Atlanta Public Schools Cheating Scandal Points Finger to Superintendent

 

by Eco.Soul.Intellectual

At first glance, this woman looks harmless. Something like a really cool grandmother, or perhaps a teacher. However, Dr. Beverly Hall, former Superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools is in waist deep shit with the release of the Governor's Office for Student Achievement investigation regarding cheating on Criterion Reform Competency standardized tests in 2009.

The office used a simple assessment. They scanned all the competency tests to view the number of erasures on answers that went from wrong to right. They found out that several public school systems, including the state's largest, Atlanta Public Schools, as having a high number of erasures. These erasures imply that answers were removed and the correct answer replaced. By whom is the million dollar question, but also suggest that adults rather than students having an epiphany of testing intelligence to go back and fix numerous wrong answers.

Two years ago, when the governor's office requested information regarding these large numbers of wrong-to-right erasures from Hall Administration, Dr. Hall, the 2009 awardee of "Superintendent of the Year" rebuffed requests, sending even more alarms during the inquisition.

But get this, there are whistle blowers in this investigation, principals and teachers who say that the Hall Administration created a climate of fear and retribution if one did not comply with the erasures. According to the investigation, 58 principals and 444 teachers who instruct in 1 - 8 schools are under fire for cheating. Add to that over 80 people have come forward with information detailing the cheating climate at APS.

Dr. Hall who announced her retirement months before this investigation was released has now come out to say that she did not know about the cheating. According to the Jamaican born educator who got her fame working in New York and New Jersey public schools, the whistle blowers were blowing hot air. In a written statement she says, “Apparently, not one of the 82 persons who allegedly ‘confessed’ to  cheating told the investigators that Dr. Hall at any time instructed,  encouraged or condoned cheating.”

State of Michigan Orders Closing of Half of Detroit Schools, 60 Kids per Class Projected

I've always said that the city of Detroit was a microcosm of the state of Black America. They say that when America catches a cold, Black America comes down with pneumonia. Detroit on the other hand, comes down with the bubonic plague. And just when a Detroit native who happens to be a white rapper gives Detroiters such as my wife hope with a Chrysler Super Bowl commercial, comes the devastating news of school closings:

The Detroit Public Schools system plans to close half of its schools, leaving classrooms bursting at the seams with 60 students each.

Robert Bobb, emergency financial manager, says he'll shut down 70 schools, leaving 72 open. And in order to help fill the $327 million budget gap, it's going to happen fas...

[...] The problems have been a long time coming. Over the past 10 years, Detroit's public school enrollment has fallen by 50 percent as parents continue to pull their kids out and send them to suburban schools, meaning less funding for the city schools.

Bobb says he knows this new plan isn't economically or academically viable, and he's hoping for a complete restructuring of the school system. (source)

So while everyone is focused on the fight in Wisconsin, the crisis in Detroit is being overlooked or passed over as typical problem of Negro dysfunction like this. Mind you, this is also occurring at a time when all three Detroit automakers show gains in sales for the month of February; a welcomed sign, I'm sure. However, with the daunting task of filling the $327 million budget gap, from the looks of it.teachers and children are going to take a major hit. Especially the children forced into those sixty students per classroom settings, as proposed and projected by Robert Bobb, the emergency financial manager:



For the past few weeks we've seen Wisconsin as the center of the fight against a governor who has provided tax breaks to wealthy corporations in his state, manufacture a faux deficit, and who is now asking public employees to foot the bill, and kill collective bargaining. The country is currently in an uproar over this, and currently, there are major protests all across the country in solidarity for the people of Madison. With that being said, I can't help but wonder where is the outrage or concern over what's happening in Detroit?

With all this talk about "winning the future" as of late, I can only hope the future has room for the children of the Detroit public school system. Because from where I'm sitting, these proposed school closings, though meant to curtail a budget deficit. Will surely open wider cracks in the system making it easier children in Detroit to fall through. But hey, maybe winning the future includes more funding for federal prisons as proposed by the White House. If so, that ought to make a lot of us in and outside of Detroit safer, no?

