Learning gap

Tony Norman, who writes for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazettte, thinks that we are off the mark when we explain the racial education gap by poor teaching or poor funding.  

The gap isn't because of "some defect in the cognitive abilities of black students. Education isn't racially coded to prevent minority kids from learning the material."

"Parents of black students have to become insistent stakeholders who personally reinforce the value of education even if they're not educated themselves."

He thinks the key to closing that gap is in the parents.  This should sound familiar if you've read about KIPP charter schools.  When the two KIPP founder/teachers started to be successful with students, one of their discoveries was that education works best when the parents are personally involved stakeholders.