Participants: Yvonne Lewis (Host), Steve Perry
Series Code: UBR
Program Code: UBR000067
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00:01 Do you wonder why some kids do better in School than others,
00:04 what's missing for our kids? Well, stay tuned to meet the man 00:08 known as America's most trusted educator... 00:11 My name is Yvonne Lewis and you're watching Urban Report 00:37 Hello and welcome to Urban Report. 00:39 My guest today is Dr. Steve Perry, known as, 00:42 America's most trusted educator, he's a CNN Education Contributor 00:47 host of "Save My Son" Reality Show 00:50 and Founder and Principal of Capital Preparatory Magnet 00:54 School in Hartford, Connecticut, and he's an author... 00:58 Welcome to Urban Report Dr. Perry... yeah... 01:01 Thank you so much... Oh, it's so great 01:04 to have you here... I've been wanting to have you 01:06 on the Program for so long and I'm just so thankful 01:09 that you're with us today... I'm honored to be here 01:12 and I'm glad to have the opportunity 01:14 to talk to your viewers because in so many ways, 01:18 the religious screening has been vital to education 01:22 and so, it's exciting to be able to have a conversation 01:25 with people for whom, too long you've been squeezed out 01:29 of the conversation on Education Well, thank you... thank you... 01:32 you know, I've watched you on CNN 01:36 I've watched you on "Save my Son", "Save our Sons" 01:40 and I am so impressed with what you're doing... 01:44 I want to know more about you 01:46 I know our viewers would love to know... 01:48 what's your journey been like... were you raised with money 01:52 what's been your... oh is it funny, 01:57 okay, so I think we're in for a good story here... 02:00 No... no I was not raised with money 02:03 no... not unless you consider 02:05 eating Government cheese with money... 02:07 eating reduced lunch with money and living in the Projects 02:12 until I was a Junior in College no... no... I was born on 02:15 my mother's 16th birthday, and, 02:18 my mother... like so many mothers 02:20 who were raising a son by herself... 02:22 her husband, my father, was for... some time 02:27 abusive and their relationship one way or another... crumbled 02:31 and she set off to do the best that she could to raise me 02:36 and she sought the support of educators and coaches 02:41 who believed that there was something in me 02:44 that would, one day, make an impact on other people's lives 02:48 from as far back as I can remember 02:51 there had been people who had been reaching down 02:53 to pull me out of the circumstances that I was in... 02:56 to put me in positions to be successful 02:58 and, I am, now, among the people 03:02 who are fighting very hard 03:03 to make sure all children get access to quality education 03:06 no matter who they were born to. And that's so important 03:10 Dr. Steve because... I hear you say a few things, 03:13 first of all... your mom, though she was young, 03:17 really worked hard to make sure that you had what you needed 03:22 and she was involved... and I think 03:24 parental involvement is so critical to the success 03:28 of our children... so that's another thing... 03:30 What would you say was the impact though 03:35 of the absence of your father? It was profound... 03:40 there were a lot of emotions that I dealt with... 03:44 all the way through adulthood... 03:47 trying to figure out how to do the simplest things 03:51 from learning how to shave, to some of the more complicated 03:54 things like heartbreak or dreaming out loud, 03:57 and trying to find a way to be both a young man 04:00 and to be a Black man who... wasn't a punk 04:06 but didn't want to be a thug either 04:08 so, not being in a position where I had access to my father 04:13 in a meaningful way... I found myself... 04:18 feeling my way through the dark. 04:19 Wow, that sounds like a great title for a book... 04:24 "Feeling my way through the dark," you know, 04:27 that's one of the things that we stress here 04:29 on Dare to Dream... the importance of the father 04:32 in the success of the family 04:35 and what we're finding, of course, as you know 04:39 the statistics show that the success of the family 04:43 is really, really hinged upon a lot upon the father, 04:47 more so than the mother, even though, you know, 04:50 the mothers have to step up to the plate and do both jobs 04:54 in many cases and so, one of the things 04:56 that I appreciate about what you do... 04:58 is you talk about the impact of fatherlessness... 