Educator, Author and CNN’s go-to Education expert, Dr. Steve Perry has made it his mission to transform the educational experience for all children in America. As a featured segment on Anderson Cooper 360 with “Perry’s Principles” and in his forthcoming novel “Push Has Come to Shove”
Dr. Steve Perry talks with CL’s Felicia Mancini on what grade he gives President Obama to why Hip Hop will help save students.
FELICIA : When did your passion start for education? Did you wake up as a kid and decided that you wanted to be in classrooms in some form or another for your whole life?
DR. PERRY: When I was a little kid, I wanted to play for the Dallas Cowboys. As I got older, I wanted to be a politician. Then I had a couple internships with senators and realized a lot of people were “all talk” and no action and it wasn’t for me. I wanted to be on the front lines. I decided to get a masters in social work from the University of Pennsylvania and became the director of a homeless shelter. However, wanted to prevent people from ending up in homeless in the first place and realized the only way to mitigate poverty is through education so I decided to start a school. Currently, at Capital Prep, where I am the principal, 100% of our seniors graduate and go on to 4 year colleges.You have worked alongside countless individuals from rappers to politicians to enforce the importance of education for our youth, what do you think is absolutely pivotal to the success of our students?
DR. PERRY: We must believe in kids enough to give them the kind of education that we would want our own children to have. We know how to run successful schools. It’s through engaging the students with compelling curriculum, challenging and supporting them emotionally, intellectually. We can’t get them a hodgepodge, we have to give them the best.
How do you reach a generation of technology and often limited resources?
DR. PERRY: Resources aren’t as limited as people think. Kids know how to use the internet. The digital divide ain’t that big. 70% of my students are below the poverty line but a good majority of them have smart phones with internet access. Integrating technology in the classroom engages kids and we should be on the forefront of it.FELICIA : How do we begin to fix our schools?
DR. PERRY: We know what works – longer school days, longer school years, teachers that are engaging and love and teach kids as they would their own. We have to give kids access to choice schools. Everyone must be able to choose where they go to school. It’s illegal and unconstitutional to have kids go to failed schools. Only poor kids and prisoners are forced to attend bad schools so it’s no surprised that many poor kids end up in prison.FELICIA : If you had to grade President Obama on his progress with education what would you give him?
DR. PERRY: B- because he has made some significant missteps by not actively supporting former DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee last year. He didn’t support DC vouchers even though families and communities in the area supported it. Those are the negatives but here are some positives: He has gone harder than any other Democrat to further school reform initiatives. The way he incorporated change through Race to The Top is brilliant.FELICIA : Any parting words for the readers and students on Concrete Loop?
DR. PERRY Hip hop needs to stand up and be heard in the political arena – in schools! By design, hip hop is a literary, creative, intellectual endeavor. Smart people rhyme really well. A lot of hip hop stories are about being down on the system and the system is usually schools. Look at Biggie’s “Juicy” which he dedicated to teachers who didn’t believe in him. People in hip hop need to be aware of their powerful public image. When rappers are clever and smart, they can make a positive difference for future generations and change the way our kids are educated and we can close the achievement gap.
For more on Dr. Steve Perry follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/drsteveperry or to pre-order his book “ Push Has Come To Shove” go to www.dr-steveperry.com
What a wonderful thing he is doing, education is key!
I agree!
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“100% of our seniors graduate and go on to 4 year colleges.” Wow! AH-MA-ZHINGGGGG
omg! its like a male version of myself lol. i love it! education is so important..i used to think i wanna be a nurse because i love helping people..then i wanted to go to college to get a degree in business so i can make lots of money. I thought if i made lots of money i could help my family none of whom graduated from college…my dad doesn’t even have a proper job. As i grew older i realize my passion has always been education the importance of it is profound. My grandmother has always been my greatest role model and she was a principal for 37 years!!!!. So i hope to follow in her footsteps. my goal is to be an elementary teacher because i wanna be a positive influence on kids at that age when they need it most. I remember how i wish someone was as interested in my homework as i was everyday id come home from school and complete homework and assignments eagerly..without anyone asking.. or telling..i just loved school i mainted excellent grades all thru high school n now college..i can count the times my parents showed interest and ive lived with both up to now. im very passionate about education its not only about goin to school
by gettin an education u learn about life around u how stuff works…its as simple as that its not about a money making adventure ..
We need more people like Dr. Perry to push for a better education system. I love what he is doing. I grew up when they started busing, and did not have a choice in the school I could attend. One of the best high school’s was a block from my house. This school had the best music, athletics, and academic programs in the country, and today still rated as one of the best high school’s in my city.
I love his Perry’s Principles segments! I truly admire this man and all of his hard work! He is truly making a difference!
Dr. Perry’s book is an analysis of the education system and a push for educational reform. Therefore, it isn’t a novel like the author noted in the post, which is by definition a work of fiction. I’m not trying to bash the post, but as someone who is hearing this news for the first time, I had to Google the title of the book to find what it was really about.
Thanks for your research.
