In memory of Tatiana Beasley

I've only been a substitute teacher for 4 years, and already one of my former students has died!

http://www.starbulletin.com/sports/20090722_Vocal_Beasley_left_lasting_impression.html

I only met Tatiana Beasley once.

This was during that one time I was called to sub @ Roosevelt High School. I was there for Mr. Kanno, a health/PE teacher.

Tatiana Beasley was in the weight training class and she helped me with recording the attendance (ie. noting down who's absent, etc. ).

I could already sense she was probably on one of the school's sports teams. About a few weeks later, the local newspapers had an article about her being a star on the school's girls basketball team!

Unfortunately, Beasley died earlier this month in a car accident!

You never know when it's all going to end!

Condolences to the friends & family of Ms Beasley.

affirmative action debate

Salon had an article a few weeks back on the Sotomayor's confirmation hearings and I was debating on it's comments thread!

Article here
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/07/17/ricci/index.html

Comment thread here
http://letters.salon.com/news/feature/2009/07/17/ricci/view/?show=all


Well, the thing about Salon's comment thread is ... someone can respond to you, and sometimes when you finally see their responses, the comment thread is closed, giving your opponents a false sense of victory, when their only victory is their timing, not their ideas!

Here I demolish the arguments of a commenter called "Jomama"

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What if you, a non-white male with mediocre test scores- acceptable scores, but nothing to write home about- applied to a different college and did not gain admission, while 15-20 of your white male friends with LOWER scores than you did get accepted? Would you still be singing the anti AA blues?

My whole point wasn't to "brag" about my test scores, just to say I got into my university by meeting the standards!

I'm for (Oh my God ... NO!) having all students gain acceptance into college following the same standards!

Jim Crow didn't allow for that, NEITHER does Affirmative Action!

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What if you had to take a test that was structured around cultural questions on something you knew absolutely nothing about, like Susan's wine test, west coast vs. east coast rappers, the brand names in a high end clothing store, whatever... You wouldn't cry foul?

LAMEST ARGUMENT EVER!

The SAT tests I took a decade ago already had reading comprehension questions on Black History and Latino culture!

I don't think it changed since. Or if it did, they probably added questions on Middle Eastern culture, Asian-American history, etc.

By the way, the reading comprehension section of the SAT is about how well you understood what you just read. If there's a paragraph about sharks and the SAT is asking you questions about it, IT IS NOT TESTING WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT SHARKS! It is testing if you understood what the author said about sharks!

The Radical Left rhetoric of "SAT is culturally bias" is evidence-free rhetoric! They're starting to remind me of those Radical Right losers complaining about Obama's birth certificate!

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Yes, there are problems with AA. But discrimination still exists.

Yet Jomama didn't explain what he/she thinks the problems with AA is! Jomama is too busy denouncing me with lame arguments!

I never said "discrimination doesn't exist"! Only those who never read my blog can accuse me of thinking that way!

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What is wrong with at the very least, attempting to make sure that everybody is given a level playing field?

I am attempting to give everyone a level playing field!

It's the Jim Crow and the Affirmative Action that doesn't give people a level playing field!

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Sounds like you are firmly in that Republican pull yourself up by your bootstraps crowd. Which would be fine in a world where we all had the same set of boots, or at least a set of boots to start with.

I NEVER even used the words "bootstraps"! And I'm pro-abortion, for legalizing same-sex marriage, for ending the militarized war on drugs, and for sex-ed! That's NOT Republican!

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PART TWO

Another lame debater, this one named thisrainyanorak

Others have deconstructed your inane and intellectually dishonest NBA analogy that conveniently disregards the FACT that Blacks were actively discriminated against and excluded from NBA teams for decades so I won't go over that ground

That policy ended in 1950! NONE of the current NBA players were born yet! Most of their parents weren't even born yet! My parents weren't even born yet! You can come out of your time-warp now!


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I think affirmative action is very flawed and there are reasonable arguments for dismantling it

And you never said a single one of them! You are an AA supporter! You can come out of the closet now!
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Many college administrations have determined that having a racially diverse campus is important and the Supreme Court agrees that this is a "compelling interest."

That's why I brought up the NBA example in the 1st place!

The AA supporters complain that there's "too many Asians in our colleges, we need lowered standards for African-American and Latino students"

If the AA crowd had any sense of consistency, they'll demand the NBA to give lowered standards to Latino and Asian ballplayers!

The real humane standard is for colleges and NBA teams to (Oh my God... NO!) get the most qualified individuals even if it doesn't satisfy the diversity bean-counters of the AA crowd!

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Egregiously lowered standards are the bastion of legacy and athletic-based based admissions. Should those be outlawed too?

YES and YES!

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Oh, and pompously and repeatedly pointing out that you were able to meet a laughably low admission standard and comparing yourself to favorably to others who may not have IS "bragging" and your repeated denials of that don't say much about your self-awareness.