05:02 and the man's role in the home, and that's such a critical piece 05:07 that I think we're missing so often, 05:09 would you tell us some more about growing up 05:13 as an adolescent... where were you academically 05:16 as an adolescent? I was average... I was average 05:20 at best... I was fortunate because I was in an 05:22 Upward Bound Program... Hmmm... 05:24 those are programs that work with students 05:25 from historically disadvantaged populations 05:27 and they have them going to school during the summer 05:31 and doing after-school support, I had an advisor 05:35 in our Upward Bound Program who would pick the courses 05:39 for me that I was in so I would have never taken 05:41 Physics in High School had she not made me... 05:43 Hmmm... ... Algebra 2... 05:45 I would have never taken... or Statistics... 05:47 I would not have taken those courses 05:48 because none of my friends took them... 05:49 so I was an average student at best 05:51 but a lot of my friends got into a lot of trouble... 05:53 and I didn't... it wasn't that I was morally 05:56 opposed to getting in trouble, I just wasn't interested in it, 05:59 I played sports and it seemed to be... 06:02 seemed to me to be more interesting to do those things 06:05 than to go off and do some of the other tomfoolery 06:07 that my friends were deeply embedded in... 06:09 I didn't want to sell drugs... again, I would go to the 06:14 store with my friends who would steal stuff 06:17 but I didn't steal... though I would eat what they took 06:19 Hmmm... hmmm... I wouldn't sell drugs 06:22 but if they went to... they took us to... 06:25 a restaurant... like to fast food 06:28 I would take the food 06:30 that they purchased with that... 06:31 and so, I was there... I was there... 06:34 I could not tell you that I was anywhere... but there 06:36 but, even after awhile, I stopped doing that 06:40 I just... it got old... I didn't see myself in prison 06:43 as the next step... I felt like that was what 06:46 folks were expecting of me... 06:47 Yes... yes... ... but I wanted to live 06:48 a typical existence... Yes... yes... so where was 06:52 the turnaround... A couple of turnarounds... 06:55 I had a... from my earliest entry in School 06:59 I was kicked out in Pre-K for fighting and doing bad things 07:03 and then I stayed back in the third grade and 07:06 my fourth grade teacher was the first person 07:09 to pull me aside and say, "You're going to be good. " 07:11 and then... there were multiple turning points... 07:13 I don't know that... any life well-lived 07:16 has one turning point... I hope I'm still turning... 07:18 But, you were on one path, and you ended up 07:24 on a totally different path... 07:27 Well, you know, I was on 07:29 parallel paths... I think that's the best way to say it... 07:31 my friends wanted to be great at what they were doing 07:34 and I wanted to be great too... 07:35 I just didn't want to be a great drug dealer... 07:37 they were not uncomfortable with feeding into stereotypes 07:42 and I was extremely uncomfortable 07:44 with feeding into stereotypes... and so, I would say 07:48 that I wanted to do things like 07:49 be the Mayor of my hometown... 07:50 because that seemed to me to be the most revolutionary 07:52 thing for a Black kid from the Projects to say 07:54 that he wanted to be the Mayor, at that point, 07:56 the Mayor seemed to be the highest office 07:57 anyone could hold in my little bitty life... 08:00 and what I began to see was that 08:02 my mother was on the Tenants Association 08:05 in our Project... and I began to see 08:08 that there were people who constantly seemed like 08:10 they were going to stop her and the other tenants... 08:13 residents of the Project from getting what I felt... 08:16 like they deserved... so, I was blessed or given the 08:19 opportunity to see... what justice was about... 08:22 and I knew that I had been given an opportunity 08:26 in part... because I was poor, 08:29 the TRIO Programs or the Upward Bound Programs 08:31 were those programs that were given to kids 08:32 who were poor... so they didn't really do 08:33 anything amazing... except for ending up being poor, 08:35 I remember when we first got called down... 08:37 to the auditorium... I remember that like it was 08:40 yesterday... when I was in 8th Grade... 08:41 and they said... they called all the names 08:43 of my friends and I and I thought... you know, 08:45 by the time we made it down from our Classes... 