Renting a car – Fifteen things to consider to protect yourself and get the best deal

Hooray! Gas prices are down so visiting family for the holidays is a possibility that is affordable. If you are planning a trip or family is coming to visit, here are some tips about travel that may assist you.

Renting a car is an option but can be a dilemma if you do not do your research. Call and ask questions, or be prepared for a big disappointment when your are all packed and ready to leave.

1. Some car rental companies will allow you to use a debit card. Because debit cards are attached to your bank account, using a debit card means having a cash deposit above the cost of the rental on hold while you are using the rental. The amount can be up to $500 or more. Contact the car rental companies to discuss their requirements.
2.Check with your auto insurance company that you have for your own car for car rental coverage.

3.Check with your credit card company for car rental coverage.

4.Insurance benefits offered by credit card companies may be different if the card is issued from the credit card company or by the bank. For example a platinum card may offer more insurance coverage than a gold card.

5.Credit cards usually cover only damage to or loss of the rented vehicle, not for other cars, personal belongings or the property of others. There may be no personal liability coverage for bodily injury or death claims. Some credit card companies will provide coverage for towing, but many may not provide for diminished value or administrative fees.

6.To know exactly what type of insurance you have, call the toll-free number on the back of the card you will be using to rent the car. If you are depending on a credit card for insurance protection, ask the credit card company or bank to send you their coverage information in writing. In most cases, credit card benefits are secondary to either your personal insurance protection or the insurance offered by the rental car company.

7.Loss Damage Waiver (LDW) Also referred to as a collision damage waiver, relieve or “waive” renters of financial responsibility if their rental car is damaged or stolen. In most cases, waivers also provide coverage for “loss of use,” in the event the rental car company charges the renter for the time a damaged car can not be used because it is being fixed. It may also cover towing and administrative fees.

8.Waivers may become void if the accident was caused by speeding, driving on unpaved roads or driving while intoxicated. If you already have comprehensive and collision coverage on your own car, check with your personal auto insurer to make sure you are not duplicating coverage you already have. This coverage generally costs between $9 and $19 a day.

9.Liability Insurance If you have adequate amounts of liability protection on your own car, you may not need additional liability protection for a rental. This is supplemental insurance and it will cost between $7 and $14 a day.

10.Check to see if you have an umbrella liability policy sitting on top of your auto and homeowners or renters liability policy to provide extra protection including accidents while driving your own car or one that you rent.

11.If you use rentals frequently you can also consider purchasing a non-owner liability policy. This not only provides liability protection when you rent a car, but also when you borrow someone else’s car.

12.Personal Accident Insurance
Personal Accident Insurance offers coverage to you and your passengers for medical and ambulance bills for injuries caused in a car crash. If you have adequate health insurance or are covered by personal injury protection under your own car insurance, you may not need this additional insurance. It usually costs about $1 to $5 a day.

13.Personal Effects Coverage
Personal Effects Coverage provides insurance protection for the theft of items in your car. If you have a homeowners or renters insurance policy that includes off-premises theft coverage, you are generally covered for theft of your belongings away from home, minus the deductible. If you purchase this coverage through the rental car company, it generally costs between $1 and $4 a day.

14.States have minimum age requirements for renting a car and most major rental car companies refuse to rent a car to someone who is under 21 and in some cases under 25. There can be and additional per day cost for drivers under age 25.

15.Most rental car companies now investigate your credit history so check with the rental car company before picking up the car. You could be all packed and ready to go and be refused a rental because of a negative credit history.

Now that you know what to do to secure a rental, go through your travel preparation check list and have a safe trip.

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“A Mercy” by Toni Morrison, Nobel Prize Winner

Toni Morrison is also known for her first book, The Bluest Eye, Song of Solomon, Sula and Beloved just to mention a few of those most well known. A Mercy is her ninth novel recently released this fall.

Born Chloe Anthony Wofford, in 1931 in Lorain (Ohio), the second of four children in a black working-class family. Her parents moved to Ohio from the South to escape racism and to find better opportunities in the North.

