September 7, 2025 • 23 mins
Transforming education through excellence, discipline, and high expectations isn't just a lofty ideal—it's achievable reality, as demonstrated by Dr Brooks remarkable 31-year journey as principal of Wilson High School. This powerful testimony reveals how a predominantly African-American school overcame negative perceptions to become recognized for academic excellence, athletic achievement, and community service.
At just 28 years old, this dedicated educator took the helm of his alma mater with a clear mission: prove that excellence could thrive in any environment. Through strategic initiatives like restructuring schedules to combat tardiness, establishing the "Beatitudes" (be present, be on time, behave, be positive), and creating strong parent-teacher-student partnerships, Wilson High School underwent a profound transformation. The school secured significant recognition, including features in Red Book Magazine and a $500,000 grant from GE.
Perhaps most compelling is Dr. Brooks challenge to harmful narratives that equate academic achievement with "acting white." Excellence knows no color—making A's, speaking proper English, and striving for your best are universal standards worth pursuing. Parents are called to establish high expectations at home, get involved at school, and teach responsibility from an early age. Students are urged to value their education, respect themselves, know their history, and recognize that today's opportunities came at great cost to previous generations who "did more with less." Whether you're an educator, parent, student, or community member, this passionate call to educational excellence offers wisdom that transcends time and circumstance. How will you contribute to creating a culture of excellence in your school, home, and community?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Good afternoon.
For those of you who don't knowme, I am the brother of Mrs
Virginia Robinson, musician,longtime member here at Savannah
Grove Baptist Church, where ourfamily worship for several
years.
First of all, I'd like to takethis opportunity to thank Dr
(00:30):
Canty, pastor of Spadding GroveBaptist Church, for this
opportunity to share myeducational experience with you
and also to hopefully motivateour young people and our
families about the importance ofeducation and the importance of
(00:55):
always valuing, wanting to bebetter, and for us as a people,
education is a key.
I began my educational careerin Florence School, district 1,
(01:23):
attending Holmes ElementarySchool, wilson Junior High
School and Wilson Senior HighSchool, graduating in 1964,
moving from there to SouthCarolina State College and now a
university from 1964 to 1968,where I received a bachelor's
degree in education matheducation and from there I
(01:44):
received a commission as asecond lieutenant in the United
States Army.
I had plans to make the Army acareer, but my wife, ms Barbara
Brooks, did not care for themilitary.
So, having the last word in myhouse, I said yes, ma'am, and I
(02:08):
got out.
I came to Florence School,district One and earned a
mathematics position at MooreJunior High School at that time
and taught math for one year,and in that first year the
superintendent, mr Henry Sneed,asked if I would be interested
(02:30):
in becoming an assistantprincipal at West Florence High
School that was founded in 1970.
So I said yes, and so,beginning in 1971 to 1974, I was
assistant principal at WestLawrence High School.
Then, in August of 1974, I gotthe opportunity, under
(02:57):
Superintendent Dr Bruce Crowley,to become principal of Wilson
High School.
I asked 30 people whether ornot I should take the job.
One of them included PastorCanty, and out of 30 people, 28
said yes, two said no.
The only two that said no werethe principal and guidance
(03:19):
counselor at West Florence HighSchool, and they said that not
to be negative, but because theydid not want me to leave.
So from August of 1974 to June30th of 2005, I was principal at
Wilson High School for 31 years.
(03:40):
I went to Wilson High Schoolbecause, as a graduate of Wilson
, I got tired of hearing peoplespeak negatively about a school
that happened to bepredominantly African-American
in terms of student population,and so I took on the challenge
(04:04):
to make sure that excellenceexisted in a predominantly
African American environment aswell as any other environment,
and so we moved from having anegative perception of Wilson to
(04:26):
it becoming a school thatreceived recognition for
excellence, not only inacademics but in terms of music,
in terms of athletics and interms of service.
