BMW

BMW=black man working. Actually, in this case, it should be BMWTW: black man wanting (to) work; not as a rapper or a basketball player, but in one of the most important positions existing: the giver of knowledge and living example to children.

A certain young black man fills all the squares. College educated to the hilt (double-major in liberal arts subjects, dean’s list more than once), he’s brilliant and accomplished. He’s a member of Mensa. He interned with a US senator. He was a Rhodes Scholar candidate. Here’s a man who could have nearly any career desired, likely with many benefits, monetary and otherwise. But what does he want to do? He wants to give something back, give a hand up to young men (and women) who may be inspired by him: he applies to become a teacher in the metro Atlanta counties (large black population).

Surely, the school district officials there would be appreciative of their good fortune at this exceptionally qualified teacher falling into their laps. Not. This young man, Marquis Harris, received this missive through email:

"Though your qualifications are quite impressive, I regret to inform you that we have selected another candidate. It was felt that your demeanor and therefore presence in the classroom would serve as an unrealistic expectation as to what high school students could strive to achieve or become. However, it is highly recommended that you seek employment at the collegiate level; there your intellectual comportment would be greatly appreciated. Good luck." [Bold mine, -Ed.]

How about that? Marquis Harris is a freak of nature, or so says the principal that refused him employment. Oh, not in so many words, of course, but the implication is clear: it’s not realistic for young black students to achieve through his/her merits alone; they usually aren’t capable of it. So, to have a living, breathing example of achievement before them day in and day out would only serve to rile up those docile, inferior darkie slaves discourage them. They might start thinking that they really don’t need Affirmative Action and that some just might accept them for their proven, enumerated abilities and demonstrable work ethic.

Can’t have that, now can we?

(Thanks to DC Thornton)

Comments

[Susie]

Gosh that makes me angry. And people wonder why America's schools are swirling down the drain...

[Venomous Kate]

Good grief. When did high standards, challenging goals, and having someone to look up to become bad things?

[Francis W. Porretto]

When I first saw this story, it catapulted me into a degree of outrage better imagined than described. At this point, just to be reminded of it makes me want to grab my AR-15 and sound the alarm, for the enemy is surely among us, and he's holding our children hostage.

This might be the most candid expression of the anti-achievement mentality, but it is not an "isolated incident." If you see racism rampant in it -- and among the very people who have arrogated to themselves the privilege of policing our language and thoughts -- you're not alone.

Thanks for giving this incident still more currency. If America needs any more proof that the educational establishment is absolutely hostile to this country's principles and ideals, and hates anyone who upholds them, then America deserves to lose its children to their wiles.

[Samantha]

"It was felt that your demeanor and therefore presence in the classroom would serve as an unrealistic expectation as to what high school students could strive to achieve or become."

So would they have prefered someone who was fluent in ebonics, had done some time in the big house, and had a couple of baby's mommas on the side? My similarly over educated sister who had hopes of teaching in NYC public schools is now working for a Turkish textiles company. She wrote a bit about it here

[Lester Spence]

the thing is sam...that most likely the brother WAS fluent in ebonics.

and francois, the educational establishment isn't hostile to this country's higher principles and ideals in general...only when certain populations are involved.

[hln]

That is absolutely disgusting. And very sad.

hln

[baldilocks]

Lester: I took Samantha's comment to mean this: fluent only in Ebonics.

[Breaker]

This is a damn shame. I do not know if there is an opening for next year in our small school district in Laguna Beach but if so and if Mr. Harris should apply, I would be pleased to use all my influence (not much, but some) to get him hired on his merit - he would be an inspiration to students regardless of race or creed. I suspect that not many other school districts will be so condescending of their students.

[Peter]

I can see no functional difference between the educational establishment and the Klu Klux Klan.
As a matter of fact the Klu Klux Klan has done less damage to black America than the NEA and it's allies, the urban and overwhelmingly Donk school boards.

[Emperor Misha I]

Pardon my language, Baldilocks, but the only words I can find that properly describe those bureaucrapping bastards is "fucking racist, slimy, scummy sons-of-syphilitic-whores."

It's stories like these that are responsible for me longing for the day when we start stringing up those swine without the benefit of a trial.

The sooner the better.

[Bob Whaley]

No one says it with quite the flair that Misha does. I'm of the same mind. This is simply appalling.

This isn't a plug for my site, but today I posted another story that will show, once again, how pathetic the public school system can be.

[Teresa]

Am I surprised? Not at all. The biggest obstacle that Marquis Harris faces is the fact that he is far and away, more intelligent than the principals who will be interviewing him. This means he is a threat to the self-esteem of the person who will be his immediate supervisor.

