Adults Blame Parents for Education Problems

Good Afternoon,

This is a debate we hear of often, who is to blame for the child's education problems? According to the Associated Press-Stanford University Poll on education found that 68 percent of adults believe parents deserve heavy blame for what's wrong with the U.S. education system - more than teachers, school administrators, the government or teachers unions.

What is your position on this argument? Do you agree with this article, or do you feel otherwise? We want to hear what you feel.

Please either comment on our blog at http://www.edwardseducationconsulting.blogspot.com/ , on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EdwardsEducationalConsulting or Twitter @RoryTEdwards.

You can also find this full article here. We look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Peace and Blessings

-Edwards Educational Consulting, LLC

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM EDWARDS EDUCATIONAL CONSULTING, LLC

Greetings!

It has been some time since we reached out to you but with the holiday season in effect, we have been busy ourselves! We hope this finds you in good spirits and great health!

As we prepare to celebrate the holiday season, we ask that you do something nice for someone who is less fortunate than yourself.

With this economy and it's ups and downs, many people are forced into situations they couldn't imagine, we ask that you help out our peers! As the saying says, it is better to give than recieve, and the holidays is the prefect time for giving!

Please take a moment to check out our new postings and share your comments! Whether you directly comment on our blog or shoot us an e-mail at RT.Edwards@hotmail.com. We appreciate all of your comments, questions and suggestions.

Once again, wishing you and your family a happy, loving holiday! We will see you soon!

Peace and Blessings!

-Edwards Educational Consulting, LLC

It is the personal thoughtfulness, the warm human awareness, the reaching out of the self to one's fellow man that makes giving worthy of the Christmas spirit."
~ Isabel Currier.

The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (The "DREAM Act")

Happy Saturday to You All! I hope you all are enjoying your weekend!

Please take a look at the excerpt below from Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, on a press call regardng consideration by Congress of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.

“We have so many young people, many of whom were my students when I ran the Chicago schools, who have done everything right.  They’ve gone to school every single day.  They’ve gotten good grades.  They’ve worked hard.  They’ve played by all the rules.  And then the chance of going to college was denied them.  That is absolutely unfair to those children.  It’s absolutely unfair to our country and to our economy, by denying hard-working young people the opportunity to pursue higher education and ultimately be productive members of our society and contributors.  So I think there is a real moment of opportunity here.”

 

-- Secretary of Education Arne Duncan (11/18/10)

The purpose of the DREAM Act  is to help those individuals who meet certain requirements, have an opportunity to enlist in the military or go to college and have a path to citizenship which they otherwise would not have without this legislation. Supporters of the DREAM Act believe it is vital not only to the people who would benefit from it, but also the United States as a whole. It would give an opportunity to undocumented immigrant students who have been living in the U.S. since they were young, a chance to contribute back to the country that has given so much to them and a chance to utilize their hard earned education and talents.

Please post your comments below and let us know what you think. For more information on the DREAM Act and to see if you or someone you know qualifies, please visit http://dreamact.info/students. This site provides you with basic information on the act and requirements for qualification.

We hope this posting finds you in great spirits, have a happy weekend! See you Soon!

Thought of the day: The Art of Verbal Communication

Good morning,

As the most celebrated holiday season of the year approaches us, we must look at how we are becoming a society of the global network. In the quest to be 4G fast we have lost the true essence of what is the only thing separating us from any other mammal on this earth “The Art of Verbal Communication” I too have reverted to sending text, but texting has totally replace the once, (2) two-minute phone call to ask someone, (how you're doing) wish a family member or friend (happy holidays) or the simple statement of (I love you). If we continue to allow texting to be our form of social communication will lose our ability to effectively communicate our true needs. Today's world is a multifaceted unit. However, one fundamental principle of success remains constant - the need for communication.

Communication manifests in various forms, both verbal and non-verbal. One area of increasing concern for humans is how to nurture and maintain effective intellectual intercultural beings that are unique by the art of communication, between family, friends and colleagues. Ask yourself theses questions?