Teacher to Black Student: "I'll bust yo' shit! Have your lip looking bigger than what it is!"

There's no doubt that being a teacher is a tough job. For most, though taking a most noble position in society, being a teacher is somewhat like wiping the asses of elderly folks for $4.50 per hour. Coming from a family of educators, it has long been my belief that teachers should not only be paid more, but should also be respected and revered as the national treasure they most certainly are..

Remember the movie Falling Down? Well check out this clip of a black male teacher as he tries to breakup a fight in his classroom. Yeah, the brotha practically fell down and went smooth tha f@#k off on this kid:




It's safe to say that this brotha was having a bad day, and in his frustration said some things I personally believe any teacher should say to a kid. You may think I'm wrong and seek to justify the teachers words. But think about it: did anything he said to the kid make the situation any better?

Is this the way you resolve conflict? I mean, if this were a white cop in the streets talking this shit to a kid, would he be justified? Um, I seriously would like answers to these questions. Here are his quotables:


"I'm tired of your little fat ass around here running your mouth!"

"I'll bust yo' shit! Have your lip looking bigger than what it is!"

"That's what is wrong with niggas now!"

"I know punks like you. I kick their behinds every day!"

"You're trying to showoff in front of the girls, but I'm about to showoff on you!"

Markham Elementary Second Graders Having Oral Sex, & Naked in Classroom

Okay, so a disturbing story has been circulating for the past few days, concerning Markham Elementary School in Oakland. It involves a class full of second graders, partial nudity and oral sex. And I have to wonder, what the hell was the teacher doing??

"According to the allegation, the first incident involved several students who undressed, at least partially, while acting disruptively in the classroom," the letter read, according to KRON. "The second incident concerned two students who engaged in sexually explicit behavior, also in the classroom."

Local media reported that in the second incident, a boy and a girl -- both second-graders -- performed oral sex on each other. Both incidents occurred in the same classroom, and the teacher is believed to have been present at the time, Flint said. He said the teacher is not accused of taking part in or orchestrating the incidents.

"He's saying he has no knowledge of the reports and we have to square these different stories and see how we can reconcile them," Flint told KGO, the ABC station in San Francisco.

"Our early findings don't indicate that anyone was coerced or forced into these acts. We do think it involved curiosity," Flint said. (Source)

Okay, I really have to wonder what kind of classroom atmosphere this teacher was promoting that these children thought it was acceptable behavior to undress in class?? And then, in a SEPARATE incident, perform oral sex on each other in front of the entire classroom?? This teacher is an adult and he did not have the ability to control the behavior of a few children who thought they were grown?

Pure F*ckery: O.J. Simpson honored as a Black History Month hero?

Yeah, obviously I realize that February is over, but since some of us are conflicted as to the relevance of Black History Month. I figured I'd take a moment to share this story hot off the press:

LOS ANGELES - Three Los Angeles elementary school teachers accused of giving children portraits of O.J. Simpson, Dennis Rodman and RuPaul to carry in a Black History Month parade have been removed from their classrooms, a school district spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Children from other classes at the school displayed photos of more appropriate black role models, such as Nelson Mandela, Harriet Tubman and President Barack Obama, Los Angeles Unified School District spokeswoman Gayle Pollard-Terry said.

The incident occurred Friday at Wadsworth Avenue Elementary School in South Los Angeles, where the student body is more than 90 percent Latino.(Source)

And the f*ckery continues! Matter of fact, I'm going to go ahead and nominate myself for Special F*ckery Correspondent to this blog because I can't win for losing! Rippa, if that's alright with you of course! So this is what Black History Month is reduced to? Orenthal James Simpson, Dennis Rodman, and RuPaul? A Negro who is in prison, a Negro who is in drug rehab on a VH1 reality show, and a male Negro cross-dresser?? Well dammit if I said you could slap me right across the face. You white folks out in California sure have been having a lot of fun at the expense of black people and Black History Month lately. Yep, y'all shole'is funny. Lemme guess, next year they're gonna give the kids a pictures of the D.C. Sniper, Gary Coleman, and Flava Flav, right?