Toni Morrison is the first black woman to receive Nobel Prize in Literature. Her stories explore the experiences and roles of black women in a racist and male dominated society and celebrates the unique cultural inheritance of African-Americans.

Storytelling is a tradition in the Black family as a way of sharing time together Morrison recalled listening to the older relatives use homespun wisdom when telling tales for hours at family gatherings when she was growing up in Ohio. Morrison’s relatives had her retell the stories she had heard from their mouths, a challenge she said she reveled in, adding her own embellishments to make the stories more outrageous. The stories, many of which she described as violent and “really terrible,” whetted her appetite for books, and to this day influence her writing.

The purpose and mission of African American Family Connection is to continue to honor the tradition of homespun wisdom and telling folktales to transfer the heritage of African Americans to another generation.

Morrison said her storytelling as a child helped her develop a sense of how language and sound work together. “The rhythm in a period or a comma is lifesaving to me.” A Mercy is a story set in the 1680s, the period of 17^th century America when this country’s reliance on slavery as an economic engine was just beginning. A Mercy explores the repercussions of an enslaved mother’s desperate act: She offers her small daughter to a stranger in payment for her master’s debt.

A farmer/trader of Dutch descent, Jacob is said to have owned a few slaves only as a necessity to run his homestead. Jacob is sympathetic towards orphans and waifs because he himself was homeless and learned to survive for himself on the streets running small errands.

There are four women who are the main characters, a Native American enslaved as a servant known as Lina; the main character Florens, the young slave girl resentful of her mother and feeling abandoned for being traded away to pay a debt; a rebellious young woman named Sorrow; and Rebekka, the European mistress, torn by the loss of several infants due to the hardship frontier life.

The act of mercy is when Jacob travels to Maryland to collect debt from a tobacco plantation owner named Senor D’Ortega, and finds out that Senor is broke and has no money to pay off the debt. Senor offers Jacob a thin black girl named Florens, a daughter of one of his slaves, as a partial payment of the debt. Florens’ mother feels that Jacob is a more kind-hearted man than Senor, and pleads with him to give her daughter to Jacob. The mother believes that Florens would have a better life in Jacob’s estate and does this as an act of mercy.

The farmer Jacob dies of smallpox and the wife become ill. If the wife dies too, the women are left to an unknown fate of being exiled and squatter or subject to purchase, hire, assault, or abduction.

Morrison says she wrote the novel in an effort to “remove race from slavery.” She notes that in researching the book, she read White Cargo by Don Jordan and Michael Walsh, and was surprised to learn that many white Americans are descended from slaves. “Every civilization in the world relied on slavery,” says Morrison. “The notion was that there was a difference between black slaves and white slaves, but there wasn’t.” White slaves, called indentured servants, were people who traded their freedom for their passage to America.

The diversity of characters in this story represent in large part the diversity of the times we live in today. An Anglo-Dutch farmer, his wife, who was gladly sent away by her father to America which saved him one less mouth to feed; a Native American woman forced to be a servant; a Black woman and her mother locked in fierce love and misunderstanding; and the daughter of a sea captain from an unknown place and a Latin tobacco plantation owner.

A Mercy was released on November 11, the day we received Senator Barack Obama the 44^th President and first African American President of America.

Click here to review this book @ Amazon.com in the AAFC store.

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Grandparents reinforce family values

Grand parents are the salt of the Earth! We have raised our families and worked for most of our lives to take care of ourselves and our families to the best of our ability. Providing safe shelter, clean living conditions, healthy food, a balanced environment free from abuse or neglect, was my goal for my children. Maintaining this level of clean drama free living requires discipline, focus and determination to live life with a consistent level of devotion to giving your children the best life you could.

In our 50’s, 60’s and beyond we should be able live the life we have earned and do whatever we want to do in our retirement years. For some this is not until until the late sixties or even 70’s, now retirees work part time either out of necessity or to stay active. It is not so easy to retire nowadays unless you have a sound financial plan in place to cover the cost of living a comfortable existence.

