It's a result of poor partner selection.
Race is a red herring in this case and, as evident in this thread all too often acts as a distraction from discussing the topic rationally. (much like illegal immigration)
The issue as I recall pretty clearly correlates more closely with socio-economic and culture trends than race.
(snip)
The overall trend is an issue in our culture. The story should be "The Collapse of the AMERICAN family", or perhaps more accurately "The poor American family"
I completely agree. Go to a poor city school around Detroit and you will see that it is not just blacks that have this problem. A culture is followed that glorifies money, drugs and sexual promiscuity and links them to success. You are successful if you have slept with a lot of women, you are cool if you do/can get/sell drugs. You know what is not cool? Doing school work. Staying awake in class. Following the teacher's rules. Fashion trends are such that far more T&A is shown than in my ancient school days 12 years ago, most assuredly inflaming the already barely controllable urges of that age. The views on sex inhabit this weird, hypocritical ground where one minute sleeping around isn't cool while the next its glorified. It shouldn't be seen on TV but is readily available, in all manner of fetishes, online. Parents don't talk about it openly but everyone fawns over the latest sex scandal coverage.
This cultural trend isn't just limited to poor areas though although the concentration is definitely stronger. Why?
IMO the pull of long term destructive behavior is stronger than ever but parental responsibility is at it's lowest. Johnny can do no wrong. Susie is dressed just fine even though her va-jay-jay is hanging out because her skirt is so short. Parents can overcome the cultural trends. I have seen it happen in many a touching story. However, it takes time, effort, and consistency to raise a child and that is in short supply. It also should take planning. But its no big deal because there is no stigma about having to rely on government assistance. There is no stigma about paying child support. There is no stigma about being an absent father. As we remove more and more of the personal responsibility on parents, having a child becomes 'easier' and more people will do it with little forethought. People will be more willing to risk not using a contraceptive (esp the soon to be father)
Environment is another problem. School district socio economic concentrations are regressing. As more problem kids are entering the schools (BMG Foundation found disciplined problem have been rising rapidly among schools over the last decade), concerned parents are fleeing for better schools. As a schools reputation grows, so do the property values surrounding the school. This creates an economic barrier to attain a better education. Poor families that are still actively parenting are faced with even tougher challenges as they are forced to deal with a sub-par environment for their children due to economic immobility.
There is a more recent issue but one I suspect will have an even greater impact due to the already fragile foundation of the education system. School budgets are being slashed. Here in Michigan the number of schools being taken over by the state for financial reasons keeps growing. In the past you would have teachers who cared for the kids - who stayed because these kids truly needed a role model - someone who would care for them when no one else would.
But salaries have been decreasing, benefit costs increasing. Budget woes hit poor schools harder as they don't have the benefit of a wealthier local population to absorb some of those increases.
The ones who can get out are getting out - like rats fleeing a sinking ship. When some of the good ones find better prospects the concentration of inept teachers, administrators, support staff increases. In turn the burden on those quality employees who have chosen to remain increases. Salaries/benefits go down again. The parents who can - leave. The number of problem kids rises. This triggers the tipping point for some more qualified administrators/teacher to leave as it is no longer worth their while to stay. The cycle repeats and the environment the child grows up in deteriorates further as the concentration of destructive behaviors increases.
We are failing our children in the three most influential areas
TLDR:
Why does this happen?
-Culture
-Declining interest in parental responsibility
-Decline in overall quality in poorer schools
Facebook
Twitter