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Re: Paging Tina Fey: New Material Alert!

Posted by JayMan on Sun Mar 18 13:24:19 2012, in response to Paging Tina Fey: New Material Alert!, posted by JayZeeBMT on Sun Mar 11 12:47:08 2012.

Hold on. Before we hit Palin too hard:

1. We know she's an idiot. IQ is essentially fixed for life. You're not magically going to develop more of it. Ergo, we shouldn't be surprised when she says stupid things, nor she we keep seeking proof of her idiocy.

2. Actually, that was a pretty succinct description of the current mainstream Republican view on race, which is expectantly confused and incoherent. I don't think most mainstream Republicans subscribe to HBD but hold this view of racial issues (from http://www.nas.org/articles/Achievement_Gap_Politics):

The second view, what I'll call the conservative view of the achievement gap, also focuses on student values. But instead of encouraging teachers to respect the student's culture, conservatives say that parents and teachers of low-performing students are the cause of the gap, by failing to give the students the correct cultural values. Hard work, family values, commitment to the importance of education, and "no excuses," to quote the Thernstroms, who are major proponents of the conservative view, will close the achievement gap. The conservatives believe that higher standards are the order of the day, and that everyone can achieve if they just work hard. Conservatives hold ed schools in extremely low esteem, and feel that the progressive push to “understand” students and teach simplified (as they see it) curriculum contributes to the problem. The conservative view is held by most politicians of any ideology. Both NCLB and Race to the Top are based on this viewpoint—which comes along with a hefty dose of blame for the teachers, the ed schools that produce them, and the unions that represent them.

To illustrate the difference between conservative and progressive viewpoints on the achievement gap, consider how each discusses Asians. (Note: I am well aware that "Asian" is a ridiculously large population about which you can't generalize. I'm just telling you the conversation.) Those with a progressive view of education almost never mention Asians. I often joke that in ed school, you only read about white boys in special ed class, white girls in the eating disorders unit, and Asians make a brief cameo in the ESL course. The conservatives, however, never miss an opportunity to mention Asians who, in their view, are the ideal culture, or the "model minority"—they value education and they work hard.

This is exemplified by the stuff Newt Gingrich says (putting poor minority kids to work cleaning bathrooms and mopping floors), and what Rick Santorum says (when he didn't say "Black"). I will add that likely most Republicans hold this view because it's the only "acceptable" one to have.

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