Health care, housing, food, life insurance, transportation, are essential whether you are a married or single retiree. We don’t want to be a burden to our children, we want to live the “golden years” when you can travel, indulge in your favorite hobbies, become a serious gardener and play with our grandkids when we want to.

Different circumstances prevail when you have health issues that require you live with or near your family. Depending on the level of self sufficiency and your family’s attention to your needs, keeping the family connection benefits the grand parent more. Parents with aging parents and raising children at the same time is referred to as the “sandwich generation”

Times have changed the way families manage raising children, supporting an aging parent, or an aging parent supporting their children’s family and raising their grandchildren. Grandparents become the stand-in when a parent is ill; a parent dies; a parent is away in the military; or a child with behavior problems needs to be in a different environment other than their parents home.

Grandparents can also become the guardians for their grandchildren due to neglect because of drug or alcohol abuse and incarceration. The drug epidemic in the U S has devastated the black community. The criminal justice approach to drug use has contributed to the increasing numbers of African Americans subjected to the criminal justice system. This increase is attributed to a system that disproportionately incarcerates African Americans for drug abuse and other minor violations. Instead of being steered into treatment programs most of the people being locked up in America’s prisons are African American drug offenders.

A woman worth her salt will not go off and live a life that does not include the health and well-being of her family. How can you have a life when the lives of your children and grand children are in jeopardy?This is not sacrifice, this is necessity because our children and grandchildren are a reflection in part of our contribution to the world. When we raise good citizens that become students of life who cherish life and pursue knowledge for the betterment of humanity, we/I feel that we are fulfilling our service to something greater than ourselves.

Taking all of these reasons into consideration add financial hardship which makes it more strategic to share households with three to four generations. Aging parents benefit from living with their family, and childcare is less of an issue when the children can stay with grandma or grandpa before and after school. If grandma wants to take care of grandchildren and are not being forced into it because of laziness and neglect on behalf of their own children, this works out for everyone to be a good arrangement.

Not all grandmothers do want to be obligated to raising children again and will not live in the same household, it does not mean they do not love being with their grandchildren or that they care any less than anyone else, they want their freedom and feel they are entitled to make that choice. It is our children who should be raising their own children with grandparents nearby for support and guidance.

When you have moved from your parents house gone to college or gotten married, then raised a family in that order, you may have never lived alone your whole life. Getting to the age of retirement when your children are adults, you may desire to have your first experience at living completely alone.

When President Barack Obama’s grandmother passed away, we all felt the sadness in his heart. We also saw the values she instilled in him to press forward. On the eve of the biggest contest of his life, his grandmother passed away. In the midst of his grief and relentless pursuit of the presidency, the family persevered and privately endured their loss. That is what grandmother’s do, they instill courage and determination in those they love so in the face of adversity, they can continue on.

If you are a grandparent caregiver, you know raising grandchildren is not easy. Grandparent caregivers face many challenges. However, amid these challenges, caring for grandchildren has rewards.

Challenges Facing Grandparent Caregivers

• Poverty. Poverty is a major problem for grandparent caregivers.
• Delaying retirement or quitting work early. Grandparents make sacrifices to raise their grandchildren. They quit work in order stay at home with a baby, or continue working well past the age of retirement to support their family.
• Inadequate housing. Like many grandparents, when Karen and Stan brought their grandkids home, they did not have any spare bedrooms so the kids had to sleep in their room.
• Inadequate transportation. Karen and Stan also didn’t have a vehicle to carry all of them. Stan sold his Harley-Davidson motorcycle in order to purchase a mini-van. Still, Karen and Stan seem well off compared to others. Many grandparent caregivers do not have any vehicle.
• Poor health. Grandparents who care for their grandchildren have poorer health than those who do not.

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Using your child’s name to establish credit is Identity Theft!!

Tis the season to be careful!

Everyone will be doing some serious shopping no matter what is reported about the economy. Nothing stops us from spending money during the holiday season. Where there is a will, there is a way and we will find a way.

