Divorced fathers look at parenting
By YVETTE N. FREEMAN
Chronicle Staff Writer
Divorced Fathers of Forsyth
County plans to hold a workshop
that will discuss parenting skills for
fathers who are no longer living
with their children.
The workshop will be held
Monday, Nov. 18 from 7 p.m. to 9
p.m. atthe East Winston Branch
Public Library, with guest speaker
Frankie Denise Penn Powell.
According to Tim Jackson,
branch manager of the library, the
workshop^fsTto look at making
family-friendly situations/'
During the workshop, a num
ber of topics will be discussed,
including divorce and its effects on
the children and parenting assign
ments.
Powell, who is currently work
ing on a Ph.D. in education, was
chosen as the guest speaker because
of her knowledge and studies in the
area. MShe is a very good resource
person," stated Jackson.
Jackson also said that the
workshop will not only focus on
parenting skills for divorced fathers,
but anyone who is divorced or
going through a divorce.
"Save the children is the key
function," he said.
Divorced Fathers of Forsyth
County was organized earlier this
summer by Shedrick Adams to
make it easier for fathers to play an
active role in the parenting of their
children. The group contends that
children are adversely affected
when fathers do not participate fully
in their growth and development.
The organization's members are
working to have the courts adopt
"family-friendly" policies in cus
tody and child support cases.
For more information, contact
-Tim Jackson at 727-2203* or
Shedrick Adams at 631-5125.
Lock 'em up
Continued from page A1
live approaches and prevention.
"You don't look for another way
to punish, you look for alternative
types of discipline," says Dr. Irwin
Hyman, director of the National Cen
ter for the Study of Corporal Punish
ment. /'Emphasize the positive, not
the negative. Stop focusing on kids
being bad all the time, and catch
them being good. You must look at
programs tiiat prevent problems. If
curriculum is too hard or too easy,
that can lead to behavior problems."
Tuesday, when the Discipline
Alternatives Committee met, the one
, concept that all members agreed on
was that the manner of disciplining
children must be positive, not puni
tive.
Most members of the school
board agreed that discipline, not pun
ishment, is the issue at hand, and
most voiced concern that teachers
receive adequate support as the new
discipline methods are developed and
put into place. The ban on corporal
punishment goes into effect January
22, 1992. The Discipline Alternatives
Committee is to come up with alter
natives by that date.
The only African- American who
spoke before the board's vote was
Walter Marshall, co-chair of the
NAACP education committee. Mar
shall said he was concerned about
what would be used in place of pad
dlings. "Don't eliminate educational
opportunities for kids," he said, refer
ring to suspension policies. Marshall
also said that the same people who
are against corporal punishment are
in favor of the death penalty.
Later when Roxanne Grossman,
a teacher, suggested that students
with the worst behavior be referred
for placement in special education
classes, Marshall shook his head.
"The lower the special education
category, the higher the concentration
_ of blacks," he said. "It's a black male
domain."
Marshall voiced the concerns of
many black parents who feel that
their child was put in special educa
tion classes for reasons that have
more to do with cultural differences
and life situations than academic
. needs. * *
What are the alternatives?
The Discipline Alternatives
Committee met Tuesday to continue
working on their task. About 20
teachers, principals and assistant
principals as well as two counselors
and two school psychologists make
up the committee, which is chaired
by Nancy Gibson, principal at Ibra
ham Elementary. The three division
directors, Annie Hairston, Ann
Shorn, and Elsa Woods, are also on
the committee.
There was no shortage of ideas
among the group, which divided
itself into three sub-groups and ended
the day with a plan of what to do
next. The alternatives sub-group will
meet next week. George Bryan,
director of SCAN (Stop Child Abuse
Now), offered to coordinate the
involvement of local agencies. "We
want to design a program with the
help of the community," said Bryan.
The communications sub-group
agreed to ask superintendent Dr.
Larry Coble to ask schools to set up a
discipline committee, to approve a
public convocation and speaker, and
to recommend a philosophy ofjtj^l- ??
pline management, not punishdHHt) *
the school board. |K>
The survey sub-group is devel
oping a survey for teachers that asks
them to list behaviors which keeps
them from teaching effectively and to
describe strategies that have been
effective in dealing with students
who misbehave. The survey may also
ask teachers to list the number of
_ children who require out-of-the-ordi
nary discipline, and to suggest ways
to make parents more accountable for
their child's behavior.
