Thomas Jefferson High School is one of the top schools in the nation and applicants from around the country applied for entry - sort of like a college. When successful applicants were announced, Asians made up 45%. Only 9 were black-American. I really respect the “take no prisoners” work ethic instilled in these children and I believe that we need to take a page from their playbook in this regard
Asian American students will outnumber white classmates for the first time in the freshman class at the region’s most prestigious public magnet school this fall, a milestone reached as the number of African Americans and Hispanics has remained low and the Fairfax County School Board prepares to review the school’s admission policy.
At Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in the Alexandria area this year, more than 2,500 applicants vied for 485 seats. Asian American students got 219, or 45 percent of the total, while white students got 205, or 42 percent. About 38 percent of the school’s students were Asian American in the past school year.
[...]
A plurality of Asian American students in a high school class would be an anomaly in the Washington region, where fewer than one in 10 residents is Asian American. In Fairfax, which supplies most of the school’s students, people of Asian descent account for 16 percent of the population, census data show. That percentage has doubled since 1990 and is the highest in the area.
Among the incoming T.J. freshmen is Yuqing Zhang. Born in China, Yuqing immigrated with his family a decade ago, when his parents came to the United States for graduate school. He began learning math as a toddler from his grandmother and has excelled throughout school. As an eighth-grader at Longfellow Middle School in the Falls Church area, he took geometry and a class that combines high-level algebra and trigonometry. He placed 30th in a national math competition.
[...]
The rising concentration of Asian Americans at T.J. mirrors demographic trends in other elite math and science magnet schools. In New York, the selective and specialized Stuyvesant High School, Bronx High School of Science and Brooklyn Technical High School have Asian American majorities, although about 10 percent of the metropolitan population is of Asian descent. In San Francisco, Asian Americans make up more than 60 percent of the students at selective Lowell High School and about a third of the city’s population.
[...]
The demographic imbalance in top public magnet schools has become a sensitive issue, however. Black and Hispanic students often are vastly under-represented. Many of the schools struggle to reflect the diversity of the wider population while maintaining a transparent admissions process with uniformly high standards.
Meanwhile, last night a reader sent me this article - written by the son of a Nigerian immigrant - on why black nerds are unpopular.
For blacks, it goes above and beyond just clothes — sneakers (Air Force ones, Jordans, etc.), jewelry, hairstyle, shape ups, belt buckles, chains, tattoos, diamond studs, do rags, fitted caps — which makes popularity that much more exclusive and more difficult to attain. If you ever watch a black family (and this holds trues from Latinos whom I’ve spent time with as well) they spend much more time worrying about the material and outwardly appearance — driving the right car, clothes, accessories, hair, etc. Paul alludes several times throughout the essay (and indeed, in his response, ‘Re: Why Nerds are Unpopular’) that these experiences are more present in American high schools, but I would beg to differ.
[...]
An interesting phenomenon I’ve witnessed in the lives of my black friends, is that their parents give much lip service to the importance of education, graduating from high school, college, and graduate school, yet they do not reinforce this with their actions. The black kids who are trying to be popular did indeed learn it from their parents (or older siblings, who themselves learned it from their parents). One of my best friends’ dad takes him shopping one or two times a month — shoes, clothes, suits, accessories — he wants to make sure his son is dressed to impress.
I’ve never once seen his dad invest in a book, or some other apparatus that would lend itself to learning — yet his dad will claim with his words that education is the most important thing for a young black male. While I have not grown up with this particular kid since childhood, it’s hard for me to imagine he was reading books, playing with flash cards, or engaging in other educational experiences at an early age. Most likely he was given the hottest action figure toys, sat down in front of a TV, and dressed up to be a handsome little tyke.
In fact, he, like most of my black friends, looks at me askance whenever I talk about reading books. You might think that reading were an incurable virus from the way they look at me with a book in my hand
Culture is very strong and often defines your priorities. (Even I love a nice ride and find it distasteful to drive around in a “hoopty”). In some cultures the goal seems to be high achievement for its sake. In our culture, it for the purpose of making money so that we can acquire nice things. There is no point in working hard if one is not going to make money (to acquire things). Perhaps we haven’t made the connection between the means (hard work) and the ends (money) and many black children may not see a point in working so hard for nothing (in their minds). We must find some balance and emphasize hard work more in our culture.