So while you are out there finding all those bargains to make your loved ones happy, what about someone stealing your identity and taking all of your hard money, or using your identity to make their own purchases. Identity Theft, what is it?

This can happen, don’t think for one moment that just because you use a debit card and have direct deposit, that is cannot happen to you.

This is the crime of obtaining the personal or financial information of another person for the purpose of assuming assuming that identity to steal it and use it to make purchases or establish credit without the victims’ knowledge.

Here a few examples:

Southern District of Florida. A woman was indicted and pleaded guilty to federal charges involving her obtaining a fraudulent driver’s license in the name of the victim, using the license to withdraw more than $13,000 from the victim’s bank account, and obtaining five department store credit cards in the victim’s name and charging approximately $4,000 on those cards.

Children sometimes have their identity used by their parents to establish accounts in their name. This is also a form of identity theft because children are being victimized with not way to stop it from happening.

Hackers are waiting online to steal your information so you must get the right tools to get rid of and monitor Spyware and Adware that is frequently downloaded with games, tool bars and new programs.

PrepaidLegal.com says that it is no secret that identity theft is a major problem not just in America but all over the world. Many of think we are not at risk? Unfortunately you are, we all are. Ask yourself these questions;

- Do you hand your credit card to servers at restaurants?
- Do you sign your credit cards?
- Do you supply personal information over the Internet?
- Do you keep your Social Security number in your wallet or purse?
- Do you leave mail at your home or business for the postal carrier to collect?
- Do you shred unwanted mail with personal information?

What if you discovered that your identity had been stolen?
Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to report the situation, whether Online,

By telephone toll-free at 1-877-ID THEFT (877-438-4338) or TDD at 202-326-2502, or By mail to Consumer Response Center, FTC, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580

Call your bank and/or credit card company.
Contact the three major credit repositories – by the time you do all three major credit companies after contacting you bank you must complete the following steps for each credit company;

To report fraud, all three credit companies Equifax, Experion and Transunion.

Order a copy of your credit report

Dispute information in your report, call the phone number provided on your credit report.

Opt out of pre-approved offers of credit

After all this then you will do the following

Contact your local office of the Postal Inspection Service if you suspect that an identity thief has submitted a change-of-address form with the Post Office to redirect your mail, or has used the mail to commit frauds involving your identity;

Contact the Social Security Administration if you suspect that your Social Security number is being fraudulently.

Contact the Internal Revenue Service if you suspect the improper use of identification information in connection with tax violations

Fill out and submit the affidavit form supplied by the FTC to dispute new, unauthorized accounts count on spending on average $1,500 in out-of-pocket expenses to resolve the many problems cause by identity thieves

By the time you go through about a 20 helpful but extensive steps recommended by the Federal Trade Commission in its 30-page consumer support publication you will may get some results. The problem is not having any avenue to take care of the legalities that could occur from damaged credit. Especially if a crime is committed in your name.

WITH THE IDENTITY THEFT SHIELD: Get REGULAR monitoring of your credit report and let the proven leaders in the identity restoration and legal services fields assist you.

With no obligation, you can view a short presentation and learn more by visiting my website. See what Pre-Paid Legal can do for you at: http://www.prepaidlegal.com/idt/slackl

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Health Issues for African American Women

I’s that time of year again to make pledges and resolutions to get in shape, lose weight and make some changes. Let us be proactive this year and start now, lets work out ways to develop the tools we need to avoid stress. There are always statistics that tell us over and over that African have higher incidences of health disparities compared to other ethnic groups. We can choose to not listen because we may not want to believe the reports that African Americans have more cases of disease, disability, and early death compared to Whites but it is still an issue that we must examine. We cannot afford to dismiss the statistics, we must take an assessment of our individual health status.

Motivation is a constant struggle due to work pressures, financial concerns and the every day occurrences resulting from how we choose to live our lives. Ask yourself this question: “Do I want to be trapped in a body that I cannot control?” I know you are saying that is not my situation and that will not happen to me. I am able to walk, talk, bathe myself, feed myself and take care of myself relatively well. I have health care and I hardly get sick, so I am exempt from this question.

