Mr. Curious
New member
I teach history at a very elite private high school in northern California. Our standards for admission are very rigid and demanding, our attendance and tardy policy does not leave much room for laxity, and our student's GPAs must be kept above 3.00 or they are dropped automatically and routed into public education. For obvious reasons these standards limit the number of black students enrolled at our school. Most black students who DO make it past admissions don't last long enough to graduate since their attendance, tardies, and GPA often become a factor in them remaining on our campus. For that reason, the majority of our students are Middle Eastern, Jewish, Asian, and White. I teach Advanced Placement American History and I posed the question to the class the other day about the contributions of various ethic groups to American culture. We discussed Asian, Hispanic, Jewish, Middle-Eastern, Western European, and African immigration and the respective contributions each group made upon their arrival. I was a bit shocked to read the comments of many of the students. They were not flattering of the contributions of Blacks to American culture. I was curious as to whether their views were typical of Americans in general or if they were more reflective of these high-achieving students.
Any comments concerning what Blacks have contributed to American culture?
Any comments concerning what Blacks have contributed to American culture?