Unless he can find a principal with a much better sense of self worth, he will continue to run into this problem. The lame excuse given above, is just that, an excuse.

The result is that far too many students must put up with mediocre to poor teachers. And we know the outcome in that case. *sigh*

[Cobb]

I'm shocked. Absolutely shocked that such a thing could happen in America! It's 2004!

But really what pisses me off more is that my company isn't big enough to hire him.

[aelfheld]

I wish that this surprised me more than it does.

Public schools have long been run for the benefit of the staff, not the students. They've become sinkholes of mediocrity and incompetence, encouraged and protected by those who happily condemn future generations to ignorance for political advantage.

There is no palliative for this situation - radical change is required and long overdue, but the will needed to effect it is nonexistent.

[danruiid]

Sickening and disguesting in the extreme. Can't have blackie larning and thunking now, can we?

Excuse me whilst I take some aspirin.

[Geoffrey]

I'm think I'll crawl back into my hole down. It's much nicer there.

[Steve Teeter]

I went as far as graduate school, so I've known a lot of teachers, good and bad. All I can say is that the good ones rejoice when one of their students flies higher than they were able to fly.

To institutionalize the opposite is repulsive.

[Michele]

This is going to be a side-issue rant (I can't add anything to the above posts re: Mr. Harris.):
The phrase to "give something back" (to the community) is one of the most obnoxious, insidious expressions our culture has to offer. It accepts as a given the class warfare politics of the leftists, who see life and economics as some of zero-sum game in which the winners "take" something away from the losers. In fact, the irony is that Mr. Harris has been exceptionally good at working hard with his God-given talents. Nobody gave him anything that is not offered to everyone else in this great country: He was offered the opportunity to do his best and he has done it. How ironic that the moral pathology of these times suggests that he has "taken" something from society and must "give something back." And those who literally owe others for virtually everything are not even expected to say thank you, much less give something back to the taxpayers and charities that support them.
Here in Austin, Michael Dell employs thousands of people, who pay their own way, pay taxes, take care of themselves, donate to charity and buy things to keep the economy rolling. He provides a product that many people enjoy. (let's not talk about Dell customer service, which I understand needs a lot of work.) Mr. Dell has contributed millions to good works also. It makes me sick when I see some assinine article in the paper about Dell's "giving back" as though he got where he is by taking beans out of the mouths of the poor.
As far as I can see, the only successful people who ought to feel guilty and ought to be forced to "give back" are the political liberals who have taken hope and self-sufficiency (and votes) from millions in their quest for power.
Sorry to go on and on...but think about it!
Michele

[baldilocks]

Michele: Granted, I used the phrase "give something back" in a manner that implied that had Marquis Harris simply applied for and received a posistion in corporate, that he would not be "giving something back." However, since you pressed me to to think about it, I'd say that the phrase "give something back" is only obnoxious if value is added to it, one way or the other; or if one contrues the phrase in a narrow manner. Hence, Michael Dell, in employing many people and providing a desired commodity, is also "giving something back;" not to those who may have helped him, but to others, those in his employ and to the American economy.

(For, surely, recognizing his talent, someone gave him some form of assistance, even if it was only the loan officer at the bank.)

The thing given is only a zero-sum game if one makes it such.

[MacQuarrie]

I'm forwarding this to the Superintendent of Schools for my city. If he has the brains God gave a grape, he'll get Mr. Harris on the phone and talk him into coming to California ASAP. We NEED this man. That principal should be flogged, tarred, feathered, and runout of town on a rail. If I lived in Atlanta, I'd be tearing open pillows at this moment.

Personally, i think the principal did Mr. Harris a favor - who would want to work in that kind of environment ? Some much better school will grab Mr. Harris up, and Atlanta metro's loss will be their gain. Enough stupid moves like that one and maybe the school district that principal works for will replace him - hopefully with someone of Mr. Harris' caliber !

[Joe Lemyre]

Personally, i think the principal did Mr. Harris a favor - who would want to work in that kind of environment ? Some much better school will grab Mr. Harris up, and Atlanta metro's loss will be their gain. Enough stupid moves like that one and maybe the school district that principal works for will replace him - hopefully with someone of Mr. Harris' caliber !

[Chasmyn]

This saddens me deep down in my soul. That even the principal of the high school these students attended did not think enough of them to think they had a chance of succeeding. I should think that such a school would be proud to have a man who has accomplished so much teaching its students, letting them know that they, too can achieve such things, and that the color of their skin or their social class or whatever it is would not matter. This just breaks my heart.

