HARD COLD FACTS

The purpose of Affirmative Action I believe, was supposedly to level the playing field for minorities entering Colleges and Universities after not doing as well as others in Elementary through High School, or in many cases, being discriminated against by the admissions departments of Colleges and Universities. While well intended by some, I believe that for minorities it will seem like a great opportunity and protection from the racists, however, for the others it feels like Reverse Discrimination.

We all know that over the years minorities and especially blacks (and how about those native Americans), have been discriminated against in various ways, including within the educational system, but does guaranteeing a place in college help any of them, if after getting a place in college they then fail and drop out?

Is getting a place in college the problem or isn’t the fact that these students are not being taught equally, not being treated equally and not given the same opportunities in Elementary, Middle and High Schools the real problem? When at a local Elementary school in Seminole County, a teacher, Ms. Downs says that it isn’t her responsibility to motivate a little black boy when he does not show as much interest in her class and at the same time she is hugging and encouraging the little white kids to do better when they are being disruptive and behaving much worse than the little black one, does that help the black kid?
When a teacher in Sanford Middle School, Ms. Morris brings a dog to school and the dog plays with all the other kids in the class, who just happen to be white and runs and runs from the black kid, then the teacher tells that black student that her dog is not accustomed to dark colors, does that help that black kid or does that kid feel embarrassed and possibly withdraw in her class?
Or when a teacher at Seminole High School, Mr. Pilch, does not respond to communication from parents, hides semester test grades from a black student and his parents so as not to bring up the student’s grade by a letter, discriminates against the black students during class time, speaks of the great behavior and attitude of a student while in meetings with among other people, the principal and the parent but a few days later writes everything contrary to these statements on the student’s report card, (where it really matters), does this help that child or is this teacher creating a future Affirmative Action Beneficiary with his lies, deception and racist behavior?
When helpful information is withheld from minority students, information about Advanced Placement Classes and anything else that would help to advance the minority student, that behavior will create a disadvantage for the minority student and as a result he or she will more likely need the benefits of Affirmative Action. I have first hand experience of that behavior from another High School and had it not been for vigorous pursuit for my child’s best opportunities, we would have been left in the dark and probably would have needed the benefits of Affirmative Action, but thank God, she has been successful on her own merit.
To give credit where credit is due, we are fortunate to currently have a school Counselor for our youngest child who gives us all the possible opportunities and makes our child realize that every possibility is open to him. It is largely due to this counselor’s sense of fairness and equality, and my firm belief that the current principal’s goal is to change the current perception, that I have kept my son at this high school.

Without constant monitoring by those student’s parents and giving constant encouragement and motivation in order to offset the negative impact of people that are tearing them down instead of lifting them up, those children would definitely need Affirmative Action to get into college. As a matter of fact they will need Affirmative Action to get anywhere in life due to constant oppression and discrimination throughout their childhood school days.
In plain talk, the schools will have contributed to creating some people who will always need special passes to get anywhere in life and in some cases they have created a menace and liability to society.

The whole Affirmative Action policy should be eliminated altogether and laws passed and enforced with severe penalties so that any teacher or administrator found to be discriminating against a student whether Caucasian or minority, should be punished according to those severe laws. Putting unprepared, downtrodden and unmotivated students into college just because there is a quota to make, helps nobody at all, but preparing a student, treating them like any other student, encouraging and motivating them in the lower schools, would give them the opportunity to compete on a level playing field for each college space without any external assistance or preferential treatment.

If I was a gambler I would bet my last dollar that racism that exists in schools today would be dramatically reduced and each child would get a better opportunity to succeed if Affirmative Action was eliminated and the laws that should be protecting our society from discrimination enforced.