I guess it’s race week at LBC!
According to a new study, black students in their first year of college perform better academically when paired with a white roommate than with a black roommate. (Science News)
What to make of this? Natalie Shook, lead author of the study, said black students may adjust better because they live with someone who can help them adjust to college and its challenges.
While black students benefit from having a white roommate, white students don’t necessarily benefit from having a black roommate. For white students, the academic ability of the roommate is more important than the person’s skin color.
I went to a predominately black college, so I have no frame of reference. My youngest sister, on the other hand, roomed with white students. She said she could see how the study yielded such a conclusion.
“Watching them study helped me learn how to study,” she told me. “That was the main thing.”
Update: Points to consider, via Facebook friends – The study’s findings might indicate a fundamental flaw in race preferences (which involves lowering standards to admit a certain percentage of blacks) in college admissions. Black students may be poorly matched to their schools compared to white students. Did the researchers isolate for class background and academic preparation, i.e., are black students who attended private high schools better prepared for the college setting, etc.
Here’s the study’s abstract. You have to subscribe to the journal to download the full study.
I’m a BIG fan of homeschooling, especially for Christians. Parents homeschool their kids for various reasons, but religion seems to be high on the list.
I think it’s a waste of time and resources to push for changes in the way government schools educate children. Don’t fight corruption and indoctrination. Get your kids out of there.
If you’re a homeschooling parent or considering homeschooling, check out This Old Schoolhouse magazine (see right sidebar and click on the ad). I recommend the magazine not only because it’s one of my advertisers; it’s a wonderful resource I’ve mentioned on the blog before. Other homeschooling resources:
Related posts:
If you’re a homeschool blogger or read homeschool blogs and other web sites, leave a comment with the name of the site and/or URL. Support homeschooling!
Update (11:32 a.m.): A reader sends a link to a related Thomas Sowell article. An excerpt:
“The redneck culture proved to be a major handicap for both whites and blacks who absorbed it. Today, the last remnants of that culture can still be found in the worst of the black ghettos, whether in the North or the South, for the ghettos of the North were settled by blacks from the South. The counterproductive and self-destructive culture of black rednecks in today’s ghettos is regarded by many as the only ‘authentic’ black culture–and, for that reason, something not to be tampered with. Their talk, their attitudes, and their behavior are regarded as sacrosanct.”
Later…Ugly numbers from The San Diego Union-Tribune:
“Statewide in English/language arts, only 30 percent of black students and 29 percent of Latino students scored proficient or better. In contrast, 62 percent of white students and 66 percent of Asian students scored proficient or better…In math, only 26 percent of black students and 31 percent of Latino students statewide scored proficient or better, while 54 percent of white students and 68 percent of Asian students scored proficient or better.”
More here (type “dontbugme” for username and password). An excerpt:
“[I]n some cases, the poorest white students are doing better than Latino and black students who come from middle class or wealthy families…The so-called achievement gap — the difference in performance between groups of students — has long been chalked up to a difference in family income. It makes sense that — regardless of race — students whose parents have money and speak English would do better in school, on the whole, than students whose families struggle with employment, food and shelter.
“But this year’s test scores show that the difference in academic achievement between ethnic groups is more than an issue of poverty vs. wealth.”
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Update (3:19 p.m.): How I got on the e-mail list is a mystery, but I just received a “media advisory” from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, about the “African American Healthy Marriage Conference,” scheduled June 19-21, at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
Did I mention how much I loathe the term “African American”? Anyway, the theme is “Healthy People, Healthy Families: Connecting Marriage Research to Practice.” From the e-mail:
“The African American Healthy Marriage Initiative is an outreach effort to promote and strengthen the institution of healthy marriage in the black community. ACF has partnered with national, civic, faith-based and community organizations to offer marriage education services to Americans who may not have such opportunities in their neighborhoods.
“Sessions during the conference include good news about African American fathers; the three anchor institutions of family, education and faith; and military couples with children and the impact of separation on their relationships. Speakers scheduled to appear include Ronald Mincy, Ph.D., of Columbia University , School of Social Work ; Robert Franklin, Ph.D., presidential distinguished professor of social ethics at Emory University ; Wilson Goode, Sr., director of Amachi and former mayor of Philadelphia ; and Jerry Regier, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, ASPE, HHS.”
The conference will be useful to someone, I’m sure. It’s sad things have gotten so bad in the “black community” (as far as marriage is concerned) that the government has to hold conferences like this. 
I forgot to link to “The frayed knot” this morning. Check it out.
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