I think it's a very simple answer, and it has to do with culture. For example Indians and Japanese take education very seriously. Their success is rooted in cultural expectations.
In this country, the media worshiping masses are not focused on education. I think if you look at the music that is typical in certain ethnic groups, you can see how values are presented. I'm not going into detail, just something to think about.
The gaps between races are cultural as well. Unfortunately, poverty leads to a culture that focuses on daily survival, and less so on education. Thats why you have lots of Mexican and Black gang members who are not educated but are "surviving" as best as they feel they can. It's a vicious cycle, since the way to get out of the poverty is through education, but being poor leads to less cultural emphasis on education.
Anyway, thats my two cents on the issue.
Well said. I agree.
Ah, but that is the problem with these explanations -
Why do Indians and Japanese and Chinese and Jews and etc. take education so seriously, and how can you transfer this spark of motivation ? What specific acts and thoughts must be changed, in detail and repeatedly, to make other groups act as Chinese or Jews ?
Plenty of high-performing groups are rooted in a survival-oriented past, and still managed to outperform others. Most wealthy overseas Chinese, for instance, were starving coolie laborers two generations ago; Japanese peasants lived in a Malthusian feudal society, as did Russian Jews, etc. Few were richer than Mexican peasants, on the whole, back in 1900.
All I’m saying is that if there is a remedy here somewhere, a social-engineering formula or a drug or a surgical intervention, anything that can even just make up the difference, it would be of literally incalculable value.
And a good education is increasingly harder to achieve in the public schools.
It is as if the government wants to maintain your "vicious cyle". Which, of course, liberals do.