But these explanations shy away from the one reason that renders others moot: poor parents raise their kids differently, because they see being parents differently. They are not simply middle-class parents manqué; they have their own culture of child rearing, and—not to mince words—that culture is a recipe for more poverty. Without addressing that fact head-on, not much will ever change.
Much of Kay Hymowitz' analysis applies across the board -- to all parents. But since race demographics are yet maintained, she is addressing this in specifics regarding blacks.
In my own humble experience in working and tutoring students who fall within the confines of this article, I cannot tell you completely of my great joy when seeing that light get lit inside the heads of these students when they encounter guided information learning; that light just comes pouring out and radiates from their eyes. In my own humble opinion, additionally -- yes, these students do BENEFIT from individual teaching. Time spent, one on one, exploring knowledge with the student. Showing them ways by which to "uncover rocks" in walking the creekbed of learning. Showing them how natural it is a thing to do as a lifestyle habit. And not as "education", per se.
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I wish I had the link from one of our Philly papers, but the gist of the article was this:
Lower Merion Twp, one of the wealthiest towns in Montgomery County, itself the wealthiest in PA, spends upwards of $16K per student per year on education. Yet, though only 3% of the students are black, they are also the only ones scoring below the state PSSA test standards.
The article pondered the meaning behind this and concluded that many blacks in LMT came from broken homes and lived in what is probably the closest thing to a "ghetto" the township has. These students don't have access to home computers and usually must rely on school busing, so they can't stay after school and partake in extracurricular programs.
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