"We've never asked the students
what they think the problems are,"
suggested Larry Fields, assistant prin
cipal for Southwest Elementary.
"Some of what we have to do is
retrain teachers on what to look for
and whai to ignore/ said Jeanne
Daly, a third grade teacher at Bolton.
"Before we can use an alterna
tive discipline plan, we must know
how to treat children," said Adolphus
Cope land, Wiley Middle School prin
cipal. HWe must take into account
how students should be treated; like
they're human beings."
Nancy Gibson noted that part of
the problem is that some teachers
don't want to deal with discipline at
all.
Most of the group seemed to
agree that several different approach
es to discipline have been tried, but -
none with consistency or follow-up.
"There's a lack of common
terminology," said Dacoma Love
Lane, assistant principal at Moore
Elementary. x
Discipline with Dignity and
Assertive Discipline were two strate
gies that were discussed off and on
throughout the day. Division Director
Annie Hairston noted that some
teachers and administrators were
trained in Assertive D^ciplm^, but
some use it negatively, and there i^no
uniformity in how the strategy is
IIMlt y; Mr *="*?" .' -'-w ? - ?.
?*** Hyman , an expert on schbol
violence and aggression, said "chil
dren who respond to beatings get that
way from being beaten. It works in
the short run. It doesn't teach new
behaviors. There are kids who won't
respond to normal disciplinary mea
sures, and they need special help.
But unruly aggressive kids are made
that way by aggressive, unruly par
ents. You must reach the famity sit
uation."
Governor's Award Continued from page A1
y
broaden the ongoing efforts of the
local JPTA operation.
In addition to serving as chair
man of the WS/FC Private Indus
try Council, which is conducted
out of the Workforce Development
Office of the City of Winston
Salem, Davis has also been a suc
cessful businessman for the past
21 years.
He is the owner of Davis
Management Services located on
North Patterson Avenue.
Davis' term as chairman of the
Council will end next month, and
he says although he has enjoyed
his three years as chairman, it is
time for him to step down.
"I feel like it's time that they
have a new chairman," explained
Davis. "They've kept me on
because the programs and things
that I've instituted, and things that
we've done. But I feel that sooner
or later you stagnate an organiza
tion when you have a person stay
ing too long in my opinion, in a
leadership position."
Davis will, however, continue
to serve on the Council's Board of
Directors for the next year, work
ing to help the organization
achieve its goals.
Playing politics
Continued from page A5
Congress focusing on tax policy in
a vacuum, without considering the
needs of the total economy.
America is the least-taxed
major industrial nation. We also
have lower rates of economic
growth, compared to other major
nations, and the greatest income
equality.
So our problems isn't taxes,
but what we do with them.
Board
meets
Continued from page A1
The Minority Affairs Commit
tee consists of the three Democrats
on the school board: Caridy Wood,
Nancy Wooten, and Nancy Grif
fith. '
"We are concerned about giv
ing black students a better educa
tion, and of all the members on the
school board, we are the closest to
the black community," said Wood.
"We hope they will come and talk
tous." -
Other nations have invested
their tax receipts in building up
their economic infrastructures and
in educating and training their
people for the jobs of the future.
We haven't spent our tax rev
enues as wisely, pouring over two
trillion dollars over the past
decade into a massive military
buildup.
Some say that tax cuts are a
way to jump-start a recessionary
economy, but they're wrong. Gov
ernment spending on programs
that create jobs, such as repairing
the infrastructure, are far more
effective in stimulating economic
activity.
Instead of concentrating on
politically-inspired tax cutting
exercises, Congress should take
steps to build the foundation for
national economic growth.
Tax relief for families on the
bottom half of the income ladder
could be part of that.
But it should also include
fresh ways to invest tax revenues
in programs that will recharge the
lagging economy and lead to
future growth and prosperity, such
as the Urban League's Marshall
Plan for America.
Cutting taxes enlarges the
deficit without strengthening the
fundamentals of a weak economy.
Investing tax revenues in future
growth may be more difficult to
sell politically, but it is our last,
best hope to survive in a world
where our economic competitors
are surging ahead of us.
IHaiipy 50th annlverii^M
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11
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