‘Fairness’ in Education (At a Berkeley high school, “equality” means fewer science teachers)

National Review ^ | 02/11/2010 | Thomas Sowell

[BenKenobi]

I’m sure Barry O will be willing to fund it out of his stash.

[Myrddin]

I think the kid learned to spew that epithet to cover his lack of ability. The test contents were simply questions that could be answered based on reading assignments and material presented in class. It was objective and easy. No surprises. You certainly can cook up a test that could be labeled "racist" if the questions consisted of jargon known generally within a racial group, but not part of society as a whole. Would you perform well if the question was posed in street gang ebonics with pictures of gang signs and answers required in street ebonics? A kid in a street gang would probably do OK on such a test. The rest of society would fail miserably. That example is a red herring when applied to the junior high science test. The material was presented to all the students attending the class. All were given an equally quiet room, comfortable desk and writing instruments to complete the test. A totally level playing field. Once again, equality of opportunity is no guarantee of equality of outcome.

[Myrddin]

At least the parents of that black kid put him in summer school to try and help him. He just didn’t want the help.

The parents may have had the right intent, but perhaps the kid really needed an intense tutorial environment to teach basic reading/writing/mathematical skills before entering a science class. It was targeted at 9th grade. Presumably, you can read, write and perform basic algebraic equations at that point in life.

I recall Nathaniel Borenstein (inventor of MIME) relating his experience in the university in Tel Aviv. He took all the Hebrew classes growing up as a kid and figured he was ready to dive into college with that level of skill. It was a real struggle for him. He's a very bright guy, but put himself into a situation that was extremely challenging compared to his current ability.

[Myrddin]

There weren't IAs when I attended school. A normal classroom had about 35 students. The teachers didn't whine. They just delivered a decent education. By the time my kids attended elementary school, there were IAs. I saw the corrections on papers my sons submitted. OMG! The "teacher" was incompetent as hell. I went back over the paper and corrected it and explained what was wrong and how it should be corrected. Of course, it was necessary to slather my sons in "black history month" each year. It was a big deal for the teacher (who was black). I was able to compensate for crappy teachers. Not every parent has that capacity. We all pay a premium in taxes to fund these crappy schools.

[RC2]

That’s a perfect example of one of the problems with our schools today. They push kids through even though they aren’t qualified.

[Myrddin]

They called it "social promotion" when I was in school. The kids were moved forward to keep them with their age peers. It only takes a couple promotions like that to ensure a failure. You need a "pee" test to discern whether the glazed expression is drugs or being totally lost today. Put another leftist DVD on to keep the kids entertained. It's easier than teaching and grading papers.

[rdb3]

Genetic?

[Soothesayer]

I was substituting for an IA a few weeks ago. They were doing a science lesson and I had to explain to the classroom teacher how a gas becomes a liquid.

[Myrddin]

Race differences in average IQ are largely genetic

Read the article. That's why I said you can cherry pick good performers because there is a range of intelligence in all groups. The bright kids need to be pushed harder to achieve their full potential. Push them to the limits of their capability, but not beyond. Otherwise, you have dispirited students who won't participate in an environment where they have no hope of success.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

I still think a two track system would solve the problem. One track devoted to ethnic studies, one track devoted to college prep.