08:47 we were almost in a fight with one another 08:48 to figure out who told... 08:52 and so when we all assembled in the auditorium 08:56 I just remember thinking... "Man, we're in trouble... " 08:58 and, by the time this woman stood in front of us 09:02 this Black woman stood in front of us... 09:03 I thought, "Well, who is she... is she the police... 09:06 like is she a Detective or some Undercover?" 09:09 you know, because we had just done so much stupidness 09:11 and she said, "You all have the capacity to go to College... " 09:14 and we didn't even know what she meant... 09:16 I never met anyone who was going to College... 09:19 by the 8th Grade... except for School, 09:21 you know, except for... the teachers, 09:23 I didn't know anybody in my personal life 09:25 who had been to College... just seemed like 09:27 an absurd notion... she may as well said, 09:29 "You go to the moon. " and so she created this 09:32 opportunity that I had never heard of... 09:35 "Do the Upward Bound Program, my name is Angela Banks Rankins" 09:37 and it wasn't one day... it wasn't one turning point 09:41 it was multiple turning points and multiple times when she and 09:43 the Director of the Program, Peter Budget had to go 09:47 and really get us... and really go after us for just 09:50 being kids and doing stupid things... 09:52 so when I got the opportunity to make an impact 09:56 as an adult... I did it in a place... 09:59 that an impact was made on me 10:00 which was in Education... we started our own Upward Bound 10:02 Program which was called ConnCAP... here in Hartford 10:04 and it was just the most revolutionary thing 10:08 I could do... I felt like... 10:10 if you can give access to education 10:12 to the worst kids in the region 10:14 then you're really doing something... 10:15 and then that's how the School was born... 10:18 and that's how we keep doing... 10:19 everything we're doing... I just believe 10:21 that our kids are as beautiful, 10:23 and as brilliant as any others 10:25 who have ever been born, I believe God makes no mistakes 10:27 so every single child is done on purpose 10:30 for a purpose... Yes... absolutely... 10:33 I was going to ask you, how did you end up in Education 10:36 so I appreciate your letting us know that 10:38 because there are not a lot of males in Education... 10:41 and I that feel that there are not a lot of Black males 10:43 in the Educational field... so, it's interesting 10:47 that you felt that... that's how you could really make 10:50 a difference... that's how our children 10:52 could be really impacted 10:54 the most profoundly... I think, through Education 10:57 and that can change your outlook... 11:00 education can change your outlook... 11:02 so, are those some of the things 11:05 that kind of influenced you to go into Education? 11:09 I don't... I'll say this... and this is my understanding... 11:12 I believe that Education is a calling... 11:14 Hmmm... I believe it's something 11:16 before they were preachers... they were taught, 11:18 before they were principals... they were taught, 11:22 and physicians and detectives and mechanics... 11:25 everybody who is somebody was taught by somebody... 11:30 and the date is really clear that Education is the only 11:34 permanent escape route out of poverty 11:37 and it's, in fact, the surest road to happiness... 11:42 virtually everything that we value... 11:45 has its roots in a quality education... 11:48 even marriage itself... 11:49 the more education you have, the higher the probability 11:53 of being happy... in your marriage... 11:55 in your career... in everything that you do... 11:57 healthier... actually physically healthier... 12:00 so, I believe I was called to do Education... 12:02 this is what I do... 12:03 I'm not terribly great at a bunch of other things... 12:06 so, if this thing didn't work out, I think I'd be in trouble. 12:09 Well, it's obviously worked out because 12:12 at the School that you are the Founder of... 12:15 Capital Prep Magnet School 12:18 100 percent... I read... 12:20 of your graduates have gone on to College since 2006. 12:24 Absolutely... so, what's your secret... 12:26 tell us your secret... I have an amazing team... 12:29 I'm one of the Founders of Capital Prep... 12:31 I'm just the one that most people know... 12:34 and so, that team came together... this ragtag group 12:40 of women and men... decided that we were going 12:43 to leave these failed schools that we were working in 12:46 and we were going to create an academic experience 12:48 that had never been seen before, we believed that if we brought 12:53 the best educators that we could find... 12:55 into one place... we could take children 12:58 who other people thought... 