Posted on 05/04/2010 6:24:57 AM PDT by Darren McCarty
An Ann Arbor elementary school principal used a letter home to parents tonight to defend a field trip for black students as part of his school’s efforts to close the achievement gap between white and black students.
Dicken Elementary School Principal Mike Madison wrote the letter to parents following several days of controversy at the school after a field trip last week in which black students got to hear a rocket scientist.
“In hindsight, this field trip could have been approached and arranged in a better way," Madison wrote. "But as I reflect upon the look of excitement, enthusiasm and energy that I saw in these children’s eyes as they stood in the presence of a renowned African American rocket scientist in a very successful position, it gave the kids an opportunity to see this type of achievement is possible for even them.
“It was not a wasted venture for I know one day they might want to aspire to be the first astronaut or scientist standing on the Planet Mars.
“I also think it’s important that you know that I have talked to the children who did not go on the field trip, and I think they have a better understanding of the purpose of the AA Lunch Bunch now, as I hope you do. I’m sorry if any kids were upset by the field trip or my discussion afterwards with them, and I have let them know that.
“The intent of our field trip was not to segregate or exclude students as has been reported, but rather to address the societal issues, roadblocks and challenges that our African American children will face as they pursue a successful academic education here in our community.”
(Excerpt) Read more at annarbor.com ...
But, but you hard hearted people ... what about the look on the childrens’ faces?
Have you no heart strings to be tugged?
Too stupid to think that white children would have benefited from hearing a black scientist speak?*ding* *ding* *ding* (We have a winner!)
LOL
It’s not an “achievement gap” it’s an “ambition gap.”
Black culture denigrates studying as not “keepin’ it real.” Frankly if doing this helps to rid this from black culture, than maybe it isn’t such a bad thing to do after all. While I don’t necessarily agree with segregating the students, something does need to be done about trying address this attitude problem amongst many of the black population.
Whoever pulled this stunt must have slept through Martin Luther King’s “I have dream” speech.
100% RACISM
“But as I reflect upon the look of excitement, enthusiasm and energy that I saw in these children’s eyes....”
Too bad he didn’t want to see that in ALL of the students eyes.
RACIST!!
I think Neil deGrasse Tyson would call himself an astronomer rather than a rocket scientist, but he's great--very knowledgeable and very enthusiastic about astronomy. I've seen him on TV and think it would be a great experience to hear him in person. I hope that when he visits elementary schools the white kids are not excluded because of their race.
From the article:
“I think the African-American Lunch Bunch is totally in line with the district’s equity work,” she said...
Anyone who has attended or had children atttend AAPS knows the system. As very sentient beings, none of the daily expressions of faculty racism is lost.
So AAPS keeps churning out students that have learned to deal with (or struggle with) the absolutely overt racism and favoratism that has been part of the culture for decades.
If this were to have been a case of an educator pronouncing a balck student’s ethnic name wrong accidentally, the dung would have been accelerated by the fan!
Huh? The white kids will suck away all the attention and intelligence of the black kids?
That “race” doesn’t have a problem because of their achievement valuing culture.
We heard all over the place how “minorities” (ie, blacks & hispanics) were being denied mortgages at higher rates than whites.
But did you know? Whites were denied mortgages at higher rates than Asians, a distinct “minority” in our society. Why no outrage, or even MENTION? Because it doesn’t fit the template.
“If white kids had gone on the trip as well, the effect of targetting (failing/below average?) black kids would have been lost ... at the least, diluted.”
How does being in a mixed classroom group of white latino and black kids “dilute” the thrill of meeting a black rocket scientist? Was he speaking to them in ebonics?
Now we await the school’s makeup field trip for white kids only... a thrill not to be “diluted’ by including black kids
sarc
My daughter was lucky enough to be selected to a summer physics seminar in Los Alamos.
One of the highlights was a chance to hear a Nobel Prize winner in Physics give a talk on his field.
She was so inspired and talked about hearing that scientist for the longest time afterward.
Her high school advisor asked her why she would want to spend a Saturday going to hear that scientist.
Why wouldn't they have had to same reaction if white kids had also been allowed to go?
That sounds like me after seeing Thomas Sowell!
It’s an effort gap.
It’s a peer pressure gap.
Any black student working hard is ridiculed as trying to be white.
Holy Crap
I stand corrected. That is stunning.
You are right. White parents need to demand their own Lunch Bunch
can you imagine how stupid the black kids feel?
Did Chinese immigrants wait for an example of a highly successful Chinese immigrant before ‘buying in’ to the notion that they too could be successful?
It seems to me that they were to busy going and BEING successful to wait for a speech by some Chinese success story to inspire them.
It’s a refusal to adopt the culture of the greater successful society (assimilate).
This assimilation would have happened long before now, and we only peripherally notice that one person is darker than another.
But, the left has their power at stake, and must keep the “grievances of the negro” (to quote BT Washington) in front of society to maintain their power base.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.