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Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Our Education System is Racist and You Are Complicit « Outside the Cave

Our Education System is Racist and You Are Complicit « Outside the Cave

Our Education System is Racist and You Are Complicit

If you are reading this, chances are you are complicit in the racist education system that exists in our country.

White people, do I have your attention now?

Now let’s define our terms. I use “racist” here to reference institutional racism, that is, any system where, REGARDLESS OF INTENT, there is a significant difference in outcomes between different racial groups. We white people don’t like to think of racism this way. As Peggy Mcintosh wrote, we whites are taught to only believe racism is the act of mean individuals. People who know better realize that racism is the true invisible hand of our society.

White people, dozens of you loved to comment in affirmation of my post disparaging Education Nation; not one of you chimed in on my post talking about the racism of tracking in the suburbs. Are we scared of something?

Here are the indisputable facts: 26% more white boys are proficient in reading than black boys in fourth grade; 32% more white boys are proficient in math in eighth. Black boys do worse than whites independent of class