This post was inspired by recent events involving SF School Board Commissioner Ann Hsu. On an endorsement questionnaire from SF Parent Action, this was her response to a question on increasing academic outcomes for the most marginalized students: “From my very limited exposure in the past four months to the challenges of educating marginalized students especially in the black and brown community, I see one of the biggest challenges as being the lack of family support for those students. Unstable family environments caused by housing and food insecurity along with lack of parental encouragement to focus on learning cause children to not be able to focus on or value learning.”
I think some of your points are valid, but you deliberately fail to consider difficulties faced disproportionately by lower income POCs. Most of them are not in a position to easily adopt middle-class values. I first realized this when I was required to enroll in a remedial driving course due to reckless driving. Black children are often raised in single family homes, where the mother works several unstable jobs with little job security, flexibility, or benefits. I've also volunteered to teach computer science at a majority Black/Hispanic school. The teachers are mostly dedicated, and they are not racist against minority students. Students face a multitude of obstacles to learning including English language comprehension issues, health and nutritional issues (partly caused by poverty and living in high-crime neighborhoods), lack of appropriate IEPs for disabilities, drug issues, and corruption issues within the school districts. In spite of relatively high per-pupil spending, accountability is low and contracts are not awarded based on merit. Much of the time that should be spent on instruction is used to mitigate these issues. The classes themselves are generally taught at a slower pace and relatively low academic level, disadvantaging the more capable students.
Asian immigrants (and immigrant families generally) are in a different situation, with many of them descending from families that hold high-status and prestige back home. Immigrants in general tend to be self-selecting in terms of motivation and bring skills that are specifically selected for by immigration policies.
Discrimination caused by affirmative action is problematic, but both the problems faced by lower income Black and Hispanic students and potential solutions are complex.
Stop this. You are very racist and most your commentary is out of context. You are embarrassing your children and in fact going to make it hard for them to get a job. Who to hire a child of a racist? Nobody.
Just discovered your blog, no word a lie across many posts
I think some of your points are valid, but you deliberately fail to consider difficulties faced disproportionately by lower income POCs. Most of them are not in a position to easily adopt middle-class values. I first realized this when I was required to enroll in a remedial driving course due to reckless driving. Black children are often raised in single family homes, where the mother works several unstable jobs with little job security, flexibility, or benefits. I've also volunteered to teach computer science at a majority Black/Hispanic school. The teachers are mostly dedicated, and they are not racist against minority students. Students face a multitude of obstacles to learning including English language comprehension issues, health and nutritional issues (partly caused by poverty and living in high-crime neighborhoods), lack of appropriate IEPs for disabilities, drug issues, and corruption issues within the school districts. In spite of relatively high per-pupil spending, accountability is low and contracts are not awarded based on merit. Much of the time that should be spent on instruction is used to mitigate these issues. The classes themselves are generally taught at a slower pace and relatively low academic level, disadvantaging the more capable students.
Asian immigrants (and immigrant families generally) are in a different situation, with many of them descending from families that hold high-status and prestige back home. Immigrants in general tend to be self-selecting in terms of motivation and bring skills that are specifically selected for by immigration policies.
Discrimination caused by affirmative action is problematic, but both the problems faced by lower income Black and Hispanic students and potential solutions are complex.
Vey good commentary, thank you for your insight and keen detailed chart on education stats. I'm enlightened.
Stop this. You are very racist and most your commentary is out of context. You are embarrassing your children and in fact going to make it hard for them to get a job. Who to hire a child of a racist? Nobody.