Denzel Inspires
I remember when I was 10 or 11 years old, our Boys and Girls Club director, Billy Thomas, displayed school pennants sent to him by former club members who had gone off to college. I looked up at all those university names and emblems and thought, "If I work hard and graduate from high school, anything is possible."
The staff at our club in Mount Vernon, New York, insisted that we take our education seriously. Today's kids desperately need that same motivation.
As an alumnus of Boys and Girls Clubs and the organization's national spokesman for 18 years, I am deeply concerned about the well-being of our nation's young people. With so many serious issues facing America, we sometimes look past our most basic responsibility as a society: to care for our young. As Proverbs states: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." For too many youth in our country today, that "training" is either missing or insufficient.
My time at the Boys and Girls Club made an incredible difference in my life. The club gave me the confidence to succeed and to change the course of my life. Mentors like Billy Thomas told me I could do anything I wanted to do. That sounds like a simple thing, but as a kid I wasn't hearing that a lot. They gave me the positive support that I needed.
Billy Thomas was far more than a staff person. He gave me that push that I'll always credit with making the difference in my life.
I look back now and think about all the time after school that I spent at the club. I started there when I was just 6 and stayed for 12 years. Many of the boys I grew up with -- friends who didn't take advantage of the opportunities the club offered -- ended up in trouble with the law and spent many years in prison.
No single snapshot better illustrates the dilemma our country faces than the high school dropout crisis:
-- One-third of America's children do not graduate from high school. That percentage jumps to 40, 50, even 60 percent in many urban and low-income neighborhoods.
-- Nationally, 1.3 million students in the Class of 2010 failed to graduate, giving the United States the dubious distinction of being the only industrialized country where young people are less likely than their parents to obtain a high school diploma.
The cost to our nation in unrealized potential, and more immediate social ills such as crime, violence, substance abuse and teen pregnancy, is staggering.
Many discussions and debates on the state of education in America are taking place and these must continue. But I firmly believe another piece of the education equation is often overlooked -- specifically the role of youth development and mentorship during those unsupervised hours when kids aren't at school or at home, both during the school year and the summer months.
We need to reframe the education discussion by adding the out-of-school experience to the equation. Quality time spent with children during the nonschool hours -- including summer break -- builds character, encourages good health habits and increases academic performance.
The most profound impact is the eventual outcome -- young people equipped with the attitude, confidence and motivation to finish high school, prepared to succeed beyond.
Boys and Girls Clubs of America is making a major commitment to attack the dropout crisis. The organization's graduation strategy -- Every Member, Every Year -- aims to ensure that every Club member advances to the next grade level on time each year. Club staff members do this by emphasizing the importance of education and high school graduation, recognizing academic successes, and reinforcing those habits and skills needed to be successful in school.
We can identify young people who are at risk of dropping out and use one-on-one intervention and close collaboration with teachers to help that student develop the academic, emotional and social skills necessary to achieve academic success.
We have already seen dramatic evidence that an emphasis on academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles works. Nine out of 10 of our club members graduate from high school or obtain a GED, according to a Harris Survey of club alumni. Nearly two-thirds said that club staff contributed to their success in high school.
The question people often ask is "What can I do to make a difference?" My answer is that people can help based on their ability. Some can give money. Some can give products or services.
Some, like me, can give their time. They can offer their unique skills or experience to make an important difference in a child's life. It doesn't have to be a huge commitment of time. Imagine the good we could do if each of us volunteered just an hour or two a week.
I recently met with President Obama and thanked him for supporting our efforts and for continuing to inspire and encourage America's young people to pursue great futures. While the president's support is significant, all of our efforts will be needed if we are to reverse the falling graduation rate before we lose another generation of students. But reverse it we must. Our country's future depends on it.
Billy Thomas worked for the Mount Vernon Boys and Girls Club for more than 22 years. Surely you can give some of your time as well.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Denzel Washington.
Round 2 for West at VMA's
Los Angeles, California - A year after President Obama called Kanye West "a jackass" for his antics at the MTV Video Music Awards, the rapper has a chance to prove he's changed. West is set to perform at the 2010 awards show Sunday night, but host Chelsea Handler wouldn't reveal if he will be paired up with Taylor Swift, the girl-next-door singer whose acceptance speech he interrupted last year.
"He's performing, so I'm sure he'll make some ode to the situation or somebody's going to have to say something and that somebody might be me," Handler said she has no West-Swift gags already planned. "I'm just going to kind of wing it," she said. MTV producers would not confirm swirling speculation that Swift would perform with West -- or that she would sing a song about him.
Even if West is on his best behavior, there are other opportunities for misbehavior. Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and her "Jersey Shore" cast mates will present an award. Snooki is fresh off a court appearance for bad behavior in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. Other presenters with more polite reputations include Cher, Ellen DeGeneres, Katy Perry and the cast of "Glee."
Teen singing sensation Justin Bieber will take the stage outside of the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Other performers during the show include Usher, Linkin Park, Eminem, Drake, Paramore, B.o.B, Florence + The Machine. Last year's show is remembered mostly for what was not planned. West, who walked the red carpet with a bottle of cognac in his hand, jumped on stage after Swift was announced the winner over Beyonce in one category.
"Taylor, I'm really happy for you, and I'm gonna let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time," he said, snatching the microphone from Swift after she had won her award. Swift stood onstage, speechless, clutching her award. The cameras panned to a shocked Beyonce, while the audience booed and later chanted "Taylor." Though Beyonce later afforded the teen singer another opportunity to finish her speech, the West backlash had begun.
The backlash against West cost him his spot on a concert tour with Lady Gaga. And it earned a few choice critical remarks from the president, who was recorded in an interview using the "jackass" reference.
