Comments on: Dishonor Roll: ODE Closing the Achievement Gap – One Banquet at a Time http://cheatinginclass.com/2009/12/dishonor-roll-ode-closing-the-gap-one-banquet-at-a-time/ providing parents with the truth about the public education system Sat, 07 Jan 2012 20:07:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 By: KL http://cheatinginclass.com/2009/12/dishonor-roll-ode-closing-the-gap-one-banquet-at-a-time/comment-page-1/#comment-10 KL Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:02:59 +0000 http://cheatinginclass.com/?p=296#comment-10 The achievement gap is certainly a real problem - but it is not strictly an educational problem. One needn't look any further than the State of Black Oregon report, which clearly shows the black community faces many challenges and economic inequities. It was less than a few decades ago that blatant, legally-sanctioned racism was the policy of the United States (and, to a lesser degree, this is still the modus operandi for many people/places) - and those who benefitted from that systemic inequities still reap the rewards to this day (for instance, my relatives had a much easier time gaining wealth, investing, and profiting during those times - and continue to do so through today - I clearly benefit from this, which is grossly unfair). The Secretary of Education and other education "reformers" call education a Civil Rights issue, and it most certainly is - but education alone can never close this gap. It must be a whole-systems approach - healthcare, the relentless attack on systemic inequities and institutional racism, the eradication of poverty, and more. A good place to start is with the research of Richard Rothstein, a researcher from the Economic Policy Institute. This essay, in particular, is a must-read in understanding the problem of averages and poverty (which is part of the achievement gap): http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/ascd_whose_problem_is_poverty/ This isn't to say there's nothing schools should do differently - there's a TON our schools need to change, but educational institutions alone cannot be held responsible for a gap they cannot close on their own. -KL The achievement gap is certainly a real problem – but it is not strictly an educational problem. One needn’t look any further than the State of Black Oregon report, which clearly shows the black community faces many challenges and economic inequities. It was less than a few decades ago that blatant, legally-sanctioned racism was the policy of the United States (and, to a lesser degree, this is still the modus operandi for many people/places) – and those who benefitted from that systemic inequities still reap the rewards to this day (for instance, my relatives had a much easier time gaining wealth, investing, and profiting during those times – and continue to do so through today – I clearly benefit from this, which is grossly unfair).
The Secretary of Education and other education “reformers” call education a Civil Rights issue, and it most certainly is – but education alone can never close this gap. It must be a whole-systems approach – healthcare, the relentless attack on systemic inequities and institutional racism, the eradication of poverty, and more.
A good place to start is with the research of Richard Rothstein, a researcher from the Economic Policy Institute. This essay, in particular, is a must-read in understanding the problem of averages and poverty (which is part of the achievement gap):

http://www.epi.org/publications/entry/ascd_whose_problem_is_poverty/

This isn’t to say there’s nothing schools should do differently – there’s a TON our schools need to change, but educational institutions alone cannot be held responsible for a gap they cannot close on their own.

-KL

]]> By: TomSummer http://cheatinginclass.com/2009/12/dishonor-roll-ode-closing-the-gap-one-banquet-at-a-time/comment-page-1/#comment-8 TomSummer Tue, 22 Dec 2009 02:20:12 +0000 http://cheatinginclass.com/?p=296#comment-8 hey this is a real nice post and i also like your blog layout, have bookmarked your site and looking for more updates. hey this is a real nice post and i also like your blog layout, have bookmarked your site and looking for more updates.

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