You're missing my point! My point is if me (an under-represented minority ) can get into a college of my choice following the same standards of European-Americans and Asian-Americans so can others! What's wrong with saying that?

Education: Public vs Private

Earlier this month, the Honolulu Star Bulletin had an interview with UH professor Ann Bayer. Bayer wrote a book "Going Against the Grain: When Professionals in Hawai'i Choose Public Schools Instead of Private Schools"


http://www.starbulletin.com/editorials/20090719_Going_public.html

From that article

As part of her research, Bayer, a professor and chairwoman in the Educational Psychology Department at the University of Hawaii, interviewed dozens of parents — doctors, lawyers, college professors, military officers and business executives — who could afford to pay private-school tuition but resisted the peer pressure to do so.

Instead they enrolled their children in Hawaii public schools and ended up being satisfied with the quality and scope of the academic and extracurricular activities, the condition of the facilities and the safety of the campuses. "They didn't feel like they were sacrificing their children for some greater cause. They were simply satisfied with the overall quality of the experience," said Bayer. "Their kids went on to the same colleges as their friends who had gone to private school."

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I'm a public school graduate! I remember joking around about how private school students are "overly sheltered"! ( I know, an exxagarated stereotype. Sorry for offending private school alumni!)

I have aligned myself with libertarians on many issues! Many libertarians hate the public school system! But I am a public school grad, and a public school employee!

So where do I stand?


Here's what I wrote to Dr. Ann Bayer

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Hi Dr. Bayer,

I read the article about your book in yesterday's edition of the Honolulu Star Bulletin. It really hit home with me.

I am a graduate of McKinley High School, which has been labeled a "dropout factory".

I do think McKinley High School does a GREAT job with well-motivated students. Many do well in math meets and do go on to top-notch universities!

However, the great flaw of McKinley High School when I was there (late 1990's) was that it didn't do well with un-motivated students! Many of those students were either gang-affiliated, gang wanabees or just didn't care!

If we want to talk about the failures of the public education system, it has ALMOST NOTHING to do with well-motivated students. It is the failure of the system to make un-motivated students into well-motivated students!

I do currently work as a substitute teacher in various schools. I did work at Central Middle School as a substitute a few years ago! That school had a reputation for being "rough", "dangerous" and "not being a good school". However, that school did have modernized computer labs, air conditioned classrooms and plenty of EAs. Also, not everyone was a victim or a predator! Some are well-adjusted students headed for success!

While I haven't been back to that school in a while (due to the difference of philosophy between me and it's administration under Brian Mizuguchi) if someone ask if I'll send my future children there, I'll tell them "I 'll give it a year's chance. If it goes well, I'll continue, if not, I'll find another school".

Another flaw of the public education system is the "one-size-fits-all-for-all-students-in-the-district". That's NOT true! Some students will do well in a large public school. Other students would've been better off in a charter school, alternative school, private school, homeschool, etc."

As for vouchers, I think government-funded vouchers would too much of a hassle politically, but I am in a favor of privately funded vouchers for those children who are struggling in their district public school and might be better off in a school like (for example, ASSETS or Academy of the Pacific), or any private school!

So I am in favor of school choice, NOT because "public schools are always bad" but parents need more choices in where to send their kids. If their public school works well with that student, GOOD! If not, let the parent choose another school!

Anyways, I wrote about "dropout factory" issue on my blog a few years back and you can check it out at
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html#7427984646549670625
If time permitting, let me know what you think about what I wrote in that blog post!

Anyways, in case you want to write another book or article on this issue, feel free to quote ANYTHING I wrote in this e-mail or on my blog-post linked above!

Pablo Wegesend

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I hope that explains what I think about the government education system and school choice!

Race Quotas are NOT the answer!

What is discrimination?

Usually, discrimination is when someone is rejected due to their race/gender/ religion/ sexual orientation / etc.

It will be employers refusing to hire members of certain races!

It would be swimming club kicking out a group of kids from a summer program because many of those kids are African-Americans. (This happened in Philadelphia recently http://www.philly.com/philly/news/50346612.html )

It would be people threatening Micronesians with knives, fireworks and gasoline in public housing projects ( as mentioned in Honolulu Weekly) http://honoluluweekly.com/cover/2009/02/legal-aliens/

It would be refusing to allow homosexuals to join the US military

It would be refusing to hire qualified females to work in traditionally male work environments!

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However, some claim "if the US has 12% African-Americans, 13% Latinos", then every work environment, every college, etc has to have close to 12% African-American, 13% Latinos! Otherwise, it would be "racist".

But it's not that simple!

National Hockey League (NHL) is mostly Caucasians. National Basketball Association (NBA) is mostly African-Americans.

You'll hardly see that many Mexican-Americans.

So what to do?

