Affirmative Action

For many years in America there has been a government policy called affirmative action. It has been used to level the playing field for minorities in our country in regards to education and government employment. This often is done by establishing a minimum quota or percentage of “spots” set aside for minority candidates. Affirmative Action came out of the civil rights movement.

There has, of course, been some push back by people who are in the majority. This is often manifested by Supreme Court cases that alledge reverse discrimination. These mostly come from white people who felt that thier educational or employment opportunities have been limited by less qualified minority applicants who are given those “spots” through a quota.

Affirmative Action has been a bulwark of the liberals in America for decades. It has, however been somewhat eroded over the years through court cases and local legislation. Now, I am beginning to hear rumblings that since Mr. Obabma has been elected President there is no longer a need for Affirmative Action. What do you think? Does the election of a person of color eliminate the need for Affirmative Action? Or, does one elected position not an end to discrimination make?

Re: Affirmative Action

That's an interesting question, Mr

It is indisputably reverse discrimination. In fact that is part of its legal definition - see here

The questions - is it justified? Is it helping? Does Obama's election affect the need for affimative action?

The third one, I think, has more to do with feeling and appearances than societal needs (see article below)

Here is a good article in the Irish Times - there are so many considerations in an issue like affirmative action and this article addresses at least a few:

City's white firefighters claim affirmative action has gone too far


Please read the full article - I excerpt one section:


It’s not just that African-Americans are twice as likely to be unemployed as whites and less likely to complete high school – to say nothing of third-level education. Even when blacks attain the same educational level as whites, they usually earn less and face a greater chance of being laid off.In fact, African-Americans and Latinos now lag behind whites for higher-paying jobs at the largest rates in about a decade. Blacks who had a four-year bachelor’s degree earned $46,502 last year, or about 78 percent of the salary for comparably educated whites, according to census data published this week.In a recession, minorities tend to be the last to be hired and the first to be fired, so “colour-blind” recruitment and promotion procedures can actually reinforce racial disparities.Colour-blind seniority systems tend to protect white workers against job layoffs, because senior employees are usually white.White students also benefit from colour-blind college admissions because of their earlier educational advantages.Leaving fairness aside, cities like New Haven have an interest in promoting diversity in their fire services because it makes the community safer.“We are the first responders in any emergency, not just firefighting, but medical emergencies and natural disasters. For us to relate to and be of trust in the community, when you are from that community, your commitment is stronger,” according to Addington Stewart, director of the south-central region of the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters.

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Think of how your response reverberates with the Gay marraige decision by the California Supreme Court. Are our minority citizens being treated unfairly by the majority even with a person from a minority group in the highest office of America?

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Hi Mr, you'll have to unpack for me how you see my response in relation to the gay marriage decision in California. I'm having trouble connecting the dots.

Dov, those are good points. What do you think of the points made in the above article, especially the part I excerpted?

Peace,

Nicole

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Nicole,
Your response clearly discusses the legal definiation of discrimination. The analogy I am making is that 60 years ago it was illegal for african american and white americans to marry in many states in the U.S. I believe that Gay rights is a civil rights issue simply because it is illegal for them to marry in many states here now.  I am unsure if you feel that way by your response but it seems that you may have felt paritally so with the african americans and perhaps you feel partially so with Gays.

Dov, I am unsure if you were involved in the civil rights struggle in any way, shape or form but those of us who were know why affirmative action is so important, we remember America before affirmative action. If you think that racism isn't alive and well and that people aren't still discriminated against because of their race, color or creed, think again. You do make a good point about the parites involved never knowing but perhaps its because they aren't supposed to know. I've known an awful lot of white jerks who made me wonder if they got the job through nepotism or “the old boy network” because they suck so passionately at their job.

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Hi Mr,

Thanks for explaining the connection you were seeing. So many things about the past seem unthinkable to me including the law you mentions about forbidding marriages between races, that wouldn't even have occurred to me if you hadn't brought it up. I wonder if future generations will feel the same way about gay marriage.

Dov, If blacks in the US score lower than whites on tests, it's because of segregation, which is BUILT into society. Affirmative action cannot fix that. Only better education and a change in both the minority and majority cultures can do that.


I find it disturbing how, so many years after the civil rights movement, it seems like such a difficult task to ensure that everyone gets a good education in the US, and why segregation is still such a problem., albeit no longer so overt as it was. 


Shalom,

Nicole

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That is horrific, Dov. 

Here in Quebec we have somewhat different problems. The language laws mean that people must educate their children in French if they come from other parts. The French schools don't provide enough English to give kids fluency in English so their option are very limited for employment in the rest of North America. The drop-out and failure rate in schools is higher than the rest of Canada.

It's discouraging!

So many different ways of education not working. Why can't we get it right?

Shalom,

Nicole

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True self-paced learning is optimal (that's Kumon in a nutshell), but nearly impossible to achieve within regular class.

Very sad!

Nicole

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Actually, it is possible if the focus is on metacognition.

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Would you like to expand on that please Mr?

Thanks,

Nicole

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Metacognition is teaching students to recognize their learning styles. There are basically three different learning styles, visual (seeing), aural (hearing, and kinesthetic (touching). One of those styles is dominant in most people and a person who knows which one is dominant in them has a leg up towards understanding how they learn.  There are also Gardiner’s 11 intelligences. They are things like an ability to put words together, to draw, to sing etc.

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But within a highly structured curriculum, how can students actually learn at their own pace and style, Mr?

It would be great if they could, but I don't see how.

Peace,

Nicole

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The pity of it all is that unless you demand your rights you don’t have any. And once you don’t have any rights, there is nothing you can do. It seems to me that we don’t know enough about the law.

We Americans have a Constitution that clearly establishes the individual’s rights. Before the ink dried, we, the people, allowed the authorities to violate its terms. For the good of all, we allowed slavery. Today, for the good of all, we allow government entitlements to make slaves of taxpayers. The national debt government entitlements is building is unsustainable, yet we sit silently, content to let the future take care of itself.