MARCH 10-17, 1994 Connecting families and schools to help our children succeed EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA'S MINORITY VOICE - SINCE 1987 Raising a child is tough. So is models for their children. As their children’s first teach- child choose programs for view- that parents who are consistently self confidence and broaden their educating a child. Research confirms that, regard- ers, parents and families can: ing, Select programs to watch to- informed about their children’s interests. The day-to-day reality of the less of the economic, racial, or cul- 1. Schedule daily homework gether and discuss, progress can contribute to higher 6. Talk to your teenager. Talk to American family isdifferenttoday tural background of the family, time, Establish a timeeach day for ‘ achievement. The partnership be- your teenager. Know who your than a generation ago. Parents whenparentsare partnersintheir your child to be engaged in aca- Parents need to use TV wisely tween parents and teachersis key teen’s friends are and keep tabs on and children spend far less time children’s education, the results demic work Review it by both limiting the amount of tocreatingaclimate athome and their whereabouts. Support your together and almost all parents are improved student achieve- recularly. Provide a quiet, wel]. viewing and helping children se- at school conducive tolearning. teensin their school and extracur- face an ongoing struggle to bal- ment, better school attendance, -lightedplaceforstudy.CutoffTVs lect educational programs. When _ 5. Offer praise and encourage- ricular activities. Keep them in- ance the demands of their family reduced dropout rates, and de- andradios, Also, discourage phone chosen carefully, some television ment. Encourage your child to put volved in family activities. Con- life with their jobs. Atatime when creased delinquency. calls during work time, Encour- programs can help increase inter- in the time and effort to complete tinue to set and enforce rules. parents are under tremendous Parents and families can make age yourchild’s efforts and beavail- est in learning. assignments, to _ work Stress their importance as a role pressures thatmakethemlessable abigdifferencein the education of able for questions. Spend time 4. Keepintouchwith theschool, hard. Encouragehimtopersevere. model to younger siblings. to participate in their children’s young people. The U.S. Depart- discussing what she has learned. Don’tleaveitup tothe school tolet Cultivate a warmand supporting § Children and parents,can learn lives, there is a greater need for mentofEducationis committed to While schools have the respon- you know how and what your child home atmosphere while also set- alot about each other just by talk- them to be involved, particularly dealing with this issue byempha- sibility of assigning meaningful is doing, Stay aware of what your ting and enforcing standards for ing. Parents should communicate in education. sizing the importance of family- work, students have the responsi- school work. their values openly with their teen- Parents recognize this need. According to a Newsweek—PTA poll, some 40 percent of parents all across the country believe they are not devoting enough time to their children’s education. This issue - one of the biggest and most impor- tant affecting education today - will only be solved through a joint effort involving parents, schools and the community. Schools must respond to the needs of parents and provide the supports necessary for them to be involved in their children’s learn- ing. At the same time, parents need to slow down their lives, stress the life-long importance of getting a good education, and serve as role. school partnerships in its major legislative initiatives: GOALS 2000 and the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). In addi- tion, Secretary Riley is asking par- ents to become partners in a na- tional family involvement cam- paign. This joint effort will con- nect families, schools, and com- munities to enable all children to meet high standards. People who have worked with families and schools have sug- gested a number of concrete ac- tions that parents, schools and communities can take now to help all children learn. bility to complete it. Time spent on academic work at home is di- rectly related to achievement. 2. i Studies show that when parents read to their children or listen to them read on a regular basis, achievementimproves. Taking the time to read with children is the most successful way to encourage kids to read and is critical to a child’s education. 3. i Use TV wisely, Establish a TV watching bud thel Pictured (right to left) with Jim Rouse are: William Nobles, owner ofthe DuBois Center, Pastor James Corbett of Community Christian Church, Darius Shackleford and Rev. A.C. Batchelor of Phillipi Missionary Baptist Church. They accompany Jim Rouse as he announces his candidacy. Greenville Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. starts Guide Right Program rapidly changing society. ~ The Kappa League/Guide Right consists of any program under- taken by the members of the fra- ternity that attempts to broaden the horizon of young. people. It | helps develop programs for the youth, primarily, inspirational and | informational in character. Any “male with a two (2.0) point aver- _age (age 12-18) can join, The meet- fing time is the first Saturday | monthly at 11.a.m. The place is | 200 Hooker Road Greenville, NC | 27834. Proposed activities are of- | fice work, Buddy Tutorial Pro- gram, Yearly Province Conven- GUIDE RIGHT DIRECTOR | The Greenville Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., orga- nized a youth group for boys in the tion, community service projects, sports and cultural events. : Sunday, February 13, the Greenville Silhouettes of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity were very Greenville and Pitt County area’ supportive by planning a Tea Sip namely the Kappa League/Guide for the new members and their Right Program, which has been a - parents at 200 Hooker Roadin the — part of the National Service Pro- s Center, Gi pa gram ofthe Kappa Alpha Psi Fra- The sp since 1922. It is an infor- mal program of educational and | anal tions, award program for educa- - The Greenville Alumni Chapter Pole march Leroy James is a great supporter of the Guide Right Pro- gram. Director Monty Frizzell, Advisor Carlton Floyd D.H. Conley High School area; Taft, David Barnhill, Darin White, Greenville area, Group off to a good start. Crime Preventio: Fal 0 i fa Ay h i p cea oon ee Eta Psi members of Kappa Al- pha Psi Fraternity attending | ECU's Mike Moore, Reggie Jones, ~ Ron Villines, andChris Smith were very supportive in getting the Boys \ a igs Research on the performance of high school students has shown The “Steel Bandits,” a seven-° | member musical family, will | present a varied program for all ages in an East Carolina Univer- sity appearance scheduled for Sat- urday, March 19, in Wright Audi- torium. : The 2 p.m. concert is part of the University Unions Young Audi- ences performing Art Series and will last about an hour. In their concerts, the “Bandits” present musical styles ranging from classical to calypso, contem- porary to big band jazz, as well as oldies, country and western and Broadway show tunes, The band members play 10 handcrafted, 55- gallon chrome-plated steel drums, Parents play a dominant role in influencingachild’s confidence and motivation to become a successful learner. Parents should encour- age children to complete assign- ments as well as introduce them to . enrichment programs and outside experiences that will enhance their STEEL BANDITS along with woodwinds, electronic music synthesizer and rhythm machines. Adding to their show are vocal and dance routines and bright, colorful costumes. The band members are all broth- ers and sisters, ranging in ages from 11 to 21—the children of Jo- seph and Inez George of Perry, Ga. Their music began when Inez George bought steel drums during a Caribbean visit as a gift for her family. What began as a mother’s plan for wholesome recreation de- veloped into a professional career and success. During the past three years, the Bandits have performed in con- cert halls and clubs—even at a ager. By talking about the impor- tance of values such as honesty, self-reliance, and responsibility, parents are helping their children make good decisions. cting Wi ar- ents (continued on page six) Steel Bandits' to appear at ECU political fundraiser attended by former President Ronald Reagan. They have also completed an unprecedent six-month engage- ment at the Myrtle Beach Hilton Hotel. “When the Steel Bandits take the stage, sights and souds follow that are very unusual in this day of ill-conceived and overhyped en- tertainment,” said a Unversity Unions official. “It’s an hour of the kind of honest and unaffected per- formance that comes so naturally to children—and it’s put across with the kind of polish and musi- cal virtuosity that defies perform-