29 May 2003

Beer mug academics

The Corner has highlighted a review of book by John Ogbu (the Brothers Judd were, as ill befits conservatives, ahead of the curve on this one). The review is excellent and should be read.

Ogbu studied a Cleveland suburb that was heavily integrated and well funded. Despite this, there was still a large disparity between black and non-black academic achievement. After a detailed analysis of the data, Ogbu condenses it down to a primary reason:

In this fashion, Ogbu gradually narrows the range of possible explanations until he comes to his own: "Observations and interviews in Shaker Heights and elsewhere suggested that Black Americans have what might be called 'a beer mug' model [of] school teaching and learning. In this model, students learn and perform well if the teacher pours knowledge well into students" (p. 235). The parents, in other words, "did not perceive themselves as active agents in the education process" (p. 236).
Not active agents in the education process. I agree, that says it all right there.
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How S. Korea's view of the North flipped

The change in South Korean general attitudes about the North from 10 years ago (when they were the enemy) to today has been the result of a deliberate effort by the South Korean government and media [source, source].
To emphasize the building of trust [between the Koreas], the Kim government in the South has invested heavily in the North. It has also kept negative news and a steady series of embarrassing brushoffs by the North out of the South Korean media - a policy that continues.

"For five years now, the KDJ government has successfully changed public opinion toward North Korea and the US," says Kim Tae-hyo, a professor at the Institute for Foreign Affairs and National Security in Seoul. "The North is no longer regarded as an enemy. The North's nuclear program, the West Sea incident [where the North killed sailors], missile tests, the kidnapping of hundreds of South Koreans - it doesn't matter to ordinary people anymore. At the same time, you hear the US blamed more often."

One cited incident is involved the death of two school girls from a US military accident. This results in wide spread condemnation of the US in South Korea, but as mentioned above the kidnapping and killing of South Koreans by the North goes little remarked. I just have got to find out where these totalitarians get their PR agents.
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THIS JUST IN: Al Jazeera infiltrated by Ba'ath

Al Jazeera's director general has been fired, The Times reports, following the discovery that he was working with Saddam Hussein's secret police. [source]
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