Comment on Geoffrey Canada’s Harlem Children’s Zone. If you missed the video you can find it under the Society links on youtube. Post your thoughts on the issue and Mr. Canada’s program for change in education.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di0-xN6xc_w
We watched this in class,,,,well some of you did. If you missed it or didn’t pay attention, follow the links above or under Society links. Watch the Anderson Cooper documentary on Geoffrey Canada, approx. 14 minutes in length. Comment in the discussion below.
This video made me realize how greatful people in North America should be for their education when people in some countries are struggling to get the opportunity to have one. Its sad that a child’s future is dependant on a lottery system because they don’t have the resources to put all the children through an education. This program has been helping children in the zone to get a college degree and they start before the child is even 5 years old. I believe that this program is very beneficial for the zone and the children who have the opportunity to be helped by the program should be very greatful because it litterally has changed their lives!
I don’t remember watching the video in class. After watching the youtube video I agree with Shealyn! It’s horrible that those children have to depend on a lottery system to see if they’ll go to school. I’m very grateful for the education that North America has! This Harlem program is a great idea. It’s helping a lot of children get an education that they wouldn’t have been able to get before.
The Harlem Children’s Zone has brought a really important issue to light, and has taken the necessary steps to remedy the problem. I find it admirable that Geoffrey Canada is so dedicated to 10 000 kids that he will stand by them even if they don’t get into the Promise Academy.
Although I support the project and I believe that every child should have the right to education regardless of socio-economic status, I didn’t agree with the way that they spoke about white people. They really made it a race issue, when it isn’t one at all. Yes, African Americans are at a disadvantage, but there are a lot of Caucasians who are at a disadvantage in life as well. It isn’t fair that a white kid may not be allowed to go to Promise, even though they live in the “zone”.
The only way that they’ll solve the race gap is by eliminating race from the equation entirely.
I agree with all of you but have you see a not white children at MSS lately. Me not, i saw an non-white student at our school at least 3 weeks ago. Just one. Maybe I don’t recognize them because I had a lot of different skip colored people in front of me every day when I worked in the refugee camp in Germany. The question that bothers me is “Do we have at all different skin colored students at out School? Excluding Aboriginals.
Please ignore the ‘ren’ at the end of the word children. I meant ‘child’.
This initiative is a great idea. It’s great that he’s giving 10 000 kids an opportunity to lead a successful life and get out of the gutter, and it’s even better that he wants to expand that even more. He points out that the States are known as the land of oppurtunity, and people there are supposed to get an equal chance in everything. But they’re not, and Canada is bringing that to the forefront. He realized that there are too many people being shortchanged in life, and he’s making an effort to change that. He is extremely dedicated to getting all of the kids into college.
I think the only unfair thing is that the kids are accepted based on a lottery, but I understand why. I also think that it’s great that he’s found a way around this by creating a pipeline of programs and remedied the big problem.
I think Geoffery Canada has created a great thing. The video opened my eyes to how grateful we all should be to have free education from kindergarten right up until grade 12 (in most cases) and how most of us are able to attend schools around North American freely without a lottery system. Its is great that Geoffery is helping all these kids get a great education.
I agree with Jocelyn and Shealyn. I think that Geoffery Canada is doing such a great thing childrens education. Children are attending school without a lottery system from elementary school right up to high school. I think this is a great that it is helping out a lot of children.
Geoffery Canada has created something really grand. This video made me realize how lucky we are to have such a grand education system in North America. Its grand what he is doing for the children of Africa. Geoffery has given 10 000 children the opportunity to gain knowlegde and skills through education that they deserve. Howeves.. it is unfortunate that some of the children are unable to attend the school.
Now I know how I am so lucky to have such a good education system. Geoffery Canada is doing something very special for the kids in Harlem by giving 10,000 of them the opportunity to get a great education and have doors open for their future. He really is in a way saving most of those kids lives because of the area they live in, and how he has started this school its nice to see him getting the kids off the streets and in to a better life.