Or I have no health care, I exercise regularly and take supplements, I even get acupuncture treatments and watch my diet. Whatever we are doing is good, we can all take stock of ourselves on a regular basis and make improvements. If none of this applies to you, that is great, so help someone else to get motivated and get moving.

African American women experience multiple health issues because we neglect our health even when we think we are healthy. African American women are less likely to receive health care; when they do receive care, they are more likely to receive it late. Having no noticeable symptoms is not an indication of good health. Many skip breakfast and opt for something quick with coffee, juice or tea with way too much sugar.

A large number of jobs for women consist of sitting at a desk or computer all day in one spot, when we take a break we continue to sit and only walk to heat up food or take a restroom break. While we are sitting at our desk we graze and snack on what we think are empty calories that contain nothing which contributes to improving our health or giving us energy. We take smoke breaks and park as close as we can to the door so we don’t have far to walk to jump in our car. We seldom eat early and then take a walk during our lunch hour or even get up to stretch and move away from our desk.

Lack of movement can cause stiffness in the joints and calories from sugary snacks or greasy food can lead to significant weight gain especially during the holidays. Office parties are most always planned around food. Plates are piled and wrapped up to be eating later or taken home. We tend to eat more at office holidays than we can normally eat in one sitting. I am guilty of everything I have listed here and I really want to help someone to not fall victim to their own self-neglect.

I want everyone to be healthy and self sufficient, I do not want to witness anyone becoming dependent on a caregiver to take care of them I pledge to take better care of my health in every way. Here are some statistics that may broaden your understanding of the urgent status of health for African American women;

• The lead causes of death for African American women are heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.
• Heart disease is the number one killer of American women. African American women are 35% more likely than non-Hispanic white women to die from heart disease.
• Diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, lack of exercise, and smoking all put women at risk for heart disease. Studies have shown that African Americans don’t get the same care for heart disease as whites because they don’t get the same tests and treatments.
• Among women, about two out of three new HIV cases are African American. High rates of other STDs, including chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis are a problem as well.Over 25 diseases are spread through sex. Some STDs seem to affect certain groups more than others.
• African Americans have higher rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and herpes than whites. STDs are more easily passed from men to women. And many STDs have no symptoms. If you’re having sex, get tested for STDs.
• Not having sex of any kind is the only 100% effective way to avoid getting STDs. Being in a sexual relationship with only one partner who is free of an STD and who is also faithful to you limits the chance of infections.
• African American mothers were twice as likely to have late or no prenatal care compared to white mothers in 2004. There are many possible reasons for these differences, including racism, poverty, cultural differences, lack of knowledge about the importance of screening or testing to prevent health problems, inability to get to the doctor, or lack of trust in the medical system.
• African American women are more likely than all other women to die from breast cancer. Tumors are found at a later, more advanced, stage so there are fewer treatment options. Some reasons for this may include not being able to get health care or not following-up after getting abnormal test results. Other reasons may include distrust of the health care system, the belief that mammograms are not needed, or not having insurance.

• African Americans are almost twice as likely to have diabetes as non-Hispanic whites of the same age. People with diabetes are more likely to have problems with their skin, mouth, kidneys, heart, nerves, eyes, and feet. African Americans have higher rates of at least two of diabetes’ most serious complications: amputation (such as having a toe or foot removed), and kidney failure.
• African Americans are affected by stroke more than any other group. The rate of stroke in African-American women is almost twice that of white women. African American women also have a higher risk of dying from a stroke than white women. African Americans tend to have higher rates of these risk factors for stroke: high blood pressure, diabetes, sickle cell anemia, obesity, family history of stroke, and no leisure exercise.

