Suggested Answers to the Second Short Quiz

SUB-TEXT -- WHY OUR POLITICIANS AND MAINSTREAM MEDIA ARE TRYING TO DISTRACT US WITH INCIDENTS OF ALLEGED POLICE BRUTALITY RATHER THAN FOCUSING ON WHAT REALLY AILS OUR INNER CITIES!!!

In addition to our normal Participant Comments including our Short Quizzes and Suggested Answers Thereto, click here for John Karls’ 5/10/2015 posting entitled AMERICA’S APARTHEID “JUSTICE” SYSTEM -- BALTIMORE, AMERICAN INNER-CITIES AND TOM BRADY which occupied the first three sections of the face of this bulletin board until 5/14/2015.
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johnkarls
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Suggested Answers to the Second Short Quiz

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Question 1

Does our author, Prof. Diane Ravitch, recognize that the SINGLE-DIGIT graduation rates for our inner-city high schools are a SOCIOLOGY problem rather than an EDUCATION problem -- and that school-privatization proposals (such as vouchers and school choice) make any more sense than closing a police precinct in whose jurisdiction a crime is committed and hiring amateurs in their place?

Answer 1

Yes.

Indeed, in her “Reign of Error” (p. 12), which was published mid-2013, she builds on a sarcastic comment from our 9/12/2012 Six-Degrees-Of-Separation E-mail Campaign that “‘School Choice’ is treating a SOCIOLOGY problem as an EDUCATION problem and makes no more sense than closing a police precinct in whose jurisdiction a crime is committed and hiring amateurs in their place.”

Our 9/12/2012 meeting had focused on an earlier book of Prof. Ravitch entitled “The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education”

At least Prof. Ravitch does not quote our statement verbatim, so giving us attribution is probably not necessary from a technical viewpoint.

And I am always delighted when a Sunday-Morning Talking Head (and now even Prof. Ravitch) compliments us by providing a louder voice for our ideas!!!

Message to them = please feel free to do so and don’t worry about giving us credit!!!

Question 2

Does Prof. Ravitch really understand the true nature of the SOCIOLOGY problem? What does she cite as examples of the SOCIOLOGY problem?

Answer 2

It breaks my heart that she does NOT appear to really understand the true nature of the SOCIOLOGY problem!!!

Because if she doesn’t, then who will???

But in Chapter 10 of “Reign of Error” (pp. 91-98), Prof. Ravitch cites such things (1) the impact of poverty on health, (2) emotional burdens from seeing a friend of relative murdered, (3) learning disabilities stemming from a higher rate of pre-term births, and (4) homelessness.

Question 3

What would be a more accurate picture of the SOCIOLOGY problem?

Answer 3

As a preliminary matter, Prof. Ravitch’s citation of learning disabilities stemming from a higher rate of pre-term births should be put in context by considering the Identical Twin Studies.

Identical Twin Studies are The Gold Standard for determining what is genetic and what is environmental. No matter what the topic (including even such things as sexual preference), Identical Twin Studies identify identical twins who were orphaned before their first birthday and raised in radically different environments.

As we have studied many times in the past, the Identical Twin Studies of inner-city children orphaned before their first birthdays where one twin was adopted by a suburban family and the other twin was adopted by another inner-city family consistently show that by adulthood, the identical twins adopted by suburban families generate Measured IQ’s equal to average suburban Measured IQ’s, while the identical twins adopted by inner-city families generate Measured IQ’s equal to average inner-city Measured IQ’s!!!

In other words, our inner-city children have the same Intelligence Potential as the rest of the population and their failure to reach that potential is purely environmental!!!

So it is perplexing to encounter an argument from Prof. Ravitch that a significant factor in the lack of academic achievement in our Inner-City Ghettos is pre-term births WHICH HAVE ALREADY OCCURRED BEFORE OUR IDENTICAL TWINS ARE ORPHANED DURING THE YEAR FOLLOWING THEIR PRE-TERM BIRTHS, following which the pre-term identical twins adopted by suburban families appear to experience no difficulty in achieving Measured IQ’s equal to average suburban Measured IQ’s. [The answer would appear to be that either pre-term births do not have that significant an impact or that the rate of pre-term births is not significantly large to have a significant impact on the overall result -- but I don’t have the time this week to “chase that rabbit” of determining which.]

*****
Main Answer

Whenever we have focused on inner-city education in the past, Yours Truly has always provided data gathered from serving in the 1990’s as the Volunteer National Treasurer of the National “I Have A Dream”® Foundation which comprised 178 projects in 51 American cities, each designed to replicate what self-made multi-billionaire Eugene Lang accomplished when he returned to his alma mater, Harlem Public School 121, in 1981 to address the graduating sixth graders and, on sudden inspiration, promised them their college tuition if they would stay in school. [He immediately began providing each of the 60-65 “Dreamers” with a personal tutor and a personal mentor for the 6 years until s/he graduated.]