Several of the teachers thatwere at Wilson when I was a
(04:50):
student there, along with myclassmates, were there in August
of 1974, and all of them weresupportive of my efforts, and at
that time and when I becameprincipal, I was, if not the
youngest, perhaps one of theyoungest principals of a high
(05:11):
school in South Carolina at theage of 28.
I never regretted going toWilson and doing the things that
I saw needed to be done, andthe accomplishments that were
made was because of the team ofteachers, administrators,
(05:35):
support staff in terms ofcustodial staff, cafeteria staff
in terms of guidance counselors, media specialists and, more
importantly, students.
Students that didn'tnecessarily look at me as being
(05:55):
a good thing in the beginning,but as long as I stayed there,
my team and I made thembelievers.
And, of course, no school isgoing to be successful without
positive parental involvement,successful without positive
parental involvement, and we hada strong parent-teacher-student
(06:16):
association that helped usaccomplish our goals, one of the
things that we wanted toaccomplish at Wilson and at any
school I would encourage that isto establish discipline.
You're not going to accomplishanything in life unless you have
(06:38):
self-discipline, and one of thethings that we had to do was to
change the culture where we hadstudents as many as 200
students coming to school lateevery morning signing in.
We had a seven-period day atthe time, and I approached the
(07:00):
superintendent and asked if Icould change the schedule where
we'd have first period first andthen homeroom, because when I
went there, homeroom was firstand of course that was an
administrative establishment toget the roll call, make
announcements and call attentionto other administrative
(07:22):
materials.
But having changed the scheduleto where first period refers,
we moved from having over 200students signing in to five, and
so that was one of the thingsthat we needed to impress upon
our students is that we need toget down to business.
(07:43):
The other thing we need to beconcerned about is the fact that
you are as smart as you want tobe and that in your classes
you're expected to do your very,very best.
And so we established that, andin 1978 there was a move to
(08:08):
build a new Wilson High Schooland to change the name.
That was defeated and then in1980, the referendum was
reintroduced, but this time withthe school being maintaining
the name Wilson High School andbeing relocated at 1411 Old
(08:31):
Marion Highway, which is thepresent site for Wilson and
where its current principal, drEric Robinson, is the chief
administrator.
Well, there, beginning in 1982to 2005, we were able to
(08:55):
maintain one of the mostattractive schools in the state
and on August 15th of 1982,wilson High School was dedicated
and we had three speakers inthe gymnasium at 3 o'clock that
afternoon.
(09:15):
The first speaker was theeditor at that time of the
Florence Morning News, mr JamesRogers.
The second speaker was DrHaywood, who was a veteran and a
pastor in the Methodist Church,the brother of Dr Joe Haywood.
(09:39):
He was a graduate of Wilson,and then yours truly was the
last speaker to speak.
We had refreshments and we hada tour of the school and at that
time, in the commons area, Iheard one of the attendees say
(09:59):
this is an attractive school,but we'll see how long it has
maintained its beauty.
I took that personally andprofessionally as a challenge,
and our students helped to showthat it maintained that
attractiveness even as it existstoday.
More importantly, we wanted toestablish expectations, high
(10:24):
expectations of students, andour words were knowledge and
still are knowledge, skills andcharacter.
And we as a team establishedthe Beatitudes Be present, be on
time, behave and be positive.
(10:45):
We had an adoption businessthat that time was People's
Natural Gas that helped us tohonor students during each
quarter in three areas academics, attendance and discipline,
(11:06):
self-discipline and we awardedstudents badges that they wore,
and we also had badges forparents VIP that established the
words very important parent.
So, with the support that wehad from the community and from
(11:27):
the faculty student body supportstaff, well, we gained
recognition in Red Book Magazine.
We gained recognition forobtaining a grant from GE and
several members of employed atGE are members of Savannah Grove
(11:51):
Baptist Church today and we hada $500,000 grant over five
years and we were able to do alot of things that helped
enhance academics and excellence.
The concern that I had then andthe concern that I have today
(12:14):
for education is the fact thatwe have to have students who
have an attitude of wanting toexcel.
You can be the best that youcan be, but you have a want to
learn.