• High blood pressure has no symptoms. See your doctor once a year to have your blood pressure checked.
• One out of three Americans has high blood pressure. African American women of all ages develop high blood pressure more often than non-Hispanic white women. Some things increase your chances of having high blood pressure: increasing age (middle aged or older), diabetes, obesity (or being overweight), alcohol use, eating too much salt, a family history of high blood pressure, and not exercising.

Flossing before you go to bed improves your overall health.
Make some changes to your lifestyle like walking that may help prevent or control high blood pressure. You know when you are overweight, so just try to lose weight. Losing just 10 pounds can lower your blood pressure and save your life.

Keep moving by getting up and starting with stretching. Put on your favorite music and dance or just move. Walk in place, wave your arms, pick up your feet and move. Try taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Or, walk during breaks at work. Eat right. Eat lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Choose low-fat dairy products. Eat less salt. Don’t smoke. If you smoke, try to quit.

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The Inspiration to Roar – Michelle Obama

Black women have always been an indispensable and fundamental bridge connecting, the elements and conditions of every day living to purpose, strength and determination. Working women were confirmed by the Feminist Movement that is it okay to be every woman successfully juggling multiple roles of wife, mother, caregiver and career while negotiating the obstacles of race, class and gender.

In the past decade, there have been phenomenal achievements by Black women as Entrepreneurs Scientists, roles in technology, in the board room as executives, in many areas as athletes, world famous entertainers, television talk show hosts, moguls and actors in spite of socioeconomic indicators showing that Black women are still straggling to catch up to their White counterparts.

A woman’s role today can be defined as a stay-at-home/work-at-home entrepreneur or a single working mother with a high powered corporate title trophy wife defined as a symbol of success and prowess being sought out by high powered men. Women have broken through the old barriers of sexism all the way to the White House.

The First Lady, Michelle Obama will inspire women in many ways to make a new commitment to the way they live. Living life on purpose and not by accident allows no room for excuses to be mediocre. Everyday for the next four years and many years to come black children, black girls, black women will see a positive, honest, image of a woman who looks like them explode and redefine the negative myths about women of color.

A strong woman that makes no excuses for how she defines herself in the role of individual first, friend/partner to her husband and mother. Mrs. Obama takes all of her roles seriously and you can see this in her eyes, hear it in the conviction of her words when she speaks. She is so fortunate to have been able to rely on her mother to take care of her children, it undoubtedly gave her a sense of peace that no one else could have provided for her. We know that our mother will take care our children the way we would or better.

There is no misrepresentation for acceptable definitions of Black women that I can see when it comes to Michelle Obama. She sends a message to the world saying it is more than okay to be to be dark-skinned, to be smart, to be tall, to be different and most of all to be the First Lady of African American descent in the White House. The tremendous amount of pressure of being in the public view, constantly having everything you do reported on every minute of every day. Constant travel and movement, speaking to thousands of people at a time did not cause her to compromise the level of care for herself first, her husband and their children.

Malia and Sasha were always the priority for the Obamas, with the faithful and loving hand of their grandmother, Mrs. Marion Robinson, Michelle’s mother. As a grandmother, I do understand the commitment and sacrifice for the sake of the security and happiness of the children. A grandmother protecting the legacy of her family line is a force to be recognized. I thank you Mrs. Robinson for making it possible for First Lady Michelle and President Obama to campaign the way they did so successfully. Being a family was important enough to show the world that it is the first priority in all things and it did not get in the way of winning the election to become the first African American Presidential family of the United States.

The tone of life has changed to a no more excuses vibration of “get your life in order” and “live your life on purpose.” Couples are showing each other more love and consideration due the exchanges of affection we have seen between the Obamas. Parents are spending more time with their children, people are talking and listening more to each other and showing respect for one another because we have all witnessed Barack and Michelle Obama show genuine caring and love for each other. Demonstrated pubic displays of affection by Black people is exactly what Black children and Black people need to see more of. Black men and women have blamed each other for everything that is wrong in their lives, and experience a significant amount of resentment and bitterness that affects the level of affection in their relationships and the quality of life for their children.

