Pastors back Mayor Emanuel on longer school day/year

 CLERGY: “IT’s COOL TO BE SMART”

 

By Chinta Strausberg

In less than 10-days, 275,000 of the 400,000 Chicago Public School (CPS) students will be returning to the classroom, and Mayor Rahm Emanuel, CPS/CEO Jean Claude Brizard and more than 225 pastors had a singular message to the youth—go back to school on September 6th and every there after and they that children should know that “it’s cool to be smart.”

They also agreed to support Emanuel’s petition drive endorsing a longer school day and year that according to the mayor would bring the CPS system in line with other schools throughout the nation.

The ministers made the overwhelming endorsement during a back-to-school breakfast recently held at the US Cellular Field, 35th and Shields, where they were also joined by Police Supt. Garry McCarthy, other officials and clergy including Father Michael L. Pfleger.

“They are our children,” said the Mayor Emanuel. “They are the children we are accountable for and the children of the city of Chicago” he says have the shortest school day and the shortest school year in the nation.

Vance Henry, Deputy Chief of Staff, Community and Faith Based Initiatives for the mayor, said, “It’s cool to go back to school. I think young people clearly need to understand that by getting a solid education sets them up for a successful future, and it’s cool.

“It’s unfortunate that young people are subject to peer pressure and sometimes that’s negative, but we want them to know it’s cool to go back to school and it’s also cool to get a good education so they can have a bright future.”

Asked about those students who make trouble on the first day of school, Henry said, “Some of our misguided young people are children because we have to own them. Some of us some years ago traveled down those same wrong roads.”

Henry urged youth who are making wrong decisions to reach out to caring adults. “So often what happens with our misguided youth is that they don’t have good relationships with their parents who face challenges of joblessness, homelessness and sometimes drug addiction. What they need to know is that there are adults who care about them.”

To troubled youth, Henry sent them a message, “We love you. If there are issues or things that are contributing to you being in the wrong places at the wrong time with the wrong people, reach out to us, and we’ll do everything we can to love and support you, to love you and to help some of the things young people are frustrated and angry about.

“They just need to know somebody loves them. If I can do anything for young people who are hurting who are involved in a lot of violence and other activities that we know that will lead to their demise, reach out to us. Let us know what you need, and we’ll do everything we can to help and to love them,” said Henry.

Many pastors believe “an idle mind is a devil’s workshop” and that getting out of school at 1 p.m. or earlier leaves too much time for trouble to find them. They signed more than 200 petitions. CPS has a goal of 400 petitions which will be delivered to the City Council as a show of support.

“The mayor wants them (the alderman) to know that the faith community is supporting him on the extended school day,” said Rev. Renaldo Kyles, Interfaith director of the CPS. “It is important because our kids need to be school much longer than they are. We have the shortest school day in the U.S. It’s just fair to have our students in school longer.”

Apostle Ulysses Ruff, Sr, pastor of the Agape Family Life Center, said as a mentor at two public schools he learned the importance of having a consistent person working with the youth “to keep them interested in going to school and challenging them for what they’re going to do beyond that.”

Ruff said what is needed most is to have a positive role mentors in the lives of youth. “They need that more than anything else. I am disappointed to see a lot of the mentoring programs shut down this year, and I hope the school board will reconsider that and put some more mentors in our young men’s lives. It would help across the board from academics to violence to simply growing into a young man being and being responsible at home as well as in the street.”

Apostle Ruff said it’s time to have a citywide male mentorship program. “I also think there should be some industries to volunteer their time to inspire the youth in explaining how education connects to financial success later on in life. I think that is extremely important.”

Pastor Walter Turner, Pastor of New Spiritual Light MBC and President of the Baptist Minister’s Conference of Chicago & Vicinity, said students should understand the importance of education “because if they think education is costly, they need to try ignorance. It’s more expensive.”

Rev. Charles Jenkins, senior pastor at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, has a message to the students. “Full speed ahead…As school kicks off and as we get ready for a brand new school year, success has to be at the forefront of their minds. As a member of the faith community, faith without works is dead. Apply yourself and commit to a successful school year.”

When asked about students who may want to commit violence on the first day of school, Jenkins said, “It has to be a change of mind, of heart and a change of thinking. I think there’s got to be a commitment to win personally and to use your time to excel. Violence are acts of failure both personally and causing others to experience emotional and physical failure and so the theme is to succeed.”

Reminded that some students think being smart is not cool, Jenkins had some thoughts on that. “I think it is a wrong perspective, a wrong way of thinking.”

When he was younger, Jenkins said, “The perception of being cool was being hard, having some money in your pocket, the girls like you, but as you grow older, you don’t want to live your entire life like that and not have any education which leads to no opportunities to leads to potential homelessness.

