Backwards
we go...
Parenting
Not everyone is capable!
It takes a Village.....I think....see Letters to the President....below!"A Free Tutoring Service: Preparing For the Future"
Our Past-Page 1...Four Glorious Years...1998-2002 Cleophas McAlpin Begin.. February, 1999
To Drew Magnet School
Backwards
we go...
Parenting
Not everyone is capable!
It takes a Village.....I think....see Letters to the President....below!
It seemed only yesterday that I "saved" a Tutoring Lesson Plan to disk. It seemed only yesterday that I decided to begin an educational diary for all to see the problems, struggles, accomplishments, accolades, failures and glorifications of God with regards to the free tutoring of Middle and High School students. It seemed only yesterday that I decided to bring the conscience of our Leaders and Professionals to bear upon the education of our children. It seemed only yesterday that I decided to chronicle as many experiences that I could by saving them to floppy disks, zip drive disk and slave disk drives in computers.
And now it is time to relieve those disks of their heavy burden and to enter some of their contents into these web pages. So sit back and take a look at the history of a nonprofit organization, from its inception to it present state of high efficiency and effectiveness in elevating the grade point averages of children of all Races and backgrounds. Some of the articles and pictures will perhaps be slightly out of place, because it has been difficult for one man to categorize and organize while engaging in rigorous, intense tutoring. It has been difficult to list, day by day, each and every aspect of this very powerful learning institution. There are many, many letters, photos, lesson plans and information. This will take a great deal of time, so look for more of our history on a regular basis. There might be perhaps 10,000 photos and 10,000 documents that chronicle our past! Some, or all of them will appear on the following pages of "Our Past".
Begin.....
February 3, 1999 Letters to a President's Wife.....(No Response, even to this day!)
19009 LAUREL PARK ROAD #348
DOMINGUEZ HILLS 90220, CALIFORNIA
FEBRUARY 3, 1999
MRS. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
THE FIRST LADY
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
DEAR MRS. CLINTON,
Subject: " SIMPLY TUTORING" (Original name. Changed because another Organization had that name)
WE ARE A SMALL GROUP IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. THE GROUP IS COMPOSED OF FIVE STUDENTS, ONE TUTOR AND ONE ASSISTANT TUTOR. THE NAMES OF THE STUDENTS ARE JARRELL, CLEASENA, AUBRY, NICOLE AND RYAN. ISAAC IS THE ASSISTANT TUTOR AND I, CLEOPHAS, AM THE TUTOR. THE STUDENTS RANGE IN AGES BETWEEN 9 AND 14. ISAAC IS 16. WE WONT DISCUSS HOW OLD I AM, BUT I WILL SAY THAT I HAVE BEEN RETIRED FOR 6 YEARS. ALL OF STUDENTS AND THE ASSISTANT TUTOR BELONG TO SINGLE MOTHER HOUSEHOLDS.
WE ARE A SMALL GROUP TRYING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. WE HAVE BEEN WORKING VERY HARD AS OF LATE AND I THINK WE JUST MIGHT SUCCEED. WE ARE AFRO-AMERICANS, BUT THAT IS A SMALL MATTER. WE ARE ABOUT BECOMING BETTER AMERICANS THROUGH OUR DILIGENCE AND HARD WORK. TO PUT IT SIMPLY, WE ARE IN A FREE PROGRAM CALLED “SIMPLY TUTORING”. ITS PURPOSE IS TO ASSIST THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IN TEACHING OUR STUDENTS. IT’S SIMPLY BACK TO THE BASICS. MR. CLEOPHAS MCALPIN HAS BEEN ABSORBING ALL OF THE NECESSARY EXPENSES. HE HAS A COMPUTER AND AMERICA ON LINE. HE ALSO HAS EARTHLINK.NET. THESE INTERNET SERVICES HAVE BEEN USED EXTENSIVELY TO TEACH THESE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS.
AS YOU SCAN THE FOLLOWING PAGES, YOU WILL SEE PLAINLY WHAT WE ARE ABOUT. THAT IS WHY WE HAVE ENCLOSED SO MANY DOCUMENTS. OUR INTENTION IN WRITING THIS LETTER IS TWOFOLD. FIRST, I WOULD LIKE TO SHOW MY STUDENTS THAT THEY CAN COMMUNICATE WITH THE FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES. SECONDLY, I WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE SOME ENCOURAGEMENT FROM ONE OF THE MOST CHERISHED OF PERSONS, YOU. I AM A TRUE BELIEVER OF “IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD”.
