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And that was before assimilation took on its current negotive connotation. Now, students are taught to be proud of their heritage (nothing wrong with that), and part of being proud means not assimilating (that's a problem if you want to get ahead in America).
It's difficult for me, as a white male English and Social Studies teacher, to teach a student from a different race/culture and not sound like I'm saying different versions of "act more like me". If, for example, I'm teaching grammar to someone who speaks Spanish as their first language, and I tell them that in English, the adjectives come before the nouns, they may take offense to that, since it's the opposite in Spanish. Like I'm saying the English way isn't just different, but better than the Spanish way.
Chi Matt --
.I thought that is exactly what Thom said. We are just like the Taliban, and we cannot look down our noses at them. Of course, the we in this case is Clive, Columbus and the others. Also, it was probably just a few bad apples in the Taliban that destroyed the statues.
chuckle8 ~ I'm sorry!! I thought I said that, "breathing" should be the ultimate admission requirement!!
Aliceinwonderland ~ Yes, it was. That is the problem. We are paying for "disadvantaged students." Don't you realize there are far more advantaged students; who, together with the disadveantaged ones eaqually deserved free education? "For All!!" The only real disadvantaged students are the ones with out every advantage. EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE THAT ADVANTAGE!!!
That is whereThe Front should be fought!!
Chi Matt -- The billionaires agree with you. ALEC almost exclusively goes after state governments.
Do you know about Charter mongering? Do you know John D. Rockefeller started it. Our federal govertment tried the Articles of Confederation for 10 years prior to the constitution. They concluded it would not work. Now, you are pushing to go back to it.
Chi Matt -- I wonder what those test are like. Both you and DAM seem to think those test scores are the ultimate admission requirement.
Chi Matt --
I wonder if any notice was made of how many generations of affluency those students had. Thom has noted it took about 3 generations for Italians and Irish to meld into acceptance and they did not even have skin pigmentation to deal with. One of the factors that contribute is amount of cortisol in the womb.
This isn't related to education, but would still be considered Affirmative Action:
The city of Chicago was sued for not admitting enough black firefighter applicants into the academy, even though the city just took the top 1800 applicants for the open positions. Those 1800 applicants happened to be mostly white.
A "passing" score on the test was 64, but because they had so many applicants, they were able to raise the standards to people who scored 89 or better. By raising the standards to the best candidates for the available positions, only 11 percent of the accepted applicants were black, even though many more blacks had "passing" scores. Some black applicants sued and won, and the city was forced to hire 111 of them and give them back pay, even though they scored lower on the test than the white applicants who actually got accepted the first time.
You can read the whole story here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/13/chicago-firefighters-city_n_861...
Is that unique to Europeans though? Doesn't every culture that defeats another claim cultural superiority? Japan's treatment their conquered territories in WWII, for example. Didn't they massacre/rape/enslave Chinese by the thousands, all in the name of "we won, so your culture must be inferior".
I know European arrogance is an easy target, since they conquered so many cultures, including the ones whose land most of us occupy at this very moment. But to imply that it is something inherent to Europeans, and not every single conquering culture, is disingenuous.
Marc, I always thought Affirmative Action had to do with bending admissions requirements for disadvantaged students, to give them access to higher education opportunities they would not otherwise have had. I agree with you that education should be free in this country for everyone. But admissions requirements are another matter.
How is Affirmative Action to blame for this trillion-dollar student debt problem? I don't get it.
By the way, you mentioned feeling violated..... by what? The context of that statement eludes me. - AIW
I'm going to try and talk about something that I learned in grad school while getting my teaching degree, but I probably won't do it justice. But bear with me:
Perhaps one of the reasons minorities - Blacks in particular - lag so far behind their European and Asian peers in education isn't just economic. Even in affluent suburbs, the minorities, who have parents at equal income levels, tend to lag when it comes to standardized testing. If poorer areas, where everyone is poor, the minorities lag behind their equally-poor European and Asian counterparts.
Maybe we should start looking at learning styles instead. The current American education system is based on a European model - students are grouped based on age, not learning ability. They are put in groups of 20-40 in most schools, and taught by a single adult. That adult typically has no relationship with the student or the parents. Subjects are compartmentalized - English lesson now, Math lesson later, etc....
