Welcome to
The Educational Pledge Partnership Website
Principles of Learning Educational Pledge T-Shirt, Books,
College Bus Tours, Cookies, Black & Latino Speakers, Personal
Self-Development, Business Development Guide, & Much More!
(c) by An Educational Pledge Partnership
Alberto O. Cappas (AOC)
Author/Founder
Miguel Montes
Co-Founder
We encourage the download and use of
"An Educational Pledge" for your families and schools!
Give us feedback and comments:
Information & Speakers to Inspire the Spirit and Educate the Mind!
HELP US DEFEAT IGNORANCE!
Alberto O. Cappas,
Educational Pledge Partnership
The future of our country is in jeopardy and facing a series of moral and leadership decay. Our society is not investing sufficiently in the spiritual and educational infrastructure of our urban American youth. We are not sharing positive values and standards with our young people, and we are allowing this generation of young people to decay before our very eyes. If we don’t address this reality today, America is destined to become a third world country tomorrow.
We are in the outside looking in and afraid to speak to our youth as they transition into a stage of ignorance. They actually think and believe that they look very "cool" in their deteriorating lifestyle:
1. Wearing pants under their waistline
2. Becoming walking Billboards - with tatooes all over their bodies
3. Dropping out of school, expressing an anti-education mindset
4. A high level of crime and violence against each other
The future and stability of America begins in the heartbeat of our educational institutions. We need to ensure that our youth do not continue to be processed as damaged products.
We need to make a commitment to repair and put on course an American vision that mirrors the appropriate work and decisions that our youth must make in order to ensure a successful journey in their lives.
Based on the above sentiments, “An Educational Pledge” is designed to assist the individual student become aware of his/her responsibilities in the process of becoming a productive member of the world, as well as learning the concepts of values and standards to help guide them in their life’s journey.
An Educational Pledge was written in 1992 and has been widely utilized and adopted by many community groups and organizations in their work with young people. It has also been widely published in newspapers and magazines throughout the country.
We need your help and support to make it available to students and families. The Educational Pledge is purely educational and it does not interfere with one’s religious beliefs or customs. The purpose of “An Educational Pledge” is to guide the young mind to understand positive concepts essential to his/her growth and development as a spiritual and human being.
By purchasing our products, you are making a commitment to share and spread the positive message and help us change the world by placing strong emphasis on the war against ignorance.
We invite you to join us in the fight against ignorance!
In the near future, we will introduce you to other products featuring “An Educational Pledge.” Stay with us, support our products, and help us change the world ---- one person at a time.
Contact us and share your ideas and suggestions.
And by the way, if you work at a school, university, or community center, we also offer speakers for your cultural and educational programs, speakers that are prepared to address any issue from a Black or Latino perspective.
By purchasing our products, you are supporting our work. In time, we will also begin to offer financial assistance and scholarships to young people striving to make a better world.
Comments about Cappas' work
A great book for our youth -- Angelica Aquino
The educational pledge is a reflective tool to help anyone, both young and old. It allows one to take a step back to move on and to understand the impact of actions and omissions. Give someone the gift of self-empowerment and self-realization by sharing the questions and the ultimate answers that come with such quest. It is a life time gift, it truly transcends generations. I encourage parents, educators, young people and everyone to share the book with their friends and loved ones. I think this book makes a wonderful staff development and parent and pupil, student and teacher conversation facilitator. It is a conduit for personal growth. – Angelica Aquino, Attorney, Washington Heights, NY
A Challenging Book – Rafael Rodriguez
An Educational Pledge is a most read book for all. I truly recommend it, and Mr. Cappas insightful and clear message is one that will motivate everyone to start "thinking outside the box”. If you are looking for your next book to read or as a gift, this would be a great and lasting investment. -- Rafael Rodriguez, President of the July 4th, 1899 Foundation, Queens, NY
I could feel the force of the waterfall in your words – Anthony Camacho
Words are the most constructive or destructive instruments to nurture or discourage the potential in every child. I really appreciate the gift that God has given to you to express this truth. I could almost feel the force of the waterfall in your words. I can relate to the feeling - so overwhelming."
Anthony Camacho, Educator, Higher Education Counselor, New York
I’ve used the educational pledge on many occasions – Pedro Cordero
Cappas’ writing comes from the heart and the soul. Cappas truly captures the everyday people's hopes, dreams, and fears. I ’m fortunate to know him - as a friend and as a poet"
Pedro Cordero, Child Care Administrator & Educator, Bronx, NY
Your writing is a reality check – Elaina Silva
You are a very deep and thought provoking writer - a reality check as well. Your talent shines through your work. I intend to read many more. Thank you!"
