Thomas Sowell has some harsh criticism for so-called "friends" of minority students:
My own moment of truth came when a roommate at Harvard said to me one day: "Tom, when are you going to stop goofing off and get some work done?"
Goofing off! I didn't know what he was talking about. I thought I was working hard. But, when the midterm grades came out — two D's and two F's in my four courses — it became painfully clear that I was not working hard enough. I was going to have to shape up or ship out — and I didn't have anywhere to ship out to...
Today...How many white college students are going to tell a black roommate to stop goofing off?
In today's climate, too many teachers think they are doing black students a favor by feeding them grievances from the past and telling them how they are oppressed in the present — and how their future is blocked by white racism. These are the kinds of friends who do more damage than enemies.
Why endure all the hard work, self-discipline and self-denial that a first-rate education requires if The Man is going to stop you from getting anywhere anyway? People who have been pushing this line for years are now suddenly surprised and dismayed to discover that many black students across the country regard academic striving as "acting white."
And people who have pushing the line, "Standardized tests are biased against minorities" are now suddenly surprised and dismayed to discover that many black students regard tests as biased and unimportant, and the test score gap continues because black students are afraid of the tests, or are so convinced of their failure that they don't study for them.
Posted by kswygert at July 21, 2004 12:50 PM