Do we force hockey teams to take in lesser qualified Mexican-Americans in place of a better qualified European-Canadian ? Do we force basketball teams to take in lesser qualified Mexican-Americans in place of a better qualified African-American!

Or should Mexican-American athletes step up their game and earn their respect on the hockey rink or basketball court?

Look at Mark Sanchez, a Mexican-American football player! He was a quarterback for the Univesity of Southern California, and he has been drafted by the New York Jets earlier this year!

Sanchez wasn't drafted to fulfill a race quota! He was drafted because he was proven to succeed at the college level and has the potential to do the same in the pros!

So, in order to get more Mexican-Americans in the NBA, NHL or the NFL, we don't need quotas! We need more Mexican-Americans to step up their game!

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But what about colleges!

After the end of Affirmative Action in California, the number of Asians went up! Some are claiming "too many Asians in California colleges"

From Ward Connerly

http://www.mindingthecampus.com/originals/2009/06/by_ward_connerly_about_five.html

About five years ago, shortly before my term ended as a Regent of the University of California (UC), I was having a casual conversation with a very high-ranking UC administrator about a proposal that he was developing to increase "diversity" at UC in a manner that would comply with the dictates of California's Constitution and the prohibition against race, gender and ethnic preferences.

As I listened to his proposal, I asked him why he considered it important to tinker with admissions instead of just letting the chips fall where they may. In an unguarded moment, he told me that unless the university took steps to "guide" admissions decisions, UC would be dominated by Asians. When I asked, "What would be wrong with that?" I got an answer that speaks volumes about the underlying philosophy at many universities with regard to Asian enrollment.

The UC administrator told me that Asians are "too dull - they study, study, study." He then said, "If you ever say I said this, I will have to deny it." I won't betray the individual's anonymity because to do so would put him in a world of trouble - and he would, indeed, deny having said it. Yet, it is time to confront the not-so-subtle hand of discrimination against Asians that masquerades as "building diversity" at many elite college campuses.

It is a mistake to believe that all forms of discrimination flow from hate and inherently foul motives. Certainly, the desire to attract more black students to a campus that is lacking in blacks is not an evil aspiration; however, when it becomes necessary to reject those who "study, study, study" in order to admit those who study insufficiently, then the mission to include more blacks becomes a much more ominous one.

If you didn't know, Mr. Connerly is an African-American! But he wants African-American students to enter college by (gasp) reach the same standards as Asian-American students!

For this, Connerly has been slandered as an "Uncle Tom" , "race traitor" and "being with the KKK"

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As for the New Haven Fire Department case that got Judge Sotomayor controversy.

The fire department requires those who want a promotion to captain to pass a written test!

However, since the applicants who passed were mostly European-Americans and Latinos, and those who flunked were mostly African-Americans, the claim was that those tests were "racist"

http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/mcwhorter/archive/2009/04/22/thinking-about-ricci-when-black-people-don-t-perform-as-well-on-standardized-tests-what-should-be-done.aspx

From John McWhorter (a lingustics expert of African-American ancestry)

People like Du Bois did not dedicate their lives to paving the way for black people to be exempt from tests. Sure, the tests may not correlate perfectly with firefighters' duties. But which falls more into the spirit of black uplift that you could explain to a foreigner in less than three minutes: teaching black candidates how to show what they are made of despite obstacles, or banning a test of mental agility as inappropriate to impose on black candidates?

So what to do? STEP YOUR GAME UP!

Failing a test doesn't make the test racist! Otherwise, the game of hockey or basketball would be "racist"!
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To those who scream "if it wasn't for Affirmative Action, you wouldn't be allowed to attend college"

EXCUSE ME?

My college (University of Hawaii) was admitting African-Americans (and other non-whites) before Affirmative Action came into place! In fact, Barack Obama Sr. (the president's dad) was attending that same college when the civil rights movement was going on in the South! While he was the 1st UH student straight out of Africa, they already had a few African-Americans way before that!

In fact, Alice Ball got a masters in chemistry @ UH in 1915! This was when many mainland colleges would've rejected her based only on race!

http://www2.hawaii.edu/~takara/alice_ball.htm


Also, when I entered UH, the college required it's applicants coming out of high school to have a 2.8 GPA, 510 SAT score on verbals, and a 510 SAT score on math!

I had a 3.3 GPA, 580 on verbal, 580 on math! I didn't need quotas or lowered standards to get into UH!

I'm not mentioning my GPA and SATs to brag. Other students had higher GPAs and SATs than me! I mentioned it as proof that I got into UH with the same standards as its European-American and Asian-American students!

Criticizing quotas doesn't mean "denying discrimination exists". How many of my critics spent time thinking how it's like to be the only Latino in a class full of Asians and Pacific Islanders? How's that for being an "outsider"?

That didn't stop me from meeting the same standards as everyone else to get into UH!

If Mark Sanchez, Alice Ball, Yao Ming, and other under-represented minorities could do it, why not you?