[Most of the 178 follow-on projects were founded/sustained by CEO’s of major corporations; the IHAD project of Yours Truly served 200 children in three different housing projects.]

Typical conditions in the 51 inner cities???

99% of the Dreamers living in single-adult households;

95% of total Dreamer households headed by single adults who were drug addicts; and

75%-80% of total “Dreamer” households headed by a single-adult druggie who turned over any receipts to the pusher so the kids had to steal just in order to eat.

No wonder that the H.S. graduation rates in those 51 inner cities were typically SINGLE digits!!!

Yours Truly’s own discovery???

When we asked the 35-40 kindergartners in the Sunday School of the Baptist Church across the street from my first public-housing project to draw what they wanted to be when they grew up as eye-catching “kid art” for our brochures soliciting tutors and mentors, ALL 35-40 OF THOSE KINDERGARTNERS DREW ONLY WHITE nurses, teachers, airplane pilots, chefs, etc.

BECAUSE EACH OF THEM ALREADY KNEW AT THE AGE OF FIVE THAT S/HE WAS INELIGIBLE FOR HER/HIS DREAMS!!!

In an environment where the pushers recruit the third graders to be runners, every child knows by third grade that her/his only realistic career objectives are to be a pimp or pusher, or a girl friend of a pimp or pusher graduating to whore.

Perhaps the reader of these Q&A’s can appreciate why it breaks my heart that such conditions are “papered over” with seemingly-sanitized comments about health and emotional concerns, pre-term births, homelessness, etc.

The post-racial era of President Obama???

Admittedly, I am no expert on inner-city conditions of America’s 51 largest cities since the 1990’s.

However, media reports and statistical analyses appear to indicate, if anything, that conditions are deteriorating further.

So I am guessing that the election of President Obama is NOT inspiring inner-city children to conclude that The American Dream is now open to them.

The Heart of a Lion would be required!!! And I am guessing that what inner-city children see first hand (including inner-city unemployment) is enough to convince them that the example of our First African-American President does NOT change anything!!!

Question 4

Why were the “I Have A Dream”® Programs of the 1990’s so much more effective than programs that featured only one-on-one mentoring or tutoring? Why did this permit the typical class of Dreamers that received tutoring/mentoring from third grade through high school graduation with a guarantee of college tuition to achieve 60%-65% H.S. graduation/college matriculation rates when the classes immediately preceding and immediately succeeding the Dreamer class suffered the typical SINGLE DIGIT H.S. graduation rates?

Answer 4

Perhaps the biggest impediment to educational achievement in our inner cities is the pervasive attitude that “it isn’t cool” to study or achieve academically.

[Which attitude is itself probably the result of the pervasive belief by inner-city children that their only realistic career objectives are pimp or pusher or girl friend of a pimp or pusher graduating to whore.]

The genius (whether intentional or fortuitous) of Eugene Lang’s insistence in adopting 100% of the children in an entire grade of an inner-city school (or 100% of the children in an entire grade level of a public-housing project), was that the Dreamers would effectively be enclosed in a protective cocoon!!!

Inside the cocoon, it WAS “cool” to study and learn and achieve academically.

Outside the cocoon???

It was heart breaking to see that the class just ahead of, and the class just behind, the Dreamer class suffered the typical SINGLE-DIGIT high school graduation rates.

Because their negative cynical attitudes had not been transformed.

Yes, other programs for inner-city children which provide one-on-one tutoring and/or mentoring are wonderful. But not as wonderful as could be achieved by providing a protective cocoon for the participants.

Question 5

What enabled later “I Have A Dream”® Programs to increase the 60%-65% success rates into the 90% range?

Answer 5

As the volunteer treasurer of IHAD-National, Yours Truly noticed that approximately 50% of the females in the earliest IHAD projects became pregnant as a result of which, they did not continue with their education.

Accordingly, Yours Truly asked the sponsors of those earliest IHAD projects to interview the female Dreamers who had become pregnant to ascertain why they had.

It had nothing to do with any welfare programs!!!

Almost invariably, the female Dreamer reported that she had NEVER had anyone in her life who loved her and, by God, she was going to create someone who would have no choice but to love her!!!

Following this discovery, Yours Truly asked the same sponsors of the earliest IHAD projects to interview the female Dreamers who had NOT become pregnant to ascertain why they had NOT.

Almost invariably, the female Dreamer reported that THERE WAS SOMEONE in her life who cared for her -- possibly a teacher or clergy person, but MOST OFTEN one of our IHAD tutors or mentors. AND THAT PERSON had said to the female Dreamer that she could make something out of her life with the IHAD program AND IT WOULD BREAK THE HEART OF THE PERSON WHO CARED ABOUT HER IF SHE DIDN’T!!!

These adults had become SURROGATE PARENTS!!!

AND THEY MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE!!!

