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The public elementary school my children attended until this year was written about this past Sunday in one of the major NJ papers as being the most diverse school in the state. The population there is equally divided-26% white, 26% black, 26% hispanic and 23% asian or other(decimals were not used to bring it to 100%).
The mandatory test scores have not dropped significantly due to the aggressiveness of the staff to develop language and reading skills of the lower-scoring students.
This being said.....as a former employee of my district's school system, I couldn't help but notice that the vast majority of students enrolled in the special education and basic skills classes are almost all minority with over half of those being Hispanic but not necessarily foreign-born. Perhaps 3-5 were white in a group that encompassed about 50-60 students.
It would seem to me that, until everyone embraces the idea that the only way to make one's life enriched is through education, regardless of one's background, then there will be disparities. Right now, parents and guardians of these children, in way too many cases, toss their children into the schools and say, 'here, teach'em', without first teaching a little themselves. One doesn't need to be college-educated to teach their own child; they only need to spend time reading to them and sharing time with them.
The same newspaper, two days later, ran a story about 5 black brothers, all lawyers or about to be lawyers. They were raised mostly homeless, living in a car with their mother at times. But no matter where they moved to, she insisted that they take their books.
Cultures and situations aside, it is possible to achieve. But nothing stands strong without support. And condescending to any particular group is, in my opinion, not support.
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