LEGACIES PERSIST

This blog, in November 2018, reported on Abigail and Stephan Thernstrom’s[1] work that cites studies regarding sociological/historical factors and how they have affected racial and ethnic groups.  Specifically, that research looked at these groups’ ability to prepare their offspring to succeed in school. 

That posting, “Disadvantages Beget Disadvantages,” compares the relative disadvantages African Americans have as compared to what white, Asian Americans, and Hispanic families face.  The history of African Americans has been measurably more challenging than that of these other groups.

          This posting will continue this report.  An influential work that reports on the relative strength of various ethnic-racial groups in preparing children for schoolwork is that of Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips.  They provide often cited statistics in this area of concern.  Summarily, they state,

Change in parenting practices might do more to reduce the black-white test score gap than changes in parents’ educational attainment or income. … Cognitive disparities between black and white preschool children are currently so large that it is hard to imagine how schools alone could eliminate them. … Changing the way parents deal with their children may be the single most important thing we can do to improve children’s cognitive skills.[2]

The previous posting made the argument that this current situation is clearly the product of the history these groups have experienced.

          Of importance, Jencks and Phillips highlight the amount and character of verbal communications between parents and children.  This can be analyzed according to the amount and type of communication that transpires.  One effort to measure the effects of that history is provided by Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) group and its scale.  That study unfortunately reveals significant differences among white, Hispanic, and black households.

          Broad comparisons (in rough numbers) on a testing scale found the following:  in terms of cognitive stimulation, whites scored 104, Hispanics scored 94, and blacks scored 93; and in terms of emotional support, whites scored 103, Hispanics scored 99, and blacks scored 91.[3] But before one is tempted to listen to racial bigots who cite such statistics to “prove” there exists inherent differences among racial and/or ethnic groups, deeper study proves them to be wrong.

          As the Thernstroms argue, such factors as parental education, occupation, and income do make a difference.  One can also add to those more cited variables child’s weight at birth and age of mother also correlate with school performance.[4]  When one controls for these factors, one finds no difference among these groups.

They further suggest that a researcher could probably conflate these other measured variables by just counting the number of books in the home – the more the better.  On this last factor, the Thernstroms report that in a 1998 study of kindergarten students, whites had on average 93 books at home and black kids had half that number.  How many books a child has access to at home does not make the difference, but that number is a telling one for other factors.

          Can school systems control for these factors?  Directly, they have little to no control.  But they can be aware of them and tailor their efforts accordingly.  Of course, in dealing with challenged students, their strategies should reflect knowledge and sensitivity to what is; what the challenges their students bring through the front door of the schoolhouse. 

But more importantly, perhaps, is the responsibility of informing the general public – and their children – what these sociological factors are and to what extent they exist locally.  And this needs to be done sensitively.  The last thing challenged students need is fodder material that can be used in bullying or other derogative treatment by fellow students. 

But generally, if there exist inordinate obstacles that confront portions of the student population, the whole community needs to be made aware of them.  They need to be instructed on how the community can address the unjust conditions that face any grouping within their midst.  And civics education can and should play a central role.  It should, at the secondary level, lead to a productive response by teachers and administrators with the aim of truly federating all families.

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[1] Abigail Thernstrom and Stephen Thernstrom, No Excuses:  Closing the Racial Gap in Learning (New York, NY:  Simon & Schuster, 2003).

[2] Christopher Jencks and Meredith Phillips, The Black-White Test Score Gap (Washington, DC:  Brookings Institution Press, 1998), 24, 45-46; a version of this work can be found online, https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Black_White_Test_Score_Gap/Ywb7r1oOxJYC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP1&printsec=frontcover, accessed January 2, 2020.

[3] David J. Armor, Maximizing Intelligence (New Brunswick, NJ:  Transaction Books, 2003); a version of this work can be found online, https://www.google.com/books/edition/Maximizing_Intelligence/nR0uDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover .

[4] Abigail Thernstrom and Stephen Thernstrom, No Excuses:  Closing the Racial Gap in Learning.