(I usually get a few emails from certain groups of brothers proclaiming that this subject is “unIslamic” and that “Qur’an and Sunnah are sufficient for our kids”. I have grown tired of these emails and having to try to explain myself. I see that as nothing but using the religion as an excuse for underacheivement. You are not going to convince me that this is “not beneficial”. In other words guys…don’t bother sending them anymore)
Filed under: Children's Issues | Tagged: Thomas Jefferson High School
Jazakallahu Khairan for your fantastic post. May Allah Bless You Akhi…Amin.
Congrats to those hard working and focused kids, they are our intellectual future.
I remember my Dad saying something as we drove down the street where a bunch of kids were hanging out all decked out like they were going to a formal ball or something.
“You’ll never have to compete with them son”
I went to an academically selective high school, sure enough there were a lot of Asians, and from what I hear, the percentages have since increased.
A strong work ethic can be good, but to be honest, a lot of these kids had no personality/soul/etc call it what you will. There was very little participation outside of the classroom in other activities, eg sports. Not everyone has to be a jock, but for goodness sake, going to school isn’t all about being in a classroom.
These days, there are entry tests for kindergardens, FOR KINDERGARDEN! In the words of the late George Carlin, whatever happened to kids playing with a stick, or kicking a ball around in the dirt.
This shouldn’t excuse any lack of a work ethic in other communities, but it seems to me that we’re getting the same type of wide berth developing between two extremes with no man’s land in between.
One shouldn’t undervalue the worth of hard work. I’ve seen many mediocre students do reasonably well, not because of any innate intelligence, but simply because they put in a lot of work (sometimes too much in my opinion). In fact, I’d say the reason that Asians are over-represented in such settings is because of the work they put in (or are pushed to put in).
Good God though, intelligence and hard work don’t have to be nerdy. And putting in hard work doesn’t mean it has to be exclusive, kids should have time to do other things as well.
As an Asian-American (indian) grad of this school (’02) and having a sibling grad (’04)I can say that many of the students are very cloistered, lack a lot of ‘real-world’ knowledge and demonstrate much of their expected upper-middle-class background biases and tendencies. I have nothing against this, as I come from a similar background, but it took college to really ‘wake up’ to the realities of the world in terms of social, political, and economic viewpoints. I came from a background that very much emphasized acquisition of knowledge and education which was much intertwined with my muslim background, and that was a driving factor in me attending the school.
However, i have to take issue with the ridiculousness that is now occurring that K-dude has pointed out. Why are we ranking high schools? Why are we scouting youth for basketball at middle school? I personally think its all getting out of hand, and really just to appease upper class/uppermiddle class to get their Type A off and find the absolute best “insert x here” for their child. I really think this ultimately will be unhealthy, something along the lines of the driven suicide one finds in Japan, and hope this attitude shores up.
I hear what you are saying and yes there needs to be more emphasis on work ethic and academics in the AA community. But in reading the WP article it also became clear that there were qualified AA applicants but they did not want to attend Thomas Jefferson due to not wanting to leave their friends or not wanting being surrounded by Asians and Whites. Actually not attending TJ may be better for many AA so they can excel in a more appropriate environment.
I think about those days when I was in high school. Back then( that was almost 20 years ago) I was more into the way clothes looked more than it being Gloria Vanderbilt ,Gucci or some other name brand attire. I couldn’t wait ( and got) a symmetric haircut, I wore loud clothes, my housekey in my ear( the pre-Janet Jackson style) and loud lipstick. Wearing Avon products was a cardinal sin and nob-
ody could tell my friends that their parents got hand me downs or shopped at a store like Citi-Trends. Oh no, that was the kiss of death!Nordstorm, Neiman Marcus or any clothes that came from the mall was acceptable. Now I look back and laugh at some of this stuff that never had any value to me.
I’ll admit, I havent always liked school and at one point thought about dropping out,but that wouldn’t happen. None of my folks would grant me that request. How about t 16? yes, I could have done it on my own but by them something changed my mind that made me stay in: Jealousy.( Even if this wasn’t factor, I wasn’t allowed to sit and watch soap operas all day. My mom wasn’t going have none of that.)