 

1.Why do phone companies have unlimited texting but selected times to talk?

       

2.Why do we risk our life to text, when we could have just dialed the number?

 3.The same amount of time it took you to text, you could have placed a call?

       

4.Why do people not answer their phone, then text you right back asking you, what do you want?

       

5.Why have we limited two forms of texting to determine the contents of the message? Capitals = angry. Lower case is all other emotions- happy, sad, nervous, excited, concerned, and worried, depressed, in love, sick, or just wants to holla.

Don’t get me wrong I too text, but I do miss sometime just hearing someone’s voice, the joy of something exciting happening in their life or the pain of losing something valuable in their life, which  may never be heard again if we continue to allow texting to be our main source of communication. In the spirit of growth, something’s never can be replaced with time or technology, communication is the art of the quintessence of humanity.  Remember if we don’t use it we will lose it. Please post your comments at; http://edwardseducationalconsulting.blogspot.com/       

Rory T. Edwards

rtedwards@edwardseducational.com

Good Evening!

Greetings,

It's been a bit since we posted on our blog, but we are back in effect! We hope this finds you all well and in good health. Please check out our most recent posting! 

Have a great evening and see you soon!

Quote of the Day

Today, you have something more valuable than anything you can imagine. In the present day, you have life and you have the fortune to live it in your own extraordinary way

Food for thought

Happy Wednesday! Please take a look at the article below! Have a blessed day!

In a recent ceremony in the East Room of the White House, President Obama signed an Executive Order (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/10/19/executive-order-white-house-initiative-educational-excellence-hispanics) to renew the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.  Among the changes, the order provides a better structure for the Initiative to take action and forge partnerships between the public, private, and non-profit sectors in local communities nationwide.  Also, an enhanced interagency working group and a 30-member Presidential advisory commission will work with the Initiative, to bring the voice of the American people into the policymaking process.

Food for thought

The Department held a National Policy Forum for Family, School, and Community Engagement on November 9.  Several senior officials from the Department and other education stakeholders delivered remarks or participated in panel discussions, focusing on the shared responsibility and best practices to support children’s learning, from cradle-to-career, in the home, school, and community.  The Administration is proposing to double funding for parent and family engagement -- from 1% to 2% of Title I funding, or a total of $270 million.  At the same time, in order to drive innovation, it will allow states to use another 1% of Title I funding, roughly $145 million, for grant programs that support, incentives, and help expand school district-level, evidence-based parental involvement practices.

Food for thought

On November 1, the National Board for Education Sciences unanimously approved new research priorities for the Department’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).  Proposed by Director John Easton and submitted for public comment this summer, these new priorities are intended to make education studies more relevant to educators and help practitioners become more involved in developing and using research.  IES’s topics of study will remain much the same under the new priorities.  Yet, these new priorities place greater emphasis on putting research findings into context, “to identify education policies, programs, and practices that improve education outcomes, and to determine how, why, for whom, and under what conditions they are effective.”  IES has also set as a priority identifying new and rigorous methods to measure outcomes in education research and building partnerships with educators and the community to develop greater “analytic capacity” at the local level.  These priorities will be used to craft requests for proposals for new grant competitions in January.  

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE GO TO http://ies.ed.gov/director/board/priorities.asp.

New Report on Black Male Achievement Gap Leads Experts to Call for Action

Greetings Friends,

Please take look at this article on the Black Male Achievement Gap, let's educate ourselves so change can happen.

Have a good day!

http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/new-report-on-black-male-achievement-gap-leads-experts-to-call-for-action/19713101?ncid=webmail&a_dgi=aolshare_email

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GOP Gains Could Prompt Funding, Policy Shifts

Take a look at this article. Let's educate ourselves on what could happen with education now with the change in Congress.

Click the link below:

GOP Gains Could Prompt Funding, Policy Shifts

Thought of the Day

The real significance of achievement is not what you acquire today. Achievement is the consistent competitive effort of work you put into retaining lifetime results.

