racism

[burbuja0512]

The dean may have been alluding to something else. I'm black and I do notice that due to our culture we tend to be behind others when it comes to educational progress. I woke up to this when I was about 11 because I happened to jump outside of the box and become friends with white kids (best friends). One thing I noticed was that their vocabulary was richer than mine, another thing was that as native speakers they spoke words (for the most part) properly the way they were written.

During my high school years and now, my best friends were white, Asian (Filipino) and black. I've never been a racist person myself, but I'm not a sensationalist either so I will admit that some cultures are setting their people up to fail. It may be due to their economic status or it may simply be due to pride and unwillingness to admit their wrong and change. For the record, it seems to me like its a cultural/social issue not a genetic issue, and IMO if its racist to address the issue the way it is, then we're in a lot of trouble .

@ryoder kindly I agree and disagree with you, life is hard for everyone(at least 90% of the world), but is definitely harder for some more than others. Race does matter although people often pretend that it doesn't. Please don't take that the wrong way, I've read a lot of your posts and admire them, because you are where I want to be in the future, (Computer programming).

:iagree:


My perspective changed on this significantly in high school. My best friend back then was latina and raised by first-generation English speakers. She really did have a tougher go because she wasn't in an environment similar to most of the other kids at the relatively well-off suburban high school we were at. Her parents couldn't help her with homework and her vocabulary wasn't nearly what it could have been if she had been raised under different circumstances. Of course my friend went on to get a college education, go to the Peace Corp for years and is now a high school teacher. She totally overcame the difficulties in her background and never once used those as an excuse for not succeeding, however, it was a lot more difficult for her to do. Not impossible by any means, just a little tougher.

I also see the difference in school district tests scores. I live in an area where the test scores are high, but so is the median income. Kids in my neighborhood grow up with well-educated parents and can use a computer before they know how to walk. In other areas of the city, kids go to school and hear English for the first time (other than Cartoon Network) on their first day of school. They might not have had the benefit of educational toys as toddlers and may have never been to a children's or science museum. Not surprisingly, test scores in those areas are much lower.

I'm not making any sort of social commentary or trying to say what needs to be done about this. I'm just pointing out that there are so many different situations that can make standardized tests more difficult. The playing field isn't level and no, they're never easy for anyone, but they're definitely harder for some.

@Ryoder - Don't take the fact that it's harder for some as a 'blame the white man' sort of thing. I don't think it's that at all, just acknowledging the role that different backgrounds play in testing.