That was a grand blog Jill.
I believe the Geoffery Canada is doing a wonderful job giving the children in Harlem a chance to actually go to college. I believe that his comment on firing his teachers is a bit tough because it is not teachers fault if the student doesn’t go to college. A student could become pregnant, or their family needs an income in order to survive. A lot of other factors contribute to the decision of not going to college. The teachers may have a small part in helping them, but other factors are always showing themselves.
I also like how he created a school with a hospital and home-grown food for the cooking class. However, in order to make the students feel like other students, they should have the same class time and summer vacation.
Bribing students is a good but bad thing. This gives the student a way to go to school and to study, however I personally find it morally wrong to do to students. A lottery for entry is wrong but in this case, it is necessary to do in order to give children an even chance, and not base it upon who is smarter, who is closer etc. Also, Canada does have other free children based programs that parents can take their children to in order to help them.
I think that what Mr. Canada is doing is great the fact that he has managed to help over 10,000 kids is incredible. To help out the kids in one of the poorest areas in America can’t be easy. The only sad part is that the kids have to get in by lottery. The government should be helping more with this to give the kids a chance at a better live. It is worth the money to provide the support these kids need for their education.
One of the things that stood out to me most about Geoffrey Canada’s approach to these children’s’ education is his outlook on money. Not only has he realized that a huge incentive for good grades and attendance is money, but he has put it into action, is outspoken about it, and has drawn results. Although many in other school systems may look down on this approach centralized around bribery, the results are there: 90% of Canada’s children make it into college. Many have aspirations about going to the best in the world, and following in Canada’s footsteps – Stanford; Harvard; Brown. Can the same be said about those attending public school? Although the approach is not a traditional one – and perhaps unethical in some more conservative citizen’s eyes – it’s unarguable that it works. Drastic times call for drastic measures, and if that means spending $5000 per year on each student, in addition to trips to Disney Land and monetary compensation when his students achieve stellar grades, Canada is willing to put forth the effort. It struck me when the truth of what he was saying became evident: we are paying a fraction of the amount for these children to work their way into college and become contributing members of society than we would be should they go to jail – up to $95,000 less, in fact.
The study done that Canada completely eliminated the white / black child gap between reading and mathematic proficiency is proof enough that his system is a force to be reckoned with. Although expensive, perhaps other schools – and even parents themselves – should be taking pointers from this school in hopes of boosting their own suburban child’s marks in regular American public schools.
One more thing that I find interesting about Canada’s approach is his absolute ruthlessness concerning his faculty’s jobs. He stated that if the graduation rate, or even post-high school college attendance rate drops or is unsatisfactory, he will fire and hire anyone and everyone until he is satisfied with the results. At first, I was shocked at the bluntness of his statement. After careful thinking, however, I realized this is probably a main contributor to his success rates. A good teacher makes all the difference, and by Canada allowing no less than the best in his school, he is paving the way for a close to 100% graduation and college-acceptance rate.
I agree with some of the other comments. It’s sad that children’s education is determined by a lottery. Watching the families having to walk away, dissapointed, breaks my heart. All of these children deserve equal opportunities to get a good education. A proper education can determine their future, whether or not they get good jobs and live creative and knowledgable lives. The fact that Canada has helped over 10,000 kids get a great education is amazing and inspiring. But the change needs to be made by everyone. One person, such as Canada, can not be expected to be able to help every single child go to a good school and college. I feel such gratitude to be in the situation I am, to so easily recieve the education I have all my life. We live such easy lives compaired to some of these families.
I agree that its unfortunate that a child’s education is determined by lottery, however, if more and more people got behind this idea and created more schools like The Harlem Childerens Zone , this problem could be eliminated. I’m extremely fortunate to be born into a place and into a family that offers me great oppurtunities to get an education and to become succesful in our society, it’s extremely sad that all childeren don’t have this oppurtunity based on where they were born.