Posted on 12/04/2006 7:11:14 AM PST by freespirited
Commission report finds scant evidence of educational and social benefits of diversity.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Less than one week before the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral argument in two significant cases involving the use of racial benefits to reduce minority isolation in elementary and secondary education, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights today issued an important briefing report on The Benefits of Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Elementary and Secondary Education. The report finds that social science studies provide scant proof of the benefits for racial and ethnic groups attributed to diversity in elementary and secondary education.
Specifically, the Commission finds that “there is little evidence that racial and ethnic diversity in elementary and secondary schools results in significant improvements in academic performance; studies on the effect of school racial composition on academic achievement often suggest modest and inconsistent benefits.” Similarly, the Commission notes that “studies of whether racial and ethnic diversity result in significant social and non-educational benefits report varied results.” Chairman Gerald A. Reynolds commented that “the academic literature really provides little or no support for the view that racial preferences in student assignment serve any compelling interest. In my view, the evidence, suggests that these preferences do not provide significant academic benefits to minority children that would compensate for the moral costs of government’s use of racial classifications.”
The Commission approved the report by a vote of 4 to 2. Chairman Gerald A. Reynolds and Commissioners Jennifer Braceras, Peter Kirsanow, and Ashley Taylor voted in favor. Commissioners Michael Yaki and Arlan Melendez voted against. Vice Chair Abigail Thernstrom did not participate in the vote.
Full report at this link: http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/112806diversity.pdf
Well, I guess the results of 'dumbing down' of the entire population of kids does not fit into their definition for 'effects'.
Racial diversity doesn't have anything to do with 'dumbing down.'
Dumbing down is entirely the fault of the NEA who promoted it and the parents who allowed it.
This happened to be a time when I had something of an attitude problem, and it finally got to be too much. So when she asked if there were any questions, I raised my hand.
I said, quite politely, "We hear so much about the benefits of diversity, but I've never once actually heard anybody explain to me what those are and how they benefit me as an employee.
Could you please explain what those benefits are, and how they stack up against the financial and social cost of our diversity initiatives?"
Talk about an awkward moment. The HR Director didn't know how to begin to answer my question. I just knew I had to have damaged my career. But I'm still here and she's not, so go figure...
This is just the kind of study lefties love, because it proves we don't have ENOUGH DIVERSITY to make things right. Ugh.
In postsecondary education, there has been an enormous amount of dumbing down for the sake of diversity. Affirmative action doesn't end at the admissions office. Once you reduce admissions standards for certain students, you have to reduce classroom standards to keep them in school.
Universities won't admit it, but they have reduced standards for who they hire too--in order to get faculty of the "right" superficial characteristics. Supposedly this is to benefit the students, as if students benefit from less qualified faculty.
What a bitter pill for the Left to swallow.
No doubt they will attack the study by attacking the messengers.
Also, to keep its affirmative action students in school, a university has to lard its curriculum with ethnic studies, womens studies, porn studies, rap studies and a myriad of other meaningless tripe for which passing grades can be dispensed. Of course, these students are fit for nothing when they graduate, but hey, the government has a solution for that, too. Businesses are required to hire affirmative action employees so that there a racial mix of employees. Even if they don't deserve it, they are still on the payroll as racial window-dressing. This country's switch from merit and talent to bean-counting diversity quotas has not been a plus in race relations.
Your right about the college dumbing down.
I'm back in school again, and taking an oceanography class.
The amount of work required is about 1/3 of what was required in the seventies. In addition there are so many extra credit opportunites that my overall average is 107 out of 100. And no lab work, and no required field work.
And we don't have to memorize any scientific names, because you can always look them up on the internet.
Dooh
This is a very important story!
We will never, never, ever have enough diversity to satisfy these idiots.
I suggest they be ignored.
I would have to say there was at the K-12 level. The concept was that underperforming minority children would do better if they were mixed in with middle class white kids, the idea being that the latter would serve as peer role models of sorts.
AFAIK there was no empirical evidence at the time to support the concept. Moreover, at the higher levels of K-12, the kids are often segregated by ability, so they end up within the same building but in separate classes, defeating the purpose.
At the college level, the whole concept is ludicrous from an academic standpoint, so the argument is that diversity is necessary so that people can learn about the ideas, attitudes, experiences of those who are different from them. As if you can't do that by picking up the newspaper and turning on the television--you need some lefty university professor to facilitate some est-like learning experience for you so you can understand persons "not like you." It couldn't be more absurd, because frankly, pretty much everyone in my family is "not like me" in multiple ways. But we don't need any busybodies to intervene in our lives.
Did you mean USCCR, or USSR? (Or is there a difference?)
That was a ballsy question to ask: You essentially rained on a parade of mindless vanity and good feelings by exposing a fine example of crass political correctness for the empty slogan it is. NOBODY is supposed to question the phrase, "Diversity is our strength"; you are simply supposed to feel that it must be true.
How would you do that? By strolling into the Black Student Union and sitting down for some friendly chit chat? I suppose it might be easier to look for the "black table" in the dining hall and bring a chair over, but that would likely get some puzzled looks, too.
The point is that people deliberately segeregate themselves, especially at college (at least from what I saw) and all the force-feeding of "diversity" in the world isn't going to change anything. To the contrary, it only seems to breed resentment.
Which is why the MSM has not TOUCHED it.
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