Teen Leadership Academy

Many of you may have been wondering what the heck is Marlon doing with this blog and what the heck is Reach Out Philly. Well, for starters the official name of my Non-Profit is Reaching Out 2 U and what I have done was design a leadership program centered around cultivating skills in Leadership, Professionalism, Strategic Thinking and Academic Achievement. We accomplish this through a variety of activities and discussions that hopefully provoke a shift in thinking that will inspire a change for the better. From week to week I will be posting some of the things we have been discussing in thus far. I am definitely looking for intuitive ways to continue to inspire these kids so, if you have any ideas or would like to come and join us for one of our sessions and talk to our group feel free to contact me and we will try to find a way to make this happen.

Leadership Academy Program Goals

• To Encourage Philanthropic leadership and community service

• To identify and build confidence in personal leadership skills

• To develop and reinforce self-esteem

• To prevent juvenile delinquency

• To encourage participants to set and achieve clear goals

• To develop public speaking skills

• To instill workplace ethics, etiquette, and teamwork.
• To promote community and cultural awareness
• To increase academic achievement

 

Week 2 - You are stronger than you think

This week I showed a video from the movie "Facing The Giants" becuase I wanted to inspire my group not to give up so easily. Many times in life we all are faced with challenges that are bigger than ourselves but if we look within we will be able to find the strength to overcome the most difficult of tasks. The scene I chose is featured below. I feel encouraged through our discussion that they got the point. I'm hoping through my observations for the remainder of the week that I will be able to identify in them growth in this area.  Lastly, we were able to reflect on what happened during our community circle discussion on the students thoughts and feelings about the Trayvon Martin case.  We stressed the importance of conquering fear, hatred, ignorance and prejudice with love, education and accountability.  I feel really good about what we accomplished this week and look forward to another great week before the spring break.

 

Keeping Track

Last week was the first time I was able to begin to share with the students in my program any of the leadership content I designed to help develop their leadership abilities. Our main focus for the week was “character”. We shared with one another its importance as well as its benefits. The main idea I wanted to get across was that your talents, intelligence and charisma will provide you with access to many different opportunites but the key ingredient to maintaining that is character. What was most pleasing to me was not the interaction although that was encouraging it was the day after. During my observations I saw students being more attentive in class, respectful to peers and teachers and I saw them helping their peers being successful. The display of selflessness was an amazing sight to see. With all that being said therewere some setbacks later in the week which we hope to correct in the future. I understand that this is not going to be an overnight thing which is why I am in it for the long haul.

Enter A Learner : Exit A Leader

The title of this post is inspired by the slogan of the brand new charter school opened by former NBA star Jalen Rose. You may know him primarily from his time at the University of Michigan with the famous "Fab 5" and his fierce competitive spirit that followed in the NBA but he know is making treads in the academic arena. This charter school is hoped to be a beacon of light in an impoverished community to which he is all too familiar with. The Jalen Rose Leadership Academy is located in Detroit, MI in an area of town where inner city youth do not typically have access a quality education.  Jalen Rose also grew up in Detroit, MI and because of his talent he made a way for him to get out of a bad situation and go to college so that he could get an education.  This was not the case for many of the other youth he grew up with. I saw Jalen Rose on CNN this morning talking about the school and I thought I would share how his is trying to improve the area he grew up in. I am not sure if I eventually want to go the route of opening a charter school but you never know. This was just something that inspired me this morning so I thought I would share.

Jalen Rose Leadership Academy

 

Lisa Leslie opens basketball academy

On March 31st Lisa Leslie will be opening her own basketball academy but the interesting part is that the bulk of the program is not founded on hoops but leadership development. I hope this program goes well and that the kids that participate in the program take advantage of this awesome opportunity.

For more information on the program click on the link below.

https://lisaleslie9.com/basketball-academy

Why we need more black male teachers

In this Sept. 2, 2010 photo, Martin Andrews teaches a History class at Duquesne City School in Pittsburgh.

 

"It is imperative that more of our successful black men, more of our Luqmans, make the challenging and courageous choice to enter the classroom and provide our boys with examples of what is possible." Kwame Griffith of The Grio

 

Thus far may experience at the school has been a mixture of ups and downs. I am excited that I am in a position to positively affect the lives of these children but while I have this awesome opportunity there are still a myriad amount of challenges that these kids have to face in order to be successful. With this disparaging information being at the forefront it becomes increasingly important that I really commit myself to this work in order for my efforts to be at all effective. Take a look at this post below by Kwame Griffith of The Grio.

Throughout history, black men have played pivotal roles in the development of this nation. Despite the legacies of these giants, according to "A Call For Change," a 2010 study released by Council of Great City Schools, only 12 percent of black male students are proficient in reading by fourth grade, and by the eighth grade, their proficiency rate drops to nine percent. Black men make up only five percent of our nation's college students, while they represent 36 percent of our prison population. We must change this grim reality -- the stakes are too high and the consequences too dire.

Although many teachers across our country are working hard to ensure their students receive the academic tools necessary to reach their full potential we still need more talented educators doing this vital work. In particular, in our low-income communities where a majority of students are African-American or Latino, we need more outstanding teachers from diverse backgrounds to serve as role models and classroom leaders. This is especially true when it comes to our black boys. Today, only two percent of teachers in this country are black men. 

As an African-American male working at Teach For America and committed to ensuring educational excellence for our kids growing up in poverty, I frequently think back on my classroom experience. It was during my time as a teacher in Houston's fifth ward that I first understood the scope of the educational inequity that exists between black boys and their wealthier white peers. From the moment I stepped in front of my kids, it was obvious-the gap had nothing to do with their ability or desire to learn. Instead, it was rooted in the extra challenges poverty was throwing in their path, coupled by a tragic lack of educational opportunity...

to continue reading click on the link