:54
Speaker 2: I know how to do all the college prep, and
48:56
Speaker 2: I can take them to the college to do that.
48:58
Speaker 2: But right now, they need these fundamentals right here in
49:00
Speaker 2: the school. And we worked it out to where my
49:03
Speaker 2: child didn't have to take that course, and we added
49:05
Speaker 2: extra classes where they was able to graduate early with
49:09
Speaker 2: all the required courses that they needed, and they was
49:11
Speaker 2: able to go into college early. And that's what I
49:14
Speaker 2: do with each and every one of the children that
49:16
Speaker 2: I raise. I go to the schools and I make noise.
49:21
Speaker 2: I make noise and whatnot. I make noise. I do
49:24
Speaker 2: it at the Board of Education too, And I said,
49:26
Speaker 2: I'm sorry, you're not gonna play with my child's education.
49:28
Speaker 2: And you can play with other little things. You can
49:30
Speaker 2: play with somebody else. You can play with Timmy if
49:31
Speaker 2: you want to, but you're not gonna play with my
49:33
Speaker 2: child's education because that's gonna be a problem that you're
49:36
Speaker 2: gonna get from me, because above anything else, that's one
49:40
Speaker 2: of my pet peeves, and that's to mess with my
49:42
Speaker 2: child's education. We're gonna sit there, we're gonna talk about
49:45
Speaker 2: this together, and we're gonna open up that book. We're
49:47
Speaker 2: gonna crack it wide open. We're gonna have certain people
49:49
Speaker 2: sitting at that table because we're gonna talk about that.
49:52
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, I remember this is just I remember
49:56
Speaker 3: in the school my parents was an advocate for all
49:59
Speaker 3: of us. If it was a problem in school, my
50:02
Speaker 3: parents was at that school. If it wasn't right, they
50:05
Speaker 3: was at that school, which I applauded. I appreciate that fact.
50:09
Speaker 3: I remember on two occasions.
50:12
Speaker 1: One was for me.
50:16
Speaker 3: I wanted to go to the trade. I want to
50:17
Speaker 3: take a trade, and you fill out those papers for
50:20
Speaker 3: the trade and blah blah blah, you send that stuff.
50:22
Speaker 3: And when it came back that I wasn't selected. Well,
50:28
Speaker 3: my mother went to that school.
50:32
Speaker 2: Did what she did.
50:33
Speaker 3: Oh, I became selected.
50:38
Speaker 2: For me.
50:39
Speaker 3: She was involved, she stood for me and all that.
50:42
Speaker 3: And then at the end of the day, I was like, no,
50:43
Speaker 3: it's okay, I don't want to do it. That time, yeah,
50:46
Speaker 3: because it was at two different places and I was
50:49
Speaker 3: playing sports, I have time to get back and forth
50:51
Speaker 3: to two. But anyway, it still worked out at the end.
50:54
Speaker 3: And the second time for me is when I was
50:59
Speaker 3: twelfth grade and I was in go to school work
51:03
Speaker 3: at half a day. I was in that program October
51:08
Speaker 3: I think it was October. I still had not had it.
51:11
Speaker 3: Gotten a job from that program.
51:14
Speaker 2: Oh wow.
51:17
Speaker 3: My mother and went to that school, went to that school,
51:22
Speaker 3: talked to my teacher as to what's the problem. Why
51:25
Speaker 3: doesn't she have her job yet? Abody else?
51:27
Speaker 2: Do? I mean your job?
51:30
Speaker 3: That's when I started working for the federal government. See,
51:34
Speaker 3: because my parents was there. They went and they fought
51:36
Speaker 3: for me. They knew I was qualified for whatever I
51:39
Speaker 3: wanted to do, and they fought for me. And that's
51:43
Speaker 3: what we gotta do. We sit back and just accept
51:45
Speaker 3: oh no, that's okay, they can't do it, and we
51:48
Speaker 3: just being like, oh, okay, no, gee, let me show
51:51
Speaker 3: you this.
51:52
Speaker 2: That's my kid.
51:53
Speaker 3: You're not going to do this to my child. My
51:55
Speaker 3: child can do ABC there. I want them in that program,
51:58
Speaker 3: got in that program.
