The United States is ranked 35th in Math and 29th in Science. Other nations such as China, Finland, Australia, and Japan outrank us. Think about it, what are the things we love in this society? Our technologies - tech gadgets, televisions, high performing cars, digital communication, digital music, green technologies, convenience foods, all the conveniences of life. Have you ever stop to think about the minds that go into making these technologies? These industries are beyond lucrative. Those who work in those industries, whether on the creative side, innovation and improvement side, manufacturing and distribution side, or marketing and selling side - individuals who work in these industries earn good livings. Our society is moving ever-more rapidly to innovation. So if you wanted to be on board this very fast moving train, you would have to be ready for it.

Ahhh...finally a little down time this week. The summer program is over and we are ramping up for our After-School programs. No light task, but it does allow for a slight reprieve.

To allow me to procrastinate the planning I need to do for the Education Department training week and ensure I'll be working under a tight deadline for no reason, I decided to change offices. It's a bigger office with more windows and more wall space. I can get all of the papers off of the floor and organize a little better.

As with all moving jobs, it allowed me to sift through stuff, throwing away the pointless, old stuff and discovering treasures I had forgotten about long ago. Some of the treasures were photos I'd enlarged or printed on regular paper and stashed away until I could find frames or reasons to use them. Now is that time.

After a few days of cleaning, sifting, and moving furniture, I began to hang photos. I found some frames that had been donated... but others were hung simply with "tacky" directly on the wall. Once I completed the move and had all of the photos hung, I looked around and realized the framing definitely gave it a little "umph," but it wasn't the frames that I was going for when I printed the pictures. It's the meaning behind each one.

I absolutely LOVE being around kids...well, during certain moments. :) ...and today was one of those moments.

I went downstairs to the After-School Academy to get some footage of the mural the kids designed, drew, and are now painting. (I'll put it together in a post soon). As I stood watching three of the kids paint, one of the other kids stood beside me. Quite honestly, I wasn't paying him any attention whatsoever. I was focused on the mural painting for one, but I've also learned to ignore his antics at times when he decides to act out. So I guess I was unconsciously tuning him out.

Pres. Barack Obama: “[I] support the school board’s decision to dismiss the faculty and staff members.” New York Times, March 1, 2010.

Diane Ravitch, professor of education, New York University: "In choosing his education agenda, President Obama sided with the economists and the corporate-style reformers." Washington Post, Feb. 26, 2010.

I once “fired” myself from a teaching job. Actually, I quit the job, but if I had been the supervisor of the school, I would have fired myself. In Michigan in the ‘60s, a person who had completed his or her sophomore year of college could get a certificate to substitute teach. I did this for a year in Decatur, a small town a few miles from Kalamazoo. During the summer, a woman called to ask me to teach at a one-room country school. She said the school took students grades K-8 and the student population was low. Later I found out the school, which was not certified by the state board of education, was run by a bunch of rural parents who didn’t want to send their students to the Decatur schools.

In case you just couldn't roll out of bed... or forgot to... this morning, here is our WFAA Channel 8 segment on the Roseland After School Academy and Dallas South News Jr. Reporters.

Watch out Chris Flanagan! :)

The shoe donation came right after the Haiti earthquake. Terrence’s Teen U kids had been studying about Haiti—looking things up on the internet, having discussions, and seeking to gain an understanding of the tragic event that happened. As the rest of the world, they became very enmeshed in what was happening. Around this time, I received an email from our development department letting me know tennis shoes had been donated for the youth at Roseland. When I let Terrence know, he took the information to the teens and asked them if they wanted to keep the shoes or send them to Haiti. One of the students said they would rather send the shoes to Haiti. All of the students agreed. They then began to seek out places who were coordinating trips to Haiti.

This story of this inner city funeral director in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in a recent Religion & Ethics broadcast, is the heart breaking reality in too many cities. I need to hasten to add it is not the only reality. But it is a serious problem. Do yourself a favor and watch the video.

I was blessed in 22 years as a pastor in one of the poorest areas of South Dallas, to only have to do one funeral for a young man whose death was gang related. I hope I never have to do another. One of my assistants and I attended the wake. We watched young boys and girls coming to grips with death in a way that was unnatural and unnecessary.

This is to celebrate the determination of an amazing graduate who uses education as a stepping stone in life.

Jessica OrogbuI’ve now known Jessica for eight years or more. I met her when she was first in foster care and then was adopted by her foster mom. While in foster care and as an adopted daughter, I watched Jessica work hard! She became the overseer of her adopted brothers and sister, who were also in the same foster home as she was and were adopted at the same time as she was. As the oldest, she was expected to get up at 4:00 a.m. to ensure they were all dressed and taken care of before they all went to school. In the evenings, Jessica often cooked dinner and cleaned the kitchen before getting time to do her own homework and prepare for school the next morning. Yet, through all of that, I never once saw Jessica have a bad day or be in a bad mood. Her positive attitude was absolutely amazing and admirable.

This award goes to a person who has demonstrated outstanding achievement before the age of 25.
Terrence Brooks

A seminary student at Dallas Theological Seminary, Terrence applied for our AmeriCorps program. When we first interviewed him, we only had positions in our After-School Academy for elementary students. I knew he would be a great role model and figured he would adapt to teaching young children. However, before our programs started, we were given space in a new building that we were able to open up as our Teen University.

Because of Terrence’s experience working with college students at Huston-Tillitson and because of his future interest of starting his own non-profit program, I thought he would be the perfect person to run our Teen University. I couldn’t have been more right.

A Community Crusader is a person who creates solutions to a local problem or social issue. This year I feel two people deserve this award: Susie Marshall and Shawn Williams.

Susie MarshallThough I met Susie several years ago when we took the kids to pick blueberries in Gainesville, TX, I have found Susie to be an extremely dedicated friend to the After-School Academy. She began working with us more consistently during the 2008-2009 school year where she committed to coming once a month to teach the kids gardening lessons. By the end of the school year, Susie was stopping by the ASA randomly and helping out. This summer, she started working more diligently to help develop a community garden within Roseland. Susie stuck with us as DHA wavered back and forth and/or completely ignored our requests to utilize the grassy, fenced-in space behind the ASA.