Now black people can see that marriage can work with an authentic commitment and real devotion to one another. In the very recent past, Black women have been viewed mostly as the product of unwed mothers and the last ones to get married in comparison to our ethnic counterparts. We have a great hope the Obama effect will change the way we are represented in popular culture.

We have not seen families like the Obamas since the Cosby Show even though those type of families are out there, said Tracy Sharpley-Whiting, director of African American and Diaspora Studies at Vanderbilt. “So often in the mainstream media, our families are depicted as broken, and we are seen as statistics and not as humans,” said Rockeymoore. Our families are in need of repair and winning the election is so far proving to be the encouragement that will change things.

Black women across the country say they expect Michelle Obama’s dark complexion will inspire girls and women of color to feel better about themselves. Mrs. Obama’s practice of regular workouts and healthy behavior will inspire women to improve their own health status. Most of us need to become more conscious of our eating habits and create new behaviors that will affect the status of overall health with positive consequences. Mrs. Obama could not have survived the campaign if she did not have great tools in place to stay focused and maintain her health.

Now it will be cool to strive for excellence in education which may change how black children are riduculed and made fun of for being smart by their own peers. Applying yourself in the classroom and paying attention to your studies has been proven to pay off in big ways. Look at the place you will go

After high school Michelle Robinson majored in sociology at Princeton University, graduating with cum laude honors in 1985. From there she attended Harvard where she earned her law degree in 1988, one year ahead of her husband-to-be, Barack, whom she hadn’t met yet but attended the same law school.

President Elect Barack Obama and Michelle Robinson Obama moved in the same circles and attended the same school living life on purpose unaware of the hands of fate moving and working to bring them together. Although he was in intern when they met and she was asked to be his mentor, he recognized the qualities of a very special woman and his instincts were right because they were married three years after they met. Thank God that he was humble enough and open enough to learn from her after graduating fro the prestigious Harvard law school. Thank God that his goals and aspirations for his career were genuine and honest because anything less would have not even been looked at twice by a woman like Michelle. She could have dismissed him, Give Thanks that she did not, because there is no mistaking the power behind the throne. The achievements and accomplishments of President Barack Obama would not have been the possible without the person he refers to as “the rock of our family” and “the Love of my life.”

Mrs. Obama has an impressive career as Former Associate Dean at the University of Chicago; a member of six boards of directors; Vice President of Community and External Affairs at the University of Chicago Hospitals. In this position she was responsible for all programs and initiatives that involve the relationships between the hospitals and the community as well as management of the hospitals’ business diversity program. This woman was well positioned and respected in the Chicago business community.

We could learn something from the disciplined practices of being in bed by 9:30 and rising early enough each morning at 4:30 to run on a treadmill before she starts her day. This is the level of discipline and organization it takes to manage a very public life and balance it with motherhood gracefully and lovingly.

Mrs Obama says “Barack didn’t pledge riches” Michelle explains t”Only a life that would be interesting. On that promise he’s delivered.”

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Public school system in crisis, how do we fix it?

It is widely known that the American Public School system has many problems that affect the quality of education resulting in low outcomes of our students ranking at the bottom of the list academically when compared to students in other industrialized countries. As a parent, I have a measured confidence in our public school system and frequently feel that there is no attainable solution to correct it. If you are low to middle income, you may not be able to afford a private school education or be available to educate your children at home. It does not hurt to bolster whatever work they are doing school with extra study assignments.

President Barack Obama’s mother woke him up at 4:30 a.m. to study before she went to workbecause that is the level of education she wanted for him, we have no excuse for not studying with our children so they get the most out the education that is available to them. Our children will model the behavior we demonstrate about education, if we do not value it, they will not see the importance of it either.

The alternatives to public school education are home-schooling or a private school. If you are feeling stifled with dissatisfaction about the conditions in your public schools funded by the taxes you pay, you must do take a stand. The anxiety that borders on helplessness can empower you to create a new interests in the education of your entire family, including yourself. Most working families are hard pressed to spend time at their local school beyond Parent/Teacher conferences and seasonal programs or sports events.