Lmao, the problem with America is that there are too many “doctors”. A doctor is supposed to be a healer, but any man that believes that “hip hop” is an “intellectual endeavor” cannot be considered a healer. To make a long story short, America is finished. It has the worst educational system of any of the white man’s countries, it’s economy is worse than most of the European countries that have filed for bankruptcy, and the moral decay is so drastic that “gay marriage” is a hotter topic in most of these state senates than the jobless rate. Some of the things that the “doctor” is stating in regards to schooling for our children is accurate, but the fact of the matter is that our people are in captivity. Due to the fact that they don’t understand that, they have a skewed sense of reality. Had black people had the mindset that the other races have, which is to be concerned about your own more than “integration”, we would have the things that the other races have because make no mistake, our people are not just behind the “white man”. Our people are behind all races, and there is a reason for that.
Then leave.
I like how he gave a fair assessment of Obama as a president. Often times you just hear people saying he’s a horrible president without giving any valid supporting arguments. Great interview Felicia!
Education reform is a must. I’ve been working in public schools for 3 years and I can’t wait until I get the hell out of it. It’s clearly a joke and the children are suffering.
can we get MORE stories like this and the graduates? PLEEEEEEASE???
Great post, post like these is one of the many reasons I love Concreteloop…
@Judah I understand your point-of-view and discontentment with individuals that are still trapped in the Matrix and fearful of facing reality. However, I have to disagree with your statement concerning Hip Hop, yes the art form has been diluted into a money maker, but Hip Hop in its purist form is about self expression and allowing words to create a vivid story in which the artist creates a masterpiece. I work with children and encouraging children to write (poems, songs, and RAPS) appears to be therapeutic. So if that can be incorporated into the educational process and be beneficial Im in support. Furthermore, Im tired of waiting for a leader to appear to lead us, those days are over….as Ghandi stated we “must be the change we want to see in the world.” But I do agree with you about us Blacks as a society being too interested in inclusion and integration instead of developing and fostering our own. WAKE UP PEOPLE….we must destroy and RE-BUILD!
@JOURNEY SOFAB
Miss, the reason why you have to tap into the children by appealing to their love of rap is because: 1) Their parents are raising them on television and the radio and 2)you have not been taught the truth so you therefore have nothing to teach them in order to reach them. I don’t have a problem with people writing poems, songs, or raps for enjoyment, but what he is trying to do is turn rappers into “leaders”. Black people look to entertainers to lead them because the white man puts them on television. How can someone be taken seriously when their “role model” is an entertainer? Furthermore you’re quoting Gandhi, but do you understand that he was a theosophist, meaning a Luciferian? The “I am my own god” mantra is strictly Luciferianism. Our people cannot save themselves. Gandhi was also an MI-5 agent sent in by Great Britain to disarm his own people with his allegedly “non-violent” approach. That is why the East Indians wised up and killed him. The white man used the same formula in crafting Martin Luther King, who also was an agent of Communist Russia.
Judah…thanks for the new information and I will be taking a trip to my local library for additionally research pertaining Ghandi…additionally I agree regarding America looking to entertainers as leaders…however, until parents and local community members are willing to stand up and represent the truth oppose to the reality, where does that leave the children? Not that I think rappers like Rick Ross will ever admit to being fictional characters, but as a whole…what can our community do? ….EACH ONE TEACH ONE….the people want a fantasy and run from the truth
Hello, I have looked before and googled again but can not find this information.
What degrees does Steve Perry hold? It sounds he has an MSW from Upenn? But what doctoral degree does he have and from what institution?
Thanks!
Thanks Concreteloop for this interview!!! Awesome!!
I remember him from the last Black in America segment. He’s a well-educated man making a great effort to curtail educational flaws within the system. I also agree with his stance on hip hop and how they need to join the fight for education reform. Many rappers have done exceptionally well in school before they started their careers. A lot of them have a great amount of intelligence. They should really use their celebrity and influence to help children who are failing out of public schools and not being given the proper education everyone deserves.
Great post!
Very impressive Anagel and staff.
typo
Angel
Thank you for reading!
I disagree with him on Michelle Rhee.
1. Obama was right not to support her. We are finding out that she lied about test scores. Also, she is very anti teacher. She has a republican agenda to breakj teacher’s unions.
2. Mr Perry has commented on CNN before that teachersare overpaid. This is NONSENSE. That is just crazy. We need to pay teachers more to get the best talent.
3. I agree that kids should have more choice. I support vouchers and there is no reason we should not have more.
4. Most Americans are happy with their schools but the kids that suffer are the poorest. They need choice to go to private schools but we also need public schools to improve. That starts with parents ans ends with the local and state govt. It is not the federal governments sole responsibiliy, Obama can only do so much.
5. If Mr Perry is serious about education reform he will focus on the low performing states like MS and LA. He would call out these local school boads, governors, cities, admistrators, teachers, and parents ….. and not pretend everything is the teachers’ fault.
6. I attended 9th grade at a school in west tx an then moved the same school year to a suburb in North Tx. I was offered physics in the North TX school but we didn’t have those classes in the other school. It wasnt even required.
7.Parents must spend more time with kids nad do more but teachers need more help and these states need to make sure these kids are prepared for the best colleges before gaduating HS.
Thank you Mr.Steve Perry for caring about our black children and being a strong voice for black america!.
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Regarding this morning’s discussion about teachers communicating with students on facebook: yes, of course it’s inappropriate to “cross the line” but there are adults without morals (yes, even teachers) who cannot be trusted with this type of communication. It’s inappropriate, PERIOD, after school hours. Also, I would not want to be tied to my job after hours electronically – teachers have enough to do 24/7! Facebook users should be required to submit proof of age in order to use the service, 18 and up, please. Children should not have access.