10 Years of Mentoring

I recently stepped down from an active roll as a mentor.  For the past 10 years I participated in mentoring programs with high school, elementary school and college boys/men.  The interactions had mixed results.  Most of my mentoring efforts was "group" mentoring through the local chapter of a national mentoring organization focused on mentoring black boys/teenagers.  I served as a mentor (with another partner) to mentor a group of boys in the 5th and 6th grades in the local Indianapolis Public School (IPS) system.  We conducted our sessions once a week inside the schools during lunch hours.  We typically had 5 to 15 boys in our group.

Dealing with disciplinary and behavior issues of students took up a lot of the 1 hour a week we spent with the boys.  I often felt like the distractions of misbehaving kids prevented the program from truly impacting the boys who attended the sessions.  But, what kept me going was the desire to "give back" to others.  I hoped that maybe through interacting with me, the young boys would see that they can aspire to have a good life.

In the sessions of this past year I tried to share with the 5th grade boys how I grew up in a poor environment.  Despite my poor economic surroundings I tried to show them that through education I escaped those conditions of poverty.  I shared with them how I am now retired and that my income in retirement from my annuity was higher than the income of most people who are working at a full time job today.  With a 40 year difference in our ages, I of course struggled in understanding some of the things the kids were talking about.

This past year my main goal was to work with a new mentor in the program.  I had worked behind the scenes the past 3 years to support the program.  I performed administrative work that supported the efforts of the actual mentors.  But, there were fewer men volunteering to become mentors so I returned to the classroom this year.  My mentor partner was a young, black, pediatrician to be.  It was obvious from the first session that he possessed the skills to be a good mentor.  So, I stepped aside and let him conduct most of the sessions while I took care of organizing the room and taking care of administrative matters.

Over the years, the organization of the mentoring program had some problems.  I kept working through the disorganization and lack of clarity in the program as I felt the time spent with the boys was the key.  I decided earlier this year that this would be my final year working in the program.  The lack of improvement in the program was a continuing frustration.  Plus, at age 59 I believe there are younger men who can fill the gap.

I do believe the kids need to see younger men than myself involved in mentoring programs.  The dilemma has been that the younger men often can't get away from their jobs for mentoring programs that conduct session on the school's lunch hour.

I'm hoping the My Brother's Keeper (MBK) program started by President Obama will grow and become a viable force to promote mentoring of our youth.  Maybe I will get involved with targeted efforts where sharing my experiences can help some youth.  I look back on the past 10 years knowing that I at least tried to offer my skills for the benefit of our youth.  All my efforts were not successful, but at least I tried.

No Rest for the Rested - NBA Playoffs With all Playing

I'm watching the first round of the NBA playoffs.  Why?  It's the only time when it's a guarantee that the stars of the teams will be actually playing for the ticket paying fans.  After hearing how a number of teams have rested star players during the season, I was surprised to hear that the NBA had another record breaking attendance season during the past year.  Those fans who value their money being spend wisely should be upset when they pay premium ticket prices to see the stars of opposing team.  This is especially important when many teams have raised ticket prices for those games featuring premium star teams such as Golden State, Cleveland, and San Antonio.  Several times these fans have put out the money, paid the high parking fee, and high concession prices, sat in their seat and then heard the announcement that the opposing team would be resting "so and so" for that game.

In such a situation what is a fan to do?  Go to the box office and ask for a refund?  Stay and watch the game featuring the replacement bench players?  After spending $100 plus you know the fans are not going to just go home empty handed.  So the fans hang around and make the best of the situation.

The NBA commissioner recently came out with some innocuous response to the issue of teams resting star players.  In the last week of the season the Brooklyn Nets who were out of playoff consideration actually rested several of their starters in a game that had some playoff considerations.

With all that resting going on, the NBA still broke an attendance record!  What does that say about the fans?  I guess for those able to afford the price of an NBA ticket, it's only money.  There does seem to be some level of disrespect by the players to the fans paying the high ticket prices.  As Tony Kornheiser of PTI said, "If there was a living, breathing, commissioner in the NBA, something would be done about the situation of resting players."

After attending NBA games for at least the last 10 years, I did not purchase a ticket to any NBA game this year.  So the NBA lost my money for at least 4 games.  But as the attendance figures show, the NBA probably could care less.  They got some other victim who paid full price to attend a Cleveland game where Lebron James rested.

Tips for fans who don't have the extra money to throw at the NBA.  If you want to see the star players, buy tickets for one of the first 10 home games of your team's schedule.  Most teams wouldn't dare to rest a player during the first two months of the season.  Avoid buying tickets at the end of the season, unless your team is actually trying for a playoff spot.  Teams notoriously rest star players once they have solidified a playoff spot.  After the first 10 home games you risk going to a game and finding out that a star player, in his 20's, is resting.

Or do like me.  Invest your money into a nice vacation by a beach.  You know the beaches where your star player goes to rest after the season is over!

Testing as a Measure of Future Success

This week students around Indianapolis and the entire state of Indiana are taking a test called ISTEP (Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress).  The stated purpose of the test is to measure student achievement in English, Math, Science and Social Studies.  Critics have stated that some schools focus too much on students passing this test than actually learning the material in each subject area.

One thing I have learned in my life is that test scores never really measured my ability to succeed.  I recall while in college one of my advisors was trying to give me some academic feedback.  He dutifully pulled out my academic record and looked at my Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores from high school.  It was as though those scores represented all that I was in life.  I remember thinking, “does he really think my SAT scores define me as a human being?”

