Need More Classroom Time, Not More Holidays

We can best celebrate our nation’s diversity by requiring more time in the school classroom, not with more holidays. Blacks, browns and whites will benefit if we can close the yawning achievement gaps between the first two groups with whites, and also the big gap between whites and Asian-Americans and Asians. This is now a matter of national security, as China pours big money into its educational systems at all levels, as a foundational element in achieving economic dominance of the world. 

The last time I looked, for example, only 2 percent of high schoolers in benighted, African-American East St. Louis in my state of Illinois were performing adequately in math. If you can’t do math, you can’t do college.

While East St. Louis offers an extreme example, one would hope, it illustrates the persistent gap between poor communities of any color and those high up the income scale. The highest level of parental education has always been the strongest correlate with their kids’ school achievement. 

Stronger school achievement is now a matter of national security. After all, with 1.4 billion people, China has more honor students than the U.S. has students.