Magical Education and the Slide into Third-Worldism

The American Thinker ^ | July 11, 2010 | Robert Weissberg

[Scanian]

Though the U.S. is indisputably a first-world nation, this is not the typical human condition. Far more commonplace are the billions of people who, in the words of political philosopher Thomas Hobbes, live lives that are nasty, brutish, and short -- the third world. Here things work sporadically, if at all. Third-worldism might be viewed as a communicable illness, a situation often witnessed when nice neighborhoods almost overnight slide into crime-infested, trash-filled slums. So how can we spot the early warning signs of creeping third-worldism?

Diligence is required, and while some outcroppings are clear -- e.g., crushing government debt to fund make-work public jobs -- other early manifestations are less visible. Let me therefore play public health official and highlight a situation in Detroit that has all the earmarks of an "outbreak" of plague-like third-worldism. And rest assured: If this calamity-in-the-making thrives in Detroit, it will spread, if it has not done so already.

[nathanbedford]

Has political correctness put us in a box in which we cannot conceive of out-of-the-box solutions?

In other words, the unspoken reality of the disintegration of Detroit is its racial makeup. But no author can blame the bankruptcy of Detroit on its African-American community and expect to emerge from the politically correct firestorm to follow with his reputation or his career intact. But is it wrong to ask the question: has Socialism failed the African-American population (I refuse to use the euphemism "community" for the horror which is the city of Detroit) or has the liabilities inherent in the average American society generated Socialism? Is crime in Detroit created by poverty or is poverty in Detroit the product of a dysfunctional African-American population? Is the utter breakdown of the education establishment in Detroit caused by problems inherent in the racial background of its students or is there something unique in education as it is conducted in Detroit which produces such dreadful results?

Is it racist to ask what the condition of Detroit would be today if its demographics were somehow different? Suppose instead of being populated by African-Americans, Detroit were the enclave of Japanese-Americans? What would you expect the reading level of the students to be? What would you predict about crime on the streets? Housing?

What questions would you then be asking?

Is it racist to ask how African-American enclaves in other cities are doing? What is the reading level in Newark New Jersey, for example, as compared to the reading level in Detroit? Is it closer to the reading level in Detroit or among the Vietnamese students in California?

Is it racist to ask, are we asking the right questions? If the problem is race and not left wing governance because left-wing governance is not the cause of problems endemic in a particular race, rather left-wing governance is the product of problems associated with a particular race.

If we are in fact asking the wrong questions because we are in a politically correct box from which we cannot break out, will we ever get the right answers?

[GnuHere]

Gosh, enrolling blacks in AP courses and colleges for which they don’t qualify?
What does this remind me of (aside from the gold-plated Ivy educations of our POTUS and FLOTUS), let me rack my brain...oh, I dunno, the mortgage crisis precipitated by forced affirmative action lending? Oh, I’m sure that’s just a coincidence...

The author of the article seems to believe that most people would like the U.S. to remain a “first-world nation”, however that does not seem to be the goal of King Bambi.

[OldArmy52]

Well, now the amazing and bizarre incompetence of the Obama Admin is explained. Steadfast staffing with graduates of Detriot style, 3rd world-like Universities.

No wonder Detriot and Wash DC are such basket cases.

[flaglady47]

“If we are in fact asking the wrong questions because we are in a politically correct box from which we cannot break out, will we ever get the right answers?”

Unfortunately for society, at this point in time in history, the answer is no.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

So how can we spot the early warning signs of advanced creeping galloping third-worldism?

[ALPAPilot]

Is it racist to ask what the condition of Detroit would be today if its demographics were somehow different? Suppose instead of being populated by African-Americans, Detroit were the enclave of Japanese-Americans? What would you expect the reading level of the students to be? What would you predict about crime on the streets? Housing?