Then as I was preparing for a career after college I encountered another “test” measurement.  To gain permanent entry into professional and administrative jobs in the Federal  sector, applicants had to pass the Professional and Administrative  Career Examination (PACE) test.  As a college junior I took the test but did not gain a passing score.  Shortly after that, the test was found to be culturally/racially biased and was abolished.  The test questions were designed to fit the experiences of European Americans.  As a result more European Americans passed the test than minorities.  Once the PACE test was abolished the final hurdle to my starting a career in Human Resources (HR) in the federal government was eliminated.

Once the test that would have kept me out of the federal system was abolished, it was then up to me to perform.  I took advantage of the opportunity, applied myself on the job, learned my trade, sought challenges and quickly moved up via a series of promotions.  During those early years I was often the only black male in the office.  I rarely encountered role models either in HR or other occupations whom I could look to for guidance or support.  In terms of human help, I was on my own.  I moved up in specialist positions to supervisory positions.  Again, I was the only black male in HR in a supervisory position.  I moved into a key HR managerial position that managed one part of a 20,000 person federal agency’s human resources program.

I then yearned to move further up the management chain but encountered the “glass ceiling” where black males were not given the opportunity to move into key positions.  So, I left that agency and moved to a position in another agency where I was the Director of Human Resources a position I wasn’t allowed to have in my prior agency.  It was from my new agency that I retired at age 55 after working 35 years for the federal government.

If the PACE test had remained in place, I would have never had the opportunity to have the successful career that I had.  If I believed that my SAT score represented all I could be in life, I may not have sought the challenges I did in life.  But, I understood that man made tests do not measure my desire, my will to achieve, nor represent what God had in mind for me.  Test scores are just the result of how a person deals with a human made system of questions.  What makes those questions the most important ones that someone should be judged by?  Tests are designed to weed out people not to identify who is the best.  Tests are arbitrary instruments used for the purpose of exclusion.

To those Indiana students taking the tests I would say, do the best that you can.  But, don’t let the results of the test label you into a specific category for your entire life.  If you do well, great!  If you don’t do well still pursue your goals and keep trying to get better.  Life does not end just because you don’t get an appropriate test score.  I can vouch for that through my experiences.  I am retired and living a non stressed life with financial stability.  In whatever you do apply yourself and let your actions, not test scores speak for you

Only A Second Away

While taking a vacation from the social medium called Facebook, I continued to see notifications from Facebook groups I was part of popping up on my smartphone.  As a member of the University of Evansville African American Alumni (UEAAA) Facebook group I started seeing posts from several alumni who normally don't post onto the site.  Yesterday I was curious what was going on and was shocked to see the news of the death of the person who hosted the website group.  Her name was Angela Williams.  She had last posted onto her personal Facebook page on Sunday February 12th.  Her post mentioned that she was thankful to the Lord that she was on the mend from blacking out several times the week before and bruising her ribs.  Two days later she died in her sleep.

Angela was 57 years old.  In these modern times that is a number that seems too young for someone to pass away.  It just goes to show you that continued life is not promised.  We have to live for each day and each moment, while we have life.

So, if you find yourself thinking of the future, don't forget to live for the present.  We all don't know what day will be our last.  We're all only a second away from leaving this world.

Trump's Wall Project

http://arnellhill.com/ discusses President Trump's first America First jobs project.  Building the wall between the United States and Mexico.

President Trump, Congressman Lewis tour of National Museum of African American History and Culture

#TrumpLewistourNMAAHC President Trump, Congressman John Lewis of Georgia and their families should tour the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture together in a private after hours tour. No cameras and press, unless both parties want the press in attendance. Send a tweet to Congressman Lewis @repjohnlewis and contact the White House www.whitehouse.gov suggesting the event. Then see what happens.

How Much Money Is Enough?

Earning enough money to live comfortably is a goal of many people.  But how much money is “enough”?  And what is comfortable? One answer is, it depends on the kind of lifestyle you want to live and what type of “comforts” you crave.  One person with a modest lifestyle could live comfortably on $90,000 a year.  Another person with an extravagant lifestyle would find $90,000 as being not enough money to enjoy life the way they want to.  A life filled with luxuries and always wanting to experience the “best” does cost more.  That does not mean you can only enjoy life if you are wealthy.  It does mean you may have to pick and choose when to experience life at the extravagant level. 

If wealth was the primary indicator of happiness, there would be many depressed people in this world.  Money is power.  Money does buy you access to people and things, there is no doubt about that.  The material nature of the world supports money being a force to be acknowledged.  Our material desires dictate how much we will spend and how much money we “need” to enjoy life.  Our desires lead us to pursue our level of “enough”.  Most people can settle for having a level of enjoyment that does not require that every experience must be a lavish one.  So their income needs are not as major as a person who must have the lavish lifestyle.

How much money is enough?  We all need enough income to support our basic needs.  Food, shelter, companionship, entertainment are among the basic needs of people .  It is the level of enjoyment that we want to experience in each of those categories that determines what our “enough” is.  If our income level is not enough to achieve our dream levels for food, shelter, companionship, and entertainment, we have to “settle” for lesser levels that do not cost as much.  Settling for less does not mean you enjoy an experience less.  It’s all relative to how important the level of experience is to you. 

We all create levels in life that we want to achieve.  My enough is not your enough.  It comes down to personal preference and making sacrifices to reach the level of preference you desire. Many things we do are not necessary.  It all comes down to that simple statement.  We do things because we can.