Puerto Rican students finished dead last in standardized math tests given to fourth and eighth graders. Local secretary of miseducation, Rafael "My Mouth's a Suicide Weapon" Aragunde claims the tests are "culturally biased."
Skip over to the Topix page, featuring a forum on the Orlando Sentinel report of this news item. Here are excerpts of some of the comments made, presented with their original misspellings:
--From "Welcome to the OC," of Orlando, FL: This is a surprise...TO NO ONE!!!!
--From "skyla2551," of Orlando, FL: Its troubling that Puerto Rico is ranked last on our national tests. But for Orange county schools to go and recruit there teachers is even more troubling, Let just import there educational problems here.
--"Stepheno3," of Orlando, Fl weighs in with: I am certainly not surprised to see this: Based on the way they act here in Orlando, I am surprised that they ever get above last place! I think perhaps a place to start would be some parental control at home, but I guess that is to much to ask!
--From "john," of Altamonte Springs, FL: Wow, ranked last, that beautiful island that everyone praises as such a great place. Sad to say I don't think our little county is far behind. We are being dragged down daily from what a promising and beautiful place Orange County used to be. Think there is any correlation?
--From "Excuse me," in Oviedo, FL: How do you put bias in a MATH test?????? Their response makes them look ignorant.
--"Edwin Berríos," of Orlando, FL: I wish the Puerto Rican officials would quit hiding their head in the sand and realize they have a terrible education system on their hands. In spite of the hundreds of millions of dollars spent by the local and federal government in the education system in Puerto Rico, it is terrible.
How could a math test be "culturally biased"? Isn't 2 plus 2 yields the same result, whether you are a kid from the ghetto or from Isleworth? Whether you are black, hispanic, white, asian or any other ethnic or ethnic group, math is math.
Your life experiences based on the amount of money you have, the language you speak or the music you listen to do not change the result of a math problem.
Mr. Aragunde, why don't you just face the fact that your Department has always been a fiasco, no matter what political party is in power. Your Department recently returned millions of dollars back to the federal government, because your Department did not find any use for them. On top of that during the past few years, your Department has had to return hundreds of millions of dollars to the federal government that have been misspent.
--From "Trailer King," of Winter Park, FL: they didn't translate the numbers correctly must be a racist that converted it.
--Unfortunately, "amazed." from Jamison, PA clumsily misfires in several directions: Wow ignorance is bliss isn't it? I'm sure you've read prior article and have notice that most of you all are racists against even your own kind. Puerto Ricans are dumb huh? Try and research (and by the looks of it...must who are commenting here probably have never done so, but research is the diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover or revise facts, theories, applications, etc.) Once you do this, you will find that must of the hardest positions to obtain in this country are occupied by Puerto Ricans. A great example would be Sergeant General Richard Carmona. Isn't it an interesting fact that more then 50% of Puerto Ricans go on to higher education in comparing to the low-lives that sit in their trailers and criticize others to make themselves feel better? But no one cared to pay attention to that. Keep expressing your jealously, we understand that you cannot expand your mind further then what you're being told. It’s ok that we are able to speak two languages and most others can’t. After all we are the ones walking away with your jobs. Oh, and yes... we are "using YOUR free money" too…right? So wouldn't that make us reallllllllly smart :) If you haven't caught on to it by now (I know must who read the Orlando Sentinel only do have a 7th grade reading level - and this is factual, I actually do my research before I comment on something and sound like and idiot or should I said must of you here) I am a proud Puerto Rican who holds an MBA. I guess the education system did me right somewhere, huh? Let Me be blunt here, "amazed": Take your "research skills," your MBA and your obviously false notion that you can make an argument for Us and cram it so far inside of you that not even a Surgeon General can find it.
--And lastly, from "Carter Burke," of Farmingdale, NY: "Puerto Rican officials are dismissing the test, administered to fourth- and eighth-graders, as culturally biased." That kind of thinking promotes mediocrity through "victimhood" and deflection of responsibility while horribly shortchanging the children who won't be equipped to excel in the world.
To just dismiss the test wholesale is a complete disregard for the responsibility educators have even if Puerto Rican children's brains somehow "work differently" than "white peoples"(which honestly sounds like self racism and am shocked they used that as an excuse).
"Carter," you may not have expressed it with complete precision, but you did hit the nail on the head. Our so-called educators prefer victimhood over maturity, an inferiority complex over self-respect and blaming others rather than responsibility. It undermines Our collective self-esteem, leading to either crass passivity or the excesses of "amazed."
We are last in math in a country that doesn't rank in the top 15 worldwide in math. If We don't set Our own standards--Our own, not those of an educational failure--We will continue to languish and lose ground.
As for prejudice and bias, they will always be a part of humanity. And they work both ways, for We are certainly not above them. But not everything is biased against Us...unless We prefer to see it that way.
The Jenius Has Spoken.
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