4 ms·

What a bizarre way to frame this. Poor test results are due to not having a father which is due to being black? How about poor test results because you are too

What a bizarre way to frame this. Poor test results are due to not having a father which is due to being black? How about poor test results because you are too busy learning and abiding by the complex and demanding rules of the street, out of fear of being shot, to worry about another set of comparatively pointless and inane rules inside the classroom? And maybe not having a father due to the "War on Drugs" practically relocating entire communities of black men into the prison system? Or maybe not striving to excel in school because even though you're intelligent, resourceful, caring, etc., you've grown up watching your family and friends get murdered by the police in their own neighborhoods for petty crimes or no crime at all, so you end up feeling the same apathy and hopelessness towards your country that your country feels towards you. Or here's another one: perhaps the tests are rigged. The news segment in the original link alludes to this towards the end - was anyone on HN able to find the video explaining this?

PKop 9y ago
How are these disagreements with the premise? You've outlined exactly why it likely has a massive impact. Look at the disparity between one-parent homes by race. Do you think this doesn't matter? You just spelled out exactly why it would... edit: I don't think the strong argument is "because you're black" but moreso "because you're not growing up in a two parent / married household" (Correlation is not causation.. but there's quite a bit of correlation) http://www.heritage.org/poverty-and-inequality/report/marriage-americas-greatest-weapon-against-child-poverty-0 http://www.heritage.org/poverty-and-inequality/report/marria...
- deleted 9y ago
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- tboyd47 9y ago
  Good, then we agree. I just prefer to discuss the actual causes of the issue instead of bringing up vague statistics then saying, "What do you suppose that means, hmm?" Edit: I agree with you that marriage is important, but I feel the systemic racial bias aspect is much more pressing and much easier to confront. I'm all for promoting caring two-parent households, but to just point to the lack of a father in the house and leave the issue at that is both counterproductive and unfair.

PKop 9y ago

How are these disagreements with the premise? You've outlined exactly why it likely has a massive impact. Look at the disparity between one-parent homes by race. Do you think this doesn't matter? You just spelled out exactly why it would... edit: I don't think the strong argument is "because you're black" but moreso "because you're not growing up in a two parent / married household" (Correlation is not causation.. but there's quite a bit of correlation) http://www.heritage.org/poverty-and-inequality/report/marriage-americas-greatest-weapon-against-child-poverty-0 http://www.heritage.org/poverty-and-inequality/report/marria...

deleted 9y ago
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tboyd47 9y ago
Good, then we agree. I just prefer to discuss the actual causes of the issue instead of bringing up vague statistics then saying, "What do you suppose that means, hmm?" Edit: I agree with you that marriage is important, but I feel the systemic racial bias aspect is much more pressing and much easier to confront. I'm all for promoting caring two-parent households, but to just point to the lack of a father in the house and leave the issue at that is both counterproductive and unfair.