Page 5 - 8-18-15 Tuesday's Edition

Editorials
The Winner Is...
Shrinking Government And Sound-Bites
“The experienced mountain climber is not intimidated by a moun- tain — he is inspired by it. The persistent winner is not discouraged by a problem — he is chal- lenged by it. Mountains are created to be con- quered; adversities are designed to be defeated; problems are sent to be solved.” ~ William Arthur Ward
Empowered Greetings. The ballots have been cast and the votes have been counted. And the winner is YOU! That’s right. You have been declared the indis-
By Marc H. Morial President and CEO
National Urban League
By passing this bill, we bridge the gap between helplessness and hope for more than 5 million ed- ucationally deprived children. We put into the hands of our youth more than 30 million new books and into many of our schools their first libraries. We reduce the terrible time lag in bringing new teaching tech- niques into the Nation’s class- rooms. We strengthen State and local agencies which bear the burden and the challenge of bet- ter education. And we rekindle the revolution—the revolution of the spirit against the tyranny of ignorance.” –
Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson, on the signing of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, April 11, 1965.
In a matter of weeks, our na- tion’s senators will decide whether to improve access to this country’s promise of op- portunity for every child through quality education, or deny our most vulnerable chil- dren—many from historically disadvantaged groups—equity, excellence and accountability in our public school system, and along with that, a proven path to future opportunity and suc- cess in this country.
If the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015 passes in its cur- rent, deficient form, children in low performance schools, chil- dren of color, children with dis- abilities, and those born into poverty and poor neighbor- hoods are sure to be left behind.
The ECAA is the U.S. Sen- ate’s bipartisan reauthorization of the Elementary and Second- ary Education Act, also com- monly known as No Child Left Behind. The ESEA was signed
putable, unmistakable win- ner. Although there appeared to be insurmountable forces that tried to stop you and block you, they just didn’t work.
In the words of Dianna Ross, “Ain’t no mountain high enough...” to keep you from winning. The climb may be difficult, but you will make it to the top because you are a winner. “Ain’t no valley low enough...” to keep you from winning. No matter how hard the struggle, you will always rise up because you are a winner. “Ain’t no river wide enough...” to keep you from winning. You have the strength to crossover
into law 50 years ago. It was a landmark piece of federal civil rights legislation that became a critical cornerstone of Presi- dent Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty” initiative designed to close the education achieve- ment gap between lower- and higher-income children. Fifty years later, with Congress cur- rently considering a vote on the ESEA reauthorization bill, the gap in educational opportunity, achievement and funding has only grown wider and the promise of equity in education for all of our nation’s students will be betrayed by a bill that does not provide additional support and opportunities for disadvantaged students.
For the first time in our na- tion’s history, students of color are the majority of the U.S. stu- dent body. And according to a recent survey by the Southern Education Foundation, a ma- jority of all public school stu- dents come from low-income homes. The continued success of our nation on the domestic front and the international playing field will be in large part determined at the intersec- tion of civil rights and educa- tion.
A nation fully committed to the future success of all of its children and, by extension, its own future, must pass a reau- thorization bill that holds schools and districts account- able in every instance and man- ner that leaves no vulnerable students behind. We must spend our education dollars and resources where the need is greatest. Without strong federal oversight and the ability to course correct when necessary, the practice of understaffing and underfunding schools in our most vulnerable communi-
every barrier, every pothole and every hurdle designed to block your flow because you are a winner.
You may not be the best looking in the group, but as a winner you always give your best. You may not have the biggest net worth, but as a winner you have a strong self worth. Your self worth speaks to you on the darkest day to give you a ray of hope reminding you that you are a champion, a leader and a winner against all odds.
Like a diamond you are not valuable because you glit- ter, but because you are im- possible to destroy. You are a winner!
Winners want to book Selphenia to speak or pro- vide a workshop at your next event. Call or text 813-956- 0185; Email: thequeenofsuc- cess@yahoo.com
Follow me on twitter @queenofsuccess1 or on
C onsider this: Congressional and presidential candidates championing “smaller government” need to talk to cit- izens who have tried using the government we possess, which has shrunk by 200,000 government workers since January 2009. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the federal workforce is shrinking at the fastest rate since
the Eisenhower 1950’s.
