don’t I know it!; meant to be a joke

An outrageous lie. Shame on you, dilettante.

No, only African Americans benefit from AA, Native Americans, (white) Women, Hispanics and other minorities do not. In fact it hurts them, At least that’s always how I’ve seen/heard the argument framed. [cf the Ricci case ]

If you look at the totality of the 100 poorest counties the US, its possible that the majority of that population, will be , umm the majority

Nice try, but not good enough. Healthcare and the practice of medicine is much more than surgery, a lot more. Call me when you get there…

Aren’t native americans helped by affirmative action? Because the majority of the people in those poor S. and N. Dakota counties in that list are natives.

That’s not racist; you didn’t even mention “a” race, just a region . The regional aspect can be dropped when we return to perennial topic , of how some people are screwed over, because of race based, (not regional), affirmative action. Rural kids from S. Dakota never stopped anyone from achieving theirIvy league U of M dreams.

I think everyone agrees with your points at #20 & #27 , though you have not taken into account time lines/history of political ideology/laws in the US, nor the HS dropout rate of the most recent immigrant group you mention. All of that hot air to recommend M.Gladwell’s latest book; Outliers. In particular the chapter on said inner city regions and education. More precisely the lack of social capital, & engaged informed parenting children in those parts of the country have access to, as well as a proscriptive is discussed

Summer vacation for children in environments that are not equipped to intellectually stimulate them, lose the gains made in the previous year, while their “suburban” peers are learning in other contexts. He takes data from this study that illustrates the achievement gap by comparing reading scores before and after the summer term. Over the first 5 grades, poor students reading scores (after summer break) increase by less that 1pt. compared to 56pt’s. for their wealthy counterparts [California Achievement Test]

His contention (the Kipp school in this particular story) is that we, the larger society, will not be able change what goes on outside of the school. But school itself should be re-tooled to address what they can effect via longer school days, less vacation. Also noted was Japan’s/Korea’s average school year of 240/223 vs the American model with an average of 180 days per year.

Tell that to the aboriginals and the resident school victims here in Canada.

What percentage of the population do they constitute?

According to Statistics Canada, 3.8% in 2006.

Yoga Fire, One way or the other most people, including I, commenting here do not deny family and social support play a role in pushing average children to work towards any and all long-term goals and values, only one of which is the idea of pursuing a livelihood through academic or any other early-life success.

But the ‘village’ is more than the immediate family (whether in inner cities or in Juhu Beach) and the ‘village’ concept has space for schools. (Perhaps there, we disagree with each other about the potential roles that schools play in preparing the young to be well-adjusted, conscientious, successful citizens in control of their own destinies within their own countries?)

And among schools, one model does not fit all, be it public vs. private, be it Canadian vs. American, be it urban vs. rural. (Perhaps, there we once again agree with each other?) Yet, I am just curious enough to look at different models and figure out what works and why and where and who defines ‘what works’ and who declares what is success.

Okay, that is my last.

Yoga Fire,

Your points about the failure of public schools in inner cities and in rural areas as related to lack of community and parental supervision are correct to an extent.

HOWEVER, even if some public schools are a mess, please don’t underestimate how much public schools accomplish. In fact, I would argue that what we do in them is nothing short of spectacular, considering what kind of mess a vast number of kids comes from. Without public education and the incredible work the teachers and admin do, I shudder to think where our next generation would end up.

You would be SHOCKED to hear how many of America’s kids would go hungry if we didn’t have public school and summer feeding programs — all supported with gov funds and regulated by the gov.

Conservatives in America love to cite problems with public schools to further cut our funding, when we need more government support, not less.

If India wants to privatize, it needs to adopt the strict accreditation guidelines, tenure and program review, and other very strict oversights present in America.

America can afford to privatize to an extent because we have the governmental bodies to enforce basic standards and guidelines. India’s infrastructure is an absolute joke under most definitions of infrastructure. As LinZi mentioned, even the most basic dal-bhaat program is rife with corruption.

Privatization in a system that is this corrupt is a disaster in the making.

World Bank and IMF should be loaning money to India to boost its public schools instead of playing free market economics with our childrens’ future.

And please take US health care stats from the HOOVER Institute at Stanford or from CATO or Heritage institute, etc., with the laughter and derision they deserve. These neocon think tanks are turning our country, and the world, into a mess.

World Bank policies, libertarian and neocon, are for privatization and less government oversight.

Hoover Institute at Stanford (the link Vinod cited for US health care) is a well known neocon think tank, which has produced some of our most celebrated war mongerers and junk economics of Reagan, etc.

Numbers (selectively used) can be made to prove any number of things.

Don’t forget that the IMF push towards privatization caused the 1990s collapse of Asian giants.

Don’t forget that the lack of gov oversight has us in the banking mess right now.

Don’t forget that these think tanks that Vinod celebrates started the drum beat for war in the Middle East decades ago and the economic bubble worldwide.

The fact is that the more India privatizes the more it creates the veneer and illusion of wealth. Many of these private schools which pepper not just India but most of Asia are completely unregulated and function with no oversight.

I have no problem with private schools, etc., but don’t ignore that Tooley’s study, “at the behest of the World Bank” and funded by a liberatarian think tank is political.

You cannot compare the “results” from this “study” to that of private schools in America. In America, the Board of Education, of which I am a part of, through standardized tests, accreditation, etc., enforces incredibly hands-on oversight. The education system in America is one of the most tightly controlled entity I have ever experienced.

There is absolutely nothing equivalent in Indian (or other Asian countries’) private schools. The supposed success of students from private schools is coincidental and, as I have already said, the entire book, based on who is funding the study, etc, is a political enterprise. Not reality.

Remember, there were WMDs in Iraq…right?

Don’t let these neocons play with our childrens’ futures.