My Kids Have Night Vision

They are up there in their cribs right now, 8pm, lights out, reading and reciting stories, educating themselves. Its a beautiful thing. Well, it's beautiful until 1) they start jumping up and down and screaming, or 2) 8pm becomes 9pm and they're still awake (this makes for a very ugly/cranky morning).

Anyway, this all leads to my second point - WHY DO THE DREAMS GET DEFFERED???

My daughter's daycare teacher told me today that she's recommending that Nia be put in the 4-year old class in January. Mind you, she was just skipped to the advanced 3-year old class in Sept (she turned 3 in June), but her letters, numbers, and memory skills are on point. We're working on the neat writing, but its coming.

My son, Jalen - when he will stay still - knows his letters, sounds, and can count. While he's not as verbal as Nia was at 2, he's bright in his own ways, constantly surprising me. His recall is also excellent.

Nia loves to play teacher with Jalen, getting him to recite his ABC's after her. "Very good, Jalen," she'll say. She even scolds him if he tries to jump ahead.

Jalen loves the magnetic refrigerator letters. Every day after dinner he'll turn around in his high chair and scream out "I WANT LETTER C. I WANT THE M."

When I put in one of their DVD's (Letter Factory, Blues Clues ABC, etc), they scream for joy like they've never seen it before (they've seem them 50 times... and counting).

Today, before we got out of the car, Nia asked, "Can I do my homework when we get in the house?"

So again, I ask, WHY DO THE DREAMS GET DEFFERED?

As an educator, its disheartening to see what society does to Black children. I've noticed before just how bright all of the youngsters are at daycare, not just my two, but each and every one of them. I saw it when they were infants, each grasping at different toys, recognizing me as I came to get Nia or Jalen. As toddlers, first learning to walk and say hi, smiling, showing emotion, learning how to play. And as they got older, dealing with the subtleties of conversation, changing tones, learning new words, knowing when they were in trouble, and learning how to play one adult against the other (I had no idea that this popular teenage game started so early).

These kids are born bright. I've read enough Amos Wilson and Jawanzaa Kunjufu to already know that, but seeing it firsthand is both a blessing and a curse. The world tells them, despite the talent and the thirst for knowledge, that they will never amount to anything. Sadly, somewhere around the 4th grade, and even earlier for others, they begin to believe it. We all do, to some degree. We hear of the schools they come from or the neighborhoods they live in, and we say, "oh, okay," with a little less enthusiasm as the prep school, suburban child. Nine times out of ten, expectations drive results. And once the results sink to a certain low, we're all screwed.

My child is moving ahead of the class already, and as a parent recognizing her thirst for knowledge, this is what I would expect, and what I will continue to expect. The other children are not lacking, but are in fact also doing more than other 3 year olds of various colors. They are getting it, and they want to continue to learn. We have to nurture that and ensure that it isn't swallowed up by the ways of the world, as has been the case so many times before. Maybe I'm crazy, but I don't think its that difficult. The issues are multi-dimensionally complex, yes. And they will take the responsiblity of parents, educators, communities, and even pop culture. But impossible to change. Definitely not. More of our kids can, should, and will have night vision. It will happen. We will see it.

What's Next?

The past few days, as we've been getting ready for school, my 3-year old daughter has asked me, "Dad, what are we doing?"

"Getting dressed," I reply.

"Where are we going?" she asks.

"School."

"What's next?"

"Home."

"What's next?"

"Dinner."

"What's next?"

"Story."

"What's next?"

"Night night."

"What's next?"

----

Earlier today I was in one of my labs, supposed to be fixing one thing but stubmling across two other things that needed to be touched up. And of course, I didn't finish. "What's next?" jumped into my head. What do I need to remember to do the next time I return to that lab? What else was on my daily schedule keeping me from finishing the task at hand? What did I need to do the rest of the week? What's the next big project, the next deadline, the next thing that I dive into. What's next? Such a loaded question. Maybe not even the right one to ask, at least not all the time. Unless you're three years old. Then, it's perfectly fine.

Weekly Notes, 10/2/05...

Returning to the blog is a clear sign that life is finally starting to return to normal. Funny thing is, I was having a convo w/ a similarly busy friend last week, and she said, "maybe this IS normal." I'm starting to think so (like having 7 jobs should be normal for everyone). But still, the last few months have been out of hand. It's finally starting to get better managed.

WHERE'S B BEEN???
In August, I unexpectedly made a movie. Long story somewhat short, this summer I planned on interviewing a bunch of my friends to get their reflections and thoughts about our old dorm on campus, W.E.B. Du Bois College House, one of the few living-learning residential programs in the country committed to the study and appreciation of African American culture. For one of the few times in my life I actually played it smart and went into this thing w/o the intention of doing it myself. My part was to film people during my summer travels, help make sense of the clips, and watch my student worker lay it all out. Well, when student worker quit in mid Aug, I was left w/ a whole bunch of footage and no movie. Thank god for iMovie HD. While I would have loved to have learned Final Cut and taken advantage of the additional tools, I didn't have that kind of time. The end result is pretty good. IT'S YOUR WORLD: THE LEGACY OF DU BOIS COLLEGE HOUSE. Screening on campus this Thursday.

Crazy thing is, this was absolutely the worst time to be doing the film. Aug/Sept is the busies time at work, and I had to prep for Saturday School launch (7th year), followup on book sales, negotiate a 2nd course at Penn, finalize non-profit paperwork, feed/bathe/teach/play with my kids, and a couple of things that I can't remember right now. It was real. But I got all of it (most of it) done. That said, I'm going on vacation in 2 weeks.

Anyway, the real reason I'm here (minus the procrastination) was to drop some quick football commentary. Here it goes...

DICK VERMEIL, PICK UP THE PHONE!
Doesn't he know that McNabb only throws to Owens? How about a double-team? And seriously, you were up 17-0. Somebody needs to work with the Chiefs on closing out games. (But, as an Eagles fan, gotta say thanks, and better luck next time).

WE ARE, PENN (OHIO) STATE
Just as I said to my co-worker that PSU was quietly off to their best start in the new millenium, ESPN wants to throw them some shine. I hope the writer (and the Lions) were knocking on wood, cuz the real test comes next week.

That's it for now. As the title indicates, I'll see next week. Maybe sooner.