52:00
Speaker 2: That's what you call a parent that's going advocate. And
52:01
Speaker 2: you mentioned something about sports, but we have Patriice who said,
52:06
Speaker 2: the same way they take their them to practice for sports,
52:09
Speaker 2: take them to read. And that's take them to read.
52:13
Speaker 2: One of the things that I that also came to
52:16
Speaker 2: mind was that we have a lot of children who
52:20
Speaker 2: have active parents. And I understand that the parent has
52:24
Speaker 2: to work, but there's so many different programs at these
52:28
Speaker 2: schools that you can enroll your children in. And if
52:32
Speaker 2: you enroll them in these programs, you're going to see
52:34
Speaker 2: a different breed of children you are, and it's going
52:38
Speaker 2: to be so important because here's the thing. I want
52:41
Speaker 2: you to think of. Two things. You get sick and
52:46
Speaker 2: you need a doctor to wait on you. Doctor so
52:51
Speaker 2: and so can't read because they get ready to operate
52:53
Speaker 2: on you. Somehow they were pushed through. That's doctor so
52:58
Speaker 2: and so can't read. Or better yet, you're ninety years
53:02
Speaker 2: old and you need your child to help take care
53:05
Speaker 2: of you. But your child can't even read the prescription
53:08
Speaker 2: to give you the right thing that's right. So those
53:11
Speaker 2: are the ones that's our future, and you have to
53:13
Speaker 2: look beyond just I need them to be home, the babysit,
53:18
Speaker 2: their younger brother or sister, wildlife work. You have to
53:20
Speaker 2: look beyond that because you have to also look at
53:22
Speaker 2: their future as well. You can't make that as an
53:25
Speaker 2: excuse or use it as an excuse, because of course
53:27
Speaker 2: the child is going to want to stay home, right,
53:29
Speaker 2: They're gonna play, They're gonna have to do whatever it
53:31
Speaker 2: is that they should be doing, and they should be
53:33
Speaker 2: in school. You know, there's just so much that goes
53:38
Speaker 2: on in the schools that these children need to learn,
53:43
Speaker 2: but they're missing out on some valuable pieces of education.
53:48
Speaker 2: You know that rate there is. It's just it's just
53:53
Speaker 2: unbelievable the things that they will learn and the people
53:58
Speaker 2: that they can be. They missed those opportunities as far
54:02
Speaker 2: as being in school.
54:03
Speaker 3: Yeah, and it's stuff out that. Yeah, we just keep
54:05
Speaker 3: overlooking it. We just I ain't got time, Like you say,
54:09
Speaker 3: try and take them kids in them sports, whatever sports
54:11
Speaker 3: they like them to be. They and that, Oh my
54:13
Speaker 3: kid gotta play football to that, Oh my kid got
54:15
Speaker 3: gonna play baseball? How about my kid gotta read? How
54:18
Speaker 3: about these coaches and I know some of them do
54:20
Speaker 3: do this. If your grade's not right, you're not playing
54:23
Speaker 3: on the you're not playing on the team.
54:25
Speaker 2: You got me this way too, that you got a
54:27
Speaker 2: lot of them that now I'm gonna always go to
54:30
Speaker 2: the opposite because I wanted to make sure that it's clear.
54:32
Speaker 2: You have some kids that play sports and some teachers
54:36
Speaker 2: are passing them just so they can stay on their team.
54:38
Speaker 2: They just so they can stay on the team. That's
54:40
Speaker 2: for one. But what happens when your son, who's a
54:43
Speaker 2: wonderful football player get a scholarship to go to certain
54:47
Speaker 2: colleges or either drafted and they can't beat their contract.
54:51
Speaker 2: Think about that, they can't beat their contract. So guess
54:55
Speaker 2: who's being played as a fool? You all happy that?
54:57
Speaker 2: Or my son or whoever was drafted to this, that
55:00
Speaker 2: and the other. They can't read the contract and tell
55:02
Speaker 2: you too, you can't either. All you're doing to see
55:05
Speaker 2: that my son was promised a million dollars after seven
55:09
Speaker 2: years of playing, when they could have got that million
55:12
Speaker 2: dollars after one year of playing. But you didn't read
55:16
Speaker 2: that contract. You saw it was that million dollars and
55:18
Speaker 2: you knew that your son was a millionaire. We just
55:19
Speaker 2: got taxes is going to hit them, and then what
55:21
Speaker 2: we gotta do better. We gotta want all. We gotta
55:24
Speaker 2: do better.
