Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
...the biggest factor on how a kid will grow up, what they value as important, and what their moral compass will become is based on what the parents teach them. And the parents own actions that kids see and mimic as "normal". A few can escape bad parents but most will be stuck on the treadmill and will become a carbon copy of their parents more or less.
And this has absolutely nothing to do with racial/ethnic background, despite the protests of the race baiters on this thread. There are plenty of crap parents across all demographics.
I like how these threads always end up obsessing about black people even though by the framing of the discussion the most low performing, high crime, federally subsidized under-educated group by the numbers would in fact be Native Americans.
Yeah, I think I mentioned that pretty early on in the thread.
Now if the OP means "black"...well then that tends to be a deeper issue than what many choose to believe here.
To basically oversimplify an issue that most people will just shrug off and choose not to actually study at great length:
There's a reason nothing has changed. If we all have the same opportunities, then we would all be the same. If you are a hard working middle class American and you understand the tax system, then you will agree that the rich get richer and the laws actually work in their favor. Any good student will agree: It's not all the same.
The reason most of us work hard and care about our children's education is because that's what we saw and that's what we were taught.
In the eyes of a kid from the inner city, selling drugs brings money, school is stupid, white people don't care, and kids only slow you down or bring you money for food. If this is all you know, then honestly are you thinking about going to Harvard to study Law?
America is selfish and callous. I bet if our forefathers would have considered the future a bit more, we wouldn't be in this situation. In the same manner, consider how little your "tax dollars" do. Try to actually get out and be an agent for good.
That is, if you really care...
A magnet school where kids have to apply to get in, essentially a private school run by the city school system. The Philadelphia school system is such a mess the state of PA is running it. I wouldn't go using that place as an example much.
Last edited by toobusytoday; 12-03-2014 at 05:25 PM..
Reason: removed previously deleted post that was quoted and mod action comment
A magnet school where kids have to apply to get in, essentially a private school run by the city school system.
Yep. Schools that can opt to accept or not accept applicants don't really give the most balanced picture of a given situation. Being able to hand-pick your students obviously produces different results.
Last edited by toobusytoday; 12-03-2014 at 05:26 PM..
Reason: removed orphaned comments
So the majority opinion favors nurture over nature, eh?
One might think that such an opinion, if true, offers more hope for the future, but alas, environmental factors can create dysfunctions that are as intractable as natural or genetic ones.
For example, if a child is deprived of human speech during the critical speech-readiness window, that child will be never speak with the fluency of one who was exposed to language normally. Perhaps mal-nutrition or exposure to drugs, if even briefly in the first trimester, have a subtle, but negative and enduring effect on intellectual performance. And who knows how many fatherless children mate unknowingly with a half-sibling?
Why are inner city schools worse than schools in the suburbs? As expressed upthread it's due to socioeconomics. Of course there are going to be those who want to insert a specific race into it, namely Black. Let's get this straight, though, it's not only poor Blacks but also poor Hispanics. Generational Poverty culture, which doesn't have a color, is brutal. It churns out all of the societal problems that are being mentioned here. And there's a difference between situational poverty and generational poverty, where you have several generations of people on welfare and where the culture is dominated by reliance on government crutches and lack of aim. While my experience is anecdotal, it does give merit to my assertion that it's clearly about socioeconomics. My elementary and middle schools were probably 60% minority, however both schools ranked pretty highly. The gifted class was probably half black. The student body came from largely working, middle classed backgrounds where active parental involvement was the norm. My mother was at every PTO meeting and attended all of my special events. Flash forward to my high school in Hells Kitchen. The student body was largely comprised of lower income students who hailed from the city's projects. With the exception of my college prep program, the school boasted a 49% graduation rate, was plagued by gang violence, teen pregnancy, and just about every thing else you could think of. When I had to attend classes with the "general population" I was subjected to ridicule and harassment by fellow students who didn't give a damn about education. Two of the people from the Class of 93 are serving life sentences, one for murder. Teachers gave out passing grades just to get the kids moving up and out. My mother and two others were the only parents who showed up at PTO meetings.
It's not a race thing. It's not a X race's parents need to step up and do better thing. It's Generational Poverty Culture 101, a repetitive cycle that keeps on turning regardless of how many social programs, educational dollars spent, etc. Quite frankly, dollars are well spent on such intervention programs like mentoring/corporate partnerships, big brother & big sister, and any other program that pairs an at risk kid with a responsible adult. Time has proven that in the absence of parents, even older children can make a difference. The problem is, a lot of the time, we (those who are not of the underclass) don't really "contribute" to our own communities. I admit that I am guilty of that myself. Don't have the time to mentor. I'm not good at teaching anybody anything. Etc. Etc. I'm seriously thinking about signing up and reading to at risk kindergarteners. Hey, it all starts somewhere.
I have mentored, worked as an at-risk youth outreach worker, ran a grassroots inner city tutoring and mentoring program, am on the board of a youth-led drop-in center that serves an alternative high school in my community, etc.
While mentoring is both gratifying and very important, even in the case of children living in poverty who have been lucky enough to come into contact with solid mentoring programs, it's not a cureall. You still will have your success stories, and your stories where even doing the best that you could do, it ends up a matter of too little, too late. It can be very, very difficult for even the most dedicated mentor, Big Brother, Big Sister, or role model to undo or soften the damage that's already done after a certain point. Having some success stories is better than not even trying, and having none, though.
This thread will remain closed as it seems there are just too darn many posts that are off topic and then follow up posts responding to them. If I got rid of all the posts that are off topic and the following ones that would be orphaned, several pages would be removed. I'm choosing instead to keep it closed and ask posters to be more respectful on other threads regarding people from neighborhoods different than your own.
Moderator - Lehigh Valley, NEPA, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Education and Colleges and Universities.
When I post in bold red, that is Moderator action and per the TOS can be discussed only via Direct Message.
Last edited by toobusytoday; 12-03-2014 at 05:20 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
