ERIC Number: EJ758188
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Mar
Pages: 5
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-7217
EISSN: N/A
Confronting the Achievement Gap
Gardner, David
Phi Delta Kappan, v88 n7 p542-546 Mar 2007
This article talks about the large achievement gap between children of color and their white peers. The reasons for the achievement gap are varied. First, many urban minorities come from a background of poverty. One of the detrimental effects of growing up in poverty is receiving inadequate nourishment at a time when bodies and brains are rapidly developing. Proper human development requires a steady and healthy diet, and poor children rarely get such a diet. Still another reason for the achievement gap has to do with what in academic circles is called "locus of control." People with an internal locus of control see themselves as primarily responsible for their successes and failures. People with an external locus of control tend to attribute their successes and failures to outside factors: luck, fate, the boss likes me, the teacher doesn't like me, etc. Finally, the long-term effects of racism on the achievement gap should not be underestimated. The achievement gap will begin to disappear when attitudes in the U.S. begin to change, when eliminating poverty becomes a national priority. It will begin to disappear when racism is recognized as the pervasive and insidious cancer that it is and when Americans are united in their willingness to do something about it. The only way this kind of change will happen is for every one to want it to happen and to be willing to make it happen. (Contains 1 footnote.)
Descriptors: Poverty, Locus of Control, Dietetics, Academic Achievement, Minority Group Children, White Students, Urban Education, High Risk Students, Nutrition, Racial Bias, Racial Attitudes, Social Attitudes, Social Bias, Social Change, Social Problems
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A