School Performance and Diversity

I'm frankly getting a little burned out on all the Kerry/Bush stuff in the Times. To be fair, now that the Democratic convention has concluded, the Times appears to be toning down it's campaign coverage. And after reading through today's A section, I didn't see anything that screamed bias.

But then I opened the Op/Ed section and saw The Newspaper's View piece "Beyond Race Toward Equally Good Schools", and I knew I had my topic for the day. Now, before I start in, I think I should state for the record that I believe what is said in "The Newspaper's View" column should be bias free (in an ideal world, that is). This column ideally should represent the collective view of the Seattle Times' staff, not an individual. Therefore, I would expect to see the views expressed represent the collective will of Seattle citizens and not contain extreme political ideology. I understand that the point of this section is for the Times to take a point of view and/or to make an argument, however when I see liberal bias entering the realm of the Newspaper's View, I will document it in this blog. I feel extreme liberal ideology has no place in a column intended to improve the lives of Seattle and it's citizens.

That being said, I truly believe the Seattle Times crossed that line with today's piece. Namely, my contention revolves around the notion of "diversity" and the great importance the Times places on the concept of diversity. The piece deals with the federal court's decision not to allow racial "tiebreakers" to be used, however, instead of laying the groundwork and making the case as to why diversity is important in the first place, the Seattle Times has written this piece assuming the reader also believe that the notion of diversity is very important. Certainly, no one questions the importance of a good education, but I for one certainly question the importance of diversity in achieving that good education. In fact, I tend to believe diversity is about the least important thing a school can provide it's students, and I have seen no evidence to convince me otherwise.

Now, of course, anytime someone like me writes something like this I am IMMEDIATELY branded as a racist by the liberal left. Unfortunately, it is this very fear of talking about this issue that has led to so many problems. Before I go on, I just want to say that I am not a racist or a bigot, in fact my best friend is gay. But I am not afraid to talk bluntly about race and the serious problems we face today. The Seattle Times, on the other hand, is consumed by fear and political correctness and therefore ultimately fails to get to the root of the real problem.

The piece starts, "Seattle's public schools should have a diverse student body excelling at quality schools." The Times reminds us all of the importance of diversity by saying, "This page ranks diversity in the public schools at the top of the priority list, alongside school quality". The Times goes on to basically suggest that the performance gaps between whites and blacks could be closed if diversity were made more of a priority. The Times states, "But the student achievement gap remains a troubling sign of the lack of quality and equality in our schools." Lack of equality?

This is the biggest cop-out I have ever seen. While schools are certainly important, factors such as family stability, family involvement, and peer-pressure in a child's education are far, far more important. But clearly, this is an area where the Seattle Times does not want to go. So they blame the problems on the school, stating that if blacks aren't doing well, then the school must be failing in a given area (diversity being just one of many).

Bill Cosby came the closest to identifying the real problems with the performance gaps we see today. It is such a pity he was vilified for it. In a nutshell, inner-city youth culture places virtually no importance on education. THAT'S THE PROBLEM, FOLKS! I'm not afraid to say it. You shouldn't be afraid to say it. And someday, I hope we hear the Seattle Times say it. Maybe then, we can begin addressing the real problems that will bring real change.