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May 22, 2009
OPERATION SNUG TOWN HALL MEETING
By Profesor Martin Danenberg
“El Quijote del GED”
PAY PAL NOTICE
Something new in 2010. You can now order the GED program. It is so simple! Click on the word clic above my article (in the white section on the right). By clicking you can go to my website and find "Services" to order the GED program in English or Spanish. See the Pay Pal there. Thank you for taking this important, powerful step in your life. I really hope that a job or higher education awaits you, even induction into the military. Your future is important!
For me Sharon Richards stole the show at the Town Hall Meeting of Operation Snug heldl in Touro Law Center in Central Islip, New York. She talked about the GED class she started for 40 people in Riverhead. The White House is going to hear about this. I got up after her, telling the audience that USA Today reported that there is a “national crisis” because the waiting list for GED has dramatically increased with the recent high unemployment across our nation. Sharon Richards spoke about how difficult it is being a parent of a 15 year-old, backing up claims by Hip-Hop Summit Youth Council founder Charles Fisher that Hip-Hop can affect her child in a positive way by doing positive things in Suffolk County. People were talking to each other, especially in the question and answer period. Frank Sinisi gave up office space at PRONTO so that Operation Snug could have an ongoing presence in the community and we thank him for decisiveness.
John Smith, former principal and currently Central Islip School Board member, told the audience that he looking for credibility, integrity, and longevity from this new initiative. He has seen so many programs come and die out. The Sharon Richards' statement about the GED class was the result of my planting seeds long before Operation Snug got funded. I have known panelist Angelo Falcon for 7 years, Assemblyman Phil Ramos for more or less the same amount of time, Charles Fisher for at least 6 years, and Third Precinct ‘s Inspector Cuff has been reading my GED articles for a year. I met Senator Brian Foley last year when he was campaigning. The only panelist or guest speaker that I had not met is Superintendent Debra Jones of Brentwood School District.
Let me give you the most important details the way I see them. Of the 25 pregnancies mentioned by Superintendent Jones, most were gang initiation related. Girls are forced to have unprotected sex. She told the audience that 10 percent of the youth were in gang related activities. Inspector Cuff told us that there were more killings by guns from 1979 to 1997 than in the entire history of the United States. The 20-24 year old age group is slightly over 7 percent of the population but more than 22 percent of the victims. Charles Fisher spoke about the 80 percent of men and women in prisons who are high school dropouts and 70 percent return to prison. Most of the 700,000 coming out of prisons have no GED and they end up committing crimes again.
A promising future for communities like Central Islip is at hand as Operation Snug brings in the “celebrity-ship” of rap stars to talk to the youth. Charles Fisher spoke about bringing in “Project Ceasefire” connected with Colin Powell’s America’s Promise “to make this summer the safest summer in Suffolk County.” Fisher wants to negotiate with the gang leaders to stop recruitment of the youth. This is his version of “Let’s Make A Deal.” So Operation Snug will be going to schools and the streets to deal with the gangs. We want the gang members to earn a GED (or graduate)and get copies of the 50 books that schools are “eating up” that the gang members can read.
Martin N. Danenberg
7 Blazer Drive
Islandia, New York 11749
631-348-1341
gedhotline@aol.com
www.geocities.com/gedhotline
www.ahorre.com/ged
www.aspira.org
Profesor Martin Danenberg May 22, 2009 07:23 PM