<p>It’s the culture. I feel that us blacks are more coerced into playing sports than academics but, my dad turned the concept on it’s head and forced me into academics and i didn’t get into sports until 7th grade. I’m the only black in most of my classes. </p>
<p>Yeah, it’s like Daxlo said. Historically, Asians and whites have placed a greater importance on education than black and Hispanic families did. Recently there has been a change though. Many more Hispanic families are touting the “do good in school, go to a good college, be successful” thing than had been previously.</p>
<p>It wasn’t until my mom told my dad that I was “academically gifted” when he started allowing me not to play sports. </p>
<p>To put it simply… a lot of black people live under the poverty line. Broke, live in the ghetto, we see no light. Sports… possibly the safest thing we could do that didn’t involve dealing drugs or in gangs was seen as a way out. </p>
<p>For a young black kid, you see all those talented and rich black athletes on TV, and now you want to be one of them. Make the money, have the cars, the clothes, etc.</p>
<p>School is seen as something extra, not necessary to their goals.</p>
<p>Man… just wait until they hear of the NCAA Clearinghouse. </p>
<p>That’s why a good mentor and coach for these men tells them in their early years. Gets them to do the best they can.</p>
<p>According to my dad, if I stuck with sports and didn’t do robotics (I played football and would’ve played basketball), I’d be recruited right now.</p>
<p>Their economic status is a result of their culture. Nothing about being poor makes you stop caring about school. Short sightedness and lack of rationality takes care of that one. However, not caring about school would make a population poor.</p>
<p>To be perfectly honest, it’s a cycle. It could start from either point and lead to the same thing. </p>
<p>Imo, we began poor, so our economic status wasn’t great to begin with. A large percentage of us had a poor economic status, henceforth shaping our culture. </p>
<p>Those who applied themselves and reached a higher economic status could either change their culture or put themselves in a new environment. </p>
<p>And when you’re poor and you have to feed your family and what not, caring about school <<<<< caring about feeding your family.</p>
<p>Not really, the culture is a result of the economic status. Example blacks, being poor, they are usually in bad school districts with bad schooling and thus they are not taught well and probably fail test, quizzes, etc… They see school as mundane and none-beneficent because of maybe a lack of good role models in their poor communities but, on T.V they see rappers and NBA players making bank so, guess what? They aspire to be like them and see school as an obstacle in their way. If all black people were rich and thus made enough to send their kids to let’s say Exeter, then do you think black culture would still be the same?</p>
<p>Same things with ribs i believe, blacks starting eating ribs because they were the cheapest and most unwanted parts of the pig back then so now it’s ingrained in black culture.</p>
<p>But, what do i know? I’m just a black kid who also lived in the ghetto.</p>
<p>^^^ But that wouldn’t change why poor kids (or poor black kids?) are underachieving even in lower grade levels. No 5th grader is thinking about feeding their family and his/her parents probably shield them from their money troubles. At the highschool level, I could understand if they had to work a job. However, not all of them do, and I know many high achieving kids who DO work jobs.</p>
<p>I know there are MANY reasons why poor people in general don’t perform as well, I’m just trying to understand how being poor ----> don’t care about school. In my head, the poor should care the MOST about school while the rich kids can **** around and know they’ll inherit daddy’s company one day.</p>
<p>FunStuff, maybe the fact that the 5th grader’s parents can’t help him with his homework because they’re dumb and/or afford a tutor because of a lack of resources.</p>
<p>^But that’s why you ask your teacher for help. You can dial a teacher for homework help. I’m just saying in this day in age, we can’t use excuses like that. </p>
<p>I don’t get that. There are poor Asians, but the parents push them to do well in school to get a better life. Same with Whites. Why can’t Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans do that with their kids and push them to get a better life. I think poverty can play a bit, but not that much. That sounds like something you would’ve heard 50yrs ago, but now that seems to far fetched.</p>
<p>I’m talking about minorities in schools were their the majority, were the school has the sources. But the Asians and Whites as usual are in the top classes.</p>