[Incidentally, there has been a lot of talk in the media the last few months about how many African-American males are incarcerated and how many inner-city children, as a result, grow up in single-adult households. The implication, of course, is that if we released all of these males, inner-city children would have male role models!!! I would submit that they would NOT be suitable role models, and that volunteer tutors/mentors who become SURROGATE PARENTS should be the goal!!!]

Yours Truly immediately alerted the Sponsors of the IHAD projects whose Dreamers had not yet graduated from high school to have all of their tutors and mentors stress with their Dreamers how much the tutors/mentors cared about them and how it would break the hearts of the tutors/mentors if the Dreamers did not take advantage of the IHAD promise.

Breaking through the 90% H.S. graduation/college matriculation barrier was the result.

Unfortunately, it appears that this “institutional knowledge” has been lost, because although IHAD still exists, it appears from their website that the projects since the first 178 in 51 inner-cities have focused on close-in suburbs that are beginning to experience White Flight and have a benefactor with roots there who wants to see the suburb become a Shining Light On A Hill.

[Not “unfortunately” because insuring the high standards of suburbs in the path of change is not laudable, but “unfortunately” because IHAD for 15 years does not appear to have concentrated on our inner cities any longer.]

Question 6

Since it has been known since 2009 when the two definitive studies (one even funded by the Walton and Dell Foundations that had been pushing charter schools) demonstrated that charter schools are NOT more effective than public schools (please see Q&A-8 of the First Short Quiz for details), why did the top 21 national and California politicians and 43 media superstars PREVENT $84 billion of PRIVATE funding to provide IHAD or IHAD-style programs for 10 million American inner-city children? Didn’t the 21 politicians and 43 media superstars know that if any one of them had lifted a single finger, it might have been sufficient to save the 10 million inner-city children from a fate worse than death?

Answer 6

Who knows why the top 21 national and California politicians and 43 media superstars PREVENTED $84 billion of PRIVATE funding to provide IHAD or IHAD-style programs for 10 million American inner-city children!!!

Of course each of them knew that if any one of them had lifted a single finger, that might have been sufficient to save the 10 million inner-city from a fate worse than death!!!

Question 7

Is it any wonder that the politicians and media superstars continue to pretend, like Emperors Wearing No Clothes, that replacing public schools with charter schools for no additional cost, will solve the SOCIOLOGY problem of our inner-city schools?

Answer 7

Of course not!!!

Question 8

Is there no remedy for such wickedness???

Answer 8

Not in this world!!!

Question 9

Does America have any excuse for its Permanent Under-Caste??? In other words, do the Identical Twin Studies (The Gold Standard for determining what is hereditary vs. what is environmental) show that inner-city children have the same I.Q. as suburban children???

Answer 9

Please see Q&A-3 regarding Identical Twin Studies.

They demonstrate that America has NO EXCUSE for its Permanent Under-Caste.

Question 10

Is there any chance that a non-parliamentary form of government such as ours could ever produce a solution???

Answer 10

As a preliminary matter, please see Q&A-3 and Q&A-4 of the First Short Quiz posted on http://www.ReadingLiberally-SaltLake.org and attached to last Saturday’s weekly e-mail, regarding the size of America’s Permanent Under-Caste and the fact that America is THE ONLY INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRY THAT HAS PRODUCED A PERMANENT UNDER-CASTE.

It is interesting to note that all of the other industrialized countries have parliamentary forms of government.

Which makes a solution much easier. Because a party representing the interests of a Permanent Under-Caste, especially of the size America has generated, would have a sizable bloc of Members of Parliament. And before long, one of the major parties would need to include the MP’s of the Permanent Under-Caste Party to form a governing coalition.

But the question was whether our form of government could ever produce a solution!!!

Which was the reason for the long dissertation in Q&A-2 of the First Short Quiz posted on http://www.ReadingLiberally-SaltLake.org and attached to last Saturday’s weekly e-mail, regarding Christ’s TWO Commandments = Love the Lord Your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.

Within the last month, Pew Research released a poll that the percentage of Americans who view themselves as Christian has dropped from 78% to 70%.

But if 70% of Americans are truly obeying Christ’s Commandment to LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF (aka The Golden Rule), then our American form of government should NOT be an impediment to mainstreaming our Permanent Under-Caste!!!

Question 11

After all, isn’t that why we always see so many American pols demagoguing the class issue in terms of “the 1% vs. the 99%” when, in fact, they have no intention of lifting a finger for the Permanent Under-Caste???

Answer 11

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

Question 12

In other words, by “the 99%” don’t they really mean The Middle Class??? And their claim to represent the Permanent Under-Caste as well is pure fraud???

Answer 12

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

Question 13

Or, in other words, aren’t they cynically assuming that in a non-parliamentary form of government such as ours, the Permanent Under-Caste has nowhere to go???

Answer 13

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

Question 14

So is there any hope for America’s Permanent Under-Caste, or is it doomed???

Answer 14

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

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