I SUPPOSE YOU RECEIVE A LOT OF MAIL ASKING YOU TO SUPPORT THIS ORGANIZATION OR THAT ONE. WHEREAS WE COULD USE A LITTLE FUNDING, THIS LETTER IS NOT WHAT THAT’S ABOUT. THEN TOO, WE DON’T KNOW OR HAVE THE NECESSARY PROCEDURES TO REQUEST HELP. WE HAVE ONE UP-GRADED COMPUTER, A SMALL BLACKBOARD, AND A LOT OF PAPER AND PENCILS. WE HAVE A WILLINGNESS TO LEARN. WE HAVE BOOKS (CLEASENA IS READING MAYA ANGELOU’S “EVEN THE STARS LOOK LONESOME” AT THIS VERY MOMENT) AND WE HELP OUR STUDENTS TO IMPROVE THEIR READING SKILLS. BUT ALL OF THAT IS COVERED IN THE ATTACHED DOCUMENTS. WE ARE A VERY SMALL GROUP WHEN COMPARED TO OTHER BODIES BUT WE KNOW WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
MY MINISTER, REVEREND SHERMAN GORDON,
TELLS US TO PRAY AND ASSUME THAT WHATEVER YOU’RE PRAYING FOR IS ALREADY DONE.
WE HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU BUT WILL UNDERSTAND IF WE DO NOT. WE KNOW HOW BUSY YOU
MUST BE.
WE THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS FOR TAKING TIME TO READ THIS.
TO OUR FIRST LADY……..FROM THE PEOPLE IN YOUR VILLAGE…SINCERELY,
CLEOPHAS, ISAAC, JARRELL, CLEASENA, NICOLE, RYAN, AUBREY
CLEOPHAS MCALPIN, TUTOR E-MAIL ADDRESS SEEMACAL@AOL.COM
FEBRUARY 8, 1999
MRS. CLINTON
I HAVE DECIDED TO ADD TO THE ORIGINAL LETTER ABOVE BECAUSE I FOUND OUT ABOUT THE WHITE HOUSE E-MAIL ADDRESS. I AM ONLY ALLOWED SO MANY CHARACTERS IN AN E-MAIL, SO I DECIDED TO SEND THE E-MAIL AND MAIL THE STUDENT LESSONS IF YOU WANTED ME TO. I HAVE WRITTEN A LETTER TO THE PARENTS EXPLAINING THE PROGRAM AND LETTING THEM KNOW WHAT I EXPECT OF THEM. SOME OF THE THINGS I EXPECT ARE: HAVING THE STUDENT ON TIME, GIVING THE STUDENT A SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR A FAST FOOD DINNER, AND THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO REVIEW OUR LESSONS WITH THEIR SON OR DAUGHTER. I ALSO OUTLINE SOME OF MY QUALIFICATION FOR BEING A TUTOR. I WILL LIST A FEW OF THEM FOR YOU.
I GRADUATED FROM FAIRFIELD, ALABAMA INDUSTRIAL HIGH SCHOOL IN 1952 WITH A STRAIGHT “A” AVERAGE. THAT EARNED ME A ONE-YEAR SCHOLARSHIP TO MILES COLLEGE IN BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA. I WAS STRAIGHT “A” WHILE AT MILES COLLEGE. I WENT TO CHICAGO, ILLINOIS AND ATTENDED THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT THE NAVY PIER, CHICAGO, AND MAJORED IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING. I WAS EXTREMELY POOR AND HAD TO DROP OUT OF SCHOOL AFTER TWO YEARS TO GET A JOB. I WORKED AT THE POST OFFICE IN CHICAGO BEFORE TRANSFERRING TO LOS ANGELES. I ATTENDED LOS ANGELES TRADE TECHNICAL COLLEGE AND BECAME AN ELECTRONICS TECHNICIAN. I WORKED AT NORTH AMERICAN’S AUTONETICS ON THE MINUTEMAN MISSILE COMPUTER SYSTEM AND THE TERRAIN AVOIDANCE COMPUTER FOR FIGHTER AIRCRAFT. I LEFT THE ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY BECAUSE OF DEFENSE CUT BACKS AND GOT A JOB AS AN ASSISTANT ELECTRICAL TESTER WITH THE LOS ANGELES DEPT. OF WATER AND POWER. AFTER MANY CIVIL SERVICE EXAMS AND INTERVIEWS, I ROSE TO THE TOP OF MY CLASSIFICATION TO BECOME A FIELD METER TEST SUPERVISOR. MY JOB WAS TO TRAIN AND SUPERVISE APPROXIMATELY 30 