13:00 maybe... even if they thought they were good 13:02 but they didn't know... how good... 13:03 we felt like we could get the best 13:05 out of every single child that we had access to. 13:07 That is tremendous... so, when you say, 13:11 "Create an academic experience that's unparalleled... " 13:15 What do you mean? like how... 13:16 give us like a sample of a student's day there... 13:22 What's different? So, it starts... 13:23 their day starts in July... we're a year-around school 13:27 Ah... So, Capital Prep students 13:30 go to School... 201 days... versus 187 or 183 13:33 like we do in other School Districts, 13:34 our children's days are typically longer... 13:36 the expectations are higher, we have a two-score requirement 13:40 for children... every child has an 13:42 academic advisor... that advisor is the person 13:45 who checks in... at home... every two weeks 13:47 the expectations are that the child will meet 13:49 with their advisor every single day... 13:51 we treat our children... as if they are our children... 13:54 the kids at Capital Prep don't get anything different 13:57 than my own sons... and that's due in large part 14:00 because my own sons attend Capital Prep... 14:03 I wouldn't serve the children of our Community 14:05 anything that I wouldn't serve my own children... 14:07 and that's the case for most of us 14:09 who have... children... most of my colleagues 14:11 who have children... send their children... 14:14 to Capital Prep... It sounds like 14:17 it's an amazing... amazing... School... 14:20 How would you explain the disparity... 14:23 the achievement disparity between 14:26 Black students and White students... 14:28 how would you explain that? 14:30 Most Black students go to some of the worst schools 14:33 in America... so that's the first reason why 14:36 it's just an "incidents thing" so, if White kids were going 14:40 to those schools... they would be doing worse 14:41 than other White kids... so start there... 14:43 and then, both within the schools that we are the majority 14:47 and in other schools where we are the minority, 14:50 racism is still very real... one of the reasons 14:52 why there is a Capital Prep is not so much because I was 14:55 compelled by what I was seeing in the Hood... 14:57 it was because of what I saw in the suburb... 14:59 a nearby suburb... Windsor, Connecticut... 15:01 where I was working in a school there... the high school 15:04 and I would see kids 15:06 that we had worked with all summer... 15:09 we have had them since Algebra 1 class 15:12 and then... I would go see the children at their school... 15:16 and at their school... they'd be in Extended Algebra 15:19 and I didn't understand why I didn't even know 15:21 what Extended Algebra was, and so, it was a three-semester 15:24 Algebra Class as opposed to two-semester Algebra Class 15:27 and what I found was, I could walk through most of the 15:30 schools that were "integrated" and find 15:33 that the darker the child the lower they were 15:35 in the school's assignment of classes... 15:38 and I didn't think that was right... 15:41 so, I felt like, there was nothing wrong with those kids 15:45 they're just in the wrong setting... 15:46 the other part of this is, we as a Community... 15:49 we the Black and Latino Community need to have a 15:51 greater commitment to education and what that means, to me, 15:55 is the same amount of money we spend on sports 15:58 and entertainment... should be spent on 16:00 academic experiences... 16:01 we need to push harder 16:03 politically... many parents are committed to a quality education 16:06 they just don't think they have any options 16:07 so if you live in a poor community... 16:09 and you apply to a Charter or Magnet School 16:13 and you don't get in... you feel like... that's it... 16:15 "Oh, well... " and that's not the case 16:17 you can and must fight for greater school choice 16:20 and vouchers... let's say that your church 16:22 has a school... you should be fighting for 16:24 vouchers so that your church school could 16:26 take the money that is being spent on failed local schools 16:29 and spend it on successful nearby schools... 