I think somehow, there are those in the minority community that feel they should not have to work to achieve, that accolades should be given just for showing up. Not all kids are like this, but too many do reflect this view. I have talked to friends who teach in primarily minority schools and the attitude of parents is too often "you don't have to listen to that white lady teacher." When you have people saying things like that-and it has been said to the face of some friends who teach in rural areas-how can a mere teacher overcome what the parents have instilled?
As far back as the late 80s, the black and Hispanic kids at my kids' excellent suburban HS openly admitted that they did not need to take the same honors/AP courseload or get the same grades/SATs as the white or (especially) Asian kids; they'd get into colleges with MUCH weaker records. These kids were in no way disadvantaged; their parents were highly educated professionals who could afford to live in areas with the "best" schools. They were, in fact, just the kids the elite colleges wanted; able to do real college level work while adding "diversity" (which was no more than skin deep because they had the same background and extracurricular/social options as their white and Asian neighbors). AA removes the motivation to excel from lots of its beneficiaries. Of course, it also makes campus life difficult for those URMs whose records match the top white and Asian kids - at least until their peers get to know them.
I think somehow, there are those in the minority community that feel they should not have to work to achieve, that accolades should be given just for showing up. Not all kids are like this, but too many do reflect this view. I have talked to friends who teach in primarily minority schools and the attitude of parents is too often "you don't have to listen to that white lady teacher." When you have people saying things like that-and it has been said to the face of some friends who teach in rural areas-how can a mere teacher overcome what the parents have instilled?
ReplyDeleteAs far back as the late 80s, the black and Hispanic kids at my kids' excellent suburban HS openly admitted that they did not need to take the same honors/AP courseload or get the same grades/SATs as the white or (especially) Asian kids; they'd get into colleges with MUCH weaker records. These kids were in no way disadvantaged; their parents were highly educated professionals who could afford to live in areas with the "best" schools. They were, in fact, just the kids the elite colleges wanted; able to do real college level work while adding "diversity" (which was no more than skin deep because they had the same background and extracurricular/social options as their white and Asian neighbors). AA removes the motivation to excel from lots of its beneficiaries. Of course, it also makes campus life difficult for those URMs whose records match the top white and Asian kids - at least until their peers get to know them.
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