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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
This is true. Actually, you could probably get really good outcomes by just giving poor parents lots of money. Poverty is the problem. Make them not poor. The solution is simple. Problem is, there's no way you can sell those policies to the American electorate. So you're back to square one.[/quote]

You think these people ended up poor by accident?  It's the choices they make every day.  Like getting nails done versus buying a book.

You give them cash and check in a few months. I guarantee you they will have gone through the cash, back on welfare, and it's not because they invested into 529.

[b]You take a low SES class black girl and put her in a nice shiny building with books and teachers.  [/b]She'll get pregnant and drop out.  We create nice buildings over and over again, and the schools fall to shit because you can't fix internal metal issues with expensive material crap.   Kids need proper environment and role models.  Schools cannot make up for the environment at home.[/quote]

Right. Every single one of them. And every single white person would studiously save their money and only spend it on what's necessary.

Care to share where you learned your racist stereotypes?  I'm leaning towards Rush Limbaugh, but it kind of has a Bill O'Reilly flavor to it.  Maybe a hint of Ayn Rand condescension too.[/quote]

It's a shame that there are folks out there who think this way.   What about the wasted potential of kids from this background who could do well with the right supports?  I don't think a shiny new bldg will solve all problems, but perhaps it helps some, by attracting more high-quality teachers and letting kids know that they're worth the investment--the broken windows theory and all of that.

My friend is an AA male from Brooklyn with a single mom, who did have the right supports--he went on to an HYP for undergrad and comparable for medical school.  He is now a pediatric neurosurgeon.  What if someone looked at his demographics and said this kid is not worth investing in?

Not saying that the right supports are going to turn every kid into a smashing success (although there will, undoubtedly, be a few).  However, we'll likely be spending a lot more if we just look the other way and allow them to fail, IMO.  I'm no economist, but if we somehow harness the political will to invest in these kids in a more deliberate and evidence-based way, might that not be dollars well spent in the long-term?  I'd much rather that the average low SES AA girl in DC graduate from high school and find a job as a teacher's aide or hotel worker, rather than pregnant and on welfare.  If it takes a few extra of my tax dollars in the short-term to support such an effort, I'm all for it.

FWIW, I'm an AA girl who grew up in a mostly blue-collar AA environment who didn't drop out or get pregnant--I'm now married w/kids and have a Ph.D from a top program in my field and a six-figure salary in a helping profession.  Not saying this to boast, but just to say that I'm a productive member of society, and I'm glad there were a few teachers who didn't give up on me.  And a brand-new building for high school.[/quote]

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