In A Perfect World, We'd All Learn The Same...Or Would We?

Campaigns aimed at bringing awareness to educational disparities between different cultures are all over TV and the Internet. In one public announcement there's a scene of a white boy with his mother in a bright and inviting environment, then there's a scene of a black boy with his mother walking around what looks like a ghetto that has no chance of improving.

If you haven't seen this commercial, asking Mayor de Blasio to “end inequality” in our education system, you're probably missing a statement that says a lot more about lack of responsibility than it does about racism and stereotyping.

Educators and advocates say that black and Latino children are not as successful because of the lack of education they receive and because of the way they are treated in and around our schools. The website, www.endinequalitynow.org, states that schools are separate and unequal – and that 90 percent of the kids in the city’s worst schools are black or Hispanic. The site also states the there are 478,000 children – mostly black and Hispanic – stuck in New York City’s lowest-performing schools.

Why are New Yorkers resigning themselves to this unfortunate mentality? Are we going to continue using a community’s demographics as a crutch and excuse for failure? While I know statistics show that children in poor communities don’t have access to the same resources as children in wealthier or upper class communities, who is truly responsible – at the foundation of things – for this deteriorating concept?

Let’s get real! If a black/Hispanic child attending an elementary school in a low-income neighborhood does extraordinarily well in their studies – gets 100’s and A’s in all of their classes, wouldn’t they be able to attend a gifted program in junior high school, subsequently leading the way to attend a quality high school and then maybe getting into a decent college by earning a scholarship?

Are all of these feats impossible for minority students to attain just because they grew up in places like East New York? Someone out there is passing on the subliminal message that children in minority/poor communities are, at the root of things, NOT as smart and will NEVER be as smart and successful as their “superior peers” of another race.

  

Sometimes I wonder how we view schoolchildren in communities like East New York and East Flatbush. How can black and Hispanic children within these schools be considered “minorities”? They are the MAJORITY! Within their own school communities, they are seemingly 90 percent of the school’s population. How many minority students are excelling among their own race?  

In my opinion, students of all races should strive to do BETTER and get higher grades so they could attend a top high school, college and maybe even graduate school. Who’s stopping them? De Blasio?

What about other “minority” cultures and how they learn or succeed? Consider this: Are Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern and European children not the minorities when they come to America? What type of education are they receiving? Where do they fit into the group of kids who are being treated “unfairly” or who are getting a “different” education than white children?

Who's "learning" different in our schools!!!

From what I've witnessed, Chinese students seem to excel in their studies because of their family values. They attend some of the best high schools and universities – according to my stereotypical “sources.” Where do these cultures learn to have outstanding education ethics? Well, I've seen children in fast food restaurants working alongside their parents after school helping with the cash register while they're doing their homework! From a young age, many children from other countries, who are not living in rich neighborhoods, are forced by their parents to work hard for success and are expected to spend countless hours dedicating their free time to school work. What are “minority” children being taught by their “minority” parents? Children who live in the “ghetto” don’t know that the only way they’ll get off the streets and make more money so they can buy a house in a good neighborhood is to be successful in school and follow a career path that will secure their future. Is that not the answer?

It’s understandable when a child can’t learn the same due to a language barrier or a certified developmental problem which prevents them from achieving cognitive development.

But for those who exhibit lazy academic traits and refuse to hit the books or get involved in extracurricular activities that encourage academic success, STOP making excuses for why our minority children aren’t successful. Why are kids getting stopped by police if they're going home from school and doing what they're supposed to do? What’s actually stopping black and Hispanic children from getting A's in all of their classes so they can go to college and get out of the ‘hood,’ buy a home and live in a community where they can thrive?  

Instead of addressing ‘inequality,’ let’s address the root of an individual child’s failure and why it’s attributed to their environment. After all, there are thousands of successful people in this country who are or were at one time of ‘minority’ status. If they rose above the ‘status quo,’ our kids can too!