20309: Nlbo: Thinking of Haitians' K-12 performance (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Nlbo@aol.com

As an educator, thinking of the test scores and performance of K-12 blacks,
in our case the Haitians, imagining what will the next generations look like, I
am sharing these reflections.

Last time I wrote about the focus of Haitians in the past 20 years, from the
l980’s boat people phenomena to the 1991-94 coup d’état. Now that we have
another political focus, the Haitian life and active participation in the United
States and other Western countries again has been deterred.

I am wondering if the focus of the majority of the voices that the Haitian
community and the youth are listening to, see among them most of the time are
not inclined toward learning and reading, and most Haitian homes have no books,
what role models do the children have? What kind of Haitians we will have 20,
30 years down the road?I wish “leaders” in the diaspora were thinking about
this 20, 30 years ago. How can children be inspired to learn if most Haitians
don't have the habits of buying books, going to the library, or the museums, or
new places. Most Haitian churches have no bulletins. The less  than a handful
that do don't provide information on books to read, summer schools, after
school programs, conferences, voting days or dates, or information that would
help Haitians engage or be active in this country. Most lay and religious
ministers don't mention those educational and engaging activities in the pulpits, the
internet or encourage those learning activities either. Neither do most
radios hosts promote reading and learning. If the majority of lay and religious
ministers themselves or the aural/ oral and visual media hosts don't read, given
their influence on the community, what should educators except in the schools?
What should one make from when in Boston for instance, the academic capital
of the world, Haitian newspapers have to stop their distribution  because of
lack of readership? Are the "leaders" in the Haitian communities preparing
future leaders?

I have kept this advice that a third generation Chinese born in Jamaica gave
me. She said when her grandmother was leaving China, her mother told to her,
"Wherever you go,taste what the people eat, read what they write, and go where
they go. As a Haitian, she told told me, get some vans bring the people in
your community places. When she said that to me, it came to mind that I always
see the Asians in busses in Harvard Sq. at Symphony Hall, at the Museum of fine
Arts, almost every where.  If one is fortunate to travel around the world, you
will see Asians all over. But I don't see blacks as tourists even in African
countries. They go to study, to buy, not for vacation or plainly visiting. As
Haitians,do we travel around Haiti, just to see other parts of the country?
When tourists were coming to Haiti, we saw the Asians. We called them "Chinese."
I was in several countries in West Africa,  I did not expect to see so many
Asians in Africa.

I mention  that to let my fellow Haitians know having a nice car, a house, or
beeing seen by a group of Haitians  in church or be heard on the radio is not
a final accomplishment. The world still sees us as poor black folks. The host
western countries see us as marginalized immigrants.  We need to collectively
strive to get ourselves out of that image as a group. The black Americans
have an expression “HNIC”  (Head Negro in Charge). We see that a lot in black
communities. By being visible or audible in the small Haitian circles, we think
we are”leaders.” Most of us who look like  “leaders”   need to prepare 21rst
century global agents and be one.

Nekita