By F. cause we have not matched the
H talk with public investment. Our
When the National Commis- children continue to score lower
siononExcellenceinEducation on standardized tests than
. released the report, ·A Nation foreign students. Illiteracy has
At Risk", educators, elected of- increased, and 29% of all
JiciaIs, and bu messes were children drop out of school.
alarmed at the findings about Schools, with the assistance of
the poor quality of education in federal, state arid local govern­
this country. ·A N tionAt Risk", IDFnts, need to do a better job on
is one of the most talked about ptoviding basic skills and crea­
and discussed reports in years. tive program for "at r isk"
It renewed the focus on educa- children. In addition, the educa­
tion reform. tional reform movement has not
. What has happened in the addressed Ute specific problems
five years since the release of "A faced by Black children and
Nation At Risk·? According to those of other disadvantaged
a recent study by the Business- groups. Although the federal
Higher Education Forum, en- government's investment in
titled ·American Potential: The education is only 6-9% of public
Human Dimension", the nation educational monies, this invest­
is still at risk, Moreover, ur ment is critical in ensuringequi­
schools are educating more ty and excellence.
children Who fall into the ·at The Hawkins-Stafford
risk· category and schools must Elementary and Secondary
reflect and respond to the tran- School Improvement Act of
sitioDS occurring in society. The 1988, (public law 100-297)
characteristics of our country's which I authored, is the most
'school-age population .are far-reaching edna ion law of
rapidly changing. Minorities the decade.
and immigrants comprise the This law encompasses a
majority of school-age children broad range of educ tion
in many urban cities. Studies reform initiatives such as: in­
consistently show diat children creased funding for compen­
from single-parent families are satory- math and reading
more likely to be high school programs; parental involve­
dropouts and the unemployed. ment; creates a new program to
'fhe report recommends vast jointly educate poor preschool
improvements in education flll� children and their illiterate
training for the adult workforce, eats; concentrates new fund­
with attention s�nce and mg on the neediest school dis­
technology. The busmess ector tricts; raises the Cha�er 2
has begun to respond to educa- education block grant p am
tion reform. It is not uncommon to sharply focus the se of
����������������������� fur�scho��adu�� � �d�al fun� on imp r�nt
enter the workforce unable to areas, including eff ctive
accurately complete a job ap- schools: _
plication. We cannot afford to As the Committee for
place the blame of our educa- Economic Development, O?m­
tion system solely on parents or. posed of corporate executives
schools. Education reform has has said, "we canno compete
to be addressed in its entirety and prospere in the global arena
from early childhood develop- when more than one-fifth of our
ment, on-the-job training, and children live in poverty, and
through adult education. third grow up in ignorance ...
In the past five years.with all (we) cannot squa�der the
the rhetoric from the public and talents of our children ..
business sectors, little real America must become a land of
progress has been made, be- opportunity (or every child�.
.T
e
a
In many nations, children .. '
�noot .. ��
wot1ds
RICH
TO
POOR
The
December 18 - v. es SODt Negro Leagues star, born
J 0 founded Pepple 191L .
United Save Humanity, December 22 - Thom
(PUSH) 1971 We orth Higgi on com-
, . manded Blac soldiers in the
December 19 - Carter G.
W founder of ·"'egro Civil War, born 1823. -
• J, • hom 1975 December 23 - Madame
The masses are ruff copies of History Wee.., . � 'I. WalL_, cosmetolozist and
December 20 - S '-' &g- "0-
their leader ,spokespersons CaroU seceded from Unioa, businesswoman, born 1869.
and role models. From them the leading to the Civil War, 1860. U.N. voted Ubya an inde-
masses take their cue in regards December 21 _ J Gi pendent state, 195L
���e'�l������ �� _
other considerations. If Black
leadership . . . the head, heart
and soul of middle class BIa�
America. .. advocates the use of
vio encc. . . more prisoes and
stiffer sentences. . . against th
cr iminalized, poor Blacks,
shouldn't we expect the hungry,
Black masses to 100 to violence
for th solution to their p:essing
problems?
Stay the whip from the backs
of the hungry masses, give them
the chance to free themselves
from the obsession ith hate
and violence; and the Black
masses will change, rurDy im­
itate the behavior of their
leaders, spokespersons and role
models.
�
CAU.
\
Frank W. Burrell
Founder & Director,
From Bars to Stars
Active Underdogs USA
P .. 5
Busin resc
'. to educatio
! kU:lU HlU oa: