The Bronx Journal-Opinion

Editorial || Letters to the Editor || Commentary

Welcome Back - But We Never Left. Our society has managed to create a marketing spin on just about every facet of life. Every holiday triggers a flurry of “giant sales” and spending opportunities to redistribute the wealth we have supposedly accumulated. Our capitalist machine has even created holidays and seasons to stimulate sales during the “dry seasons” between the real holidays. Perhaps the most bizarre and most awkward of all the buying seasons, is the “Back To School” season.

From the students who have attended summer school, to the millions who take classes during June, July and August, the whole concept of summer vacation and the concept of “back to school” may be just one more excuse for a sale at K-Mart.

Before we are inundated with angry letters from those who have come to relish their free summer months, let us make clear that we are not calling for the demise of summer. Instead we are calling attention to the reality that summer is a time for intensified learning. From week-long sessions at basketball camp, to trips to foreign lands to hone language skills, to hours at the beach reading books we have no time for the rest of the year, the summer months have become a time of alternative and non-traditional learning that enhance our lives.

In reality, the summer vacation as well as the transitional goals of grade school, high school and college graduations is just a marker on a lifelong journey of learning. As we shift back to the fall semester, we should bear in mind the true reason we are here - to continue the life-long process of learning. And if K-Mart sells a few notebooks in the process -- that’s OK too.

Letters to the Editor

On BroxTalk Show, Hosted by Gary Axelbank

Thank you for the opportunity to appear on your show. I thought you might like to know that the New York State hotline did have increased volume immediately after the show and throughout the rest of the day. Your interest in the issues for helping people in the Bronx really does make a difference. If there is any opportunity for us to collaborate once again, please do not hesitate to call me.

Mary Greco, RN, OCN
Breast Service Coordinator
Our Lady of Mercy Comprehensive Cancer Center

Drug Abuse:From Symtoms to Solutions

I wanted you to know how pleased I and ou staff have been at the wonderful week long coverage of this important issue. I wanted to write as well, to underscore how extraordinary has been the attention and time that you have provided through “BronxTalk.”

There has always been a disinclination to discuss the issue of drug use in a way which candidly explores the effects on individuals, family and society. Many persons are disinclined because of their personal opinions of those who are addicted, because of experience as a victim of addiction, directly or indirectly, or because, like mental illness, this is a topic they feel should be discussed in private. You have demonstrated that the many aspects of the issue can be discussed in frankly and with sensitivity. Your audience has also shown that it is aware and that it is interested.

As the head of an addiction treatment program, I am grateful that you care about this subject and understand its impact sufficiently to encourage a full discourse. Your program provided insights into the many aspects of substance abuse –its involvement and its effect on our Bronx neighborhoods and our larger society. On behalf of our clients, staff, Board of Directors and myself- thank you.

Sandra Ruiz Butter
Executive Director
VIP Community Services

Venezuelan Universities Offer Exchange Agreements

I have been asked by a number of universities in Venezuela to explore possibilities to create and expand agreements with academic institutions in the United States and Europe. In my previous trip to New York, about five years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Lehman College and was very impressed with its solid foreign language department and the newly created Multilingual Journalism Program.

This new trip confirms my initial reaction to Lehman. I sincerely hope that we can begin coordinating exchange agreements betwen our institutions.

Luis Mata Guevara,. Ph.D.
Universidad Nacional Experimental Rafael María Baralt,
Zulia, Venezuela

Commentary

Growing Up Watching ‘Good Times’

Ileana Ferreras is a student majoring in Multilingual Journalism

I grew up watching a CBS sitcom called “Good Times.” This program detailed the life of the Evans Family, an African American family living in a Detroit “ghetto,” an unprecedented storyline at that time. One of my favorite episodes deals with the family’s youngest son Michael and his refusal to take a mandatory “IQ” test. The young man’s behavior is not normal; as a straight A student, his actions indicate that there is more to this than just insolence. When his parents ask him about his rebuff, he calmly states that he is boycotting the test because it discriminates against “poor [black] communities.” He cites an example from the test in which one of the questions is a word association: “cup and _______.” The multiple-choice answers include: “chair, table, floor, saucer.” Although the answer key indicates that the correct answer is “saucer,” Michael argues that many poor black children would have chosen “cup and table” as a practicality, having never been exposed to the luxury of a saucer. Even though cup and table does not indicate that the child’s cognitive development is less advanced, many non-white children fail because the tests are biased, favoring middle class, Anglo Saxons. The children failing these tests are held over, not because they are unable to choose the correct answers, but rather because they have not been exposed to the culture that is testing them.

After listening to Michael’s points, his parents decide that the test is in fact, discriminatory and agree to meet with a school faculty member to discuss it. Michael’s parents arrive prepared to advocate their son’s arguments. They manage to do an excellent job by presenting another IQ test, which includes a series of questions dealing with the African American “sub-culture,” one of which is “What is Malcolm X’s actual last name?” The probable answers: Jones, Smith, Little, Jenkins. The faculty member is unable to provide the answer to this, or any other question he is presented; Michael’s parents walk out grinning with the satisfaction of a point well made.

Although I haven’t seen the episode in several years, I remember that the Evans’ rendition of the IQ test taught me a lot about African American sub–culture. It also proved their culture’s historical significance within America. In the episode, the child’s intellect is being judged by a test created for “more privileged” white students. When Michael’s parents set up their own IQ test, which is filled with African American history, the white faculty member fails. This proves their point that the test is suspect, as they cannot determine levels of intellect accurately due to content that ignores the socio-economic divisions present throughout society.

This program was filmed long before America became obsessed with “political correctness” and yet it presents the case for the incorporation of multiculturalism, a truly PC concept. With the integration of “political correctness” into today’s society, many have become more culturally sensitive and aware. Intolerance, however, is still rampant as many still ostracize cultures and classes. We must accept, integrate and successfully learn about social and ethnic differences.

These differences make today’s world rich as it is filled with a superfluity of cultures, sub cultures, classes and religions. As cultures become more interdependent, these variations should be explored, researched and incorporated into the school system. This must be done to ensure that each child receives an education that encompasses a more global sense, which will to bridge the gaps that exist because of ignorance.