NEGATIVE RESIDUALS

Malcolm Gladwell,[1] in his book Outliers, describes the effects cultural experiences have on people generations after their initial occurrences.  He points out the effect rice-growing cultures have had on generations, even in America, as to the manner these descendants conduct their affairs.  That is, a people who is known for its discipline, these Asian Americans are noted for their hard work, high grades in school, and tenacity in business.  Another highlighted group is Scots-Irish Americans who descended from sheepherders in the old country.

          This latter group is known for being distrustful, withdrawn, and not open to social arrangements where cooperation and coordination might be called for and even expected.  Herding sheep involves dealing with a commodity that can be easily stolen and those who own or work them can be easy targets.  Gladwell writes,

So [the sheep herder] has to be aggressive; he has to make it clear, through his words and deeds, he is not weak.  He has to be willing to fight in response to even the slightest challenge to his reputation – and that’s what a “culture of honor” means.  It’s a world where a man’s reputation is at the center of his livelihood and self-worth.[2]

After centuries, this type of work has its effects.

This group is pointed out to introduce J. D. Vance’s treatment[3] of his cultural background, that of what in popular parlance is referred to as hillbillies.  They are low-income whites in the Appalachian states.

          Here are some of Vance’s descriptions of his people:

“Americans call them hillbillies, rednecks, or white trash.  I call them neighbors.”[4]

“Their family structures, religion and politics, and social lives all remain unchanged compared to the wholesale abandonment of tradition that’s occurred nearly everywhere else.”[5]

“We do not like outsiders or people who are different from us, whether the difference lies in how they look, how they act, or, most important, how they talk.”[6]

And, “… it is in Greater Appalachia where the fortunes of working-class whites seem dimmest.  From low social mobility to poverty to divorce and drug addiction, my home is a hub of misery … we’re a pessimistic bunch.”[7]

These descriptors, while not ideal in terms of soliciting from them federalist attitudes and values, seem reasonable given the historical backdrop of their cultural foundations.

          But years have elapsed since this group first made its way to American shores.  Surely all these years have softened their inward or anti-social biases.  If pessimism reflects these other leanings, then the news is not good.  Recent surveys have found that this population measures as more pessimistic than other “low-income” groups including black Americans or Latino immigrants.  Yes, as a group, Vance’s “neighbors” do have economic challenges, but not greater than those facing these other groups.  So, what’s up?

          According to Vance,

We’re more socially isolated than ever, and we pass that isolation down to our children.  Our religion has changed – built around churches heavy on emotional rhetoric but light on the kind of social support necessary to enable poor kids to do well.  Many of us have dropped out of the labor force or have chosen not to relocate for better opportunities.  Our men suffer from a peculiar crisis of masculinity in which some of the very traits that our culture inculcates make it difficult to succeed in a changing world.[8]

This posting’s effort to highlight Vance’s group is not to make a case against them.  They just seem to exemplify many common parochial-tribalistic attributes that can be ascribed to other groups.  By looking at Vance’s hillbillies, maybe because of the heightened degree they exhibit, one can come closer to understanding why American politics has devolved into a state of “tribal” conflict.  That conflict, in turn, undermines the nation’s ability to be federated.

          Therefore, Vance provides a useful case study that serious civics teachers should come to respectfully study and attempt to derive insights as to what ails various cultural groups that find it difficult to be integral parts of this vibrant nation.  These groups are human entities that harbor all the potential resources that that reality represents. 

From a merely reciprocal sense, therefore, one should demand finding out how to encourage these people and other estranged groups to be less tribal and more integral to the grand partnership – the citizenry of the US.  Beyond reciprocity, isn’t it natural to feel the supportive sentiments that motivate such study and policies that promote and advance this end?

[Note:  Wishing a Happy New Year to all.]

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[1] Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers, (New York, NY:  Little, Brown and Company, 2008).

[2] Ibid., 166-167.

[3] J. D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy:  A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis (New York, NY:  Harper Collins Publisher, 2016).

[4] Ibid., 2 (Kindle edition).

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid., 2-3 (Kindle edition).

[7] Ibid., 3 (Kindle edition).

[8] Ibid., 4 (Kindle edition).