Sharp or Shoddy

I never really considered myself to be superficial - I never judged a person by their outward appearance - whether shoddy or sharp. It has been my experience that the person who is sharpest on the outside is shoddy in the inside and vice versa.

Yesterday, one of our black male students was scheduled to attend a luncheon and receive an award from the Penn State. The invitation instructed him to "come dressed professionally in a suit and tie". Well, not only did this well-deserving student not have a suit and tie, he had no parental support and didn't want to attend.

Well, once we got past the lack of parental support (which was no easy task - he was deeply hurt that his mother didn't make a big deal about this major achievement), we had to deal with the issue of his outer appearance. We all told him he looked fine. He was in uniform, which included high top converse sneakers, but hey, he looked good to us because we knew his character. After we all scampered around, making phone calls and pulling our resources together to try and get him the type of outfit he wanted, he finally decided that he looked fine.

I escorted him to the luncheon which was a wonderfully inspirational experience for him - and for me. When we left, he finally admitted that after all that, he really was glad that he came.

So, when I got home and looked at my little measly paycheck, I smiled. Knowing that I made a difference in someone's life is priceless.

Peace and Love.

THIS INFORMATION MAY NOT BE CAMPATIBLE FOR YOUR ACCOUNT TYPE

I often receive an anonymous text saying "THIS INFORMATION IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR YOUR ACCOUNT TYPE." So I thought I'd finally put some use to it and use it as a title.

Someone recently asked me if I had ever practiced any religion other than Christianity. I've always been pretty open-minded. Even in my quest for a religious experience, I've studied "all kinds of cult sciences, astrology, mysticism, world religion and so forth ya dig? And like ah, coming from a hip place all these things help because they give you an insight to your inner self - have mercy." LOL - Some of you may catch on to that one.

But seriously though, during my quest for spirituality, I've tried Catholicism, AME, SDA - but still felt that empty void in my life. It wasn't until recently that I tried JESUS! Now I understand what my grandmother and the songwriter meant when they said "Can't nobody do you like Jesus!!!

Now, like I said in the title of this post: THIS INFORMATION MAY NOT BE COMPATIBLE FOR YOUR ACCOUNT TYPE. You may not believe in Jesus or you may be a buddhist or and atheist or whatever, so at this point maybe you should just stop reading.

So, as I was saying. To some degree I've followed religious traditions and doctrine practically all my life. But when I personally experienced the love of Jesus, it's just indescribable - because it's truly incomprehensible for us to fully understand, but I do understand that it is real!!!

BLOGGING FOR LIFE

Some students have asked me why I write this blog. I told them - because I can. Sometimes I think that if I don't write, I might just whither away. I also enjoy exercising my right to freedom of speech and living out my fantasies of being a real journalist.

And contrary to what some have said, blogs are not a reliable source of news and information - blogs are simply one person's view on the news - not to be confused with professional journalism.

TWO OF RANDOLPH'S TEACHERS AWARDED

Teachers efforts often go unnoticed and unappreciated. I am proud to write that two of the teachers at Randolph have been recognized for their teaching methods.

Laura Jacklin one of Randolph's English teachers, plays a critical role at the school, in and out of the classroom. She allows her English students the freedom to learn in the style that suits them best and instills in them the discipline they need to develop lifelong skills to succeed. On Saturdays she works with the Rising Stars organization, which helps basketball players develop their academic skills.

Click on her name to link to a very insightful paper that she wrote entitled "Looking Through Others’ Eyes-Literature and the Double Self in the 20th Century".

Dwayne E. Frazier, a teacher in the Fire Academy, was honored last month as the "Outstanding New Career and Technical Education Teacher". This honor was bestowed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education during their annual Career and Technical Education Week in Harrisburg. Randolph was among one of four schools, STATEWIDE, singled out at an "Outstanding Career and Technical Education High School.

Mr. Frazier if the founder of the Philadelphia Legacy League, an organization that incorporates black history lessons with basketball.

Although these were the only two teacher who were honored, Randolph has many great teachers and role models.

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES

The older I get, the more I never want to ask anybody to do anything for me. I'm like James Brown "I don't want nobody to give me nothin' - open up the door, I'll get myself." I forget what song that lyric comes from, but that's how I feel...today. LOL

Now, just last night I felt like I wanted somebody to just come rescue me and take me away - you know - like in the fairytales. And that's where that thought stayed - in the fairy tale.

Now, that youngest daughter of mine really keeps me on my toes. She said to me the other day "you don't let nobody help you. People offer but you don't want nobody to do anything for you. You don't even let people get close to you." I said before that she scares me, well that statement just really got on my nerves. All I could say was "Who do you think you're talking to." Because I was mad that she was right and telling me about myself. And she's so diplomatic - so she says "Well, that's just my opinion." She knows that I've always told them that their opinion is valuable even if I don't agree with it.

Hmmm. I couldn't even say anything. So I turned up the music and began to sing. She definitely gave me something to think about...as usual.

IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN

Election time. And for the first time in a very long time, I am undecided about who to vote for and am actually contemplating sitting this one out. My mother would cuss me out if she heard me say that, but I'm serious. Does it really even matter?

I'm leaning towards Seth Williams for DA, but I'm not fully comfortable with his views. I know him from working at the African American Chamber of Commerce and he was always very supportive of our efforts and community outreach, but there seems to be something different about him now. The fact that he has the support of the FOP is not at all appealing in my view.

The only Judge I know vaguely is John Irvine. He presides over Truancy Court at Roosevelt so I interact with him when I go to support students who are summoned for truancy. He has always proven to be fair in his decisions and is a welcome role model for the male students who are semi-troubled. They look up to him and take his advise seriously.

Now, I really like Brett Mandel. I also met him while working at the African American Chamber of Commerce/Tax Reform Commission. The one thing I know is that he is definitely an independent thinker and will not be swayed by bureaucracy and/or politics. However I find that he may be a little detached from my realities.

Alan Butkovitz hasn't done a bad job, but I was just a little turned off by views on students and septa crimes. But then again, he openly opposes genocide in Darfur - something that he didn't have to do, but it was the humane thing to do. But it has nothing to do with his role as city controller.

This was one of the discussions that I had with my three daughters on Mother's Day.

It was amazing, sitting back and watching each of these separate and distinct personalities that developed from the babies that I birthed.

Anyway, that youngest one - the one who isn't old enough to vote - is the one who had the most opinion on the matter. She scares me. She is so opinionated and passionate about her opinions! She's leaning towards her father's views, even to the point of calling somebody a "handkerchief-head nigga". I was outdone. She attended a forum with her father, but the only candidate speaking was Mr. Williams, so she didn't hear anyone else's views.

So, she and I are going to attend some candidate event somewhere where ALL CANDIDATES are present and able to share their position so that she and I can make an intelligent decision. The other two will just vote for who we decide; they are busy working, going to college, passing exams and writing papers and becoming responsible young adults.

Motherhood is the greatest, most challenging job I've ever had!