Elaina Silva, Writer, California
Right Feelings into your words -- Beverly
"I'm a teenager in today's society. It's not easy to always keep your goals in front of you. I've lost touch with some of my goals; thank you for reminding me of them. You put the right feelings into your words. Keep it up!"
Beverly, Poet/Writer, from the starlitecafe.com website
Writer’s Digest:
….I have seen first hand how many students fall through the public-school cracks and the best way to insure against this is to empower each student to become more accountable for his or her own education and commit to it well beyond the classroom. In essence, Cappas establishes a great deal of credibility in relating his own story and how he pledged himself not just to education and learning as a way of life, but the importance of balance, commitment, and courage as one of the surest paths to personal fulfillment…..
About AOC
Review by Jaira Placide, New York University
Clear, Natural and Poignant. These words accurately describe Alberto O. Cappas’ work. Cappas understands the suffering and struggles of Puerto Ricans living in Mainland America as well as in Puerto Rico. His poetry traces their hopes, problems, and misconceptions from the island to the mainland where they discover dreams do die hard. In the poem “Suicide of a Puerto Rican Jibaro,” one need not be Puerto Rican to identify with the alienation faced when entering a cold, foreign, and jungle-like world. Cappas successfully explores what such a drastic change can mean for a Puerto Rican away from his island, where he is the majority. In “Jibaro,” for the Puerto Rican man who comes to the United States, “A million times his body was raped by the unfriendly cold... to pursue the American Dream...” Cappas is a relentless observer and commentator of what happens when a people leave their homeland, or forget where they come from, to pursue the uncertainties of the American Dream. His poetry, ironic at times, questions whether this dream does exist.
In “A Spoken Secret,” “Light skin Puerto Ricans forget to speak Spanish... and dark skin Puerto Ricans adopt hot combs to straighten their hair.” In “Doña Julia,” a woman is trapped like a mouse in America and so commits suicide as a last attempt to return to her homeland. And in “Maria,” a young girl sits patiently thinking about her experiences in New York since leaving Puerto Rico and now waits “for the overdose (of a drug) to take effect.” Of course this is not to say that all Puerto Ricans moving to the United States end up killing themselves but it does show that Cappas is keenly aware of a sort of cultural and spiritual death that happens to Puerto Ricans when they leave the tropical scenes and adopt certain American values. In the ironic humorous poem, “Her Boricua,” a woman buys the Moon, tax-free, and invites her relatives and friends on weekend nights to “admire the beauty of her new possession.” She tells them that in America, “you have the freedom to buy anything you want.”
“Haiti in Puerto Rico” explores the death theme even further. “I recited useless words of a poem to an audience of Puerto Ricans, turned into zombies, refusing to break the spell of all the misfortunes.” Doña Julia is a poetry book filled with poetic stories, forceful and powerful imagery and messages that will stimulate all minds that come into contact with it.
Cappas’ language is original and refreshing, which makes his writing very natural and uncluttered with abstractions. Cappas is correct, knows what he needs to say and clearly makes his point.
AOC Background and Community Contributions
Born in Yauco, Puerto Rico in 1946 and arrived in New York City in 1953. Alberto Oscar Cappas is a poet and entrepreneur in several diverse areas. He is the author of Never too late to make a U-Turn: An Educational Pledge & 15 Questions to Self-Development, a motivational book for parents and youth-at-risk; and author of The Pledge: A Guide for Everyday Living, published in 2001. He is also the author of the following poetry collections: Doña Julia & Other Selected Poems, Author House Publishers, 2002; Disintegration of the Puerto Ricans, Don Pedro Enterprises, 1997; and Echolalia, Carlton Press, 1989. His poetry has been included in many publications and anthologies in the United States and Canada.
