Back To School

Letter to Editor

By James J. Hankins

SIX BACK TO SCHOOL TIPS FROM A RETIRED MASTER TEACHER

1. Parents, you are your child’s 1st and most important teacher, so you must meet all your children’s other teachers at open house.
2. Buy only the school clothes you can afford.
3. Mandate 60 minutes each school night for homework.
4. Have each child tell one thing they learned in each class while eating dinner together.
5. Start your home library with a copy of my book “What We Blacks Need To Do “and a one-year subscription to your local Black newspaper (estimated cost around $45).
6. Teach your children the alphabet, colors and how to spell their name before pre-school. Learning how to count, save and handle money will lead to them making math one of their favorite subjects. P.S.—I hope your children are much smarter than my cousin Malcolm thinks he is. TEACHER: Malcolm, your composition on “My Dog” is exactly the same as your brother’s. Did you copy his? Malcolm: No, sir, it’s the same dog!