Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day

[freshprinceofLA]

MLK was a great man and should never be forgoten

[Jrnygrl]

Your right, he shouldn't be forgotten. We have a long way to go.

[Yooch]

We should all endeavor to work for the ideals he envisioned.
Happy MLK Day everyone.

[Janice]

[Lex Luthor]

Originally Posted by Jrnygrl

Your right, he shouldn't be forgotten. We have a long way to go.

Yes a long way to go but we have come a very long way thanks to this man

[Tweety]

Still, it's a little scary out there...


http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/206797/3/



Monday, January 15, 2007
Students' knowledge of Martin Luther King's legacy a mixed bag | Print |
VALERIE STRAUSS - The WASHINGTON POST

In a recent survey of college students on U.S. civic literacy, more than 81 percent knew that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was expressing hope for "racial justice and brotherhood" in his historic "I Have a Dream" speech.

That's the good news.

Most of the rest surveyed thought King was advocating the abolition of slavery.

The findings indicate that years of efforts by primary and secondary schools to steep young people in the basics of the civil rights leader's life and activities have resulted in a mixed bag. Most college students know who he is -- even if they're not quite clear on what he worked to achieve. Students and teachers say Monday's federal holiday marking King's birthday is the one that receives the most attention in schools, in part because the events surrounding the man it commemorates are the most recent.

The recent survey of college students, conducted by the University of Connecticut's Department of Public Policy for the nonprofit Intercollegiate Studies Institute, suggests that schools are not doing as much as they could to go beyond a cursory history lesson. More than 14,000 college freshmen and seniors at 50 colleges and universities earned an average score of 53.2 percent in the survey.

Many of the 10 federal holidays have become little more than days off school or work, even if they are dedicated to significant Americans, such as Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Many people have no idea what Labor Day commemorates, educators say.

"Honestly, I never knew what Veterans Day was until last year," said Taneisha Rodney, 14, a ninth-grader at William E. Doar Jr. Public Charter School for the Performing Arts in the District of Columbia.

In many schools across the country, teachers say social studies has taken a back seat under the federal No Child Left Behind law, which stresses math and reading.

King and the civil rights movement are part of the curriculum in many school systems, although lessons do not always coordinate with the holiday.

This is true especially in higher grades where broad issues in U.S. history, such as social justice, are addressed in depth.

But for elementary school teachers, federal holidays sometimes are the only chance to teach students about subjects for which they otherwise have little time.

"One of the raps on elementary social studies is that it is all about heroes and holidays, and with standardized testing, it often becomes that," said Andrea Libresco, an education professor at Hofstra University in New York who teaches prospective teachers how to use the holidays as teaching opportunities. "People tend to concentrate on English and math."

A danger, educators say, is that lessons about King can become repetitive from year to year, especially when using the same theatrical performances and movies. As a consequence, many students know about King's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech but not about his seminal "Letter From Birmingham Jail," also written in 1963.

Rachel Gillette, 17, a senior at E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg, Va., said that although the holiday is not a focus in her school, the importance of the day remains strong.

"Despite the lack of class time spent on this day, Martin Luther King Day means much more than Lincoln or Washington's Birthday," Gillette said in an e-mail. "There are local breakfasts in his honor, and the street th at he marched down has now been named Martin Luther King Boulevard. Everyone I know knows exactly who he is and what he accomplished."

But some students readily acknowledge the holiday amounts to little more than a day off school.

Some say they fear King's message of nonviolence is losing relevance in today's violent world.

"It's fading away a little bit, but if we can keep the true value of Martin Luther King in schools, it may come back," said Shanay Miles, 14, a ninth-grader at Doar.

To honor King's legacy, a group of students from Shanay's school will spend Monday doing community service -- not lounging at home. They will be going to a Boys & Girls Club to help clean, do inventory and other tasks, Doar teacher Terrence Carter said, adding that giving back to the community is the best way to keep King's spirit alive.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1. <END OF ARTICLE>


These are college students that were surveyed, and about 20% thought that King was involved in the abolition of slavery??

Absolutely pathetic.

[jie3]

One of history's greats.

Happy MLK Day.

J

[JuicyCoutureGirl]

Originally Posted by Tweety

Still, it's a little scary out there...


http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/206797/3/



Monday, January 15, 2007
Students' knowledge of Martin Luther King's legacy a mixed bag | Print |
VALERIE STRAUSS - The WASHINGTON POST

In a recent survey of college students on U.S. civic literacy, more than 81 percent knew that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was expressing hope for "racial justice and brotherhood" in his historic "I Have a Dream" speech.