EMPLOYEES. I WAS THE PRIMARY INSTRUCTOR FOR TESTERS AND SOME ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS AS WELL. I STILL ATTENDED SCHOOL WHILE WORKING. I ATTENDED THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES AND STUDIED ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING. I ALSO TOOK A CORRESPONDENCE COURSE IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING. I TOOK LIBERAL STUDIES COURSES AT THE UNIVERSITY AND ALSO AT COMPTON COLLEGE. I BECAME AN ADVANCED CLASS HAM OPERATOR (KB6YHI) AND HELD CLASSES AT MY HOME TO ASSIST OTHERS IN PASSING FCC EXAMS. I WAS A SCOUTMASTER FOR 3 YEARS IN CARSON, CALIFORNIA. I WAS INDUCTED INTO THE ARMED SERVICES IN 1957 AND BECAME A PARATROOPER WITH THE 101ST AIRBORNE. I WAS SENT TO ARTILLERY SURVEY SCHOOL IN LAWTON OKLAHOMA. MY JOB WAS TO JUMP FROM THE AIRPLANE AND SET UP COORDINATES FOR A MORTAR BATTERY AND MOCK TARGETS. I CALLED IN FIRE MISSIONS FROM A LOCATION OF HIGH ELEVATION. AFTER LEAVING THE ARMY, I TRIED CIVIL SURVEYING AND WORKED FOR THE LOS ANGELES PARKS AND RECREATION DEPT. AS A SURVEYOR FOR APPROXIMATELY A YEAR. MY BOSS WAS AN EXTREME RACIST WHO HATED MARTIN LUTHER KING AND TOOK IT OUT ON ME. I PERSEVERED AND PASSED MY 6 MONTHS PROBATION. I ALSO WAS NEAR THE TOP ON A CIVIL SERVICE LIST OF POTENTIAL STREET LIGHT ELECTRICIANS. I WAS HIRED BUT LATER DECIDED TO RETURN TO MY FIRST LOVE, ELECTRICAL METER TESTING. METERING BY NOW HAD ENTERED THE COMPUTER AGE. I AM A BORN-AGAIN CHRISTIAN AND AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF NEW PHILADELPHIA A.M.E. CHURCH (USHER) IN CARSON, CALIF. I AM VERY ACTIVE IN THE FAIRFIELD INDUSTRIAL HIGH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, AN ORGANIZATION RESPONSIBLE FOR SENDING DISADVANTAGED ALABAMA STUDENTS TO COLLEGE. I AM VICE PRESIDENT OF A NEIGHBORHOOD SOCIAL CLUB (DOMINGUEZ HILLS) AND HAVE RECENTLY BEEN EMPLOYED BY THE SECURITY SERVICE OF THE LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS. I HAVE BEEN A TRAVELING CLOTHING SALESMAN PART-TIME FOR 15 YEARS AND A TOY STOREOWNER. I HAVE OPERATED SWAP MEET BOOTHS AND TOOK YOUNGSTERS ALONG FOR THE BUSINESS EXPERIENCE. I HAVE FOUR CHILDREN, ONE OF WHICH IS A TELEVISION PRODUCER FOR KPIX-5 SAN FRANCISCO (LENA SULLIVAN), ANOTHER AN ELECTRICIAN, (KENNETH) ANOTHER A POSTAL WORKER, (DUANE) AND ANOTHER A MINISTER, (GREGORY). MY WIFE OF 39 YEARS IS EDDIE GAYLE. I HAVE SPENT SO MANY HOURS AT THE COMPUTER DEVELOPING THIS TUTORING PROGRAM. I’VE BOUGHT A LOT OF INK CARTRIDGES AND SUPPLIES FROM STAPLES AND I INTEND TO KEEP THIS A FREE PROGRAM. I AM GOING TO TAKE THE KIDS TO MUSEUMS, OBSERVATORIES, ART GALLERIES AND ANY OTHER EDUCATIONAL PLACE I CAN FIND.
THE LIST OF MATERIAL COVERED SO FAR IS VERY LONG. WE HAVE COVERED SOME BASIC MATH, CHEMISTRY, PHYSICS, SPANISH, GEOGRAPHY, GOVERNMENT, ALGEBRA, GEOMETRY, THERMODYNAMICS, ASTRONOMY, BLACK HISTORY, ENGLISH AND COMPOSITION. WE HAVE COVERED MANY, MANY TOPICS AND WILL BE ENHANCING OUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT EACH OF THE SUBJECTS. OUR LESSONS COME FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL MATERIAL ON THE INTERNET.