16:32 even if that school is religious 16:33 we don't have a problem with spending money on 16:35 religious schools and their colleges... 16:36 Notre Dame, the last time I checked, is run by a Father, 16:39 Clearly, we don't have a problem with spending 16:43 money on schools like BYU... or Georgetown or Boston College 16:49 all of which are religious schools... 16:51 we have to have our families 16:54 especially minority families fight hard for school choice 16:59 so it's both the personal... 17:01 that our parents could do a lot better at... 17:04 and the political... we have to go and fight 17:06 to make sure that our children are not damned to failed schools 17:09 That is so important, and again, parental involvement 17:14 is critical... so often, parents are 17:18 overwhelmed by just life... and they're not as involved 17:23 in their children's academic life... 17:25 as they should be... 17:26 or maybe they feel incompetent, you know, 17:29 unable to do that 17:31 or maybe they're embarrassed by their own lack of education 17:33 but what you're saying is that... regardless of that 17:37 get involved with your children, with their academics 17:41 with their schools... and make better choices... 17:44 academically... read to your kids... 17:46 if you can't really read well, you can take them to the library 17:49 where they have story hour, but get them involved 17:52 in learning... and the appreciation of learning 17:56 versus... all this money 17:58 that we spend... and we tend spend on entertainment 18:00 I think... that is so... so important... 18:03 that is so important... 18:04 What role do you see spirituality as having 18:09 in the academic arena... 18:12 You know... I think that there is something 18:15 to be said for a child's understanding 18:17 of a bigger power... 18:19 one of these that we do in our 18:20 school... even though we are a public school... 18:22 is we provide space for children 18:24 to express their religious responsibilities... 18:27 Hmmm... So, we have 18:28 for our Muslim students 18:30 they are the ones who use it the most... 18:32 we have a space... where they go to pray... 18:34 one parent... who's Christian 18:37 who found that to be reprehensible 18:39 asked if they could give out Bibles in the School 18:42 and I said, "Well, they are not giving out the Qur'an 18:45 but you could... if you felt so compelled... 18:49 you could create an opportunity where you created a Club 18:51 for your group... here on campus... 18:54 and that would be welcomed. " We understand that 18:57 when we educate the whole child, we have to respect 19:01 what it is... that makes that family... a family 19:04 and for many families that is religion... 19:06 and so, we respect that... 19:09 That's great... what about nutrition... 19:12 the importance of nutrition so many children... 19:17 one in five children... it says... 19:19 come to school... hungry... what do you think 19:23 is the role of nutrition in just academic achievement? 19:26 So, nutrition is important... but... to be honest with you 19:29 it's often overplayed 19:31 as an impediment to a child's performance... 19:33 Hmmm... the fact is... 19:35 if you have children in your life, 19:36 you know they're hungry all day... 19:38 They are hungry all day... 19:41 That's all they do is eat... they graze... and so 19:46 especially if you have a boy... 19:47 you feel like... you should just leave 19:49 your refrigerator door open... why even close it... 19:52 so, at our school... we have breakfast... 19:56 we have snack... we have lunch... we have snack, 19:58 and in the not so distant future 20:00 we will also have dinner, so we understand 20:03 that we have that as an obligation 20:05 and then on the weekends we have a backpack program... 20:08 where children receive a full backpack of food 20:10 on Friday... and they return it on Monday... 20:13 so we get it... but I don't want to overstate 20:16 even as you say... if the statistics 20:18 that you've just stated... 20:19 if we accept those as true, there's still 80 percent 20:21 of children... not coming to school... 20:23 Hmmm... hungry... which means... 20:25 that there are other reasons why... 20:26 the children are not doing well 20:28 and the most important of those is that they don't have enough 20:30 effective teachers... in front of them... 20:32 Hmmm... so, then, what you're saying is 20:36 the main impediment then is not so much... nutrition 20:42 it's the teachers that are not really... competent... 20:46 Is that what you're saying? 