Duncan’s Speech on School Failures Flawed

Having read “Officials step up monitor of rights laws in schools” by Sam Dillon, a New York Times syndicated writer, an often bias-expressed opinion piece supported by statistics struck me, as it most likely struck many other readers of the column.
Dillon more or less summarizes Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s March 7 speech in Selma, Ala., where 45 years ago, Alabama state troopers beat hundreds of civil rights workers. Duncan, in his speech, announced a new initiative to step up enforcement of civil rights as well as his department’s plans to send out letters outlining the responsibilities of school districts and universities in regard to issues of fairness and equal opportunity.
Duncan highlighted certain indicators that point to inequities existing today:
• Upon finishing high school, white students are about six times more likely to be college-ready in biology than African-American students. In algebra, they’re four-plus times more likely.
• Just 12 percent of high schools produce half the dropouts in America. Three-fourths of African-American and Latinos come from those schools.
• African-American students without disabilities are more than three times as likely to be expelled as their white peers.
What troubles me, as it should all who noticed the bias: Students of Asian and South Asian descent are more likely to be prepared for college, perform better in college, and are more likely to graduate from high school than whites. All of these groups, most notably whites, are an extremely diverse group of students. Are these statistics relevant?
It’s a shame that the Department of Education’s statistics point to the lack of fairness and access to opportunity as a significant cause for black and Hispanic failures in education. All young Americans are in need of opportunity, more so now than ever before. It’s even more of a shame the obvious reasons for the dismal performance of high school students, whites and blacks included, do not have the attention or the financial budget of Duncan’s department.
Family values, a society over indulged in self-gratification, and dismal employment opportunities are just a few of the seemingly insurmountable structural problems facing education today. The Department of Education should spend more time and energy passing the responsibility of education to states and their communities.
Racism is still as ugly and unfortunate today as it was in the past; a penny spent on avoiding racism is a well-spent penny. Unfortunately, as usually is the case, liberal thinking egalitarians in high places inject their ideals into an issue, such as our country’s failing schools, and follow them far from the path until everyone is lost.
Parenting, hard work, luck, circumstances, ability, and God almighty determine one’s chance of success in school, far more than color, race, or how much money can be thrown at public education.
It is fortunate that President Obama publicly shares this view. For many attending Duncan’s speech, the memories of March 7, 1965 will never be forgotten, nor should they be; but, let’s hope that their life experiences give way to today’s set of issues and failures in our nation’s schools.
(ED. NOTE: Gilliland is a small business owner, graduate of East Stroudsburg, Pa. University., and son of copy editor Joan Nash.)