I AM NOW 55+ YEARS OF AGE BUT IN VERY GOOD HEALTH. I HAVE COMPLETED SIX OF SEVEN LOS ANGELES AND LONG BEACH 26.2 -MILE MARATHONS DURING THE LAST TEN YEARS! I HAVE ENCOURAGED OTHERS TO TRY AND DO THE SAME. MY WIFE FINISHED ONE AND SAYS SHE WILL NEVER DO IT AGAIN. BUT THAT IS NOT SO FOR ME, A SON, A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AND A FRIEND OR TWO.
I FIND THAT I HAVE TO REQUEST A LITTLE HELP BECAUSE MY EQUIPMENT IS NOT EXACTLY THE BEST. I NEED A MODERN COMPUTER… OR TWO AND SOME EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE. I AM A RETIREE AND ON A LIMITED BUDGET. I HAVE NEVER WRITTEN TO A PUBLIC FIGURE BEFORE AND FEEL THAT YOU ARE A VERY COMPASSIONATE PERSON. I WILL SACRIFICE THE REST OF MY LIFE TO HELP ANY CHILD WHO NEEDS HELP WITH SCHOOL. I FIND THAT I AM GETTING BUSIER EACH DAY. ANOTHER STUDENT WILL BE JOINING THIS WEDNESDAY AND I JUST CAN’T SAY NO TO ANY. A PART OF MY PROGRAM INVOLVES PARENT, TEACHER AND TUTOR REGULAR MEETINGS AND SO FAR, THE RESPONSE FROM SCHOOLTEACHERS AND PARENTS HAS BEEN VERY POSITIVE.
AGAIN, I THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR READING THIS LETTER.
NOT ONLY WILL I E-MAIL THIS LETTER; I WILL ALSO SEND A COPY THROUGH THE MAIL.
YOURS TRULY,
CLEOPHAS “MIKE” MC ALPIN
Who needs a response from man, anyway? God responds to us!
Skip to the Future ! (click) November 9, 2006....My Birthday: God responded to us!
Letter to the Parents
“A Free Tutoring
Service”
To the Parents and Students......(Frustration Time)
April
1, 1999
Dear Parents,
This letter is intended to update you on
our “Free Tutoring Service”. It will also tell you what I think your
obligations are. I will start on the obligations because my first letter let you
know that there would be a review of each tutoring day. I have kept my promise,
and if you want to know what your child is doing on a Wednesday afternoon for 4
hours and on a Saturday for 4 hours, ask him or her to bring home a review
document. They will happily go the computer and print out one for you.
This letter is more intended to let you
know of some of the disappointments that are connected with this program. I will
outline some of those disappointments for you.
First: This service will not be used as a
means to discipline your children. Some of you have used the service when you
tell your youngster that they can’t come over because of something they did
that was wrong. You never keep your children out of school when they do
something wrong and this service is the same. Or more so! I do not have time to
sit and wonder if your child is going to go on field trips or come to tutoring
classes because of something they have done. I have a life, too, and do not have
time to sit and wonder if they are coming over.
It saddens me that some of you seek to
disrupt this service because the students are having “too much fun in
learning” over here. Take away the Play Station Game, but do not cheat them
out of an education. The students
have told me that they would rather spend time over here learning new things
than go to Disneyland or Knott’s Berry Farm. Perhaps, that is because I am
teaching them so many vocational things as well as academic ones.
They can see a clear future for themselves.
And so, my first point is this. If you
want to discipline your child by keeping them away from the tutoring, then
remove your child immediately, if not sooner, from this class.
If you find it necessary to keep them
away for some other reason, be prepared to explain their absence. If there is
not a sufficient enough reason for being absent or late, then I recommend that
you remove them from this tutoring service. The other students do not have time
to “catch them up”. They are too busy learning other things.
Some of you have chosen to keep me out of
the way of Schoolteachers. My original letter stated that I would be working
with the school system to help with your child’s education. If you prefer to
keep me out of the way, that is fine with me. Just fill me in on what’s
happening with them at least every two weeks. I would like a report on each of
their subjects, as well as a discipline report. I don’t like surprises,
especially if there are failing marks involved. I feel very silly teaching your
children about parabolas and exponential functions and they are "cutting up
and raising pure hell" in school.
Again, if you think that you can’t keep
me informed, then this service is NOT for you. You can remove your child and
there will absolutely be no hard feelings.
I am very strict in my requirements. I
have fought psychological warfare with some of you, but that day is now past. We
will continue to progress with or without you.
A tutor makes from $20 to $40 an hour. I
tutor your child at least 7 hours a week. That adds up to about $140 to $280 a
week.
I am doing this
free of charge and that does not take into consideration the paper, ink
cartridges, the rulers, calculators, gas, oil, computer service, such as AOL at
$20 a month, the dedicated telephone service at $15 a month. If you were to go
to a private tutor, it would cost you approximately $700-$900 a month to get the
kind of service that I am giving for free.
