tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589405835312873091.post2832824988807817608..comments2023-03-23T09:51:05.485-04:00Comments on Eduwonkette: The Evidence: Is There an "Acting White" Phenomenon?eduwonkettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05072705276536120758noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589405835312873091.post-3438823624932593232007-12-01T10:33:00.000-05:002007-12-01T10:33:00.000-05:00All domestic dogs, from Chihuahua to Great Dane, a...All domestic dogs, from Chihuahua to Great Dane, are species canis familiaris; breed genetic differences result from enforced separation by breeders/trainers for the last 800 years. Domestic dogs are all one species. Similarly, all humans are species homo sapiens with race differences resulting from separation over thousands of years by geographic barriers. Dog breeds and human races are directly analogous as sub-groups within the respective species. <BR/><BR/>Much can be learned from studying dogs; medical science does a great deal of this to avoid experimentation on humans. The brain is no exception, as dog brain structure and information flow processes are very similar to that in humans. Numerous dog brain studies to analyze human brain diseases/conditions are in the medical literature.<BR/><BR/>Any experienced domestic animal breeder will acknowledge the profound influence of genetics on intelligence and behavior. Traits such as trainability, aggression, prey drive, docility, bite inhibition are highly heritable and difficult to modify. Extensive evaluations of dog intelligence have developed breed rankings according to ease of training (number of repetitions needed to learn a command) and reliability (percent of time) of correct response to learned commands. Instinctive ability to to take correct action in complex situations is also recognized to vary with breed (there is a valid reason police K-9 units use German Shepherds instead of Pit Bulls). Among dog breeds, there is a huge Achievement_Gap. This is all easily Googled… <BR/><BR/>You can talk openly about dogs without being politically incorrect. You won’t get into trouble, lose your career or research grants, as you might if you reveal unpleasant truths about humans: e.g., James Watson, Jimmy the Greek, Al Campanis, Don Imus…<BR/><BR/>Humans are not exempt from the fundamental rules of biology. As with dogs, human Achievement Gaps are genetic...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589405835312873091.post-50050223320744962782007-12-01T08:18:00.000-05:002007-12-01T08:18:00.000-05:00Thank you for opening up this discussion. Interes...Thank you for opening up this discussion. Interesting points in the blog and in the comments as well.<BR/><BR/>There are schools where the teachers are predominantly of a particular academic/cultural/racial "grouping" and not only the students, but the paras, security officers, and other support staff are overwhelmingly representing something really different. [I am trying to be as careful with my wording as I can, because I do not want to offend a single person by using in any of these terms casually.] <BR/><BR/>This is where "staff development" would actually be appropriate, and for a change, even useful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589405835312873091.post-1960576516466592782007-11-30T11:23:00.000-05:002007-11-30T11:23:00.000-05:00I'm also interested in the claim that teenagers gi...I'm also interested in the claim that teenagers give nerds a hard time "regardless of race." The only support for this is a citation to "any TV sitcom" and an ethnography of a handful of North Carolina schools. Of course, there is plenty of literature -- going back at least to Coleman's Adolescent Society, and including Penelope Eckert, Jay MacLeod, Laurence Steinberg, etc. -- showing that white students are hardly in love with the world of academics.<BR/><BR/>Still, it hasn't been shown that "acting white" is just the equivalent of "nerd," rather than something more potent. There's plenty of anecdotal testimony by people who found that being accused of not being "black enough" was incredibly hurtful (see, e.g., <A HREF="http://www.antiracistparent.com/2007/11/05/not-black-enough/#more-311" REL="nofollow">this</A>). As Angela Neal-Barnett has said, "Acting white is the most negative accusation thrown in the face of many Black adolescents."Stuart Buckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05731724396708879386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589405835312873091.post-36257761535487933022007-11-29T22:21:00.000-05:002007-11-29T22:21:00.000-05:00Thank you for this comprehensive summary, eduwonke...Thank you for this comprehensive summary, eduwonkette :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589405835312873091.post-78872995715563050652007-11-29T21:30:00.000-05:002007-11-29T21:30:00.000-05:00I'm not sure I follow how the first 3 points prove...I'm not sure I follow how the first 3 points prove the initial line of the fourth point, i.e., "the 'burden of acting white' is largely a fiction." Yes, an ethnography that interviewed a relative handful of students in 8 North Carolina schools -- and that didn't even ask them about "acting white" -- would disprove the extravagant thesis that 100% of all black students in all times and places will readily volunteer to researchers that they think of education as "acting white," and that this explains the entire achievement gap. <BR/><BR/>But has anyone seriously argued for such a powerful thesis in the first place? John Ogbu's 2003 book, for example, says, "there are many other factors that might adversely affect the school performance of Black students.” (p. 189). <BR/><BR/>* * * <BR/><BR/>One point about Roland Fryer's study. As I understand it, his and Torelli's paper defines "acting white" as the dip in popularity that is experienced by black students with a >3.5 GPA. If you make that popularity/GPA discrepancy go away, that would explain 11.3% of the achievement gap. <BR/><BR/>But the >3.5 GPA students are the very ones who have overcome any negative peer effects that might exist. A greater problem would exist if there's a student with a 2.4 GPA who could have gotten a 3.0 GPA without the distraction of peers. I don't think there's any way to tell from Fryer's research how many such students exist (or whether the dip in popularity when the GPA is >3.5 affects the way that students further down the scale think). In other words, I suspect the 11.3% is a lower bound.Stuart Buckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05731724396708879386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1589405835312873091.post-404755959544535602007-11-29T21:13:00.000-05:002007-11-29T21:13:00.000-05:00"He finds that for the average black student, elim..."He finds that for the average black student, eliminating the popularity/GPA relationship would actually increase the black-white test score gap. (This is because black students with low GPAs are more popular than white students with low GPAs.)"<BR/><BR/>I don't follow this at all. Huh?Holdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10526675751850424303noreply@blogger.com