Thought of the Day

Disappointment leads to apprehension which comes from worrying about how. Inspiration propelled by motivation comes from plunging into the fertile territorial belief of why not.

Quote of the day

Individuals who are consistently talking about how much they've accomplished, haven't accomplished much at all. Those who blame others for their lack of progress are truly afraid of progressing. Put your energy not into appearing impressive, but into getting pure valuable results. For they are what will make an unforgettable, irrefutable, affirmative life imprint.

Quote of the Day

"The greatest force in solving an obstruction in egalitarianism is the compassion, dedication and commitment of the people who the most effected to begin the transformation of the mind- set of the infected, to eradicate the foundation of the crisis for the advantage."

Thought of the Day

This new report builds upon the groundbreaking findings of Left Behind in America: The Nation's Dropout Crisis, released earlier this year, which disclosed that nearly 6.2 million largely black and Hispanic youth have dropped out of high school and are living in America. This report, also released by the ASN in conjunction with other national education and civil rights organizations, documented the magnitude of America's dropout crisis.

Consequences of Dropping Out of High School: Joblessness and Jailing outlines the extremely difficult circumstances that these young people ages 16 to 24 face after dropping out of high school, and demonstrates the high price paid by both these young adults, American taxpayers and our society as a whole. In addition to their sharply higher rates of incarceration, the report showed that these young adults face very bleak economic prospects, which will make it difficult for them to change course and finance future schooling and training.

Thought of the Day

Released recently by a coalition of leading national and regional education, advocacy, and social service groups, the report, Consequences of Dropping Out of High School: Joblessness and Jailing for High School Dropouts and the High Cost for Taxpayers - 22% Daily Jailing Rate for Young Black Men Who Drop Out of High School is available online at http://www.clms.neu.edu.

Quote of the day

The price of serenity with the way things are is the cost to be at peace with the way you are. To be assured prominence in the relationships of the world, cultivate confidence within the tranquility of your inner self.

Peace and Blessings

I am in the phase of soliciting testimonials from the years of work I've done with the youth in our communities. Each and every one of you has shared an experience with me in some facet over the last 20 plus years. I am asking, if you would supply some type of statement that will substantiate the work that you have witnessed or experienced. We are facing some catastrophic times in the lives our young males. They are expeditiously being relegated as non-existence contributors to our society because of their inability to prosper in this global society. Today, “the clarification of their worth must out weigh the uncertainty of their existence”. I am simply asking of you and anyone you may know, to express what your experience has been with me. My efforts, along with many of you who are currently doing tremendous work nationally, must rise up out our silos and become the one voice our children need.  Gathering theses testimonials is my way of collectively validating my expertise and to continue being a voice for our children.

-R.T. Edwards

Quote of the day...

Your desire to accomplish positive outcomes comes from your determination to be first. To dwell in the comfort of safety by never venturing out, by never taking risks, defeats the chance of ever knowing your true potential. The only difference between an eagle and a pigeon is where they view the world from.

                                                                                   - R.T. Edwards 

Thought of the day

Good Afternoon Followers,

The power of one’s message is unquestionably the greatest tool of mankind, you can inspire others beyond the imagination with your words, or you can destroy others to depths of no return by your words. It's not egotistical, to follow your own bona-fide dreams and to create a life for yourself which should consist of the finest you can visualize. It’s when your message is contrived, not to benefit the masses for the sake of obscured purposelessness.

Have a blessed day,

R.T. Edwards

Quote of the day...

"In our country we usually buy “possessions” during a circumstance when short-term impulse deviate and falls out of sequence with long-term thinking."

-R.T. Edwards

Good Evening!

Hello Followers,

I took a few days off, but I am back in effect! Please read  my thought of the day! I wish you all a happy and productive week! Stay Blessed!

-R. T. Edwards

Thought of the day...