I was mad because everybody was in love with my brothers Morehouse status. I got sick of it and him all together. Eventually, I decided to go to college.
That wrong reason can end up being our blessings as it was in my case. I actually liked my enemy.( college). Looking back, I thought that dropping out would have been the biggest mistake of my life. It seems these days that everything requires some kind of degree.You can’t be a janitor these days without some type of High school diploma or GED. Besides, I no longer wanted to settle for less.
I have no kids, but I observe my nephews and his generation bothers me more than ever. Although all three have been honor roll students since Kindergarten, the eldest one think that it’s more cool to wear the saggy pants( Oooh! I believe in the freedom of speech, but,I understand CT Martin’s feelings on banning this style in the city. It’s disgusting). This bugs me because they are admiring style of prisoners (waiting for sex)When his mom told them what it meant , he almost fainted. I don’t know how much of an impact it may have had on him, but it shocked him that instant. The eldest is almost in Middle School and it scares me even more. They already know what teen preganancy is , by the away of some girl who used to go to their school. She’s only in the 6th grade.
As long as their has been high( these days middle also) school, I have never understand the people in them. If we made fools out of ourselves were we cool, but if were trying to make a difference it’s blasphemy. I think about some of my friends. They boasted about the guys they had in their parents home, but now that they are young 30 something grandmothers, they’ll hide from that fact. I look at some of these young people today and it’s even worse. Some of them
want to be CEO’s but don’t want to work for it. They just think that people like Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey just sat on their butts and money fell in their laps. It just don’t work that way.
Sometimes, if times permit, I take my nephews with me to school. It’s strange, they like the idea of going with me, ( I guess because there is so much to do there).I hope that they will take that incentive with them by the time they are 18. They are always talking about what they want to be as adults. I’m just hoping that he will not let the “in” crowd(Please!) influence them in the wrong direction. People can say what they want about ” Nerds”. I’d rather have that title anyday. They are the true In crowd.
I think this all has to do with leadership. I remember being pressured to do silly things and act a certain way in order to fit in with the dummies.
However, the cool people in our neighborhood always reminded me to do well in school. I remember in junior high school the drug dealers on the block would give us money for A’s on our report card. The brothers who owned liquor stores gave us anything in the store for A’s on our report card. My mother gave me $20.00 for each A on my report card. I remember the first thing adults would ask me when they saw me is how are you doing in school.
My daughter has gotten maybe 3 B’s in school. We go above and beyond what is taught in school with computer programs, supplements, logic games and puzzles, book reports, and extra curricular activities. Parents have to make children their career.
I have an chinese/japanese friend who tells me stories of her childhood where she had to study 8 hours a day and only got a break to eat. Of course, now she is a reck and she blames the pressure for it.
So, we must strike a balance and not overburden our children but we should have high expectations for them as well as ourselves.
Salaam
None of the comments here address the real issue.
We’re not refereing to a balance of studies/social skills and freetime.
The real issue is the HS drop out rate and a culture of dismissing studious kids as nerds/acting ‘too white’ etc. for ed. achievement.
Education and respect for the learned, simply for it’s own merit, needs reintroduction into the mainstream.
The drug men paid money to do well in school? it’s not everyday that drug dealer can be called angels in disguise, but in this case ,they were.
Patb,
Issues like the one mentioned on here always have been of a major concern for me. Far as my initial comment, it was a general response.
I do agree. The problem of drop-out rates in our community is appalling. It’s one thing to address the problem, but it’s another for people to take intiative to improve themselves. AA children aren’t dumb. Some are just undriven or let life problems( eg the black wide gap or what- we- don’t- have ) get in the way of thei learning.
Education lies with three components: The parents, educators and the kids. The parents need instill the importance of education in the lives of their children by the time they have entered the new world, our schools need to be filled with teachers who is passionate about education and lastly , but certainly not the least , it all lies with the kids. It’s up to them whether they want to learn or not.
If we want the drop out rate among our kids to drop, this is what has got to happen. Everybody want to put the blame on one another instead of acknowledging that it is a three way problem. This is why our best and the brightest are being robbed of a good education. It’s even more baffling that with all of this technology that they have. In the past( Like the 1960’s and below) Blacks didn’t have nearly much as these kids have it today, yet , they were more motivated and more encouraged back then than they are today.