Maybe this system doesn't work for everyone for cultural reasons. Perhaps minorities who struggle in this system are better off in a different one - where students are grouped based on ability, not age. Where students are taught by multiple adults or even older students, and where there isn't such a clear dividing line between this subject and that subject. Perhaps they would do better with more apprenticeships and practical, hands-on learning styles.
We all know that, until recently, the curriculum for most schools was Euro-centric. Now perhaps it is time to look at the entire layout of the school system.
I advocate a smaller corporate presence. Over the past few decades, corporations have gotten too big for their britches. I do not want the affairs of my state managed by private parties I didn't vote for, who are not answerable to me or my fellow citizens. - AIW
Reality: Not everyone can work, due to health or circumstances, and there aren't jobs for all who need one. The US shipped out a huge number of working class jobs since the 1980s, and ended welfare aid (General Assistance and AFDC) in the 1990s. The longer the US ignores poverty, the deeper and wider it grows. It's wrong. No Ameruican should have to suffer because of circumstances beyond his/her control.
I didn't realize until I started paying back my student loans that they front-load the interest. I suppose that's my fault for not reading the fine print. I've been paying for about 10 years now, and have practically the same principal as when I started. They are getting their interest first.
I make sure I tell my students about how that works when we talk about economics. Hopefully they will remember by the time they need to think about college.
I'm only slightly peeved because it is entirely concievable that I will be able to pay off all of my student loans early, once some personal things happen in my life. But by then, they will have all of their interest anyway, so I won't be saving anything.
...I also remember reading, speaking of American Taliban, how the US utterly destroyed museums in Iraq containing artifacts from ancient Sumar... sad day. It wouldn't surprise me, given the cozy relationship betwixt the CIA and the Taliban (paying them off to leave US troops/supplies alone), that the Taliban wasn't given the munitions for blowing up ancient statues of Budha..(Thom covered this on Big Pic tonight...)
TY Alice! Feast or famine as they say...busy lately!!
Cliven Bundy and the idiots he has attracted will soon be arrested for obstruction of justice and probably several weapons charges. I hope that the arrests go peacefully, no one should be harmed in the arrests. Let Bundy and his friends have their day in Court to prove their case. I expect all who are arrested will be sent to prison for obstruction of justice and other violations. I imagine these idiots are being closely monitored every time they use their cell phones or other electronic devices. I expect that long range lens are identifying them breaking the laws. They will be arrested and given a fair trial. If they decide to shoot it out with the federal and local agents that would be a huge tragic mistake. I believe that you cannot protect people from stupid actions. . . I hope that good sense prevails in this case.
The FBI needs to get their act together, round up all these knuckle dragging pissants, and expel them from our great nation. If they resist, KILL them on sight!!!!
I don't know about you guys, but I feel violated!
By the way. That $1Trillion dollar debt. That with super interest and debt insurance--they cannot claim bankruptcy.Surely We as a People could have educated those kids for free a whole lot cheaper than that? Also, surely as a society we would have taken a far greater interest in their career choices if WE were paying for it?
chuckle8 and Aliceinwonderland ~ I have no problem with the educational intent of affirmative action That is where I believe the entire focus of this intent should be!! My problem is with the economic action. As far as educational assistance is concerned I want that for everyone else as well. There is no reason anyone who wants to learn in this country can't for free. It's just not moral. It's also not logical to provide anything less. However, if we made cradle to grave education 100% free for everyone why would we need affirmative action for anyone? Why would we have to force employers to choose anything other than the best candidate for the position? Affirmative action was nothing more than a ploy by the elite to offer a peanut in exchange for all the real reforms that they are responsible to provide to ALL "WE THE PEOPLE" Sure the ploy helped raise up a few isolated people. It also conveniently let the elite get away with the real reform that needs to be done--without really doing anything!!
As a result we now have a $1Trillion + student loan debt in this country. You now see the real cost of the nonsense of "Affirmative Action?"
It is not just "whites" all we have to do is look at Nigeria and those poor school girls to see there is evil in all colors.
You are correct. I should be more specific. A smaller federal government presence would be better.
I did, in an earlier message.
Glad we found something we can sort of agree on. There is hope!
How very sad that to protest against what some feel is government overeach, as humans, we still cannot respect the the rights and cultures of those who appreciated our Lands far more and far earlier than our arrivals. I'm appalled at this lack of sensitivity, and I believe that more of us should be, as well.