Obama Takes Aim at Inequality in Education

New York Times ^ | April 6, 2011 | Helene Cooper

[reaganaut1]

Describing education and education equality as the “civil rights issue of our time,” President Obama called Wednesday for a renewed effort to eliminate the achievement gap between African-American students and others.

“Too many of our kids are dropping out of schools,” Mr. Obama told a mostly black audience in the ballroom of the Sheraton New York Hotel in Manhattan. “That’s not a white, black or brown problem. That’s everybody’s problem.”

In a lightning-fast visit to New York before returning to Washington for more budget talks, Mr. Obama delivered a sober assessment of what he has done since taking office to help black Americans, and what more needs to be done. He praised the health care overhaul and the auto-industry bailout, and castigated critics who he said had developed “amnesia” about the shape the country was in when he took office.

Mr. Obama’s remarks, at the 20th anniversary of the Rev. Al Sharpton’s Harlem-based National Action Network, kept a promise he made when he spoke to the group as a presidential candidate in 2007. Win or lose, he pledged to return, and Wednesday night he spoke to a hugely supportive audience of 1,200 primarily black Americans, who had already heard from a daylong procession of the president’s cabinet and close advisers.

The president’s appearance at the Sharpton event came two days after he announced his intention to seek a second term. The White House is keenly aware that Mr. Obama will need to tap into his base of black support in the 2012 re-election campaign.

Mr. Obama won 95 percent of the black vote in 2008. Polls have shown his approval among blacks remains high, at 84 percent, while his national approval rating is around 50 percent.

[mosesdapoet]

Why is this thing (NYT) still here ?

[Mr Ramsbotham]

The ONLY industry booming in America is the ‘Civil Rights Industry’!!

I thought it was the steal industry.

[dforest]

Years ago in our city we had some very fine all black educational institutions. They no longer exist.

And we know why. Democrats want to keep them on the plantation.

[kittymyrib]

How long will we be stuck with carrying an enormous class of under-achievers on our backs? Since LBJ’s vote buying scam, the “War on Poverty,” began in the 60s, the nation has spent roughly seven TRILLION dollars on affirmative action spending, attempting to bring this class up to speed with the rest of the nation.

A hundred and forty-five years after the War Between the States that freed them, they are still using the slavery excuse to try to suck more tax dollars out of the bankrupt U.S. Treasury, enabled by the Democrats, who need to continue to buy that 95% Black vote.

[SECURE AMERICA]

College grad are working at fast food joints because there are no jobs. Better do something about that first...

[yldstrk]

Perhaps if more students would do their homework and not drugs and sex..........oh but that wouldn’t be “cool”

[SECURE AMERICA]

I thought ‘gay rights’ was the “civil rights issue of our time,”???
Is there anything issue that is NOT the “civil rights issue of our time,”??

NO..........................

[blackdog]

90% of an education comes from the home.

If you come from a home where educational excellence is demanded, you won't get an education worth squat. Spinners on your wheels, dry cleaned jeans, communicating in an alternative language, and memorizing the lyrics to your favorite hip-hop rapper along with how many times he's been shot, are not subjects to take you far in life.

Oh yeah, memorizing the PIN to your EBT welfare card is not worth much either.

[blackdog]

If you come from a home where educational excellence is(NOT) demanded,

Sorry, it was my mamma's fault!

[Moonman62]

I thought this article was going to be about more women in college than men.

[Arrowhead1952]

He praised the health care overhaul and the auto-industry bailout, and castigated critics who he said had developed “amnesia” about the shape the country was in when he took office.

I saw this posted earlier. FUBO, you &(^*(^ *^*&^*& communist, marxist, democrap, liar.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Is there anything issue that is NOT the “civil rights issue of our time,”?

Let me be perfectly clear that this is a false choice. Were you not paying attention during the Teachable Moment?

[yldstrk]

The parents don’t value education so the kids don’t either

[cartan]

People have been trying to narrow the achievement gap for many decades. All such attempts have failed. So, here is another Big Fail coming up for the Messiah. The only question is how expensive it is going to be this time…

[tsomer]

Just curious, but what exactly is it that IQ tests are supposed to measure?

