The Black Informant | African American Commentary, News and Community Building

Okay then reality hits. The world is not made up of just young black men. The fact is we are doing these boys a disservice in the long run. They will not be prepared to deal with the reality that in the real world they are the minority and will most certainly not be catered to.

Yes I do agree that the world is not made up of all men. But on the other hand it is the lack of a positive male figure many of the boys have been missing from their lives. While school can in no way play the role of a father, I think something like this is especially needed for young boys in the primary (K-3) and part of the secondary (3 – 12) years since those are the years where children formulate their personalities, character, outlook on themselves and others the greatest. Most importantly, this is just a step in the right direction

Were is the personal responisibilty (sp). The school system barely teach our young people to read and write and now you want them to inspire. You are asking way too much.

To say that this is a disservice is just a matter of opinion. Young black males have been failing, dropping out, and just not showing up. It takes a host of things to develope a good person, but you fail the child when there are no fundamentals in place.

Being a person that attended the event, I can say that this is a step in the right direction. 149 students showed up out of 150. That’s a great start. Believe me, these young will not be catered to. The program is about focus. Two phrases that were constantly repeated were “We Believe” and “Man Up”. Boys grow up to be men, but they still need a chance. If you look at the many stats on young black males, you might want to reconsider.

As a tax payer, we should demand nothing less than some inspiration. If the teachers are not motivating the students to learn, why are they there. If that’s the thought pattern, we should close all “public” schools because we have given up on our future.

Just because some areas have failed doesn’t me we should become accustomed to failure. We need to find new ways to inspire. We need to stop being pessimistic and find solutions. I think that the Urban Prep is one way to combat one of the largest groups of people failing in this society. To not find other ways is to succomb to that failure.

Again please take a bit of the reality apple. Teachers spend the vast majority of their day as social workers and disciplinarians. A close friend of mine is a public school teacher here in Chicago and she takes bags of groceries to school each day to make sure the kids have had enough to eat because that may be the only meal they eat all day. She buys socks, underwear and winter coats for students just so they can have the basic needs. So at what point dose she have the time to teach yet alone inspire. These young boys can only get so much at school. It they are not being taught the fundamentals at home then it is a waste of time energy and yes money. I agree, please do away with the current public school system.

As much as I agree with your sentiments on the public school system, I don’t think that we can sweep charter schools on that pile. Yes charter schools are funded by tax dollars, Yes I believe that the government should have never entered the education spectrum. But we do not live in a perfect world. Charter schools were birthed out of a cry from parents for better education for their children, teachers that actually care and can be held to a much higher standard (and not just fall back on their tenure if they screw up). Another thing worth noting here is that while parents love the charter school program, teacher unions hate it–that in of itself should speak volumes.

Although I applaud the step, it is my hope that more and more parents like us will exercise their right to choose the education for their kids.

My name is Jerry Hinds and I attend Urban Prep Charter Academy. This school is very helpful it teaches us to be young men and not just your ordinary african american boy who drops out of school to sell drugs or gang bang. Our teachers(each and every last one of them) are great male rolemodels who keep us focused. So say what you want but our school is accomplishing great things that have never been done in the city of Chicago.

In my opinion, young African American males are enangered species and we must be wiling to try anything and everything to save them!

I think that it is imperative that we save our children, our future. We must do whatever it takes if it means that Urban Prep sets a positive example and helps students succeed than what is the problem!