Today, I attended a forum sponsoring by the New York State Board of Trustees. The forum was subtitled, "A Call for a Summit on New York Education." The primary goal is to improve the overall performance of students, while closing what is referred to as "the achievement gap." The "achievement gap" is a euphemism for the disparity in quantitative measures of academic performance between "races."
During the session, I had the fortune this afternoon of hearing the Chancellor of the City University of New York, Matthew Goldstein, refer to the rapid growth of degrees in math and science to students in China and India as a national security issue for the United States.
Of course, Blacks are classified as a threat to national security - and have been since the formation of the nation. Educators act as if there is no accord on this...Americans have never been so united on any topic as the idea that Blacks constitute the principal danger in America. Therefore, can you rightly conceive of schools providing a dnagerous group with keys to succeed in math and science. Nothing could be more preposterous.
What Goldstein implied, but did not say is that national security is at stake because the ACHIEVEMENT GAP between WHITES and ASIANS will not be closed any time soon. The implications for the US of dependency on the intellectual capital of Indians, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Pakistani and other studets are dire. Nonetheless, no worse scenario can be imagined than an American dependent upon the intellectual success of Black Boys to stem the rising tide of Asia.
What an endarkening conversation. No one mentioned this for the rest of the day. Goldstein could not stay and expound on his pearl. His busy calendar intruded. The paradox of America's present dilemma is hilarious...there will be no salvation in the academic dedication of white students. The sense of urgency cannot be implanted into this generation. They will continue to lag behind and bemoan the loss of jobs to brown and yellow hearts and minds who are simply BETTER. To borrow from The Matrix, "[t]hat Mr. Anderson, is the sound of inevitability."
The balance of the "conference" consisted of the most child-like recommendations to create support groups and blah blah blah. Would love to hear suggestions about how to MODEL/REPLICATE/FINANCE extensive programs to GEOMETRICALLY INCREASE the number of black grads in math and science. Thoughts?? It's a matter of collective security.
Would love to hear suggestions about how to MODEL/REPLICATE/FINANCE extensive programs to GEOMETRICALLY INCREASE the number of black grads in math and science. Thoughts?? It's a matter of collective security.
The wagontrain
Around which a buttressing charter is being organized even as we speak..,
Posted by: cnulan | June 14, 2005 at 03:56 PM