Inspired to care even more deeply
Yesterday I heard a lecture by Jeff Canada (President of the Harlem’s Children’s Zone), “A Community Based Model for Saving Children’s Lives”, at Harvard Law School. It was AMAZING and INCREDIBLY INSPIRING! His words reinforced how much I care about changing the world and how my role as a fundraiser at United Way truly makes a difference to the community. In his passionate speech, he spoke about the crisis America is facing with its young people—how we’re failing them (“We’re creating a pipeline to the prison system,” he said.) and the serious consequences this has on our nation in the competitive global economy.He encouraged us to care and to take a stand for young people.
As adults, we need act immediately and hold ourselves accountable for solving this national crisis. One of the main causes for our national crisis is that our young people (esp. poor children) are killing themselves (suicide, homicide, drug use, sexual misconduct, etc…) because they have no hope. They see at an early age that people don’t care about them so why should they care about themselves? We need to instill faith and hope to young people from the start so that when they need it, they have it. You can’t expect kids to have faith all of the sudden when the situation is so dire.
At the Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ), they have created an environment where the entire community is truly invested in caring for its young people from birth to adulthood. Everyone is accountable for delivering the best practices that achieve the best outcomes. HCZ has community programs that serve children from age 0 all the way to college age. They have early childhood, elementary, middle school, high school and college programs. They are building a community pipeline for poor children of Harlem to succeed in and out of school. Their work is integrated with parents, the school system and the health care system. He talked about the Baby College and its work to educate parents about the importance of a child’s early years. They learn about brain development, heath issues, and effective parenting skills.
He used the example of 2 sets of parents: One that has a positive response to a child spilling milk (“Oh honey, you spilled milk on the floor” with a warm tone) on the floor and other who has a negative response (“Why the hell did you spill the milk! Look what you did, you made a big mess, now I have to clean it up!” with a harsh tone). The positive response encourages the child to learn about consequences of his/her actions and promotes a sense of curiosity; versus the negative response encourage the child to be shut down.
I see my role as a development officer to inspire others to care. Caring about others is so inherent to human nature. I believe that deep down, everyone has this natural caring and it’s my role to help bring it out in people. It’s profound what can happen when one truly cares about another human being. Jeff Canada is an example of an extraordinary individual who is making a remarkable difference to thousands of children in Harlem because he cares so deeply about them. I truly believe that transformation of our society, our community, won’t happen unless everyone can show that they care about others. I feel proud to be part of United Way, an organization that’s focused on caring about others and helping others to care!
I too attended Geoff
I too attended Geoff Canada's lecture and was razzle-dazzled. Though I only need to revisit memories of my time teaching in a low-income public school to remember why I do what I do (early childhood work), every once in a while even the choir needs a good preaching. If you would like to see the webcast of Mr. Canada's presentation, you can find it here:
http://www.charleshamiltonhouston.org/Events/Event.aspx?id=100063
My first encounter with the powerhouse that is Geoff Canada came several years ago when the New York Times Sunday Magazine profiled him and the Harlem Children's Zone in a cover story. Since then my ears have perked up whenever his name or project is mentioned, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to see him in person. For me, the most powerful part of his message comes when he shares examples from his own life. It would be easy to dismiss him as a Harvard-educated and obviously talented leader unlike the rest of us, but he offers snapshots to show that someone of his success and vision needs help along the way as well. He spoke of nearly failing a college stats course and the intervention of a thoughtful professor who "tricked" him into working twice as hard to succeed in the subject. He mentioned coming home to his also very-educated wife and having both of them be stumped by his 10 year old's science homework, having to sneak on to the internet to brish up on the finer points of photosynthesis rather than tell his son that he didn't understand.
These stories are humanizing, but also powerful when linked to a picture of children and parents without such available supports. What does the student failing stats do if the overworked teacher doesn't have additional time to find individual solutions? What is the stumped parent doesn't have the internet for research, much less the time in between several jobs to go over homework with his or her child? A big part of the Harlem Children's Zone is getting the types of information and strategies to parents and professionals that can be used in instances such as these, things that can be put to use immediately.
The biggest and most important take aways from the work of Mr. Canada are 1) it is possible to provide supports to get and keep children and youth, even those of few resources, on tracks for success, and 2) that it takes a lot of money to do so. It serves as a call to the American public to get serious about the investments needed for our children, and that cutting corners won't do it. In the words of Mr. Canada, "Mediocre practices get mediocre results." We need to invest in the best, and expect the best. Our kids do, and we fail them.
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