Have you tried calling the United States Social Security
Department lately? If not, expect a 10 to 15 minute wait, ad- vised one of our readers. Don’t even think about calling the United States Internal Revenue Service unless you owe them more money than you make in a year. After years of contin- uous budget cuts, customer service at the IRS has reached a new low according to the National Tax Payer Advocate.
For instance, this tax year, 50 million Americans phoned IRS help lines. Of the 20 million who sought to speak to an IRS representative, only 6.1 million actually got to speak to someone. Customers were placed on hold for an average of 23 ear-numbing minutes. Handling identity theft, changes in tax filing guidelines, collections, and enforcement has been hampered, admits IRS officials.
Voters and taxpayers need to do some research on politi- cal candidates’ “feel-good” sound-bites such as “smaller gov- ernment,” “immigration reform,” “making America strong again,” “weak government,” and other bites of no substance. It’s time we realize that what we hear, is not necessarily what we get, or what we want or need.
In a packed USF auditorium more than a decade ago, neuro-surgeon Ben Carson introduced himself as a ghetto kid who was so backward and traumatized that his teacher
used to place him in time-out by putting him and his desk inside an empty refrigerator carton at the back of the class- room.
In front of an audience that sat on the edge of its seat as it dabbed at moistened eyes, Carson explained that not until his teacher began to talk about South American Indian his- tory, focusing on one word – “Obsidian,” an incredibly beau- tiful and almost indestructible stone – did the genie that lay dormant inside him come to light. Carson then began a jour- ney that would take him in years to come around the world as a healer, lecturer, and one day a candidate for the Presi- dency of the United States of America.
Certainly, Carson was not the first Black man to run for such a vaunted seat. Frederick Douglass was invited to run; Jesse Jackson did indeed, run as did Rev. Al Sharpton and was rumored that had he lived, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on an anti-Vietnam War platform had planned to run, also. But a lanky, tan lawyer-senator by the name of Barack Hussein Obama broke the seal and made every Black child’s secret dream come true.
And then all hell broke loose. From day-one to the pres- ent, no President including Lincoln and Carter was more maligned than our current President. And now comes Ben Carson. Is he crazy? Does he have a persecution wish? Or do he and his supporters actually believe he can become Amer- ica’s second Black President?
Polls say he has a chance.
Facebook:
Nichols.
Selphenia
ties will continue unchecked. The practice of not requiring school districts to provide equi- table resources, or to close the comparability loophole in all its schools, for vulnerable student subgroups like English lan- guage learners or students with disabilities, will only serve to perpetuate the very inequality the original bill sought to make the stuff of history in our mod- ern-day schoolroom textbooks. We all know knowledge is power, therefore the reautho- rization bill also needs to pro- vide the transparency, data and reporting families and commu- nities need to effectively advo- cate for their children and schools.
Without critical provisions like these, like so many fami- lies, government officials and advocacy groups, the National Urban League will stand firm in its opposition to the current in- carnation of the ECAA and de- mands that Congress revisit and recommit to the original vi- sion of ESEA when it was first signed into law 50 years ago.
This week, we were joined in our opposition and fight to re- vise the bill by 84 members of the Congressional Tri-Caucus— a group composed of the Con- gressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, the Congres- sional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Cau- cus. The group sent a letter to the education committee in the Senate acknowledging the flaws in current law the bill has reme- died, but they also maintained “the bill in its current form does not do enough to protect the historically disadvantaged and vulnerable students the ESEA is intended to serve.”
We commend the Tri-Cau- cus for standing on principle and opposing the bill. We also look forward to working in partnership to craft an ESEA reauthorization bill that will prepare all children for college, work and life—no matter their family income, race or zip code—allowing every child the opportunity to realize and act on their full potential.
Making Certain Every Child Achieves
Ben Carson: A Second Black President?
TUESDAY, AUGUST 18, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 5