20:48 It is what I'm saying... and their Administration. 20:52 So, how can that be remedied, because you have so many 20:56 teachers that are in the inner-city... 20:58 that just kind of say, "You know what... 21:00 these kids are unteachable... they don't want to learn 21:03 and I don't care anymore... " they are burned-out 21:06 so what would you suggest... how can we raise 21:08 the competency level of the teachers 21:11 in the inner city... There's a lot that we can do, 21:13 one of the first things that we can do 21:15 is push back the impact that Unions have... 21:16 on the operation of schools... they are the ones 21:19 who are most responsible for fighting to keep teachers in 21:22 even if those teachers are ineffective... 21:24 so that's the first thing that we can do... 21:26 the second thing that we can do... is we can... 21:27 create more alternate routes to certification programs 21:30 meaning that there are people who want to be 21:32 mid-career exchangers... who want to come and teach, 21:36 but they don't want to go back and get a whole 21:37 other 4-year degree, 21:38 it makes no sense for a person whose been working 21:40 in the theater for 20 years to have to go back and get 21:45 another Bachelor's in Education, that's absurd... 21:48 when they want to teach theater... 21:49 or somebody who has been a physician... 21:51 we have a physician... this is a true story... 21:53 there's a woman who's a physician... 21:54 she's actually... a surgeon... 21:55 who wants to teach Science here at Capital Prep... 21:58 but we cannot... because we're a public school 22:00 she cannot teach Science here at Capital Prep... 22:02 because she's not a certified teacher... 22:04 though she was Chief Resident when she was in Residency 22:09 and one of the top surgeons in the area... 22:11 but we can't hire her to teach Science... 22:13 so, we have to change some of the laws 22:15 that make it impossible for talented teachers 22:19 to come into the fold and then we have to both 22:22 support the teachers that we have 22:24 and get rid of the ones who we have 22:26 who are not... very good... 22:27 Hmmm... that's an important thing too 22:31 I think that one of the things that you find 22:35 is that people... get into the field 22:39 for different reasons and as you said before... 22:42 it's a calling... I do believe that 22:44 as well... it's a calling... because you have to have... 22:47 It's trained to teach... it's a misnomer that someone 22:52 can teach you how to teach... Hmmm... 22:54 A person who's a teacher is a teacher regardless 22:57 of what they do... you have a preacher who is a 22:59 fantastic teacher... then what you get is... 23:01 you get a person who wants you to understand the Bible... 23:04 you have a person who wants you to understand 23:06 what their purpose is... if you have a great teacher 23:10 who is a person who works at a Bank... 23:13 they want you to understand the policies and principles 23:15 that you have to impart in that place... 23:17 the same is true of a teacher... 23:19 a great teacher... we all know who they are 23:21 you go into the classroom and they are steadfast 23:24 they are just burning up to make sure that you get it... 23:26 Yes... I believe it's a gift as well... 23:30 and when you teach across the board... 23:32 you know... like you said... you're not necessarily a teacher 23:36 you're always teaching... teachers are always teaching... 23:40 They don't have a choice... Yeah, yeah, yeah... 23:43 A good teacher... is like a great singer... 23:45 meaning that... a person who can just sing... 23:48 you just go anywhere... you see them at home... 23:51 when they're washing the dishes singing... 23:52 and they're, you know, taking a shower singing, 23:54 and singing in the car even when there's no music 23:56 going on... it's just what they do... 23:57 Yeah... It's true of a teacher... 23:58 a teacher who's a real teacher you can get them certain skills 24:01 to improve their craft... but you can't make somebody 24:03 a teacher... there are certain competencies 24:06 that people are just born with... 24:07 and that's one of the things that some people are born with, 24:09 it's a belief that you 24:11 as my student must learn and it's my obligation 24:14 to do everything that I can imagine 24:16 to make sure that you learn... 