Gifted, black and underachieving
It is really sad to see bright children made to think that they are stupid or can only be an NBA star or Nino Brown.
The majority of articles and studies on gifted minority students have focused on issues of identification, primarily because some minority groups of gifted learners, particularly Black, Hispanic American, and Native American, have been underrepresented in gifted programs. These students may be underrepresented by as much as 30 to 70%, with an average of 50% (Ross et al., 1993). While there is a clear need to increase the participation of minority students in gifted education programs, there is an equally important need to focus on issues of achievement and underachievement. This digest discusses factors affecting the achievement of gifted minority students, with particular attention to Black students. Problems associated with underachievement definitions and the influence of social, cultural, and psychological factors on student achievement are discussed. Suggestions and recommendations for reversing underachievement among gifted minority students are presented.
[...]
In a seminal study, Clark (1983) examined low SES Black students’ achievement and underachievement in their family context. Achieving Black students had parents who:
- Were assertive in their parent involvement efforts
- Kept abreast of their children’s school progress
- Were optimistic and tended to perceive themselves as having effective coping mechanisms and strategies
- Set high and realistic expectations for their children
- Held positive achievement orientations and supported tenets of the achievement ideology
- Set clear, explicit achievement-oriented norms
- Established clear, specific role boundaries
- Deliberately engaged in experiences and behaviors designed to promote achievement
- Had positive parent-child relations characterized by nurturance, support, respect, trust, and open communication.
Conversely, underachieving Black students had parents who:
- Were less optimistic and expressed feelings of helplessness and hopelessness
- Were less assertive and involved in their children’s education
- Set unrealistic and unclear expectations for their children
- Were less confident in terms of their parenting skills.
Ford (1993) also found that gifted Black achievers reported more positive values and expectations among their parents regarding their participation in the gifted program, doing well, and exerting effort [MORE...]
I still find it sad that so many people think that I am overreacting on this. And people who have moved away from the failure of tired sloganism and denial are painted as somehow irreligious
For an example of how much importance the Japanese put into education and mental ability, one can read this article from last year:
Across the country, Japanese are pouring millions of yen into any product and service that purports to increase, flex or perk up one’s mental powers — and there are now plenty to choose from. Formerly dry and weighty business magazines now include 20-page supplements full of mental agility teasers and spot-the-difference puzzles to give their readers a “brain edge”, and daytime television offers similar mind exercises as part of an effort to create an army of genius housewives.
The culmination of all this was unveiled at last month’s Tokyo Toy Show — the biggest event of its kind in Asia, and an indicator of what children around the world will be clamouring for next. Bandai’s IQ Supli is a small digital quiz machine, about the size of a mobile phone, which claims to increase its user’s IQ with regular use.
Bandai says that repeated exposure to the questions trains and refreshes the brain. The machine will also keep track of the user’s IQ score, as the training regime takes effect.
“The game can be played by anyone, from children to the elderly,” the company said. “We hope it will foster parent-child co-operation as children ask parents for hints to the answers. It might also give children a chance to laugh at parents who can’t solve simple problems.”
Bandai’s device has immediately courted competition from Nintendo, maker of the handheld GameBoy DS games machine. Bandai’s Japanese rival has recently introduced two IQ games for the machine called Training for Adults and Supple Brain Cram School, the latter based on a book by Ryuta Kawashima of Tohoku University that claims to increase brain activity. It has sold more than a million copies [MORE...]
For those with children, a friend of mine sent me this link
Filed under: Children's Issues
You gotta give it up for the
U.S. homework outsourced to India as “e-tutoring” grows
People are overreacting because they are used to people sugarcoating things and not being real about the situation. The situation in black America is n par with the situation with Iraqis.
“I still find it sad that so many people think that I am overreacting on this. And people who have moved away from the failure of tired sloganism and denial are painted as somehow irreligious”
As salaamu alaikum,
In what way do some people express that you are overreacting? How can one call this irreligious?
I am really interested in knowing how people have responded to you in regards to this issue.
The same seems to be true for different segements of people within the same ethnic group in an emigrant community. Other the circumstances it seems that jow one looks at the circumstances also makes a lot of difference regarding how one reacts to the circumstances.
In what way do some people express that you are overreacting? How can one call this irreligious?
wa alaykum as-salaam,
People would say that I am overreacting and/or say it is irreligious in the sense that it is “not beneficial knowledge”. It would be dismissed as “dunya stuff” and hence unimportant.
I know a person who thinks 99% of what I write on this blog is “unbeneficial”. This person also does not care for the vocabulary I use either.
The irreligious part is especially true when one points out the sloganization that has been going on as if the slogans have become ayaat.
However, there are others that have seen the problem and responded in a positive manner. It is just a matter of pointing these things out to people in spite of the fact that it is right in front of their eyes
What do you mean by this?
How can seeking knowledge NOT be beneficial?! I see this mentality with some of the muhaajir, which I find contradictory. Why? Because once their children grow up, uneducated, they more than likely will not be able to find jobs in the land of the Muslims or the kufar. The Muslim lands, that import, laborers, do so because their own lack the qualifications. How will your child be able to stay in this land with no good education? Things are getting more competitive by the day.