Cappas is the recipient of the “Keepers of Our Culture” Award for Literature, presented to him by the New York State Hispanic Heritage Month Committee -- on September 15, 1994. His talents and skills as a writer, interest in the human condition and concern for those socio-economic issues which impact the Puerto Rican/Latino community, have served to foster in him an active interest and involvement as a journalist. This has led to his role as co-publisher and co-editor of The New Tomorrow (TNT) and the Latino Village Press (LVP), two monthly publications designed to educate and inform the Puerto Rican/Latino community about the importance of going into business and developing Latino economic institutions and infrastructures. His accomplishments and achievements list him as the founder and Chairperson of the AOC Speakers Bureau, the only Latino and African American speakers’ bureau in the country when founded in 1992. He is founder and Chairperson of Don Pedro Cookies, the makers of Don Pedro Cookies; and he is co-founder of A Place for Poets, a national publication which featured aspiring Latino and other emerging writers and poets.
Further, his works have achieved wide interests, growing appeal and numerous accolades. It should be noted that his work has been featured and preserved in the City of Buffalo’s new Metro subway system, with a commissioned work by the Niagara Frontier’s Transportation Authority of an artistic “vignette” with two other Latino artists. The work is a thirty-foot steel tile mural that reflects the search for a sense of belonging in this city. Also, his early works have been included in the renowned Schomburg Library’s archives.
Alberto O. Cappas is an alumnus of the State University of New York at Buffalo and a recipient of the NYC Urban League’s Charles Evans Hughes Award for Creative Writing -- presented to him by Harlem Preparatory School in 1967.
AOC has been featured in the following publications
Youth Today (National youth publication)
Quisqueya Life (Dominican American)
City Limits Magazine
Latin Beat Magazine
Buffalo News
Buffalo Courier Express
Buffalo West Side Times
Buffalo Hispano News
Advista
Syracuse Impartial Citizen
Vista Carib News
Canales
New York Press
Noticias del Mundo
Buffalo Challenger
Buffalo Good News
People's Weekly World
Brownstone Magazine (NYU)
Downtown Press
Vision: El Periodico del Barrio
La Voz Hispana
Conciencia (NYU)
Crane's NY Business Magazine
The New York Times
La Ultima Hora
Guild Press
New York Newsday (Manhattan Profile)
Vista Monthly Magazine
Saludos Hispano Magazine
El Boricua Magazine
National Hispanic Voice
National Council of Latina Women Newsletter
Puerto Rican Connection Magazine
Poetry Recitals/Cultural Presentations
Buffalo Parents Association (Keynote Speaker, Buffalo, NY)
Stritch University (Leadership Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
New York State School Attendance Officers Association (Monticello, NY)
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
NYS Department of Health/Office of Minority Health’s Diversity Forums (Albany, NY)
Baruch College, NYC
Schenectady Community College (Schenectady, NY)
Buffalo State College (Buffalo, NY)
PODER, State University of NY at Buffalo
Undergraduate Student Conference/New York University (NYU)
Buffalo Community Partnership
Ithaca College
Manhattan Community College
Black Arts Forum/Brooklyn
Hispanic Heritage Month/Albany
Attica Correctional Facility (Attica, NY)
North Collins Correctional Facility
Buffalo Masten Park Secure Center
Bronx Youth Development Center
Nuyorican's Poets' Café (New York City)
NYS Liquor Authority (Hispanic Heritage Month Activity)
New York State Division for Youth
New York Public Libraries
Harlem Hospital Center (Puerto Rican Heritage Month Activity)
Publications
Lessons for Myself, for young people and teens, a guide to spiritual discovery
Never too late to make a U-Turn: An Educational Pledge & 15 Questions Leading to Self-Development, December 2008, Nubian Voices, 2nd Printing
Doña Julia and other selected poems, November 2002, Nubian Voices, 2nd Printing
Roots to Reality, from a poetry recital and cultural presentation, Cultural Diversity Series, sponsored by the New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY, 1997
The Disintegration of the Puerto Ricans, a collection of poems, published in 1997, by Don Pedro Enterprises, USA, Ltd., New York, NY. The book was reprinted again in 2007.
Echolalia, Verse & Vibrations, a collection of poems, published in 1989, by Calton Press, New York, NY
Echoes, six poems, published in 1987, by A Place for Poets, New York, NY
Guild Press Anthologies, featured in over eight (8) anthologies published by Guild Press, publisher of Black, Asian and Latino poets and writers, 1987-1996
This site will soon be under new construction to bring you more "friendly user" information of benefit to you and your love ones....
