← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Walter Yannis

Segregate black classes

Thread ID: 17172 | Posts: 6 | Started: 2005-03-07

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Walter Yannis [OP]

2005-03-07 17:05 | User Profile

[URL=http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005103874,00.html]Segregate black classes [/URL] By DAVID WOODING Whitehall Editor

FAILING black boys may have to be taught apart from white classmates, a race relations boss said yesterday.

Trevor Phillips claimed a form of segregation in schools might help ethnic kids do better in exams.

He suggested the drastic step after GCSE results showed black lads lagging far behind.

Mr Phillips said many suffered from a culture where it was seen as uncool to be clever.

He said: “We need to embrace some new, if unpalatable, ideas both at home and school.

“If the only way to break through the wall of attitude that surrounds black boys is to teach them separately in some subjects, we should be ready for that.”

Mr Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Racial Equality, claimed the children lack self-esteem and good role models — and suggested paying extra to get more black male teachers would help.

Last year just 35.7 per cent of black boys got five top GCSE grades compared with a UK average of 51.9 per cent.

In some cases, Mr Phillips blamed absent dads not taking interest in their kids’ schooling.

Mr Phillips said: “A tough new strategy would compel black fathers to be responsible fathers. If they can’t be bothered to turn up for parents’ evening, should they expect automatic access to their sons?”

He came to his conclusions visiting his old school in Wood Green, North London, for BBC1’s Inside Out show — to be shown tonight in London.

He said: “I was one of the lucky ones who escaped the fate of most black men of my generation.

“None of us, least of all the next generation of black children, can afford a repeat of the last 40 years.”

Last night the Commission for Racial Equality said the agency would call for black boys to get specially tailored lessons in schools.

A spokeswoman said: “Trevor has been impressed by the success of projects in America that teach black boys separately for certain lessons.

“Exam results for these youngsters improved dramatically. Maybe it’s because they have less desire to show off as they do in mixed groups. He’s just suggesting that the same methods may work here.”

But last night teachers’ leaders branded the idea “crazy”.

David Hart, of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “There is no evidence that teaching any groups separately improves performance.”

Hugh Lincoln

2005-03-07 18:25 | User Profile

This underscores the point that no matter what your intentions are, any suggestion that blacks are different will cause the air sirens to go off: this guy suggests separation to help blacks; we would suggest it for the benefit of whites. Doesn't matter. You're still cruisin' for a bruisin'.

Happy Hacker

2005-03-07 19:51 | User Profile

I don't know if it would help blacks to have classrooms without whites.

Being around smarter people makes you smarter. Being around people of a better culture improves your culture. This is doubly so for blacks where the the needs of blacks are the only needs of concern.

Conversely, being around dumber people makes you dumber. Being around people of a worse culture harms your culture. But, whites aren't allowed to want classrooms without blacks, because the needs of whites are of no concern.

weisbrot

2005-03-07 20:10 | User Profile

[QUOTE=Happy Hacker]I don't know if it would help blacks to have classrooms without whites.

Being around smarter people makes you smarter. Being around people of a better culture improves your culture. This is doubly so for blacks where the the needs of blacks are the only needs of concern.

Conversely, being around dumber people makes you dumber. Being around people of a worse culture harms your culture. But, whites aren't allowed to want classrooms without blacks, because the needs of whites are of no concern.[/QUOTE]

I don't know about that first part.

The small-town elementary school I attended had two teachers per grade level; my sixth grade year they both happened to be young guys just out of college. These two concocted an experiment with the principal to pull some of the lower achieving black kids from fifth grade into our class in order to bring them up to our level, although it wasn't described that way to us or the little migrants.

The two kids in each class were truly dumb as a post when they were moved up with us. They were assigned to the high-achieving kids who were reading above grade; each black kid received hours of individual instruction every day from the teacher and the students. We would go through reading, math, and science subjects endlessly, and gave up class time we would have used on our own projects.

When the school year ended, these kids were, you guessed it, still dumb as posts. Both kids in my class had stolen from the others; within just a couple of years one was in juvenile detention for raping his sister. I remember the time as being a brush with a totally alien culture, one that required the normal kids to act as surrogate teachers, parents and sometimes jailers.

I don't think exposure pulls up an underachieving culture, it only pulls down the prevailing one. Think Roman Empire. Or Detroit.

Ponce

2005-03-07 21:45 | User Profile

You are allowed to "segregate" whites from blacks but not blacks from whites, you should know that by now.

Walter Yannis

2005-03-08 19:21 | User Profile

Weisbrot's got it.

They're dumb. That's why they fail in school and in the economic free-for-all that is capitalism.

It's so bloody obvious, not to mention proved beyond all reasonable doubt by decades of careful research.

When, oh when, will we just accept that simple fact of life?

I read not long ago that Israeli schools are "failing" the black Falash Mura immigrants from Ethiopia.

As if Falash Mura failure has nothing to do with the fact that their average IQ is THREE FREEKING STANDARD DEVIATIONS LOWER than that of the Ashenazim!

I mean, it just couldn't have anything to do with that!!

I'm nearly doubled over in laughter as I write this.

The human capacity for self deception is apparently limitless, I swear.

What can I say? Sometimes you just gotta give the human race a big round of applause. I mean it. We're all bloody unhinged.