Opinion
Yellow Bird: Bill Cosby speaks truth about education


"Over the weekend I talked with some teachers from one of the local reservation schools. "Why do some of students who come from the reservation schools and attend UND do poorly?" I asked them. I've always heard there were poor teachers in those reservation schools who really don't care. Parents don't insist that the children do homework and they don't make them accountable for slipshod work and poor performance. Instead they make excuses for their child. Most teachers work really hard to get their students through school, but some of the really good teachers work so hard that after a few years they are burned out and leave, the teachers countered.

And no, all the problems on the reservations and in the schools cannot be blamed on the world we live in and racism. Bill Cosby is right: We need to take responsibility for our children's education and our lives, while remembering that this is a world that can be unfair."

Get the Story:
DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: Cosby speaks uncomfortable, and incomplete, truth (The Grand Forks Herald 5/25)

More Dorreen Yellow Bird:
Yellow Bird: No outlet for North Dakota holy water (5/24)
Yellow Bird: First Lakota finishes UND nursing (5/18)
Yellow Bird: A goodbye to Friends and Frasier! (5/17)
Yellow Bird: Prisoner abuse recalls Indian massacre (5/11)
Yellow Bird: Mothers' distant memories still strong (5/10)
Yellow Bird: Foreigners more interested in Indians (5/4)
Yellow Bird: Tribes and media must work together (5/3)
Yellow Bird: Native people lost advocate in Elbers (4/27)
Yellow Bird: Think about Earth Day every day (4/26)
Yellow Bird: Strong flower like spirit of Native people (04/13)
Yellow Bird: Drum policy excluded local tribes (04/12)
Yellow Bird: The phenomenon of the 'hobby Indians' (04/06)
Yellow Bird: A tribute to the warrior women (4/5)
Yellow Bird: Indians the most misunderstood (3/31)
Yellow Bird: Keeping our ceremonies sacred (3/29)
Yellow Bird: Awakening for Native and Christian (3/23)
Yellow Bird: Saying goodbye, the Native way (3/16)
Yellow Bird: Human rights in North Dakota (3/15)
Yellow Bird: Hard to find Indian like Martha Stewart (3/9)
Yellow Bird: Is Big Foot wandering reservation? (3/8)
Yellow Bird: Sound of birds heralds arrival of spring (3/2)
Yellow Bird: Big market for 'isms' in the media (3/1)
Yellow Bird: Tribal justice program to bring good (2/24)
Yellow Bird: Indian perspective on Lewis & Clark (2/23)
Yellow Bird: In large family, sisters are special (2/18)
Yellow Bird: Atkins diet worked for Indian friends (2/16)
Yellow Bird: Big-city ballet in a Northern Plains town (2/10)
Yellow Bird: 'Fighting Sioux' is poor sportsmanship (2/9)
Yellow Bird: Lake outlet a tough sell for many (2/3)
Yellow Bird: The magic of the Spirit of the North (2/2)
Yellow Bird: Providing Indian education to public (1/26)
Yellow Bird: Long hair can be hazardous sometimes (1/20)
Yellow Bird: Remembering Grandmother Philomene (1/19)
Yellow Bird: Wild animals have a right to exist too (01/13)
Yellow Bird: Tribe has made incredible journey (1/12)
Yellow Bird: 'DreamKeepers' breaks stereotypes (01/07)