It's the family. How many Japanese-Americans children are fatherless? Political correctness is the democrats way of preventing the effects of their miserable policies from coming to light. From slavery, to great society welfare, to gay marriage, the democrats have destroyed the black family. The result is Detroit.

Education reform in America requires two things:

1. Fathers must raise their children

2. Parents must pay directly for education.

[central_va]

It’s racist to be a racist, in a racial sense. All politics is about skin tone now. We are in full NeoTribalism™ mode now.

[central_va]

Vs.

Vs.

May the best Tribe win...

[SoftballMominVA]

The NAACP, for example, has successfully pressured schools to up black enrollment in AP classes apart from any demonstrated increase in academic excellence.

Just one comment about AP classes.

It's not really a bad thing for anyone to take an AP course. First of all, the teacher and the curriculum must be submitted to the officials at the College Board - a non-profit agency and independent of the school system. Secondly, the pace of the curriculum is standardized by the College Board so that ideally, every student studying say European History are discussing Napoleon on the same day. Lastly, the test is written and scored by the College Board, not the school system, where all students take the same test on the same day world wide.

All this being said....If you think you got the chops, take AP's out the wazoo. The proof will be in the score, not in a meaningless piece of paper handed out by a local school board with varying standards from community to community.

[RFEngineer]

“All politics is about skin tone now. We are in full NeoTribalism™ mode now.”

This is true, and has been true since folks have been allowed to vote - for liberals, that is.

When all you have is perceived “unfairness” rather than the pursuit of happiness, there can be no other way but tribalism.

When your goal is to take what others have earned, race, poverty , or geography trump freedom.

Obama found out that he couldn’t even pretend to be anything but the race hustler he is for very long.

However, unfortunately for the same liberals, their racist rule will accomplish only one thing: Allowing whites to think like they do - along racial lines. Things like his New Black Panther ruling will chase whites from the democrat party and will align our politics primarily along racial lines.

That’s not good, but it sure is better than getting unqualified minorities elected to high office simply for being minorities.

There are no more lofty goals in politics - only spoils for your tribe to enjoy.

[Grumplestiltskin]

“In other words, the unspoken reality of the disintegration of Detroit is its racial makeup”

It makes no difference how much you spend on the sawmill — you can’t mill good lumber from bad timber....

[Dianna]

All this being said....If you think you got the chops, take AP's out the wazoo. The proof will be in the score, not in a meaningless piece of paper handed out by a local school board with varying standards from community to community.

I think there may be a kid or two out of a group of 100 that may surprise everyone by rising to the challenge of an AP course. The rest will just be frustrated, and fall further behind. Every moment they spend not learning in an AP class, they aren't learning in a regular class either.

It's cruel.

[jnsun]

We are in full NeoTribalism™ mode now.

Good way of putting it. As many have said here Barack Obama is actually the worse thing that could happen to the Black segment in America. It's almost like it was planned to be the tragedy that it is.

There were many other alternatives that presented positive examples of integrity, but it was like maliciously contrived, right down to John McCain being the selected setup.

Is Harvard just a cesspool of stupidity, or a sinister pit of well-planned destruction?

[reformedliberal]

Is Harvard just a cesspool of stupidity, or a sinister pit of well-planned destruction?

---

Perhaps it doesn’t matter. After enough time as the second, the first is inevitable. They’ve had over 40 years.

[Niuhuru]

“Is Harvard just a cesspool of stupidity, or a sinister pit of well-planned destruction? “

Harvard used to be THE place to go to get a real, solid, and prestigious education. Now unfortunately it is coasting on that reputation is somewhere people go to get a degree and for celebrities, to be able to brag about being in an Ivy League school. It’s about a status symbol, not a substantial education. It’s about going and getting a title, not a place to really learn something.

MIT is where real brainiacs go now. Or schools that don’t waste time on Afro-American studies. Harvard is like an old money family that really has nothing but their social cache and not real money in the bank. Harvard only has a reputation to keep them going. At some point, they will likely lose that reputation.