| Latinos score lower than whites on tests and drop-out | | | | After discounting culture and race as possible sources |
| of school more often and it is largely their fault!!!! The | | | | of the achievement gap, the education professionals |
| same goes for Black American youth! Wow!!! That | | | | still have to find a culprit. Their solution? Institutional |
| was risky. One can get fired for saying such things. So | | | | racism. This means that the achievement gap |
| to cover my buns let me just clarify that nothing in this | | | | becomes proof of schools being racist. The other |
| paragraph had anything to do with race. Culture, not I.Q. | | | | cause cited is poverty. But since this cannot have |
| or innate ability, explains this discrepancy. And if you | | | | anything to do with culture or race, this explanation |
| really want to minimize the achievement gap between | | | | becomes proof that society is racist. |
| Latinos, Asians, Whites and Blacks, you should read on. | | | | Teaching the youth of your country that your society |
| Fifth graders in Taipei, Taiwan spend an average of 13 | | | | is unjust and racist is something no culture that wanted |
| hours a week on homework; their counterparts in | | | | to survive would ever do. Beyond endangering our |
| Minneapolis spend slightly more than four hours a | | | | society, though, it fosters anti-social behavior in youth. |
| week on homework. In Asian cultures not having | | | | Would you work to fit into a racist society in which you |
| completed one's homework normally results in shame. | | | | have no hope of success? This attitude pervading the |
| Completing your homework is positively associated | | | | education environment largely explains why so many |
| with academic success. Cultural differences provide a | | | | Black American youth consider studying to be "acting |
| complete and satisfactory explanation as to why | | | | white" and giving in to "the man." |
| students in Asian countries do better at math. | | | | To help, we need to be willing to take a culturist point |
| The concept that racism plays any part in the | | | | of view, to consider that culture might in fact be able |
| achievement gap comes from the twisted logic of | | | | to impact achievement. Such an explanation would |
| education professionals. As much as anything, their | | | | reinstate the vital connection between merit and |
| thought patterns create the disparity. Educators' fealty | | | | achievement. Culturist interpretations of the |
| to multiculturalism makes us unable to do anything but | | | | achievement gap can prompt cultures to take a good |
| praise cultural diversity. Yet, at heart, these multicultural | | | | hard look at themselves. Meetings and community |
| educators take cultural diversity to be very shallow. | | | | based solutions - such as tutoring centers - could then |
| They cannot imagine that it could be so important as | | | | be discussed as solutions. The culturist perspective has |
| to impact something as fundamental as study habits or | | | | the merit of better reflecting reality than saying schools |
| the love of education. After discounting culture as a | | | | are racist against Latinos and Blacks, but not Asians |
| factor, the educators correctly discount innate ability as | | | | and Whites. Beyond this, it is much more likely to |
| a factor. And from here on the errors of their | | | | motivate students and close the achievement gap |
| assumptions lead to more and more destructive | | | | than calling schools and society racist. |
| conclusions. | | | | |