I Was on the Steps of City Hall

Last week I was invited to attend a rally on the steps of Buffalo City Hall. A large group of people gathered to show support for the current Superintendent of the Buffalo Schools, Dr. Pamela C, Brown, Dr. Ed.D. 
  As the Founder/Director of Youth With A Purpose Inc. and Mentor Force: 

I support the students in the Buffalo Schools. 
I support Dr. Pamela Brown. 
I support the Buffalo School Board.

Last year I supported Amber Dixon, I thought she did an admirable job. Some of the fruits of her labors are being borne now through children in the Buffalo Schools. She has moved on to climb another mountain on behalf of children. I now support Dr, Brown. It's time to focus on children. The best sign I saw at the rally said: CHILDREN FIRST!! 

Folks, I've been around the education block a few times. I have served as President of the Iroquois School Board and as an elected Trustee for 10 years. We hired great personnel who put children first. The Teachers were awesome as were their Union Leadership. All contracts were extended beyond the expiration dates. Iroquois was ranked consistently as one of the best schools in the area. We did have some dark history as we went through a period of mistrust. A group of people with a compassion for putting children first overcame adversity and the children gained more opportunities to excel.

The Buffalo Schools are showing improvement. There are bureaucratic forces beyond the control of folks at the local level. Doing the best we can for our students begins with our focus. Will the focus be on education or control of the process? The graduation rates and attendance rates have shown improvement while the dropout rate has decreased. Good news is something to latch onto and spread. Negativity is like a fox eating away at the roots of the grapevine. A little bite here, a little bite there and the damage is done. The vine is slowly destroyed and the fruit will not grow.

I am glad that some folks are seriously examining the expenditures and policies of  the Buffalo Schools. Accountability is a good thing, Dr. Brown welcomes accountability. It was only 3 months ago that the Buffalo School Board gave Dr. Brown passing grades in her first Superintendents Report Card. What has she done in the last 3 months that would warrant her removal?

Constructive criticism does not need to be negative. If children on a Student Council harshly attacked a fellow student that they disagreed with, we would reprimand them for their insensitivity. Can we hold each other accountable without personal attacks? Can we report more of the Bright Spots in the Buffalo Schools? Our schools have great Teachers doing a phenomenal job in a very tough atmosphere. Let's applaud their effort and focus on children.

Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody.

We Didn't Preach

Young men behind bars?

The young men were bouncing a ball behind bars. They weren't in jail - yet. On 7th Street, deep in the heart of a violent, segregated and impoverished city, young men played a game. They stayed busy at least for a couple of hours. There was a drug deal or two on the sidewalk but mostly is was young people playing ball. Is there any value in a basketball court? Is there a "Return On Investment" in building a Youth Center? Is there another way to reach young people with a positive, life changing message?

Most churches and community organizations schedule events that help people. That in itself is a community enhancing activity. Some folks seek out missionary opportunities and paint houses or do evangelistic outreaches. There may be a more excellent way - the unscheduled way. I hope that after you read this, you go play some basketball.

We stepped out of the Youth Center with a bag of chocolate chip cookies and some drinks. We walked across the street to the packed basketball court and smiled. Some of the young people who were not yet playing, gathered and asked if they could have some of our snacks. Food is a great tool in relationship building. One of us sat on the sideline with the food and the other went and played ball.

We talked about a shirt that one guy was wearing that was clearly demeaning to women. We talked about respect when a young girl walked down the street and the group made disparaging remarks about her. We talked about positive words and negative words. We talked about team play. We talked about anger, respect and friendship. One guy said that his brothers were in jail. He was trying to stay busy so he wouldn't end up there too. We watched some folks who were very "high" stagger down the street.

 One player fell down with an ankle injury. I walked over, touched his ankle and said: "Be healed in Jesus Name." The only other time I mentioned Jesus is when we left. I always smile and say: "Jesus loves you and so do we!" There was no preaching, no sermons, no altar calls and we did not count the number of salvation's that happened. We planted seeds. For everything there is a season.

You may find a gathering place in your neighborhood. If you want to be a missionary, go hang out there. Just go show some interest in people without expectation. Go love somebody. Go the extra mile.

Thanks for your time. Jesus loves you and so do we.