The More You Know

Before my current writing life, there was The Hilltop, Howard University’s and the Nation’s Oldest Black Collegiate Newspaper, where many of the questions and themes I still explore first found their voice. What follows are my early published works, preserved in their original form.

From The Hilltop Archives

Originally published in The Hilltop, Howard University — October 24th, 2003

__________________________________________________________________________________

The More You Know

I don't mean to disappoint, but today there will be no opinions.

I am not going to give you a reason to go hmmm, inspire education minds to question all the answers or serve food for thought because it's stale.

Besides I am tired. 

I am tired of trying to earn an A to maintain a high GPA because when it's all said and done grades don't matter. It's all a front. I feel bulimic: ingesting all this information just to regurgitate it on a test. 

If I were digesting half this stuff, I wouldn't forget what I learned at the beginning of the semester when it comes time for the cumulative final. 

And overrides. 

I've been here four years and remember when an override was as easy as...as Nextel's direct connect. The Professor's Hancock and your advisor's approval, DONE.

Now it seems to be a major issue. What's a few more students, a few more papers to grade? What's the worst that can happen, a few students actually learn something instead of having an hour and a half void in an almost complete schedule. But what y'all fail to realize, it's all part of the plan.

Check this...

Let's say you're a junior trying to graduate on time and the class you need is only offered in the fall. 

Surprise, surprise, it's closed. So what do you do, try and get an override. But wait, what's this, only graduating seniors can get overrides. So your S.O.L. left to wait until next year to take it.

Oh, I forgot, that closed class, it's a prerequisite; Now you're set back a year giving Howard another semester's worth of tuition, at minimum. 

I said all of that to make a point, these professors who feed us because we're hungry for knowledge are the best in the country. It's a shame that we have to wait for higher education to get this quality of teaching. What if our youth never has the chance to reach this plateau because the money that would go towards education is allocated to a country overseas that has majority of the world's oil supply. 

While we're stuck here with inadequate schools and 2 bucks for gas Chicago (I know we're not the only ones).

Speaking of Chicago, I had a chance to see the UniverSoul Circus last weekend in Washington Park, amazing show.

But what we have here is a failure to communicate. When a circus plays "Get Low," we have a problem. When these children, three and up, know the words to "Get Low" and not their studies, we have a bigger problem.

Teaching isn't being accomplished in the classroom. Teachers and politicians have equal qualifications...just because somebody from off the street claims they know what they're doing doesn't mean they should be hired. 

Let's raise teachers to the height they once were. Teachers used to invoke fear during conferences, now it's the students.

Class is dismissed. HOLLA BLACK.