Good Morning,

Public schools today must respond to an ever-increasing diverse student population. Should the nation's schools be asked to address the issue of diversity? Where is one to begin this journey other than by attempting to examine a common language or definition of the term diversity? The mere attempt to define diversity is problematic in nature as questions abound on the plausibility of an agreed upon definition. The more one examines the issue of diversity the more complex and more philosophical the discourse becomes. Does diversity refer to ethnicity, gender, socio-economics or sexual orientation? The agreement regarding a definition is a discourse in and of it self. 

Have a blessed day,

R. Edwards

Thought of the day...

Good Evening,

  

Research shows the United States is losing ground in education, as peers across the globe zoom by with bigger gains in student achievement and school graduations, a study shows. That compared with their peers in Europe, Asia and elsewhere, 15-year-olds' in the United States are below average in applying math skills to real-life tasks. Edwards Educational Consulting "Collaborative Learning Community" model accentuates modification to current practices by definition of; It’s a philosophy as well as a place; it’s a way of being as well as a cultivation model; it’s a mindset as well as an ethical road map for excellence.  

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at RT.Edwards@hotmail.com or Info@edwardseducational.com

Have a wonderful evening,

R. Edwards

Thought of the day; let’s examine 'Waiting for Superman'

Good afternoon followers,

There are major forums all over America, from the Oprah Winfrey show to church basements about America’s malfunctioning public education system. My questions are; when did this become a matter of urgency? Who allowed this system of learning to continue to decay without noticing the putrefying influence and why must we look towards a make believe super hero as the savior in a system that with all his super power ability, he couldn't effect the outcome needed to really address the American public education system. Below is the description of a documentary of the latest conversations. What’s your opinion?

'Waiting for Superman' is a documentary about America’s malfunctioning education system. The American public school system is in crisis, failing millions of students, producing as many drop-outs as graduates, and threatening our economic future.

Quote of the Day

Truly knowing thy self is the power one needs to hold on to endure the resistance of the fearful, this is the eminence of a winner. Your greatest glory is in never failing, but in rising stronger and more knowledgeable every time you fail. All great achievements require time and persistence. Endurance is the crowning attribute of success.

Vantage point

You are the smartest person in the world in your own special
way. You see life from a perspective that is all your own.

There is great value in all you know, in the things that
interest you, and in the experiences you've accumulated.
Think of all the ways you can put that unique and
irreplaceable value to good use.

See each challenge as an opportunity to be creative. Look
for what you can do to contribute something positive.

Though there are many forces beyond your control, there is
always much that you can do. And life at its best is about
making a difference.

Conditions change from day to day and year to year, yet
there is something you'll always have. You can look at life
from your own unique vantage point, decide what must be
done, and take effective action.

In this way you can transform it all into treasures that
you'll hold dear. Be you, and be a light that shines
brightly.

Quote of the Day

"Some people make things happen, some watch things happen, & there are those who wonder what has happened. Which one are you?"

"It's ok to Quit......"

1. Quit arguing with people about the same old foolishness! Respect
their position and keep it moving!

2. Quit telling people your secrets when you know they are not going to
keep them! And if you keep telling them, then quit getting mad when they
tell your secrets!

3. Quit trying to pull people on your journey who don't want to travel
with you. Either they believe in you and value you...or they don't!

4. Quit complaining about things you can't and won't change!

5. Quit gossiping about other people! Minding our own business should be
a full time job!

6. Quit blaming each other for things that in the big picture aren't
going to matter three weeks from now! Talk solutions...and then
implement them!

7. Quit eating things you know are not good for you! If you can't
quit....eat smaller portions!

8. Quit buying things when we know we can't afford them! If you don't
have self control, then quit going to the stores! Quit charging things,
especially when you don't NEED them!

9. Quit staying in unhealthy relationships! It is not okay for people to
verbally or physically abuse you! So quit lying to yourself! It is not
okay to stay in the marriage for the children! Ask them and they will
tell you that they really would prefer to see you happy and that the
misery you and your spouse/partner are living with is affecting them!

10. Quit letting family members rope you into the drama! -Start telling
them you don't want to hear it! Quit spreading the drama! Quit calling
other relatives and telling them about your cousin or aunt! Go back to
#5 minding your own business should be enough to keep you busy!