55:25
Speaker 3: We gotta help. We gotta go back to helping each other.
55:27
Speaker 3: Let's just help each other.
55:29
Speaker 2: That's how your community grows.
55:31
Speaker 3: Yeah, we gotta help each other.
55:32
Speaker 2: That's how your community grows. Well, Veronica, how can parents,
55:37
Speaker 2: educators and community members support the mission of readers or leaders.
55:41
Speaker 3: By bringing your kids?
55:43
Speaker 2: That's all it is. That's the first start.
55:45
Speaker 3: Sign them up, bring your kids again and run from
55:48
Speaker 3: September to May. Now, that's just how I started it,
55:53
Speaker 3: just from the school year. I don't know what God
55:55
Speaker 3: gonna allow me to do after that. And and if
55:58
Speaker 3: he allowed something bigger, that's what we're gonna do.
56:02
Speaker 2: We need, we need the kids.
56:04
Speaker 3: We we we just that's the first start again. So
56:09
Speaker 3: let me just let me just yeah, okay, let let
56:11
Speaker 3: me go back a little bit. And so how where
56:13
Speaker 3: it started? My church, fish, My whole head just went
56:24
Speaker 3: that he's gonna have to have.
56:25
Speaker 2: Something to because I'm gonna say, she forgot your name,
56:29
Speaker 2: she forgot your name, and.
56:33
Speaker 3: Shallow and me and Maryland Bishop, oh grow Brown, I'm
56:39
Speaker 3: gonna tell he came up with me, came up with
56:43
Speaker 3: us to challenge us to do something which I did.
56:47
Speaker 3: I presented readers or leaders because I want to help
56:50
Speaker 3: kids read.
56:52
Speaker 2: Friendship.
56:52
Speaker 3: Baptist Church pastor Donald Jones opened up his church for
56:56
Speaker 3: me to go in with the kids. So that's how
57:01
Speaker 3: we got started. And I was running it from September
57:04
Speaker 3: to May, third Saturday of each month from twelve to three.
57:10
Speaker 2: Come and read.
57:11
Speaker 3: Let me help you all it is. The help is there.
57:14
Speaker 3: I need you to come and get the help. That's
57:17
Speaker 3: all it is. And I just need kids to come in,
57:20
Speaker 3: parents to bring them and the parents. If you need help, hey,
57:23
Speaker 3: we got somebody that can help you too. We were
57:26
Speaker 3: not judging nobody, were not looking down on anybody. We
57:30
Speaker 3: want our kids to know how to read. So that's
57:35
Speaker 3: how I need your help. Come sign up and you
57:37
Speaker 3: can my phone number. I can give out my phone number.
57:39
Speaker 3: It's four four to three six' five three one nine sixty.
57:44
Speaker 3: Six that's four four three six five three one nine sixty.
57:51
Speaker 2: Six you can call.
57:52
Speaker 3: Me ask me any. Questions how CAN i. Help i'll
57:56
Speaker 3: do my best to do WHATEVER i. Can that's the first.
57:58
Speaker 2: Step, ronica thank you so much for being a guest
58:01
Speaker 2: On Basic black After. Dark thanks by sharing your insights
58:05
Speaker 2: and passion for. Literacy we truly love your tenacity and
58:10
Speaker 2: bringing this to the. FOREFRONT i appreciate you for sharing
58:13
Speaker 2: the incredible work being done Through readers Of. Leaders before
58:16
Speaker 2: we wrap, up you share with Them readers Of leaders
58:20
Speaker 2: and your support and your mission and how they can
58:22
Speaker 2: contact you if you love this conversation and want your
58:25
Speaker 2: chosen to be. Leaders remember knowledge is, power but applied
58:29
Speaker 2: knowledge is. Leadership keep, reading keep, growing and keep, leading
58:34
Speaker 2: and of course be sure to, like share and subscribe
58:37
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59:08
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59:09
Speaker 3: Night.
59:11
Speaker 1: Hi