24:18 That's great... that's great... so, what would you say 24:22 because our time is wrapping up here... 24:24 the time went by so fast... what would you say 24:28 to a parent of a child that's underachieving 24:32 and the parent doesn't really know what to do... 24:36 and they know that the child has the potential to do better 24:40 but just isn't... what would you say 24:42 to that parent... what can he or she do? 24:44 There are a lot of variables in there... 24:47 if it's a Middle School boy... chances are... 24:49 they're coming into a place where they're not necessarily... 24:51 you know... their hormones are kicking in, 24:54 and they're deciding to do things 24:55 a little differently... so that could be a challenge 24:57 and so... you have to work through that... 24:58 if it's a Middle School girl... her hormones kick in too... 25:02 and she may be caught up in social 25:03 life... more than she should be... 25:05 some of the lower school students... 25:07 some kids may have a trauma 25:09 that you may need to deal with... 25:10 other kids may be losing interest because 25:12 the school that they go to 25:14 or a specific teacher that they have 25:15 there are a lot of variables that you have to take 25:17 into consideration... I think you have to look 25:19 through all of them... and find out... 25:21 is it the school... is it the teacher... 25:23 is it the student... buy a... what they call... 25:25 a "Bio-Psycho-Social analysis" you have to look at the 25:27 Biology of it... meaning... what's going on 25:29 psychologically... is he dealing with some issues 25:31 and then social... what's going on in the environment... 25:34 So, if you suspect 25:36 that it's the school... 25:38 how can you determine that the whole school 25:41 is underperforming... Well, every State has a website 25:45 where you can go and find out how your school is performing 25:47 and you can call your school and ask them... 25:49 to tell you exactly where that is and how 25:51 to use it... that's first... 25:52 and... it's not only if the school is underperforming... 25:56 it may just be the wrong school for your child... 25:58 let's say the child is interested in arts and music... 26:00 and you're sending her to a traditional high school... 26:02 she doesn't feel like she fits in 26:04 well, she probably doesn't... your child is interested in 26:07 vocational technical education 26:09 same thing may be the case... your child is interested in 26:11 college preparatory track... and that's not really 26:14 what that school focuses on... there are many reasons 26:17 why a school doesn't fit for the child... 26:19 the same reason why we choose colleges and everything else 26:21 it's because we want to make sure 26:23 that it's the best fit for us... 26:24 That's a great answer... that's a great answer... 26:28 so, in closing... what would you like to leave 26:32 with the viewer... what would you like to leave with them? 26:35 That your child... is a gift... and as a gift... 26:39 they are given gifts... and it's your obligation 26:42 to create the best environment for your child... 26:46 both in the home... creating a safe, quiet place 26:50 for them to study and learn, and then within the school 26:53 making sure you fight to ensure personally... 26:55 meaning... working with teachers and politically... 26:58 meaning working with the boards of education and on out, 27:01 that your child goes to the best school for them... 27:05 That is so good... thank you so much, Dr. Steve, 27:09 for being with us today... it means so much... to know... 27:14 that we have people like you on the front lines 27:16 really fighting for our children... 27:18 to make sure that they have 27:19 the best educational experience possible... 27:22 We thank you for your work... 27:24 we thank you for all that you're doing... 27:25 Thank you for what you're doing 27:27 thank you to all your viewers... a lot... 27:29 Thank you... thank you... Today you've heard 27:32 some strategies for making a difference 27:34 in your children's academic performance 27:36 I'm sure that there are some tips here 27:38 that you can immediately implement 27:40 or suggest to someone that you love 27:42 that has children in school... our children really, really, 27:46 need some help... so, don't forget to add prayer 27:50 into the mix... God makes all the difference... 27:53 God has that divine plan for your children... 27:56 so make sure that you ask God 27:59 what is His plan... 28:00 Well, that's the end of our Program for today... 28:03 thanks for tuning in... 28:04 it just wouldn't be the same... without you... |
Revised 2015-01-22