I’ve noticed some things:
1. Some really smart people are doing really stupid things.
2. A lot dumb people accomplish far more than their tests scores would lead you to expect.

People are complicated. The world is complicated.

Discussions about genetic determinants are ominous.

[wintertime]

“90% of an education comes from the home.” (blackdog)

“The problem with this is he cannot address the gap in parenting.” ( Daisyjane69)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

If every Purssian-style school were to close tomorrow ( government and private) the same children who are getting and education today would get one tomorrow.

Why?

Answer: Because 90% of what a child learns is due to the afterschooling done by the parents and child himself at the kitchen table or at his desk.

Honestly....Where are the controlled studies that separate what is learned due to afterschooling from the learning that is acquired in the the typical Priussian-style classroom? Nearly daily, I am on Internet message boards asking that question. No educator or professor education has ever provided me with the studies.

So?...Again how much learning is **specifically due to aftershooling?

It seems INSANE to me that we spend sooooooo much money on education and we don't even know **who** is doing the hard work of teaching. Is it the parent, the child, or the Prussian-style teacher? If we really knew the answer to this perhaps our schools would look a lot different.

If most learning is due to afterschooling then perhaps it would be better for the academically successful child to spent more time at home and less time at school. Those children from dysfunctional families might do better in institutional schools that attempted to compensate for poor parenting. KIPP schools seem to be effective in this.

[MrB]

More money will make the parents care about their kids’ education.

(do I need it? really? /sarc)

[Red6]

That's where he belongs! In front of an audience talking about race, inner city, and these soft issues like global warming. That's where his interest and experiences are, that's what he's good at. Not even that he has any real viable solutions to anything he's talking about, but he can get the people stirred up and chanting.

The “Beer Summit” summed it all up. He tipped his hand and showed what he's really all about: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2009/07/30/beer-obama-racial029.html

You're dealing with someone that like many at this level has a huge ego and no issue with self confidence. You're looking at a highly competitive and type A personality and that describes most people at this level or even in the senior ranks of corporate America or defense (Generals). He wanted to be number one and no office, no position in this nation has a higher status than the office of the President. However, he at a personal level isn't even really interested in the performance of the actual duties of a Commander in Chief (or “Commander of Chiefs” as he called it repeatedly on the campaign trail). This is witnessed by the themes he picks up on, his lack of interest and time devoted to military personnel, visiting troops, etc etc etc. His true interest is in social issues. He's the first “non-president.”

He came to office with little business, executive, law enforcement, intelligence, staff, foreign affairs, economic, defense/military experience. A junior Congressional Senator who played the race card as a provincial Illinois State Senator and spent his entire life looking at the world in terms of class warfare and in a provincial manner (micro level). With a law degree which doesn't fill the void in those areas lacking experience, with a weak entourage (hasn't been around that long and doesn't have an army of highly experienced people riding his coat train) and little life experiences (one of the younger Presidents ever and not a very diversified career history) he came to the office as probably the least qualified of any President we had post WWII and possibly ever.

His tenure as President has been as vapid in ***”substance”*** as his campaign was. He was elected based on symbolism, feel good and opposition politics, but the only true skill he has demonstrated is an ability to apply his courtroom/legal training in the area of rhetoric, poise and oration to give nice speeches. Nice speeches don't make for good security, economic, foreign affairs policies.

[FrankR]

We’ve had integrated schools for generations now, if they can’t keep up (especially as dumbed-down as the schools have become in the last 50 years) then maybe there is something to “The Bell Curve”.

[blackdog]

“The problem with this is he cannot address the gap in parenting.” ( Daisyjane69)

Single moms, school breakfasts, school dinners, welfare, healthcare, and daycare, are all provided to the children of the state. They are now exceeding the birth rate of married parents.

That is the gap liberals want to overcome. The children of married heterosexual parents who work to make a living, are the demographic group to finish off.