Be a part of your child’s educational
process. Visit us and explain your career as I asked in my first letter. You
don’t have to drop them off and high tail it out of here as fast as you can.
They want to see you here once in a while. They want to show you how they can do
soldering, surf the Internet, do scientific notation, graph straight lines,
graph sine and cosine functions, split the water molecule into hydrogen and
oxygen, recite the planets and chart the skies, write short stories, explain the
parts of a D.C. motor, speak Spanish, upgrade a computer, tell you about the
Presidency, the Congress and the Judicial system. They want to show off their
mathematical skills, their skills in physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy,
thermodynamics, geometry, algebra and trigonometry.
They want to see you
in an educational light, and then they will be more eager to learn.
I can become a salaried tutor for my
brother-in-law’s organization. I would then get all of the computer equipment
that I have been writing everybody from Oprah Winfrey to Hillary Clinton for.
Woody Coleman would be elated to have a person such as me on his staff. I
have, after all, completed no less than 7 years of college education, have held
many high- paying positions, taught many of the Water and Power’s new
electrical engineers and have had several interesting jobs and job experiences.
Before I retired, I set into motion most of the electrical lesson plans
for all 30 or so of my employees. Lesson plans that would keep them safe from
the dangers of electricity. I was paid extremely well for my expertise.
I will not allow you to control my life
by playing "student tag" with me. Either you are in or you are out. I
will not tolerate absences and if they occur often, I will ask your child to
leave the tutoring program.
I am saddened by the fact that only a few
of you have volunteered to help. I can’t carry 8
people in my car when we go on field trips. I did that when I was a Carson
Scoutmaster for 3 years. I do not want to repeat the horrible experience.
We are supposed to be a team. Tutor,
Parents and Students. If we can’t work together, then it is better that you
leave this service. I do not like failure, and
I’m afraid some of you are attempting to lead me down that path.
I have just as many things to do as you
have; I work like you do, I like to go out and party just like you. But I have
set aside a portion of my life to try and help children with their education. I
can do nothing without your complete cooperation.
The students hear from me all of the
time. I know all of them understand my rules and I hope that you, too, now know
some of them.
Cleophas Mc Alpin
Tutor
On behalf of another nonprofit Corporation...Fairfield Industrial High Alumni Association...An Appeal by Cleophas McAlpin--June 26, 1999
WONT YOU PLEASE
GIVE US A HAND?
Dear family members and
friends,
As you might know
already, we belong to the California chapter of the Fairfield, Alabama High
School Alumni Association. There
are 7 chapters located across the United States. The purpose of the Association
is to provide college scholarships to underprivileged youth in the little town
of Fairfield, Alabama. Our organization has sponsored numerous college students
over the last 20 years and we are still active in sponsoring many others. We
would most graciously appreciate your help.
Enclosed you will find a
book of ten raffle tickets. I am asking each of you to purchase the book. The
total cost is $10. The first prize is $100 cash; the second is $50; the third is
$25. The winner need not be present. Just send back the stub containing your
name, address and telephone number. Keep the other part for yourself. The raffle
winners will be selected on June 26, 1999 at our
annual fashion show. I have enclosed a self-addressed stamped envelope for your
convenience. Please support us in
our efforts.
Our annual fashion show
and luncheon will be held at the Holiday Inn (International Airport). The Holiday
Inn is located at 9901 South La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles: Northwest corner of
Century and La Cienega Blvd. The
cost is $35 per person. The entertainment and food will be wonderful! The hours
will be from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 P M, Saturday, June 26. We will also have a guest comedian. Any of you attending our
Christmas party last year knows how entertaining he is. Then too, yours truly
might show off his modeling skills.
The fashion show luncheon
will be a fabulous affair and a fundraiser. We have 4 students in colleges now
on 4-year scholarship and every 4 years, we select 4 more.
Gayle and I are active
participants in the Association. Gayle and I are on the planning committee. We
will be partly responsible for the elaborate decorations that will adorn each
table. We would be extremely happy if you would attend the fashion show.
Again, I want to take
this opportunity to say thank you in advance for your contribution to these
underprivileged students.
If you can attend the
fashion show, please indicate in the return mail and I will be happy to send you
a ticket.
Your family member and friend,
Cleophas “Mike” Mc Alpin
Eddie Gayle Mc Alpin
Note: If you would prefer to make a donation in lieu of purchasing raffle tickets, your contribution to this worth while cause would be greatly appreciated. Please respond as soon as you can…..thank you.