That's the good news.

Most of the rest surveyed thought King was advocating the abolition of slavery.

The findings indicate that years of efforts by primary and secondary schools to steep young people in the basics of the civil rights leader's life and activities have resulted in a mixed bag. Most college students know who he is -- even if they're not quite clear on what he worked to achieve. Students and teachers say Monday's federal holiday marking King's birthday is the one that receives the most attention in schools, in part because the events surrounding the man it commemorates are the most recent.

The recent survey of college students, conducted by the University of Connecticut's Department of Public Policy for the nonprofit Intercollegiate Studies Institute, suggests that schools are not doing as much as they could to go beyond a cursory history lesson. More than 14,000 college freshmen and seniors at 50 colleges and universities earned an average score of 53.2 percent in the survey.

Many of the 10 federal holidays have become little more than days off school or work, even if they are dedicated to significant Americans, such as Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Many people have no idea what Labor Day commemorates, educators say.

"Honestly, I never knew what Veterans Day was until last year," said Taneisha Rodney, 14, a ninth-grader at William E. Doar Jr. Public Charter School for the Performing Arts in the District of Columbia.

In many schools across the country, teachers say social studies has taken a back seat under the federal No Child Left Behind law, which stresses math and reading.

King and the civil rights movement are part of the curriculum in many school systems, although lessons do not always coordinate with the holiday.

This is true especially in higher grades where broad issues in U.S. history, such as social justice, are addressed in depth.

But for elementary school teachers, federal holidays sometimes are the only chance to teach students about subjects for which they otherwise have little time.

"One of the raps on elementary social studies is that it is all about heroes and holidays, and with standardized testing, it often becomes that," said Andrea Libresco, an education professor at Hofstra University in New York who teaches prospective teachers how to use the holidays as teaching opportunities. "People tend to concentrate on English and math."

A danger, educators say, is that lessons about King can become repetitive from year to year, especially when using the same theatrical performances and movies. As a consequence, many students know about King's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech but not about his seminal "Letter From Birmingham Jail," also written in 1963.

Rachel Gillette, 17, a senior at E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg, Va., said that although the holiday is not a focus in her school, the importance of the day remains strong.

"Despite the lack of class time spent on this day, Martin Luther King Day means much more than Lincoln or Washington's Birthday," Gillette said in an e-mail. "There are local breakfasts in his honor, and the street th at he marched down has now been named Martin Luther King Boulevard. Everyone I know knows exactly who he is and what he accomplished."

But some students readily acknowledge the holiday amounts to little more than a day off school.

Some say they fear King's message of nonviolence is losing relevance in today's violent world.

"It's fading away a little bit, but if we can keep the true value of Martin Luther King in schools, it may come back," said Shanay Miles, 14, a ninth-grader at Doar.

To honor King's legacy, a group of students from Shanay's school will spend Monday doing community service -- not lounging at home. They will be going to a Boys & Girls Club to help clean, do inventory and other tasks, Doar teacher Terrence Carter said, adding that giving back to the community is the best way to keep King's spirit alive.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1. <END OF ARTICLE>


These are college students that were surveyed, and about 20% thought that King was involved in the abolition of slavery??

Absolutely pathetic.

20% of COLLEGE students thought he was involved in the abolition of slavery?! I know MJK Jr.'s legacy was taught somewhere in their years of school. This is insane, he was born in 1929, slavery ended waaay before that.

[TheHappyBurgerMeister]

I know it's the day after, but yesterday I got to celebrate MLK Jr. day in an interesting way! Here in Milwaukee we have this thing called "Hoopfest". It was started by the former Bucks coach George Karl (now Nuggets coach) back in 2000. They have 3 games of boys high school basketball, all schools within the Milwaukee Area. Some are all black schools, some are all white, some are mixed. Since I work at the US Cellular Arena (where it was) I got to see all 3 games (but I got paid time and a half. Yay!) It was kind of ironic because here MLK always dreamed of having of all be equal, but at the games all the black high school kids are in one section and all the whites sit in another area (by choice, of course). It was pretty weird! It was a long day, but the games were all fun to watch.

[Sharop]

Martin Luther King was definitely a great person.