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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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Posted on 10/03/2003 1:16:19 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
I'm sorry to see that the debate over education has become mired in race again. When Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor and key African-American legislators opposed Gov. Sonny Perdue's suggestion that Georgia consider linking HOPE scholarships to SAT scores, they claimed to be out to protect black students. I agree with their assessment that, on average, African-American students often underperform white students on standardized tests such as the SAT, but I think that a long-term solution to this problem is a lot more complex.
The fact is that African-American children like mine who are from stable family backgrounds and attend competitive schools are doing well. Any legislative attempt to address the problem of offering African-American students more opportunity must also take into account equipping them to take advantage of those opportunities. We need to move past the political rhetoric and address the real needs of these students.
I am tired of the liberal assumption that the only way to help African-American students is to lower the bar. I am equally weary of my black colleagues who cry "racism" every time the bar is not lowered for them. Ultimately, with our state placing 50th in SAT scores for the nation, we need better SAT preparation for all college-bound students. This doesn't mean only special test-taking courses, but rigorous programs that will teach the vocabulary and math skills that the SAT assesses. Instead of just taking away the challenge, why not prepare students to meet it effectively?
The fact that 70 percent of HOPE students lose the scholarship by the end of their first semester lets us know that our schools are not doing their jobs. The traditional Democratic opposition to options such as school choice make the party ill-equipped to offer radical new solutions.
We have to be honest and recognize that there are people with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. Throwing money at failing schools is often like putting a new coat of paint on a condemned building. Studies have shown that offering school choice often gives public schools the incentive they need to implement reforms in discipline and curriculum.
After slavery, African-Americans turned their literacy rate from 10 percent to more than 80 percent in one generation without federal money. The 2000 census revealed that stable African-American families have an earning power nearer to whites than ever before. Children who come home to an empty house with only a television to baby-sit them are at a huge disadvantage to those who come home to a parent to help with homework. Here in Georgia, we must recognize that stable marriages and families are the ultimate key to producing educated and responsible children. Programs that promote, not endanger, healthy marriages must be taken seriously as long-term solutions.
Lowering the bar for achievement is an easy short-term way to appear sympathetic to minorities while providing no real benefit to them. Long-term solutions will always take greater thought, investment and follow-through. Without better SAT preparations, systemic school reform and programs that address the needs of families, lower standards are just a Band-Aid for a gaping wound.
Garland R. Hunt, an Alpharetta attorney, is chairman of the African-American Task Force for the Georgia Republican Party.
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FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
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It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
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Two things every high school parent should ask of the colleges being considered for their child: (1) What percentage of your incoming freshmen get a undergraduate degree?, and (2) What percentage of students who transferred in from 2-year colleges get an undergraduate degree? Parents need to ask this question themselves, because public high school counselors are loathe to give out such information.
He's toast.
He's in good - and ever growing - company.
He's toast.
He's in good - and ever growing - company.
Among those who came from good high schools, the students who thought their academic abilities were better turned out to do better in college than those who thought their abilities were lacking. Likewise for those who came from poor schools.
Among the student body as a whole, however, there was a very strong inverse correlation between students' perceived and actual abilities. Students who came from bad schools generally thought themselves better than those who came from good schools, even though the reverse was actually the case.
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