I thought it was interesting how Cedric knew that he would be behind other kids when he entered a college setting. Before he went to MIT I thought it may not be as dramatic as he thought. After reading of his struggles at MIT it really helped me understand how big of a challenge is in front of even the very best students at schools like Ballou.

Neil, I think another thing that Cedric's feelings at MIT illustrate is how hard we need to work at our jobs, starting down at the elementary level. Cedric's lack of preparation for the MIT work was due to the fact that he had not been exposed to the same material his peers in the program had. At Ballou, the reason was because school was a survival-of-the-fittest environment, whereas in other locations, bright children like Cedric may struggle in honors or AP classes because the foundation of knowledge they need for success may not have been set by earlier teachers. On a larger scale, children who are unsuccessful in college-prep high school classes may not have had foundation prepared by middle school teachers, and unsuccessful middle school students may not have had the foundation set by elementary teachers. As administrators, it is our job to make sure our teachers' jobs are being done as well as possible, to give our students the best opportunity possible for success.

And whether we like to admit it or not, there is a lot of social savvy that comes from exposure. This, in turn, gives a student who is exposed to different cultures and - heaven forbid - the arts, an advantage over those who live in a vacuum could never hope to gain without exposure. It doesn't mean they are dumb, just that they have not had the experiences that some of their colleagues have had.

You can't forget too, that not only did schools fail Cedric, society, our country did. We try to isolate things and think that maybe if we had been able to provide the Cedrics of the world a richly, enhanced education, then he would have been able to enroll in MIT. Just not so! Cedric and his mother lived in impoverished conditions. How can some one, let alone a child, focus on any learning when they do not get adequate healthcare, food, shelter, and parental involvement? It's hard to focus on that homework when your stomach is rumbling from lack of food. It's difficult to concentrate on your reading when gun shots ring out in the neighborhood around you. Abraham Maslow pointed the way out of this years ago.

John you truly delved into some issues that schools have tried to turn around for years. I went to a K-12 meeting this past week and the discussion was on a program that a district in Maryland were piloting within their schools. They were providing breakfast for every child; like to lunchables or boxed lunches you can buy at the grocery store. Our district is in the process of looking into this program entitled "Breakfast Breaks". We already have a choice of a hot breakfast or cereal everyday for our students; however, out of 16 elementary schools, only two of them have a daily participation percentage over 30. Every other school is working below 26%. The students have a complete nutritious breakfast that has 25% or more of the recommended levels of nutrients-just a choice of cereal. To get the students interested in buying these products they are having a iWin Giveaway, which places their names in a drawing for an iPod or a MacBook for every entry they send into the company. How ironic that their focus is supposed to be on providing a nutritional meal, but the hook is to get them to receive a prize for buying the meal. Should we focus on the hook being that the meal will as they posted on their flyer:

1. Improve test scores and learning environment
2. Improve speed and memory skills
3. Lower rates of absence and tardiness
4. Reduce discipline problems and school nurse visits
5. Help reduce childhood obesity

So what you were saying John about children not being able to learn due to their stomachs growling would be taken care of when they buy into this program.

Stephanie,
You are so right. Your comment brought to mind an article I just read for Dr. Jenkins' class on Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences. He makes the point that intelligence has a biological as well as a cultural component.