You have to come to school withan attitude that you are going
to, first of all, an attitudethat you are going to first of
(12:36):
all behave, that you are goingto listen to your teachers, that
you know how to followinstructions and that you will
do everything you can to enhanceyour school.
One of the things that youdon't want to do is to make
people think that, because it'sa predominantly African-American
(12:58):
environment, that there are nostandards for excellence.
Nothing could be further fromthe truth.
But you as students and you asparents must have the commitment
to be involved in your school,regardless of what level it is
elementary school, middle school, high school.
(13:21):
The foundation for beingexcellent begins really at home.
The standards for excellencebegin with having high
expectations from parents athome.
Having responsibilities to makeup your bed, wash dishes, do
yard work, sweep the floor Allof that is not beneath any
(13:46):
responsibility.
Child learning, theresponsibility to have a
responsibility to work, and thatbegins at home.
That moves to elementary school, the foundation for reading,
and there you need to learn todo cursive writing.
(14:07):
You need to learn how to readand also learn how to know how
(14:30):
to follow instructions, becausethe foundation for your success
in middle school and high schoolis based upon your success in
elementary school.
Moving forward to middle school, six, seven and eight all
grades are important, but youneed to understand you need to
do your best in all of yourclasses.
Now that might not mean gettingan A, but you strive to make an
A and if you fall short then youmake a B and in some cases you
(14:52):
may not have the skills as youwould like to have and you'll
have a C or a D.
Under no circumstances shouldyou receive a failing grade, but
under no circumstances shouldyou not apply your best.
Then the no circumstances areyou to misunderstand the fact
(15:15):
that we will not get excellentleaders who happen to look like
you and me and achieve anaccomplishment like President
Barack Obama, unless you havethe skills and apply yourself,
like Mrs Michelle Obama, and notonly that, right here in
(15:41):
Savannah Grove Baptist Church,right here in Florence, south
Carolina.
Excellence is always a desireor a manner, an accomplishment
that you want to achieve at alltimes.
Now we need to understand that,just because we have a majority
(16:06):
African-American population inour school population, in our
school, those of you who havethe skills for being smart,
don't negate your smartness totry to fit in with those
students who don't want to applythemselves.
You help them see that theyneed to strive for excellence as
(16:26):
well as you, that making an Aspeaking correct English is not
being white, that's beingexcellent, and you do not have
to apologize for that under anycircumstances.
Parents, you need to make surethat you are setting the
standards in the home, theexpectations in the home, in
(16:49):
terms of language, in terms ofdress, in terms of
responsibility.
All of that complements havinga good education, and so we're
at a point today where oureducation is being challenged,
where our history is beingchallenged.
(17:09):
You need to read and understandwho Dr Carter G Woodson is.
You need to read and understandwho Dr Carter G Woodson is.
You need to read and understandwho Hank Aaron is.
You need to read and understandwho our artists are.
You need to know who Dr WEB DuBois is.
(17:30):
You need to know who are notstanding actresses, actors who
are getting positive roles, andso that you can have caused
positive role models, not onlyin TV, but desire to have
(17:52):
positive role models in ourcommunity, your pastor, your
members in your community thatlive on the same road that you
live on.
They may not be famous, butthey may be who you need to
(18:12):
emulate in terms of honesty,respect, having a good job and
working intensely on beingexcellent in your profession.
Reverend Dr Martin Luther Kingchallenged us.
We need to sweep streets.
(18:35):
Sweep streets like Michelangelopainted paintings.
We need to understand you don'thave to apologize for being
excellent and those of us whoare not doing our best.
We need to have a change inattitude and do our best right
(18:55):
now.
Where are we going to get ourdoctors?
Where are we going to get ourpediatricians?
Where are we going to get ourattorneys?
Where are we going to get ourresponsible government officials
If we don't have people wholook like us, who have the
qualifications for the position?
And we don't need to be jealousor envious of anybody.
(19:19):
We can become the best that wecan be, and that is all that is
required of us that we be thebest.
