Now, for those of you who have been checking out Dahgurl for awhile, you know that I try to keep my tirades under wraps, but thanks to an experience I had at church last night, I can no longer remain silent. For background sake, I was asked to teach a class on entrepreneurship to my daughter’s purity in life training class. I was so excited that my girlfriend has to pull me back from going to Staples, getting folders/badges/color-coded and tabbed 50 page curriculum. You know the overachieving perfectionist is bound to rear her ugly head when I get into teaching mode, especially teaching entrepreneurship. WHOA, NELLY!

I pulled myself back/realized that they are not enrolled in an executive MBA program/created some fun games like Name that Slogan and Truth or Fiction and packed for a class that was valued at $199/person easily. My daughter warned me that I was doing too much and betted that I was going to end up frustrated/disappointed/angry. I completely dismissed her comments, priding myself at being an engaging/interactive teacher, understanding of teenage issues and went into class with my expectations HIGH, real HIGH.

Well…well…well.

I don’t know how to tell you how I felt, but let me say that my daughter was rapidly compensated for her assessment. I couldn’t sleep last night because I was outdone and I don’t know what in the world…

Let’s start with an email that I sent to a youth minister at my church (whom I love) bright and early this morning.

Prior to the start of the class, Imani warned me that how I flow is not going to be received well by some of the kids and that I should not prepare all that I had prepared. I didn’t listen. Overall, it [the class] was good and I was glad to have done it, but I do have some concerns. From people talking and playing with their cell phones (which I should have taken, but was trying to get a feel for what they were used to) to people not even listening to others or involving others in their group, I don’t know how these children can expect to be successful in the larger world. They are not ready. Pastor raises the bar to the parents and we, as teachers, have to raise it even higher for the young people so that they don’t become stats. Read the rest of this entry »