Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / Dec. 5, 1981, edition 1 / Page 17
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SAT.. DECEMBER 5, 1381 THE CAROLINA TIKES -17 RjA, Answer For Jobs, Government, Education arid Mental Health b,f.c.ai.p.d So that you will not waste your time reading this long article, I Will ; tell you now that it deals only with personal and group success (WINN- J ING). , . . : Winners ; are always "simple" people. They understand the basics. . Once ihey understand the basics, they cover their ''tracks' and con vince others to be complex (miseducated) and other-directed. They convince you to be more con-i cerned with others than yourself and your own community. It is now time for you to become ; "simple' It is time to understand R2A4. To the simple mind, Ri is (recognize), Ra is (relate), A3 is (assimilate) and A4 is (apply). When R2A4 is used correctly, you can do anything you want to do, when, .. where and how you want to do it as long as. your goals are realistic. Also your body and mind must be physically and mentally TONED to do A (apply). There are those who believe that you and the group you represent can never make any advances, never in fluence your fates, and can only achieve positions as tokens. If you believe that all problems within our communities are the fault of the system and it is the responsibility of the system to solve, then you believe, perhaps unknowingly, in treating yourself as a child waiting for your big father to make things right (paternalism) and complex thinking. Keep it simple: R2A4. Slavery (never forget it), racism, discrimination and miseducation produced self and group destructive apathy: accepting criminal activity in our communities, not voting in elections, not supporting our businesses and organizations, not supporting private education, and trades, and not demanding accoun tability from appointed and elected representatives. You must not ignore the fact 45 per cent of DurharrT(you) makes for a potential of political, educational and economic power (if only through boycott) that could easily equal the influence of other ethnic groups. It is' the mobilization of this force which is the issue, not its helplessness, not its victimization. The major problems facing Durham are 1) economic develop 'ment, 2) representation, and 3) education. You should have no sympathy for a vision of helplessness, trained or learned. Your goal should be to work your way into positions where you can see and influence policy from within the structure church, social club, work, political organization, school ' rather than talking and theorizing from the out side, expressing bootlegged radical or conservative ideas that work bet ter in classrooms, street corners, and bars than they do in the halls, offices and clubs where policies are actually set. We have not accepted the fact that we are also responsible for some of the conditions in which we live in this society. Because of the way we came to this country, we have a greater feeling that somebody else is responsible for our condition, that somebody else did it to us. We can shift the total percep tion of us, to us and others, when we acknowledge that we are also responsible and don't intend to look to somebody else to do it for us. We used to be producers when we thought simple and now are only consumers thinking complex. R2A4 (review again above). When we change the perception of ourselves, we will then align ourselves with people and organiza tions that speak to our interests. It will mean that we will be aligned with people who are seen as conser vatives on one day and people who are thought of as liberals on another day. It is not politically intelligent to automatically assume that a liberal solution is the best one for us and a conservative solution is opposed to our interests. We should become conservative again. In our early history, when we did for ourserVes, we looked out for our own first (conservative, remember?). When we became liberal and "complex" we accepted social pro grams Head Start, welfare, etc. which created greater rather than lesser dependence (helplessness) on the government and "liberal" spirit. These social programs depended on . economic prosperity in the nation at ! large, the moods of moral obliga tion and guilt, or the wake oi' riots or fear. Although these programs did make it possible for many of us to break new ground, this game plan made more of an elaborate traction rather than getting us, the paiient, out of the hospital. The declining quality oT our public education was sidestepped by preferential programs and token paraprofessional positions. The power of economic support of our businesses or economic boycott of hostile businesses was put aside in favor of demanding that the federal government redress prejudicial hir ing and promotion practices of public and private businesses. In ef fect, the thrust and drive of the Civil Rights Movement was handed over ...,. .v.,., i.. -in..