As for the gifted programs, every now and then my husband will show his ‘true colors’ and make little racy comments (don’t get him started on Affirmative Action). However, one comment he made after I told him that my siblings and I were in the gifted program, made me think. He thought that I would have never made it in a gifted program back in his day (8yrs older than me) or in his neighborhood (he said the samething when I told him I graduated on the Dean’s list from my University). He thinks that times have changed and that things have been dummied down to be more inclusive. Honestly, I know I’m not gifted, so he may have a point there. I think that so many of the children in the inner city do poorly in school, because there parents do not meet that list of what children who are acheivers do (note the article said acheivers NOT HIGH or OVER acheivers), that when you get some adverage children who do well in school they are percieved as gifted. Everybody in my school and neighborhood use to talk about how white and proper my family spoke. Once I moved from Chicago to Northern Virginia, I was in shock everytime other AA muslims would comment on how ‘country’ I sounded. Even now, here in Saudi on the rare occasion I meet other AA they comment on my speech (being far from proper). I had a hearing impaired AA muslim visit me last week. It was my first time meeting her. She said that she could understand me better than she could understand our white and british friends. I asked her how. She said because you are black and talk black. I was like huh…what do I say different than them? I am not talking jive. She said, no, but you pronouce your words different and I can understand you better (She’s from St. Louis). Now I’m really curious because out of all the sisters she met, I am the only one who is college educated…lol. She further explained by saying that they enunciate their words and I do not. She gave me a few examples (they say ‘wha t‘ and I say ‘wha’… they say ‘does’ and I say ‘da’..lol,) and I was appalled! Whadda?!
Opps, I did it again! I digress…
Looking at the two converse list of what the parents of acheivers and underachievers do, makes me wonder if a parent can fall on both list. My mother has three children. She was the parent on the acheiver list for my sister, who is truley gifted. She was the parent on the underachiver list for my brother, her “man of the house”, “mama’s baby”, “mama’s one man”, who is a classsic underachiever. And for me she fell some where inbetween (I was the middle child and after watching an episode of the BRADY BUNCH when Peter had a ‘middle child’ complex’ I played on it and my mother took me serious, so she never really placed many expectations on me out of fear that she would give me a complex).
I would have been appalled at this blog 4-5 years ago. the thing to do is to teach your kids a few cute islamic phrases and take them to the masjid to impress the brothers
Ashamed, the whole blogging thing was blasphemous to me, at first. Really, I thought it was idle speech. Well, in most cases it is, but there are a few blogs that I find ‘beneficial’ at times. Based on my long comments, nobody would have ever ‘thunk it’.
We have to teach our children ‘beneficial’ things like the fine art of ‘hajr’
This hits home since I’m a classic gifted underachiever. My experiences have made me anti-affirmitative action because I feel it removes the drive for hard work and sacrifice, why work hard when you can be subpar and still get the same rewards. I think alot of underacheivers were not taught/trained on the benefits of hard work. Hard work is the one of the most important factors in success in life.
I imagive Umar maybe be hinting that AA % in gifted programs is not that high because the numbers just aren’t there. When I was in school you had to score in the top 97% on an IQ test to be accepted. If the standards are the same, for a variety of reasons the numbers just arent there in the AA community. Anyway, you don’t have to be gifted to have a decent life. I think there is too much focus on the elite and not enough on finding solutions for you average student/adult.
I have always felt that our parents have a lot to do with how we turn out as adults. I remember from the time that I was young, my parents would always say, “My little girl is going to be a doctor” and because of their persistence and faith in me, I am a world-renowned surgeon. Just kidding, I married a jerk 7 years ago and basically all of my/their hopes and dreams are gone with the wind. But back to my point…My parents always had my back and always felt like I could be something special one day. Nowadays, I don’t see that persistence or assertiveness or interest from parents in their children’s education. So many AA parents, especially in the inner city, push their kids to excel in sports and totally neglect their education as if it’s a waste of time, because after all, they’re not smart enough to do well in school. Had I been raised like that, I would have been an underachiever as well. So when you have these kids who have been raised to think that sports or rapping/singing/dancing is the only that thing that they are good far and they happen to fail in that, then where does that leave them psychologically?
S.H. Attered
Indeed, no Verily, thine language doest needst work Tariq! Oh the tragedy!
More like a calamity.
[...] Unfortunately, this has caused some to neglect the education of their children, not allowing to reach their full potential. Do not despair, you can now get help on not only how to educate your child Islamically and secularily, but you can have a program better than any of the gifted programs I have seen with the kufar. Gone are the days of Muslims worry about having Gifted, black and underachieving children. There is a google group started by an American sister who lives in Medinah. She has created a curriculum that it unlike any I have ever seen. Truthfully told, it scares me. I saw the curriculum when she first posted it, but hesitated to impliment any of it due to my own shortcomings. I am joining her list in hopes of getting support, motivation, encouragement, and the incentive to raise little scholars! Date: Sun, Nov 5 2006 5:21 pm From: “Khadija Lin” [...]
Salaam brother,
I am still new to this “gifted” thing as Malaysia schools insist students go up a grade base solely on their age. It is also very exam oriented. However, I have a daughter in grade 2 in Australia now and next year the school will accelerate her further, insha Allah. The principal commented that her level of literacy , numeracy and all other areas are similar to grade 6/7 standards but she probably will be doing some Grade 4/5 work as they are closer to her age. I am on some Ozzy mailing list but I haven’t found any muslim family with gifted children. I am worried when we go back to KL, she will underachieve her full potential as she gets bored easily. Currently she tells me her homework is too easy. Do you know of any resources that would be beneficial to us? Shukran and Best regards.