That's what excellence is doingone's best and so I want us to
understand that education iswhat helped us get where we are
(19:39):
today, and it is no lessimportant today than it was when
our parents, our grandparentsand our ancestors did less.
They did more with less, and wedon't need to do less with more
.
The opportunity for us to do ishere for the taking, and I
(20:04):
challenge all of us that, rightnow, parents get into the
schools.
Find out what your children aredoing.
Find out how they're doing intheir classes.
Find out how they're doing intheir homework.
Make sure that they do theirhomework.
Homework is schoolwork to go.
That's fast food education.
(20:25):
So it's just as important andthat's how you get to do well on
your exams and your testsbecause you practice, and when
you practice, you find out whatmistakes you make before you get
to the test.
So, parents, your role is justas important as anybody else's.
(20:46):
Go out to the school and becomeknowledgeable of your teachers,
no matter who they are.
Let them know that you careabout your child, you care about
what they're doing, and if theyare not behaving, then there's
a need for you them to know thatyou have standards of behavior
at home.
(21:06):
And if they are misbehaving atschool, then they need to let
you know.
Support your custodians, yourcafeteria workers.
Those jobs are very, veryimportant.
There's just as much dignity insweeping the floor as there is
standing in front of a classroomteaching.
(21:27):
Teaching is a very, very nobleand honorable position and I
want you to understand that.
It is time out for playing andmisbehaving.
It's time out for going toschool and doing everything but
(21:49):
behaving, learning and creatingan atmosphere.
I know a lot of you like sports,but we need to understand that
we need to also be working on avocabulary.
We need to know how to speak.
We need to know how to write.
We need to know how to docursive writing.
We need to know how to spell.
(22:10):
We need to know that when yougo to apply for a job, that what
is going to get you your job isthe qualifications for your job
.
And, listen, dress appropriately.
Stop hanging your pants aroundyour rah-rah bummery.
That ain't nothing butnastiness, and that is not.
(22:31):
That has nothing to do aboutbeing black and young ladies.
Respect yourself.
You don't need to be worryingabout trying to impress no
fellow.
You carry yourself like a lady.
They'll find you.
You don't need to find them.
And so please, in my closing, Iwant you to understand that you
(22:53):
need to know what time it is.
There's no time for playing now.
You need to take advantage ofevery opportunity to go to
school, because we didn't alwayshave that opportunity.
We didn't always have theopportunity to ride a bus.
We didn't always have theopportunity to drive a bus.
We didn't always have theopportunity to drive a car or
(23:14):
ride in a car.
Some of us, we had an only carin our community was a Chevrolet
Chev.
Your left foot, and later right, that's what we did, and so
today do your best, and I wishyou the best.
Thank you and have a greatschool year.
Good afternoon.
For those of you who don't knowme, I am the brother of Mrs
Virginia Robinson, musician,longtime member here at Savannah
Grove Baptist Church, where ourfamily worship for several
years.
First of all, I'd like to takethis opportunity to thank Dr
(00:30):
Canty, pastor of Spadding GroveBaptist Church, for this
opportunity to share myeducational experience with you
and also to hopefully motivateour young people and our
families about the importance ofeducation and the importance of
(00:55):
always valuing, wanting to bebetter, and for us as a people,
education is a key.
I began my educational careerin Florence School, district 1,
(01:23):
attending Holmes ElementarySchool, wilson Junior High
School and Wilson Senior HighSchool, graduating in 1964,
moving from there to SouthCarolina State College and now a
university from 1964 to 1968,where I received a bachelor's
degree in education matheducation and from there I
(01:44):
received a commission as asecond lieutenant in the United
States Army.
I had plans to make the Army acareer, but my wife, ms Barbara
Brooks, did not care for themilitary.
So, having the last word in myhouse, I said yes, ma'am, and I
(02:08):
got out.
I came to Florence School,district One and earned a
mathematics position at MooreJunior High School at that time
and taught math for one year,and in that first year the
superintendent, mr Henry Sneed,asked if I would be interested
(02:30):
in becoming an assistantprincipal at West Florence High
School that was founded in 1970.