-. ,mmiifUi&2j3$!lfrmt to the national and state govern " ment and out leadership was able to , duck the responsibility they asked ' for. r . ' Less predictable political allegiances on our part should make it - more likely that both major political parties would compete for our vot6 and ' financial support. Political solutions will .come from 'deals or pressures based on group interest, and the people most in fluential will be those Qf us who can best speak and orchestrate that in terest and expand its applicability (A4) to include risk and sacrifice . when and how necessary. We want you up at City Hall say ing that we don't like dirty streets, at the school board saying we want quality education now.; We should say clearly to people who supposedly represent us that we don't like the way things are, so those who govern, and administer will not assume that we will accept crumbs and poor performance. It is no longer effective to present our problems as exclusive and con nected only to the condition of our color. The fact of the matter is that whoever is in position or power is the person or group we have to deal with. We have to learn their language, their ideas, and shape our politics and business in a way that we can make it clear that our in terests are the interests of everyone. I must make it clear that I'm not saying that we should make deals and not have any position or integri ty. I mean that we should broaden our constituency rather than narrow it. In the process, we should also make it very clear to our own leaders, that we won't allow them to trade away the interests of our com munity in order to protect themselves. We as a group could benefit far more from leaders and represen tatives who have the courage to tell the truth and take the heat for un popular positions, rather than hav ing to speak double talk. In terms of our politics, the routes to political office and their strategies have changed drastically. The traditional way has greatly declined in importance the clubhouse, the patronage system, the boss system, and the party ap paratus. So it is now possible to bypass the traditional routes to power and yet achieve it. However, we don't have many professionals who will go out and work to get political experience so that they know how public policy is shaped, how things are done. Political experience is , what ultimately shapes public policy. Through working in a campaign you get experience and a sense of the things necessary to develop policy issues, and you also get to know what the public will and will not support. TTiose areas of experience and judgement still are frontiers for us and, as we could see in the recent election, we put our candidates in . office. Thanks to the Durham Com mittee on the Affairs of Black Peo ple's (DCABP) organizing effort and you R2A4 won. The DCABP is the place to learn. The new mayor and council should support full representation of the city's population on the governing councils. The mayor and school superintendents (city and county) have to show precise con cern about what our public school investment is producing in returns of functional people in our city and county, not just the improvement of reading scores by a few percentage points. The Research Triangle Area has become less of a service economy, but the educational system is producing, with our children, people who are incapable of competing in the market place. They are being trained, instead of educated, for unemployment, and as long as that continues, the public pays for inadequacy and suffers economically as a result. There are also enough brains and degrees among us to start and support private schools to address this issue. There is strong interest and demand for this supply (private school). Think simple R2A4. It is of equal importance that the mayor bring together the best ap proaches developed by our people in community economic development, so that neighborhood stabilization and redevelopment can be extended, which would produce jobs in cooperation with the private sector. The Durham Business and Profes sional Chain would be such a group to assist in this. Hayti, a once thriv ing business district of the city of Durham, must be reborn stronger and share in the revitalization of the Bull the City of Medicine, Educa tion, Technology and Cultural Diversity. This is not a hopeless condition. It is an enormous opportunity for the mayor, the council and us to mobilize the resources of leadership within the public and private sec tors. The past and present city, and county leadership in public, and private institutions have little ex perience with us and know less about our problems and how they are interwoven with those of the business community. Once these issues are presently clearly recogniz ed as dangers and pitfalls to the en tire city of Durham, those in power will see the importance of fair deal ing to protect their own interests. RjA (review again). The formula R2 At was invented by our ancestors, BEFORE American ' slavery and kept alive by free minds throughout the world. There has never been a problem among Us with Ri (recognition), Ri (relating) and A3 (assimilating). However, the most important and final step of A4 (ap plication) is the problem. This step has almost been bred out of us as a result of miseducation, flim-flam -religions, concentrated stress, governmental social programs, and mind-control techniques. The first three steps R2AJ are a dime a dozen. Durham is full of frustrated dreamers, could have been's, and if I hads. It is also, full of people who have never heard of -or understood systems (R2A4). If you would only take situations that seem to be so complex and make them simple (steps Ru and A3) and then DO SOMETHING (A) most of your problems would be