“It is absolutely cool to be smart because it’s cool to have a job. It’s cool to be able to provide for your family, and it’s not cool to be sitting in a jail cell or to be sitting on a porch without anything. It’s got to be cool to be smart,” said Jenkins.

Pastor Roosevelt Watkins, pastor of Bethlehem Star Church, said he wants to see students be in the classroom on Sept. 6th “be prepared for school and do the best they can because education is the key to success. Without a proper education, children just won’t do as well.”

Asked about those who commit violence on the first day of school, Watkins referred to the once popular show, Baretta, and said, “You do the crime. You’re going to have to do the time. We have too many of our young teenagers locked up who could be in school and doing well in school.”

Referring to the citywide Safe Haven program involving 100 churches, Watkins said it provides anger management, conflict resolution, tutoring and mentoring for the youth. They also operate summer camp programs.

A retired school teacher, Dr. Mildred Harris, pastor God First Church In Ministries, believes the first day will be a “wonderful experience” and hopes the community will join in on this special day. She also supports the mayor’s extended day and year proposal. “When teachers and students come together with that kind of anticipation and working together, it’s a win-win situation.”

Do’Minique Thompson, a junior at Kenwood Academy, said she is excited and eager to get back to school. “I have dreams in life,” she said anxious to take a course in advance placement course in biology. Her goal is to become a biologist. “At Kenwood, we get out at 2:54 p.m.” She said the extra minutes won’t hurt.” Thompson said she believes longer hours will keep the youth out of trouble.

In support of both a longer school day and year, Bishop Simon Gordon, pastor of Triedstone Full Gospel Baptist Church, who credited Rainbow PUSH Coalition and community organizations, for urging youth to get back to school every year including having an detailed challenge, said: “It’s good that it is on the radar of the mayor and of the staff to make sure that we push it that also includes the church community as well.”

Saying he was a “3:15 p.m kid,” Gordon said he questioned when the school hours were changed. “I know we need some equity in the process in the way our children are taught.” Gordon said it is not about the quantity. It’s about the quality that is what should be emphasized.

Asked about his message to students, Gordon said, “It is very important for our students to make sure they make not only the first day of school but they continue on. School is so primary that subjects like math if you miss the foundations, you miss it for the rest of the year. It’s so important to start right so you can end up right.”

When asked about some students who may commit violence on the first day of school, Simon said, “Any youth that are committing violence our community must speak out about it, report it and cleared up so that our students who want to learn can have a good and clear education.”

. “It is important because our kids need to be school much longer than they are. We have the shortest school day in the U.S. It’s just fair to have our students in school longer,” said Rev. Renaldo Kyles, Interfaith director at the CPS.
Apostle Ulysses Ruff, Sr. Ruff said what is needed most is to have a positive role mentors in the lives of youth. “They need that more than anything else. I am disappointed to see a lot of the mentoring programs shut down this year, and I hope the school board will reconsider that and put some more mentors in our young men’s lives.
Pastor Walter Turner, Pastor of New Spiritual Light MBC and President of the Baptist Minister’s Conference of Chicago & Vicinity, said students should understand the importance of education “because if they think education is costly, they need to try ignorance. It’s more expensive.”
Rev. Charles Jenkins, senior pastor at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, has a message to the students. “Full speed ahead…As school kicks off and as we get ready for a brand new school year, success has to be at the forefront of their minds. As a member of the faith community, faith without works is dead. Apply yourself and commit to a successful school year.”
Pastor Roosevelt Watkins, pastor of the Bethlehem Star Church, was asked about youth who commit violence on the first day of school. Watkins referred to the once popular show, Baretta, and said, “You do the crime. You’re going to have to do the time. We have too many of our young teenagers locked up who could be in school and doing well in school.”
Vance Henry, Deputy Chief of Staff, Community and Faith Based Initiatives for the mayor, said, “It’s cool to go back to school. I think young people clearly need to understand that by getting a solid education sets them up for a successful future, and it’s cool.”
A retired school teacher, Dr. Mildred Harris, pastor God First Church In Ministries, believes the first day will be a “wonderful experience” and hopes the community will join in on this special day. She also supports the mayor’s extended day and year proposal. “When teachers and students come together with that kind of anticipation and working together, it’s a win-win situation.”
Do’Minique Thompson, a junior at Kenwood Academy, said she is excited and eager to get back to school. “I have dreams in life,” she said anxious to take a course in advance placement course in biology. Her goal is to become a biologist. “At Kenwood, we get out at 2:54 p.m.” She said the extra minutes won’t hurt.” Thompson said she believes longer hours will keep the youth out of trouble.

Photocaption:  Rev. Charles Jenkins, senior pastor at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, has a message to the students. “Full speed ahead…As school kicks off and as we get ready for a brand new school year, success has to be at the forefront of their minds. As a member of the faith community, faith without works is dead. Apply yourself and commit to a successful school year.”

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host.