So I said yes, and so,beginning in 1971 to 1974, I was
assistant principal at WestLawrence High School.
Then, in August of 1974, I gotthe opportunity, under
(02:57):
Superintendent Dr Bruce Crowley,to become principal of Wilson
High School.
I asked 30 people whether ornot I should take the job.
One of them included PastorCanty, and out of 30 people, 28
said yes, two said no.
The only two that said no werethe principal and guidance
(03:19):
counselor at West Florence HighSchool, and they said that not
to be negative, but because theydid not want me to leave.
So from August of 1974 to June30th of 2005, I was principal at
Wilson High School for 31 years.
(03:40):
I went to Wilson High Schoolbecause, as a graduate of Wilson
, I got tired of hearing peoplespeak negatively about a school
that happened to bepredominantly African-American
in terms of student population,and so I took on the challenge
(04:04):
to make sure that excellenceexisted in a predominantly
African American environment aswell as any other environment,
and so we moved from having anegative perception of Wilson to
(04:26):
it becoming a school thatreceived recognition for
excellence, not only inacademics but in terms of music,
in terms of athletics and interms of service.
Several of the teachers thatwere at Wilson when I was a
(04:50):
student there, along with myclassmates, were there in August
of 1974, and all of them weresupportive of my efforts, and at
that time and when I becameprincipal, I was, if not the
youngest, perhaps one of theyoungest principals of a high
(05:11):
school in South Carolina at theage of 28.
I never regretted going toWilson and doing the things that
I saw needed to be done, andthe accomplishments that were
made was because of the team ofteachers, administrators,
(05:35):
support staff in terms ofcustodial staff, cafeteria staff
in terms of guidance counselors, media specialists and, more
importantly, students.
Students that didn'tnecessarily look at me as being
(05:55):
a good thing in the beginning,but as long as I stayed there,
my team and I made thembelievers.
And, of course, no school isgoing to be successful without
positive parental involvement,successful without positive
parental involvement, and we hada strong parent-teacher-student
(06:16):
association that helped usaccomplish our goals, one of the
things that we wanted toaccomplish at Wilson and at any
school I would encourage that isto establish discipline.
You're not going to accomplishanything in life unless you have
(06:38):
self-discipline, and one of thethings that we had to do was to
change the culture where we hadstudents as many as 200
students coming to school lateevery morning signing in.
We had a seven-period day atthe time, and I approached the
(07:00):
superintendent and asked if Icould change the schedule where
we'd have first period first andthen homeroom, because when I
went there, homeroom was firstand of course that was an
administrative establishment toget the roll call, make
announcements and call attentionto other administrative
(07:22):
materials.
But having changed the scheduleto where first period refers,
we moved from having over 200students signing in to five, and
so that was one of the thingsthat we needed to impress upon
our students is that we need toget down to business.
(07:43):
The other thing we need to beconcerned about is the fact that
you are as smart as you want tobe and that in your classes
you're expected to do your very,very best.
And so we established that, andin 1978 there was a move to
(08:08):
build a new Wilson High Schooland to change the name.
That was defeated and then in1980, the referendum was
reintroduced, but this time withthe school being maintaining
the name Wilson High School andbeing relocated at 1411 Old
(08:31):
Marion Highway, which is thepresent site for Wilson and
where its current principal, drEric Robinson, is the chief
administrator.
Well, there, beginning in 1982to 2005, we were able to
(08:55):
maintain one of the mostattractive schools in the state
and on August 15th of 1982,wilson High School was dedicated
and we had three speakers inthe gymnasium at 3 o'clock that
afternoon.
(09:15):
The first speaker was theeditor at that time of the
Florence Morning News, mr JamesRogers.
The second speaker was DrHaywood, who was a veteran and a
pastor in the Methodist Church,the brother of Dr Joe Haywood.
(09:39):
He was a graduate of Wilson,and then yours truly was the
last speaker to speak.
We had refreshments and we hada tour of the school and at that
time, in the commons area, Iheard one of the attendees say
(09:59):
this is an attractive school,but we'll see how long it has
maintained its beauty.
I took that personally andprofessionally as a challenge,
and our students helped to showthat it maintained that
attractiveness even as it existstoday.
More importantly, we wanted toestablish expectations, high
(10:24):
expectations of students, andour words were knowledge and
still are knowledge, skills andcharacter.
And we as a team establishedthe Beatitudes Be present, be on
time, behave and be positive.
(10:45):
We had an adoption businessthat that time was People's
Natural Gas that helped us tohonor students during each
quarter in three areas academics, attendance and discipline,
(11:06):
self-discipline and we awardedstudents badges that they wore,
and we also had badges forparents VIP that established the
words very important parent.
So, with the support that wehad from the community and from
(11:27):
the faculty student body supportstaff, well, we gained
recognition in Red Book Magazine.
We gained recognition forobtaining a grant from GE and
several members of employed atGE are members of Savannah Grove
(11:51):
Baptist Church today and we hada $500,000 grant over five
years and we were able to do alot of things that helped
enhance academics and excellence.
The concern that I had then andthe concern that I have today
(12:14):
for education is the fact thatwe have to have students who
have an attitude of wanting toexcel.
You can be the best that youcan be, but you have a want to
learn.
You have to come to school withan attitude that you are going
to, first of all, an attitudethat you are going to first of
(12:36):
all behave, that you are goingto listen to your teachers, that
you know how to followinstructions and that you will
do everything you can to enhanceyour school.
One of the things that youdon't want to do is to make
people think that, because it'sa predominantly African-American
(12:58):
environment, that there are nostandards for excellence.
Nothing could be further fromthe truth.
But you as students and you asparents must have the commitment
to be involved in your school,regardless of what level it is
elementary school, middle school, high school.
(13:21):
The foundation for beingexcellent begins really at home.
The standards for excellencebegin with having high
expectations from parents athome.
Having responsibilities to makeup your bed, wash dishes, do
yard work, sweep the floor Allof that is not beneath any
(13:46):
responsibility.
Child learning, theresponsibility to have a
responsibility to work, and thatbegins at home.
That moves to elementary school, the foundation for reading,
and there you need to learn todo cursive writing.
(14:07):
You need to learn how to readand also learn how to know how
(14:30):
to follow instructions, becausethe foundation for your success
in middle school and high schoolis based upon your success in
elementary school.
Moving forward to middle school, six, seven and eight all
grades are important, but youneed to understand you need to
do your best in all of yourclasses.
Now that might not mean gettingan A, but you strive to make an
A and if you fall short then youmake a B and in some cases you
(14:52):
may not have the skills as youwould like to have and you'll
have a C or a D.
Under no circumstances shouldyou receive a failing grade, but
under no circumstances shouldyou not apply your best.
Then the no circumstances areyou to misunderstand the fact
(15:15):
that we will not get excellentleaders who happen to look like
you and me and achieve anaccomplishment like President
Barack Obama, unless you havethe skills and apply yourself,
like Mrs Michelle Obama, and notonly that, right here in
(15:41):
Savannah Grove Baptist Church,right here in Florence, south
Carolina.
Excellence is always a desireor a manner, an accomplishment
that you want to achieve at alltimes.
Now we need to understand that,just because we have a majority
(16:06):
African-American population inour school population, in our
school, those of you who havethe skills for being smart,
don't negate your smartness totry to fit in with those
students who don't want to applythemselves.
You help them see that theyneed to strive for excellence as
(16:26):
well as you, that making an Aspeaking correct English is not
being white, that's beingexcellent, and you do not have
to apologize for that under anycircumstances.
Parents, you need to make surethat you are setting the
standards in the home, theexpectations in the home, in
(16:49):
terms of language, in terms ofdress, in terms of
responsibility.
All of that complements havinga good education, and so we're
at a point today where oureducation is being challenged,
where our history is beingchallenged.
(17:09):
You need to read and understandwho Dr Carter G Woodson is.
You need to read and understandwho Dr Carter G Woodson is.
You need to read and understandwho Hank Aaron is.
You need to read and understandwho our artists are.
You need to know who Dr WEB DuBois is.
(17:30):
You need to know who are notstanding actresses, actors who
are getting positive roles, andso that you can have caused
positive role models, not onlyin TV, but desire to have
(17:52):
positive role models in ourcommunity, your pastor, your
members in your community thatlive on the same road that you
live on.
They may not be famous, butthey may be who you need to
(18:12):
emulate in terms of honesty,respect, having a good job and
working intensely on beingexcellent in your profession.
Reverend Dr Martin Luther Kingchallenged us.
We need to sweep streets.
(18:35):
Sweep streets like Michelangelopainted paintings.
We need to understand you don'thave to apologize for being
excellent and those of us whoare not doing our best.
We need to have a change inattitude and do our best right
(18:55):
now.
Where are we going to get ourdoctors?
Where are we going to get ourpediatricians?
Where are we going to get ourattorneys?
Where are we going to get ourresponsible government officials
If we don't have people wholook like us, who have the
qualifications for the position?
And we don't need to be jealousor envious of anybody.
(19:19):
We can become the best that wecan be, and that is all that is
required of us that we be thebest.
That's what excellence is doingone's best and so I want us to
understand that education iswhat helped us get where we are
(19:39):
today, and it is no lessimportant today than it was when
our parents, our grandparentsand our ancestors did less.
They did more with less, and wedon't need to do less with more
.
The opportunity for us to do ishere for the taking, and I
(20:04):
challenge all of us that, rightnow, parents get into the
schools.
Find out what your children aredoing.
Find out how they're doing intheir classes.
Find out how they're doing intheir homework.
Make sure that they do theirhomework.
Homework is schoolwork to go.
That's fast food education.
(20:25):
So it's just as important andthat's how you get to do well on
your exams and your testsbecause you practice, and when
you practice, you find out whatmistakes you make before you get
to the test.
So, parents, your role is justas important as anybody else's.
(20:46):
Go out to the school and becomeknowledgeable of your teachers,
no matter who they are.
Let them know that you careabout your child, you care about
what they're doing, and if theyare not behaving, then there's
a need for you them to know thatyou have standards of behavior
at home.
(21:06):
And if they are misbehaving atschool, then they need to let
you know.
Support your custodians, yourcafeteria workers.
Those jobs are very, veryimportant.
There's just as much dignity insweeping the floor as there is
standing in front of a classroomteaching.
(21:27):
Teaching is a very, very nobleand honorable position and I
want you to understand that.
It is time out for playing andmisbehaving.
It's time out for going toschool and doing everything but
(21:49):
behaving, learning and creatingan atmosphere.
I know a lot of you like sports,but we need to understand that
we need to also be working on avocabulary.
We need to know how to speak.
We need to know how to write.
We need to know how to docursive writing.
We need to know how to spell.
(22:10):
We need to know that when yougo to apply for a job, that what
is going to get you your job isthe qualifications for your job
.
And, listen, dress appropriately.
Stop hanging your pants aroundyour rah-rah bummery.
That ain't nothing butnastiness, and that is not.
(22:31):
That has nothing to do aboutbeing black and young ladies.
Respect yourself.
You don't need to be worryingabout trying to impress no
fellow.
You carry yourself like a lady.
They'll find you.
You don't need to find them.
And so please, in my closing, Iwant you to understand that you
(22:53):
need to know what time it is.
There's no time for playing now.
You need to take advantage ofevery opportunity to go to
school, because we didn't alwayshave that opportunity.
We didn't always have theopportunity to ride a bus.
We didn't always have theopportunity to drive a bus.
We didn't always have theopportunity to drive a car or
(23:14):
ride in a car.
Some of us, we had an only carin our community was a Chevrolet
Chev.
Your left foot, and later right, that's what we did, and so
today do your best, and I wishyou the best.
Thank you and have a greatschool year.
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