Saturday, February 27, 2010

DEALING WITH THE STATUS QUO IN THE INNER CITIES


AN OBSTACLE BLOCKING EDUCATIONAL AND ECONOMIC ACHIEVEMENTS
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY IN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR
by Alberto O. Cappas

I believe that it is time to bring the “status quo” up to date, as it is now working against the growth and development of our young people, especially in communities of color.

What is the status quo? The status quo is a commonly used form of the original Latin "status quo" - literally "the state in which" - is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep things the way they presently are. The related phrase status quo ante, literally "the state in which before", means "the state of affairs that existed previously" (from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia on the internet).

During the 1950s and 1960s, the social movement served as a classic example of the status quo being challenged. The term frequently refers to the status of a large issue, such as the current culture or social climate of an entire society or nation.

Yes, it is time to bring the “status quo” up to date, and if not, we will be condemning our young people to another generation of failure and upheaval.

Case in point:

As a national policy, the status quo directs our young people that they must go to school in order to get a job; and based on this orientation, too many young people reject the notion of education, developing an anti-education mentality.

The fact is that “job opportunities” as a rationale or promotional tool for pushing young people to pursue an education have failed miserably in our urban and inner cities. Just look or study the statistics.

We need, very desperately, to change the status quo when it comes to the concept of pursuing an education. Pursuing an education is much more than just a job waiting at the end of the process. Pursuing an education is never an end, but an on-going process. The never-ending process leads to either one of two paths: conceptional awareness or conceptional ignorance -- two major roads affecting one’s journey in life.

We need to change this orientation and mindset. We need to inform and educate our young people that they should go to school, but not to prepare for a job, but to see education and school as a “essential key” that will open doors to unlimited possibilities: meeting new acquaintances, adding new friends and colleagues, other cultures, other spoken languages, and may lead to the realization that they want more than just a job, but an opportunity to become entrepreneurs, masters of their own companies, CEOs and Presidents, and much more – graduating as a provider, and not as a consumer.

Don’t misunderstand me! There is nothing wrong with being a consumer if that is what you know you are and want to be; however, it is a different story when one is conditioned, educationally and socially, into being a consumer without any direct personal awareness or knowledge.

Unfortunately, we have too many conditioned consumers creating policies for our young people. This is very dangerous. Just take a look at the makeup of our present elected officials and all the mismanagement and corruption that they are involved in.

And take a look at many of our leading community-based organizations and leaders working together with these elected officials, in partnership, perpetuating the status quo in communities of color.

The insanity of all this is that we now have a coalition of people, that created the problem in the first place, controlling the financial resources and public policies, involved in addressing how to solve the problems that they themselves continue to perpetuate.

Yes, it is time to address the obsoleteness of the status quo and save our young people from this orientation and mindset. When we seriously address this problem, the positive outcome will be:

a. Less young people walking around with their pants below their waistline;
b. Less young people walking around as human billboards (tattoos);
c. Less youth involved in youth violence;
d. More students of color graduating from a higher education;
e. More students of color going into business; more creating their own corporations;
f. And a stronger economic base in communities of color.

Reference: From Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia on the internet: Clark Kerr is reported to have said, "The status quo is the only solution that cannot be vetoed," meaning that the status quo cannot simply be decided against; action must be taken if it is to change.

Quotations regarding the Status Quo:

1. John F. Kennedy: "Their political pledge is to the status quo, and today there is no status quo."

2. Clark Kerr: "The status quo is the only solution that cannot be vetoed."

3. Laurence J. Peter: "Bureaucracy defends the status quo long past the time when the quo has lost its status."

4. Ronald Reagan: "Status quo, you know, that is the Latin phrase for the mess we're in."

5. George Carlin: "The status quo sucks."

6. Richard Branson: "I love taking on the status quo, and trying to turn it upside down."

7. Barach Obama: "I will not accept the status quo as a solution."

I would appreciate your feedback and help advance the movement to defeat ignorance in our lifetime.



5 comments:

  1. Agree 100%. Reminds me of this Yeats' quote: "Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire." Young people have to be inspired to think for themselves, not merely follow rules, trends or conventions. I laughed out loud at this: "Less young people walking with their pants below their waistlines."

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  4. Thank you! Please check out theeducationalpledge.com.

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  5. Reading this blog post really hit home and I agree in taking ACTION toward change! Bringing it to the forefront brings about increased awareness and opportunity for solution; Now, that is Progress! Thank you for this share

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