Race? Racism?

Shame on you, Jack O’Connell.
The California State Superintendent Schools reported last week that Latino and other minority students do not, as a group, attain the same academic achievement levels as white students. We know this – everyone knows this.
But O’Connell made news when he suggested that it was because of their race, that they’re “under” achieving. He makes the classic error in logic by assuming that the correlation of certain factors implies that one causes the other. That is, of course, a fallacy. Of all people, an educator should know better.
No, this should not be about ethnic groups. When a person is labeled because of his race, when he is treated differently because of the color of this skin – that’s racism. We don’t think that’s right.
Instead, American society is about individual opportunity for success – our government was uniquely formed to protect that opportunity. And it’s our moral duty to set high expectations for all students – not just for some students. We believe that when we challenge students, and motivate them to succeed, they can meet those expectations.
Mr. O’Connell might want to review a U.S. history curriculum. As we recall from those classes, successive waves of immigrants to the U.S. have been similarly labeled: Poles, French, Italians, Scandinavians. And the Irish, perhaps including Mr. O’Connell’s relatives. All were thought stupid, subjected to prejudicial treatment. The irony is that now, generations later, those groups are all considered “white,” with no ethnic distinctions among them any longer.
Successful immigration is not instant. It happens over generations. The first generation of immigrants has special challenges, dealing with a new language, different customs and low-paying jobs. The pattern has been that the second and third generations, for whom the first generation sacrifices, realize the benefits of opportunity in the U.S. Those generations have their childhood here, they get a free, public education, and they learn English naturally, through immersion.
But that pattern, repeated so often, only happens because those successive generations assimilate into American society. That’s why the relatively recent movement to champion “multiculturalism” is misguided. When immigrants are encouraged to retain a separate identity, when different treatment is sought, especially from the government, because of their race, the emphasis is lost on individual opportunity, which has been and remains the key to success. Fostering group identity, as Mr. O’Connell and many others are doing, is a disservice to immigrants and to their children and grandchildren. Even with the best of intentions, labeling individuals by race is wrong.
Each individual should be empowered to succeed on his own merits, through education, hard work, and sacrifice. That’s the common theme to success. We should be equipping each individual student with the tools to make his way in business, law, or medicine.
That does not mean a denial of heritage. Not at all! We should each celebrate our own background, for it is an integral part of who we are. But fragmenting society helps no one, certainly not the immigrant families.
So, class, let’s review: Successfully meeting the immigration challenge is not about group ethnic identity. It’s about individual opportunity for success. It’s about setting high expectations. Mr. O’Connell is failing our state’s students on all three counts.