Honestly, there are two things that would help poor blacks and every other poor ethnic group: a restoration of order in the public schools (or a move to orderly alternative schools such as charter schools), and rigorous, effective instruction in reading starting in kindergarten. As long as schools are in chaos and children do not learn to read fluently, many dysfunctional aspects of impoverished communities will remain basically hopeless.
Both of these things can be done, at least in principle.
I don't think there's a school on earth (except maybe full-time residential boarding schools or quasi-boot camps) that can make up for dysfunctional and unengaged home lives. This is true for broken-down communities of any color; it just hurts a higher-proportion of dark-skinned people than pale-skinned.
Most of the top-performing US ethnic groups are not white. Indians, Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, Nigerian, etc.
Of course excellent schools can do a lot. This has been proven repeatedly. Compare Baltimore Public to Success Academy. Almost no one in Baltimore Public is doing well. Lots of Success Academy kids are doing very well, Freddie de Boer's witless critique notwithstanding.
Honestly, there are two things that would help poor blacks and every other poor ethnic group: a restoration of order in the public schools (or a move to orderly alternative schools such as charter schools), and rigorous, effective instruction in reading starting in kindergarten. As long as schools are in chaos and children do not learn to read fluently, many dysfunctional aspects of impoverished communities will remain basically hopeless.
Both of these things can be done, at least in principle.
I don't think there's a school on earth (except maybe full-time residential boarding schools or quasi-boot camps) that can make up for dysfunctional and unengaged home lives. This is true for broken-down communities of any color; it just hurts a higher-proportion of dark-skinned people than pale-skinned.
Most of the top-performing US ethnic groups are not white. Indians, Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, Nigerian, etc.
Of course excellent schools can do a lot. This has been proven repeatedly. Compare Baltimore Public to Success Academy. Almost no one in Baltimore Public is doing well. Lots of Success Academy kids are doing very well, Freddie de Boer's witless critique notwithstanding.