11. Quit trying to change people! IT DOESN'T WORK! Quit cussing people
out when you know that they are just being the miserable and jealous
people that they are!

12. Quit the job you hate! Start pursuing your passion. Find the job
that fuels your passion BEFORE you quit!

13. Quit volunteering for things that you aren't getting any personal
fulfillment from anymore! Quit volunteering for things and then failing
to follow through with your commitment!

14. Quit listening to the naysayers! Quit watching the depressing news
if you are going to live in the doom and gloom of it all!

15. Quit making excuses about why you are where you are or why you can't
do what you want to do!

16. Quit waiting on others to give you the answers...and start finding
the answers for yourself! If what you are doing isn't working for
you...then quit it!

17. Quit settling and start making your dreams a reality!- Quit being
afraid and START LIVING YOUR LIFE! CREATE THE LIFE YOU WANT! If you want
something different than what you have had in the past....you must quit
doing what you have done before and DO something different! JUST QUIT IT
...... and START DOING something to create the experience you want!

Do Something About It

Do something about it
+++++++++++++++++++

Are you frustrated and burned out? What are you going to do
about it?

Is there something you really want to achieve? What are you
going to do about it?

Have you just become aware of an incredible opportunity?
What are you going to do about it?

What are you going to do today, right this moment? What
actions will you take to end your frustration, to achieve
your dream, to take advantage of opportunity?

Success and achievement depend not on how much you complain,
or on your ability to garner sympathy from others, but on
what you do. And right now is the time to start.

Go ahead and move beyond the frustration, begin to work
toward the dream, and make the most of your best
possibilities. Go ahead right now and do something positive
and effective about it.

What you must

When you must, you will. What you truly value, you find a way

to make more abundant.

That's why it is so critically important to celebrate the
unique beauty of who you are. That's why being thankful for
every little thing will create a life that's overflowing
with abundance.

Living by pretense is not really living. The real person
inside is eager to bring to life the very best of everything
that means anything to you.

Instead of trying to fit in, seek to fill out the best of
your possibilities. Instead of wondering how little effort
you can get by with, discover how much unique value you can
create.

Every opportunity you act upon creates even more and bigger
and better opportunities. The more focus and diligence and
persistence and commitment you put into life, the more
outstanding it becomes.

The best-paying job you can ever have is the job of being
the real you. Know what you must do and do it, and life is
rich indeed.

Being a Leader

No leader can be truly effective if she/he is not well informed about the critical issues which affect her/his learning community. We strongly believe that the implementation of extraordinary expectations which are placed on our son’s in sports should also be placed on them as intellectual citizens. This in turn will help equip the constituents of African-American males and the students themselves become civically engaged, socially conscious, academically proficient, and extremely confident in their ability. We also want the youth to see themselves as viable agents for social/community change.

Thought of the day; let’s examine Carter G. Woodson’s quote

“If you can control a man’s thinking, you don’t have to worry about his actions. If you can determine what a man thinks you do not have worry about what he will do. If you can make a man believe that he is inferior, you don’t have to compel him to seek an inferior status, he will do so without being told and if you can make a man believe that he is justly an outcast, you don’t have to order him to the back door, he will go to the back door on his own and if there is no back door, the very nature of the man will demand that you build one.”

 

If you just examine this quote and historically examine the effects of the distortion of the truth from the period of the pyramids to the modern day pulpit, one must consciously chose to ignore written and unwritten history. My purpose is not to deliver a history lesson but to disquiet your intellect to address a global concern. With the alarming statistics we’re facing in the early 21st century, the solutions may be found in historical clarification to the disputes of the present and provide the future study of our lineage in the past. His conception to understanding and reassuring his need to fill the missing historical self-motivated purposelessness, can and only will enhance the barriers which have been strategically placed through the hypothesis of inclusion / assimilation theory of the contributions of African / African American males, in the representation of world history. But, that’s one component of many phases need to develop a male of self fulfilling purpose