Less than two years ago as reported by John Stossel of 2020, a Gallup Poll survey indicated that 76 percent of Americans were completely or somewhat satisfied with their kids’ public school. The percentages for the current academic year could be significantly lower based on reaction to Charter Schools, standardized tests, violence, a lack of parental involvement. We have witnessed inadequate management of the school environment by the administration or local governing body. Reform of the licensing and certification requirements and increased salaries for teachers is long overdue. The cost of education per student is under funded at urban schools comparied to suburban schools due to thier socioeconomic status which deprives minority students of the opportunity for a solid education.

The NCLB (No Child Left Behind) program was designed as mandates set up to require schools and teachers to achieve acceptable passing scores on Nationalized academic tests. Schools are considered failing if they do not meet the goal of testing 95% of each nationality, and after three years of failure, the federal government withdraws its contribution for the education of poor children. To get this money back, the school must turn over large amounts of its budget to private companies.

Our schools are supposed to be a safe place for teaching and learning, free of crime and violence but students are often so out of control with no respect for teachers as authority figures. Teachers often are not connected to the students because they come from neighborhoods outside of the urban school they teach in where their students live. The expectations are somewhat unrealistic due a lack of understanding about African American or Hispanic family values and practices. Teachers are ready to teach and do their very best but cannot do what they are paid to do. Hispanic students were more likely than
White students to report being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property.

Parental involvement is essential and is a combination of commitment and active participation on the part of the parent to the school and to the student. Parental involvement is non existent, at least for the students that need it the most. Parents feel unwelcome in their schools, and inadequate in their own educational achievements, others feel that education is not important. There are parents who are actively involved and informed about the everyday activities of their schools and students. Family participation should be mandatory and recognized as a key in successfully educating children. In inner-city communities, parental involvement is a challenge because of the negative experience so many parents have had in school.

Government mandates force teachers to plan scripted reading programs as part of the curriculum. These programs fail to meet federal testing standards and make it difficult to verify how effective they are. Benchmarks designed by the textbook companies are imposed on the whole school district and pacing guides determine how much time a teacher has to cover each topic in the textbook. This is followed with the test to measure outcomes. If a teacher focuses on a “teachable moment” like a historic presidential election of the first President of African American descent, they are seen as not being on the
script and the students fail the benchmarks set.

Is there a link between spending and student achievement funding due to socioeconomic status for minority students? Over 100,000 is spent over the 12 year career of a student from Kindergarten to 12th grade. John Stossl of 2020 revealed that Ben Chavis is a former public school principal who now runs an alternative charter school in Oakland, Calif., that spends thousands of dollars less per student than the surrounding public schools. He laughs at the public schools’ complaints about money. His school also thrives because the principal gets involved. Chavis shows up at every classroom and uses gimmicks like small cash payments to reward students for perfect attendance. He is a visable presence in his school not sitting in a chair behind a desk and the students know him.

The modern American educational system is filled with so many problems that students are not learning much as they should be and graduating with less knowledge or skills than students in other industrialized countries. School officials do not know how to deal with the nontraditional family because of constraints in the areas of concern and the solutions that they are permitted to use to improve parental involvement.

But there are inner city models of success, like the School Development Plan, created by James P. Comer, Maurice Falk Professor of Child Psychiatry at the Yale Child Study Center. The Comer Plan for inner-city elementary schools focuses on social service recipients with dependent. Working mainly with a three part structure consisting of a management team, led by a principal and includes teachers, parents, counselors and other school staff members. The team has the power to set overall policy for the school. Secondly, parent involvement is increased due to the focused efforts of the team to recruit parents for organizing school events and serve as classroom assistants. Thirdly, intervention is provided for children who have emotional, behavioral or academic problems and identified early.

Are our children prepared for the intellectual demands of modern society? According to report card evaluation done by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “despite decades of reform efforts and many trillions of dollars in public investment, U.S. schools are not equipping our children with the skills and knowledge they-and the nation-so badly need.

Check out your school report card at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for your state.

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