This is Viewpoints for Friday, Oct. 7, 2016

Get to know the students

I applaud Charles Richardson for his column of Sunday, Aug. 7, in which he made a case for a return to the days when teachers were well aware of the social backgrounds of their students. I thought that it was spot on. Richardson mentioned that teachers often lived in the same communities as their students and therefore tended to know them much better. My response is that regardless of where teachers live, they need to be or should become thoroughly familiar with the social situations of their students. However, due to an array of demands on their time, many teachers are already overwhelmed, so this can be problematic. Therefore, I present some additional success strategies for consideration.

First, I suggest that proactive measures are taken to ensure that all involved including administrators and other staff members are able to acquire the desired awareness. Secondly, begin the process prior to the opening of school, perhaps by sponsoring a summer “Good Start” program for students and parents. Then procedures should be developed that specify how the information gathered and understandings gained from the “close encounters” with students and their parents will be used to better understand and educate students.

Fourthly, in order to provide students with a personally fulfilling “release” during the day, make every effort to get all students meaningfully engaged in at least one enriching activity such as a sport, choir or drama before leaving the school grounds. Next and corresponding to Richardson’s comment that some schools already have partnerships with social services agencies, I suggest that schools and school systems establish meaningful collaborations with local churches. In the interest of promoting student achievement school leaders will then be in a position to work church staff on how they might operate in a more “academic friendly” manner. Within the parameters of separation of church and state, the idea is to ensure that the activities for their youth are designed to promote learning and the capacity to learn.

For example, academic leaders could demonstrate to Sunday School teachers how they might use proven instructional techniques that have been shown to accomplish this feat. Churches might also be encouraged to implement enriching after-school activities, such as competitive games and debate clubs, through which they could further enhance that capacity. The inclusion of youth in the community who are not church members could become a further benefit of this effort.

Finally, I strongly suggest that every effort is made to ensure that the curriculum and instruction are more relevant to students’ cultural heritage and interests. For example, when teaching reading, English and/or literature this can be accomplished by using material that not only respects their heritage, but champions it as well. When teaching mathematics teachers could use culturally relevant problems and contexts, while teaching in culturally instructive ways, such as by using a cooperative learning classroom format. I submit that if these suggestions, perhaps along with others, were aggressively implemented and sustained amazing results in student achievement could become a reality.

Response to Friedman

New York Times Columnist Thomas L. Friedman’s near half page tirade in The Telegraph, “How could we put such a man in the Oval Office?” warrants a response even if from one who does not live in the rarified “holy land” of New York City, but in Middle Georgia, God pardon, a Southerner.

Friedman, just look into the mirror and you will see one of the reasons people will vote for this inept, flawed person as a protest to the actions of the “stale, liberal, centralized view of politics,” (your words) of recent proven flawed leaders; Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, which for too many years (my opinion) has us gripped in our present national situation, which apparently led Friedman to ask such a question.

Regardless of how inept/egregious of the actions of the aforementioned individuals, a large segment of the national ultra liberal press has chosen to ignore or minimize their resulting actions so long as the end result met the bias of what they think our country should look like. Risking the possible accusations of political incorrectness or attempts of interjecting flawed equivalencies, I must ask one of the “favored giants of journalism,” has he looked back in history and considered the Europe of the 1930s to help answer his question?

He do not provide a feeling of confidence to a reader when he says she (Hillary) “is responsible, can grow into the job.” What a fantastic affirmation, (sarcasm) as we have waited eight years for the current president to lead in accordance with existing laws and regulations, and she has said that she would continue the “policies, undefined” of Obama. He did not grow into the job, only defined it as he and his minions so desired.

There was a time in the recent past as presidential candidates were being vetted/selected that a fair media reporting news — not “making” news — could have provided valuable insight in the pre-selection process of both major political parties or an independent alternative. This precluded The New York Times from being of such public service because its history is much more suspect than, say, Fox news for fair and balanced news.

Unintended consequence

Congress has voted to override the veto of the bill to allow families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia. On the same day (not by coincidence), OPEC announced that its members would re-impose oil production quotas for the first time in eight years. That will increase petroleum prices worldwide, and will enrich Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran and (yes) ISIS at the expense of consumers in America and Europe. That is one unintended consequence, perhaps another will be an increase in domestic oil and gas production and (finally) the construction of the Keystone pipeline.

This story was originally published October 6, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "This is Viewpoints for Friday, Oct. 7, 2016."