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This teacher sounds more of a crackpot than anything else, such as a serious and violent neo-nazi; the racist equivalent of an armchair socialist. His views are, in addition to being offensive (which is not a crime), generally poorly reasoned (IQ tests are not the only measure of intelligence) and immoral. Slavery is a terrible, immoral and inexcusable institution. Period.
He sounds like he's been stopping at Maurice Bessenger's BBQ down at 302 and Charleston Highway and reading some of the pamphlets.
Still, though. We rail about teachers with liberal viewpoints passing them on to our kids in school. Fair enough. So what happens when we find a teacher with an unpopular viewpoint--in this case about slavery--and he DOESN'T pass it on? Do we automatically throw out anybody who's got a political view who's the least bit kooky? And who defines who's the kook?
This isn't as cut-and-dried as it looks. I don't think his political beliefs about John C. Calhoun or the Confederacy or even slavery are necessarily a reason to ban the guy from the classroom. The only reason I'd be leery about letting the guy teach, is that I'd have a problem with a teacher who automatically assumed that a significant portion of his class were less capable of learning the material from the second he walked in.
Stainless, figured I'd ping you to this one, because it's going to be interesting.
}:-)4
Administrators never spot people who are biased against children based on race, or class. People homeschool in order to protect their children from those who are blind to the potential of their children.
BTW, since the article didn't mention it--this is in suburban Columbia, South Carolina. Cayce is a small city just across the river from downtown Columbia, mixed in with the city of West Columbia. Until recently I think the only semi-fame it had was that the city and the school system (this same district, I think) was set to accept a huge influx of African Bantu refugees and local pressure caused them to back out. Lexington Two is not a rich district, and they would've probably had to raise property taxes to provide the Bantu with the assistance they needed.
}:-)4
What I have noted with children of color is that AT HOME the emphasis is NOT on academics. Asians aren't born "brighter". Learning is a cultural norm that is to be excelled at. This is what I typically don't see in black homes and often NOT in WHITE HOMES.
What I have noted with children of color is that AT HOME the emphasis is NOT on academics. Asians aren't born "brighter". Learning is a cultural norm that is to be excelled at. This is what I typically don't see in black homes and often NOT in WHITE HOMES.
BTW, I'm referring to public schooled kids. Step into a private school and you'll see color melts away. PARENTS are INVOLVED and push learning.
If you learn how to read you have the enormous advantage of being able to use the internet.
Unless, of course, you get sidetracked and spend the rest of your life idling away on FreeRepublic like some parties I could name.
He might be a redneck if . . . he thinks Tupac Shakur is a Jewish holiday.
This McCuen guy's comments on slavery, as presented in the article, are dumb. He posits America's choice during slavery times as between having slaves and having free Africans as countrymen. McCuen ignores the option of never bringing slaves to America to begin with.
That said, the article also discredits McCuen for observing that blacks don't do as well on standardized intelligence tests as whites. This is a consistently-observed phenomenon with widespread social implications. Right now in California we have a judge throwing out the state high school exit-exam requirement because fewer blacks passed the test. Previously the University of California lessened its reliance on SAT scores solely because blacks post lower SAT scores.
The left opposes all testing because the left wants a society devoted to group entitlements rather than individual accomplishment. The left claims that all tests are racist. We shouldn't let them get away with eliminating testing and the concept of objective merit.
I strongly believe that lack of achievment by many blacks in the academic area has to do with the fact that many of them are told that there is no way they can make it in "a white mans world".
Over the years I have had the pleasure of working with several very talented black engineers. Since they are rare in the profession I have always wanted to know what they thought made them achieve so much.
Every single one of them told me that their parents had never told them they couldn't do something because they were black. In addition, their parents were involved in seeing that homework was done, and expectations met.
I for one do not believe that blacks are intellectully inferior. Nor do I believe that Asians are superior.
That having been said, there is a black culture in this country that seems to have lost hope, and the belief that they CAN achieve.
It is a cultural problem, not a racial problem.
And it is a tragedy.
That said, there is considerable overlap in scores and no INDIVIDUAL should be judged as intelligent or unintelligent simply because of race. Everyone deserves an equal chance. We just can't expect equal outcomes.
This is the reason the guy got fired?
I don't think so. Some of this story is missing.
The big question is that if McCuen got fired for his out of the classroom, politically incorrect views and posting comments on controversial websites, then those of us on FR need to be concerned about our jobs.