Maria Rosa:
The Latin Journal: From the Barrio
Covering events of interest in Puerto Rican, Caribbean, Central and South American Community in Buffalo NY
AOC Speaker:
Bobby Gonzalez, nationally known author, poet, and motivational speaker, during his interactive presentation as he talks about the lifeways, art, history, outstanding leaders and spirituality of the Taino, the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. The Tainos introduced Europeans to rubber, tobacco, corn, and the pineapple. The saga of these Native Peoples who encountered Columbus is an amazing story of great accomplishment, tragedy, and survival.
College Bus Tours
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TEPP
The Educational Pledge Partnership (TEPP) is a private business venture, incorporated by two individuals committed to advancing educational and professional opportunities for youth (adolescents, teenagers, and young adults) by working together in partnership with individuals families and community institutions.
TEPP’s goals include the development of educational programs geared for youth living in urban settings. The educational outreach components include initiatives that address youth needs at the local, state, and national level.
Goals
Introduce youth to positive educational role models that will motivate them to advance their education or training in preparation for meaningful careers and future challenges.
Introduce youth to positive educational role models that will motivate them to advance their education or training in preparation for meaningful careers and future challenges.
Provide educational and artistic opportunities that promote strong positive value systems for youth and their families.
Provide educational mediums (workshops, symposiums and theater productions) that develop and inspire positive and productive images for youths living in urban settings.
Objectives
To develop youth’s understanding and commitment towards their personal, higher academic and professional achievement
To encourage youth to pursue positive life journeys such as education, career, family, and civic responsibility to name a few.
To provide youth opportunities in safe environments where they can develop pride in themselves and enhance their self esteem.
To escort youths on bus tours to colleges and universities where they will meet with peer role models including student leaders, faculty and staff.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
THE EDUCATIONAL PLEDGE Partnership (TEPP)
Cappas' Blog
Clink Blogger for more information about
Albeto O. Cappas and his work
The Educational
Pledge
By Alberto O. Cappas
IN DEDICATION TO
OUR CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES
OUR CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES
I pledge to maintain a
Healthy Mind and Body
Staying away from the Evil of drugs
I pledge always to try my Best to understand
The importance of Knowledge and Education
I pledge to paint a Positive picture of where
I plan to be tomorrow
Not allowing obstacles to stop the growth of my Plans
Healthy Mind and Body
Staying away from the Evil of drugs
I pledge always to try my Best to understand
The importance of Knowledge and Education
I pledge to paint a Positive picture of where
I plan to be tomorrow
Not allowing obstacles to stop the growth of my Plans
I pledge to seek Answers to Questions,
With the understanding that they
Will lead to other discoveries
I pledge to work diligently
With the Awareness and Confidence
That hard work today will serve
As the seeds for my strong tree tomorrow
A tree that no one will be able to tear down
With the understanding that they
Will lead to other discoveries
I pledge to work diligently
With the Awareness and Confidence
That hard work today will serve
As the seeds for my strong tree tomorrow
A tree that no one will be able to tear down
I pledge to learn proper languages,
Beginning with my Mother's
Always prepared to appreciate others
I pledge to gain a better understanding of who I am
By understanding my Cultural roots
I pledge to fully accept who
I am as a spiritual and human being
A Rainbow of many cultures and colors
I pledge to overcome any Personal misfortunes
Becoming Stronger from such misfortunes
Always striving to become
A wise person.
Beginning with my Mother's
Always prepared to appreciate others
I pledge to gain a better understanding of who I am
By understanding my Cultural roots
I pledge to fully accept who
I am as a spiritual and human being
A Rainbow of many cultures and colors
I pledge to overcome any Personal misfortunes
Becoming Stronger from such misfortunes
Always striving to become
A wise person.
Our Services
FACES Theatre Productions
College & Educational Bus Tours
Our Publications
(Self-Development Books)
Never too late to make a U-turn
Lessons for Myself
ABC’s of Positive Self-Development
Our Products
Pledge T-Shirts
Pledge Cookies
Pledge Coffee Mugs
Pledge Mouse Pads
Pledge Fitted Caps
Getting out of the Box Scholarship Program
College & Educational Bus Tours
Our Publications
(Self-Development Books)
Never too late to make a U-turn
Lessons for Myself
ABC’s of Positive Self-Development
Our Products
Pledge T-Shirts
Pledge Cookies
Pledge Coffee Mugs
Pledge Mouse Pads
Pledge Fitted Caps
Getting out of the Box Scholarship Program
All Educational Pledge Products are available as fund-raising tools for individuals and non-profit groups.
With the purchase of any of our products or services, you make a direct contribution to our educational programs and scholarship fund.