These days it’s about learning the Soulja Boy. You willl find kids learning the lyrics to his song than you will learning about their the information in their books. Parents are more likely to encourage their kids to make money by being rap stars, than to tell them to go out ther work hard and cherish the value of education and far as teachers, some of them just their to see what’s in it for them( I’ve heard some teachers indirectly confess it). We have to get rid of such trash and think of ways of improving the their education. Otherwise, if their is no cooperation, we can expect for the dropout rate to continue to climb.
Peaches,
I agree.
Todays ‘popular culture/gangster culture’ highlight negatives: violence, drugs, dehumanization of women etc., and make the point that mainstream 9 to 5’s, hard work and responsibility are lame and nerdy.
The counter culture of the 60’s has evolved into this mess we have today and a proper respect for values, accountability, resp, and education went with that free and easy flow.
It will be a tough uphill fight but one worth the energy.
We need to quit making excuses for the individual student and the systems (teachers unions?) that hinder.
What is valued in the home will be valued by the child/student.
Student rights are also way out of hand (call your lawyer from your cell phone in class) and irresponsible, they cannot be tried/charged as adults yet we allow them all of the avenues adults have for redress. No enforceable rules, no justice, no environment for learning.
Curriculum matters, reading, writing, arithmatic etc. hard skills.
Standards matter. If you don’t make the grade, you flunk.
Teachers are poorly paid (in most cases) and draw the lower SAT percentile students (generally) in college. You get what you pay for. That is high school teachers….college tenured profs are well compensated, tenured and so protected that they are at the other end of the spectrum, untouchable kings/queens that do as they wish. Another issue.
People have to get involved with their local school board and demand accountability on issues.
Teachers need the support of a solid family unit that teaches values/respect of elders and authority.
@patb
I made mention of balance of study/social aspect because to me it does make a difference.
I hypothesize that the over-representation of Asians in this kind of setting is because their parents/community tend to emphasize one way more than the other (in this case study).
What I’m saying is that imitating that is not the way to go. Sure the work ethic is great, but year after year I see kids coming out of college with a whole lot of information in their heads but no relationship to the real world save a small subset. It just makes the divide between the haves and have nots even larger. There is no conscious.
I don’t see anything wrong with, for example, wanting to dress well. You can have the best degree in the world but if you come to a job interview dressed up like a dog’s breakfast, its not going to be worth a damn.
The point is a balance. Emphasizing only school work is just as arbitrary as emphasizing only ‘how to be cool’. I think Peaches mentioned Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates. Not sure about Oprah, but Bill Gates (and Steve Jobs) is a college dropout and he’s created a whole industry.
Without an ability to apply it, knowledge is useless.
I suspect the brothers you are receiving emails from are based in the West. For many Muslims education is a way out of poverty and a better standard of living. Many somalis who fled the civil war to Yemen ended up working as domestic maids or cleaning the streets but the few educated ones worked as teachers, nurses and doctors in hospitals and were able not to only send money back home but to also afford to take their relatives out of Somalia. It is this sort of attitude towards education that is the cause of 150 million muslims in India to be the least to benfit from India’s economic boom.
It is ok to dismiss education if you are happy being a consumer of everything the West makes from technology to science, medicine etc.
K Dude,
I agree about balance. Education and social skills, hobies and past times etc.
I’m talking about the most basic levels of Education though. Teenagers that are functionally illiterate. I’ll let the ‘balance’ hang for a bit and would rather see a hard focus on basics.
Bill Gates ain’t exactly the norm and far from relevant in this scenario.
I’m afraid for the kids in the catagory I mentioned. What can they do if they can barely read/write/communicate? McDonalds or crime? Which pays more?
Asaalamu alaikum,
I went to pretty good high school. I think it’s ranked #8 now. A few years ago it was ranked #4 (in the nation). In my graduating class, there was definitely more Blacks than Asians. In fact, I can only recall 1 asian female, and no asian males.
Interesting thing about being a nerd, I got caught up in that not wanting to be a nerd. I never realized until later that my friends from the neighborhood considered me a nerd, despite my efforts to hide it, and still hung out with me regardless.