The idea of Equality is now referred to as "Socialism"

[Total_Blender]

Maybe it has something to do with black males having the lowest HS graduation rate of any other demographic.

And what are the reasons behind this, and what should be done to correct it?

You could say the schools in predominantly Black areas are underfunded... why are the schools underfunded?

Maybe its low tax revenues in the areas with bad schools. Ok, why are the tax revenues bad?

Low incomes in areas with low tax revenues. Why are incomes low in these areas?

Could have something to do with a lack of minorities with wealth and leadership opportunities in their own communities.

A lot of these questions don't have simple/concrete answers. Poverty and lack of education opportunities are a self-perpetuating, vicious cycle. Where you have one you almost always have the other, and they feed off of each other. Add to that that not every case is the same... some people move up on the social mobility ladder, some people move down. The best we can do is to try to identify and work to correct the common factors that contribute to poverty and the lack of education opportunities.

[BanginJimmy]

And what are the reasons behind this, and what should be done to correct it?

You could say the schools in predominantly Black areas are underfunded... why are the schools underfunded?

Maybe its low tax revenues in the areas with bad schools. Ok, why are the tax revenues bad?

Low incomes in areas with low tax revenues. Why are incomes low in these areas?

Could have something to do with a lack of minorities with wealth and leadership opportunities in their own communities.

A lot of these questions don't have simple/concrete answers. Poverty and lack of education opportunities are a self-perpetuating, vicious cycle. Where you have one you almost always have the other, and they feed off of each other. Add to that that not every case is the same... some people move up on the social mobility ladder, some people move down. The best we can do is to try to identify and work to correct the common factors that contribute to poverty and the lack of education opportunities.

half way through your post I thought I was going to have to make ill advised comments, but in the end I agree 100%.

I seriously doubt we will agree on a fix though. I believe welfare programs are the #1 contributing factor in generation after generation living in poverty.

I do find it very hard to put much blame on schools though. Funded or not, a school does no good if the students are not there.

[ahabion]

half way through your post I thought I was going to have to make ill advised comments, but in the end I agree 100%.

I seriously doubt we will agree on a fix though. I believe welfare programs are the #1 contributing factor in generation after generation living in poverty.

I do find it very hard to put much blame on schools though. Funded or not, a school does no good if the students are not there.

Agreed. Also, students NEED to know that the education is there for them. If they show up, apply themselves, they will earn their education and move on. Even if a very, very small percentage of teachers were not knowledgeable in certain things (or may not be paid that well), they still have more knowledge to pour into their students.

[Total_Blender]

I seriously doubt we will agree on a fix though. I believe welfare programs are the #1 contributing factor in generation after generation living in poverty.
.

I can understand this point of view, even if I don't completely agree with it. Any kind of social assistance that comes in the form of a handout also needs some kind of program designed to encourage people toward self sufficiance.

Instead of just having a gov't check, have a gov't check + a mandatory "life skills/job training class,". With a lot of people on social services, its not that they don't want to work, its that they don't have the most basic skills necessary to find a job, or they can't be reached by e-mail/telephone. At the jobs where I've been able to review the incoming employment apps, a lot of them were really, really bad. While filling out forms correctly isn't necessarily included in the skill set for "Operator: Deep Fry I", any good manager is going to be just a little selective about applications.

[ahabion]

...a lot of them were really, really bad. While filling out forms correctly isn't necessarily included in the skill set for "Operator: Deep Fry I", any good manager is going to be just a little selective about applications.

ROFL That's just funny right there.

[bu villain]

And what are the reasons behind this, and what should be done to correct it?

You could say the schools in predominantly Black areas are underfunded... why are the schools underfunded?

Maybe its low tax revenues in the areas with bad schools. Ok, why are the tax revenues bad?

Low incomes in areas with low tax revenues. Why are incomes low in these areas?

Could have something to do with a lack of minorities with wealth and leadership opportunities in their own communities.

A lot of these questions don't have simple/concrete answers. Poverty and lack of education opportunities are a self-perpetuating, vicious cycle. Where you have one you almost always have the other, and they feed off of each other. Add to that that not every case is the same... some people move up on the social mobility ladder, some people move down. The best we can do is to try to identify and work to correct the common factors that contribute to poverty and the lack of education opportunities.

exactly. Of course a handout alone won't solve the problem but neither will allowing someone to be dead broke. It's nice to think that without welfare people would become really motivated, work hard, and pull themselves up but more than likely the rest of us are just gonna end up paying for them anyways in jail.