Whoever this is, I applaud you. Throughout my academic career, there has been a regrettably failing attitude among students regarding the issue of "race" or ethnicity. This attitude consists of a very Marxist notion that all things can be blamed on certain elites misusing their power. While this is true in some cases, it's sad that it has become a cure-all excuse for laziness.
Many times, I hear people of ethnic "minorities" blame their inability to succeed academically on their ethnicity, arguing that white supremacist attitudes are innate in educational systems. In my personal experience, however, I have found that the fault lies with the students, not the administrators.
First, we will look at academic failure in and of itself. It should be noted that "people of color" are not the only ones who receive failing grades or are placed in lower level classes. A significant number of white students sugger from the same pitall. If both Caucasians and people of color are both equally able to fail, then race cannot be the determining factor.
Second, the people of color who tend to fail, especially those who form their own communities, create for themselves an environment which does not len itself to success. A pervasive attitude among communities of color is that success, as well as certain patterns of speech or dress that are conducive to it, are white-washed or "yuppie". This creates a false dilemma, compelling members of a community to choose between academic achievement or social acceptance; because the gratification is more instant, the latter will often but not always win out.
Many times, I hear people of ethnic "minorities" blame their inability to succeed academically on their ethnicity, arguing that white supremacist attitudes are innate in educational systems. In my personal experience, however, I have found that the fault lies with the students, not the administrators.
First, we will look at academic failure in and of itself. It should be noted that "people of color" are not the only ones who receive failing grades or are placed in lower level classes. A significant number of white students sugger from the same pitall. If both Caucasians and people of color are both equally able to fail, then race cannot be the determining factor.
Second, the people of color who tend to fail, especially those who form their own communities, create for themselves an environment which does not len itself to success. A pervasive attitude among communities of color is that success, as well as certain patterns of speech or dress that are conducive to it, are white-washed or "yuppie". This creates a false dilemma, compelling members of a community to choose between academic achievement or social acceptance; because the gratification is more instant, the latter will often but not always win out.
Third, and to me, most important, is the fact that people of color do in fact succeed. One would be hard-pressed to find a classroom of any advanced or "smart" class that contains only white students. The difference between a student of color in calculus and one in remedial arithmetic is that the former has stopped using race as an excuse for academic failur, and started using it as motivation for academic success.
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