solved or at least you would understand what is making you self-destructive. You would either deal with the situation, accept it, or leave it. Now is the start of the rest of your life. Oh, I forget to tell you, you must first know yourself before you can use R2A4. Work at it in the mir ror. If you think this article is useful, save it, and buy another one for a, friend as a gift. R2A4 Earth Wars Mission Control Sign Off Tests and Testing Issues Explained ACRE, the consumer oriented educational research group has just made available a parent, teacher and consumer guide to tests used in the North Carolina schools. The guide is titled Testing Our Children: A Parent and Consumer Handbook on Tests and Testing in the North' Carolina Schools. The handbook tells' parents and teachers reasons a child may not score well on tests and how to understand test scores. It, also tells parents how to get more information about their children's tests and how to protect their children's rights in school testing. "Parents have not traditionally been involv ed in the school testing process," comments Dr. Pamela George, the author of the testing handbook and ACRE director. "Because parents have the right to know and participate in the educational decisions affecting their children, parents now want to be better informed about standardized tests and how they are used, wisely and unwisely, in our schools," she stressed. The staff of ACRE, the Atlantic Center for Research in Education, has been gathering infor mation about achieve- Carolina for four years. A major reason the work was undertaken, accor ding .to Dr. Ellen Bacon of the Duke Developmental Evalua- . REWT-TO-OWNACURTISMATHISTV Clip this ad and get first week for $1 .44 No long term obligations. Call for details. PALMER TV 383-5433 00 00 00 IT x So 3T & VJ a o 00 : Testing r : ; ! Our Children : 00 O XB ment, IQ, diagnostic, tion Clinic and an ACRE competency and college Board member, was to entrance tests in North "underscore the increas- 5 (2LUIB9SIPEKJ2l Open your 1982 Christmas Club Account Now, and be one of the many happy shoppers who will be cashing their holiday checks next year! Save as little as $1 per week... Next November you'll receive a check for your savings. Make Christmas 82 Your Merriest! Prepare NOW. Open a Christmas Savings Club Account at the bank where YOU'RE SOMEBODY SPECIAL. r .1 nmriii a turnc o i? A nnnrnc n a imf" UcMHMMMMWi M tlM.OH 116 West Parr is h Street 15 Fayetteville Street t Chape! Hill Street Loca ted Statewide I n DURHAM WINSTON-SALEM RALEIGH CHARLOTTE ing power of tests in our children's future. Stan dardized tests in our schools are used to make important educational decisions and will be for j many years to come." At the present time in North Carolina, a typical child will take, according to the ACRE test hand book, anywhere from eight major standardized tests upwards to more than twenty in his or her school career, grades K-12. Those tests include the California Achieve ment Tests given in grades 3, 6 and 9, the Mathematics and Reading Inventories given in grades 1 and 2, and the Competency Test given in grade 11. This list may, and usual ly does, include other achievement, IQ, diagnostic or entrances tests, the handbook: reports. Fourth grade teacher, Ms. Kathleen Gilbert, in the Durham County school system, added, "I feel, as do many teachers and parents across our state, that understanding of standardized tests and testing issues in the schools is vital for better education of our children in North Carolina." Parents, teachers and consumer groups in terested in obtaining a copy of Testing Our Children: A Parent and Consumer Handbook on Tests and Testing in the North Carolina Schools should write the ACRE Test Project, 604 W. Chapel Hill St., Durham, NC 27701. 2 lu Dr Billy C. Black (I) following his investiture as the sixth president of Albany (Ga.) State College, is presented with the symbolic Presidential Medallion by Davey Gibson of Atlanta (r), vice president of the College's Naional Alumni Association. I hJ- B e" P The Blood Bank was set up by Dr. Charles R. Draw, black physician from Washington, D.C., in 1941. Where are all the nice people in the world? It's a good question, because these days the networks seem to spotlight only the gloom, the doom or the kinkiness in the world. But when you tune into Cablevision's exclusive superstation WTBS you'll actually see a show devoted to "Nice People" every Sunday night when the whole family can watch together. You'll see the two New York City policemen teaching boxing to ghetto kids in a gym they've equipped out of their own pockets. Share the Inspiration of a Florida music teacher who has helped hundreds escape depression through her therapeutic hobby. And much more. Nice people are alive and well on Cablevision's exclusive superstation WTBS It's television worth watching. Call Durham Cablcvlslon 683-2321 P Cal today or clpandmalthe coupon to the addrcsaMow Address. Apt. -zip. 0AVE50 on connection YES! Sign me up for Cablevision's exdusrve family programming on WTBS today. Huny, offtr txpirt Dc 111 . Durtism Ccblcvlslon 70$ RIgsbea Av. Durhsm 27701 Oty Phone Stake. Evening Phone Best Time to Cal,
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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Dec. 5, 1981, edition 1
17
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