BIG BILL FAN

sorry Roy but I am tired of blaming the schools and the teachers for the academic struggles of students in poor areas. The answer to why they struggle is quite simple yet very few want to publicly state the truth. The breakdown of the family is the reason that so many black children are doing so poorly in school and in life in general. My wife used to teach in the St. Louis Public school system and it was a nightmare. Her last year at her school she had a class of 25 students. Here are some statistics about this 4th grade class: >of her 25 students only 3 had a mother and father living together in the same house as their child > 6 of her students had a parent that was currently in prison. > during the year 2 of her students had a sibling murdered. > parent teacher conferences were held twice a year and supposedly they were mandatory..my wife never had more than 7 of the 25 show up for their appointment...(appointments were available during the day or night. > most of her students ( 10 years old ) were responsible for getting theirselves up in the morning with no one at home and most went home in the afternoon with no parent at home. > the filthy language and obnoxious behavior by many of the students was an everyday occurence. I could continue on but I think I have made my point. If we ever want to effectively help the black community with it's struggles we need to go back to the morality taught in the Bible ( now that is a novel concept). Marriage and family commitments are an essential part of a child' future success. When we blame the teachers and the school system for the poor performance of our children we are putting the cart before the horse. A child's upbringing at home is the most vital part of his or hers future success...

I thought the atmosphere at the family arena was tremendous. Even though the crowd was only around 6,000 it got very loud the last 10 minutes of the game. I'm sorry that so many of you feel that it is such an inconvenience to travel to st. charles. I've been to ever Bill's home game this year and this was far and away the best atmosphere.