Now of course, some parents weren't offended. Some think that O.J. Simpson and Dennis Rodman are still good "black heroes" because at one point they had their shit together. Let's just give them a pass, right? Wrong. Black kids--nay, the world, is constantly bombarded with negative images of black folks on a regular basis. Some would argue that we are the truest fine purveyors of our own black bullshit. But there are quite a few of us who would rather drink cyanide before letting our kids see O.J. Simpson as a role model. Yet, we continue to let a small, miseducated contingent speak for us again and again *ahem, Al Sharpton, ahem*

Teacher punishes 7yr old Black child by cutting off one of her braids in class

The worst thing in the world is the possible loss of innocence of a child at the hand of an adult. I just read the story of  7yr old Lamya Cammon in Milwaukee and now I'm left to wonder just how this would impact her life as she moves forward from this incident:


OK, first off, I watched another video on the story and Lamya said the teacher told her to come to her desk to get some candy and then cut her braid. I'm sorry, but that negates the whole "I'm sorry, but I was stressed out," bullshit claim. Sure she may have been bothered by what this kid was doing with her hair. But it's quite apparent that she put some thought into just how she was going to "punish" Lamaya, so miss me with that bullshit teacher lady. Yes I understand that the teaching profession is a thankless job. But damn maybe this woman needs to re-evaluate her career choice and go to barber school instead.

Secondly, what the fuck is up with the District Attorney not filing charges on this teacher? Yep, why did it take the police the department to hold her accountable via a ticket for disorderly conduct? And further, why in the hell does this teacher still employed? Why not at least paid administrative leave? What's next? Does she have to put a gun to a students head before someone decides to take action or lord forbid hold her accountable for her actions? I don't know what in the world is going on in Milwaukee and these District Attorneys. Apparently this is no big deal to them as is being a state social worker and tricking your client into having sex just so that she can keep her kids.

This is a bunch of bullshit. You best believe if Lamaya's mother went up to that school and did what Mrs. RiPPa said she would have done had it been one of our kids, that she would not be held accountable for her actions by the District Attorney's office. But above and beyond the obvious, how do you think this impacts the life of this child? What message does this send not only to her, but also to the rest of the children in that class who laughed at her? I mean what does this do to her self worth and pride and a young black child?

Well RiPPa the news story never said the teacher was white!

You're right it didn't, but I find it hard to believe that she was in fact black. You know why? Well other than the fact that black women don't play when it comes to hair and would never consider such fuckery; nope, not a child of a black woman they would. If this teacher was black the media would have plastered her face all over that story. So yeah, I might be wrong in my assumption but I doubt it. That said and assuming that this teacher was white, everything else considered, how would you handle this if this was your child?

Disorderly conduct?

GETDAFUCKOUTTAHEREWITDATBULLSHIT!!

Where are the Black male teachers?

"Now, I say if you wanna kill yourself, don't fuck around with it. Go on and do it expeditiously!" - Joe Clark (Lean On Me)

We bitch about our current youth, and all but proclaim them to be the spawn of the devil when they're not our own - yes, there's a Black Jesus and a White Jesus, so quite naturally there's a Black devil and a White devil, no? Yeah I know; that's an entirely different topic, but I couldn't help but to go there. But anyway, while we are cynical in our criticisms, we're often quick to justify or attribute the behaviors of said children by the absence of male figures within the home or family structure.

Now considering that our kids spend a more significant portion of their time outside of our homes and in the charge of the public school system. Why is it that some genius among us has yet to question the number of male teachers within our public school system? Specifically, how the absence of black male teachers impact our youth negatively.

I'm not an expert, nor am I a teacher. But I can't help but to think that there is a direct correlation between the near absence of black male teachers and the difficulties that many African American boys face in school. About half of black male students do not complete high school in four years, statistics show. Black males also tend to score lower on standardized tests, take fewer Advanced Placement courses and are suspended and expelled at higher rates than other groups. The thought occurred to me after I watched the following video over at We Are Respectable Negroes: