Creating a passion for reading is one of the greatest gifts you can give to an African American child. The African American Child book can be the key to enabling enthusiasm for reading in the community. I came to this conclusion not from formal training in any the educational sciences (as matter of record my background is in technology and project management) but as a parent who just happened to be a Sci-Fi fan. Science Fiction opened my eyes to the cross synergies between the African American reading gaps and African American images.

In today’s world media comes at you from all directions. The internet the PC, cable TV, Video Games, IPODs etc. The exposure to all of this media for today’s African American Child is a given fact, you can not avoid it, the fact that is not so obvious is how this impacts African American reading gaps.

CASE IN POINT

I am a Sci-Fi media fan. One day while I was enjoying a episode of Star Trek – The Next Generation on TV with my then 6 year old in my lap when she turned to me and said,

“Daddy why do the black people on the show look strange?”

Before I tried to explain to my daughter that Worf was a Klingon and he hailed from a different planet and that Geordi was blind and his funny looking glasses allowed him to “see” I paused and asked myself

“Why DO the Black people on the show look strange?”

I then tried to look at the screen from the point of view of a 6 year old African American child.

I see 2 black faces and 1 white face on the TV screen:

* The African American character named Worf has the physical facial features of an animal and is from a race of warriors that loves to fight (violent) .
* The African American character named Geordi job is to “fix” and maintain things on the ship (the maintenance man)
* The 2 African American lead actors do not look human (see picture).
* I see the whitest face on the show (character Lt. Data the android ) is the strongest and most intelligent character on the show.
* The android actor who is not human “looks” human.

Read More

“Social anxiety disorder or social phobia (SA/SP), the intense, and incapacitating fear of social interaction, is the third most common psychiatric disorder (after depression and alcoholism). Dayhoff, a social psychologist, author (How To Win in a Tough Job Market), and lecturer who has overcome SA/SP herself, has written a comprehensive self-help guide for sufferers. Dayhoff reviews current research and theories about the origin of SA/SP, but her focus here is on practical ways to recover. She presents step-by-step plans for learning social skills for conversation, dating, job hunting, and networking; gives concise and clear information on such issues as how to access professional help, what to expect during the first session, and what happens in group therapy; outlines the benefits and pitfalls of medication; discusses complimentary therapies; and offers suggestions for finding financial assistance and social support. She also provides a list of resources. SA/SP sufferers and their friends and relatives will find this book helpful. Recommended for popular psychology collections in public and consumer health libraries.”
-Lucille M. Boone, San Jose P.L., CA

Carleton W. Kendrick, Ed.M., LCSW, nationally-known family therapist, Medfield, MA
“Dr. Dayhoff’s book blows the lid off of SA/SP. Other books on the topic have been research and treatment-oriented. This compelling and insightful volume takes us into the ‘belly of the beast.’ Through her own first-person accounts and her interviews with hundred of fellow SA/SP sufferers, she gives us a long-overdue understanding of the often debilitating, misunderstood (this isn’t about just being shy) nature of SA/SP. …Her book delivers the empathetic guidance and key strategies vital to recovery. It also gives family and friends the tools necessary to assist in this recovery process.”

Diagonally-Parked in a Parallel Universe : Working Through Social Anxiety

By Robert Greene and Joost Elffers

Law 1

Never Outshine the Master

Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please or impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite – inspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power.

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Consider the sun – a self-sustaining unit that receives energy from tha monuclear reactions near its center. The energy released in these reactions is so great that the sun could shine for billions of years with lil change in its size or brightness.
Love is like the sun. It sustains itself. It needs neither thanks nor reward for it to give out its powerful and healing energy. Love is always there, even when tha clouds of human emotions hide it, just as tha sun is there when clouds hide it from the Earth. Our lives thrive on the energy of love. But because love sustains itself and creates its own energy, we need not look for it outside ourselves. It lies deep at tha center of our being.

The energy of love flows within us, changing and enlarging us. Love opens hearts once closed tightly by bitterness and, in tha place of bitterness, we become flooded with acceptance and joy. Hate no longer erodes our soul; care and concern replace apathy. The changes are evidenced in our lives as we begin to love ourselves and see ourselves as love. Because we are love, we don’t need to search for love outside ourselves.

Once tha spark is kindled within and begins to burn brightly, we can’t stop it from flowing from us to others. Some may not come close enough to feel tha warmth of our love. Others may bask in tha glow of our energy. Because we are love, because we sustain ourselves and bless others, it doesn’t matter if we receive thanks or recognition. Like tha durability of tha sun, love gives and gives with no diminution of its supply. Our lives become brighter tha more we express love. We can shine like tha sun and, when we are in our rightful place, we can radiate love for all persons without any exceptions….