[Reverend Tex Ginsberg]

How sad for America. However, I'm glad this is out in the open. When I tell people to pull their children out of public school if they care for them, they don't understand why. This is one for the "evidence files."

Demand School Choice NOW!

[Daniel Day]

what Joe Lemyre said, in addition to what nearly everyone else said. The district's attitude is pathetic. I'm sure this man will find a teaching job somewhere. More power to him.

[wes jackson]

Lester, you are doing it again! The education system is not hostile to any group or race!
They are every bit as hostile to higher principles,or "reaching for the stars" in the wealthy white enclave of our local doctors and rich bizznez men,(and women). This group (they are like a virus in the system) just can't stand it when one person is more successful than his
classmate. It matters not if the venue be classwork or sports....They are dumbing down across the board. This is EVERYONE's problem!
I might add; it is which political party that is trying to change the school system at all?
Good old Free market.....let EVERYONE compete,and the best shall rise. (can you say Condi Rice?)

[John Barrett Jr.]

OK, let me see if I understand this, though I'm not sure I want to:

1) While it is possible for Marquis Harris to achieve his impressive credentials, it is not possible for his potential students to do the same.

2) As some students do not have the ability to walk in Marquis' footsteps, all should be denied the possibility of trying. (Do the administrators really think that the person who tries for academic excellence and falls short is WORSE off than the person who doesn't try at all?)

3) While it would be bad for the students to have a 3.75 GPA, Mensa member as a role model, it would be good for them to have someone with lesser qualifications.

4) That a person as qualified as Marquis Harris, few of whom even consider teaching as an occupation, would not be an asset to the Atlanta school system or any students under his charge.

While I hope I am wrong about this, I suspect this move was made not for the benefit of the students, but for the other teachers in the system, fearing an unspoken competition between Marquis' students and their own. "Will they expect expect that kind of performance from MY kids?" Well, maybe they should.

What's so great about the status quo anyway? If the example of Marquis' life threatened to raise students' expectations of themselves, wouldn't that be a good thing? Don't you want to turn acceptable students into exceptional ones?
If the Atlanta school system has a problem with that, I have a problem with the Atlanta school system.

Somebody find a school system that isn't afraid of excellence. And somebody buy Marquis Harris a plane ticket for that city.

[Lester Spence]

Wes, there are a host of problems with American schooling both public and private. But it is wrong to say that variance does not exist (either in resources allocated to schools, or in "malfare" allocated to schools). It is wrong intellectually (we know for example that in many states wealthier school districts receive more resources than poorer ones). It is wrong politically (in that the rhetoric of false unity tends to ignore the problems of the "least" among us).

"the educational establishment isn't hostile to this country's higher principles and ideals in general...only when certain populations are involved."
This comment implies your belief in the notion
that school districts intend to allocate resources
to schools based on the make up of the population of a school.
I am sure you could find examples of that, but I meant that "in general" the establishment IS hostile to higher principles. That they feel it "unfair" that the Marquis Harris model be held as a goal to students. That they feel that because eveyone cannot attain an equally high result for their effort, the example should not be displayed. The student that is incapable of reaching the higher goal will be harmed in some way; most likely a question of self esteem.
Variance exists....No question about it. That there exists a malevolent goal in the distribution of resources is certainly not the case.("in general") That communities with greater wealth receive more resorces is a basis for the idea of school vouchers. That the "least" need more from us all is a basis for means testing as a qualifier for affirmative action.
I'm not sure about that "rhetoric of false unity" remark........I hope it wasn't directed at my comments.

[Lola Lee]

Whaaa . . . . ??? This is just so full of manure! I would be overjoyed to have this gentleman as my children's teacher (if we ever do get blessed).

[tvd]

Same damn thing happened to me: with the exception that I'm dumber than Mr. Harris: I was no Rhodes Scholar or Senate intern (was a triple-major, though). I was also dumber in that I actually kept trying to give back for two years, until finally, the principal told me I spent too much time helping the less skilled children (who were predominantly black, but suffered mostly from low expectations) at the expense of others. Not to mention the fact that the principal gave me the classes full of low-achievers to BEGIN with.

Though I don't agree with Walt Williams on a lot (I see nothing wrong with economic-based affirmative action, for instance), he's spot-on with his criticism of education. it's a sty.

Marquis should be comforted that there are many ways to 'give back'--most of my pro bono stuff is on behalf of poor, minority clients, who are far more appreciative than my principals ever were.

[Kit]

Hear that unholy scream echoing through the night? That's me. I'm a new teacher looking for a job, and I can't imagine facing something like that. "Oh, sorry, we can't hire you because you're too good of an example." What in God's name has happened to us?