Numbers as Lies

    This is an attempt to look at some of the assessment issues that develop, especially in the academic world.

    The essay talks about bias, a term in statistics that means to over-predict.  So, the idea is that there is a negative bias for females in multiple choice tests means that they are better than the score indicates.  We we talk about this with minorities as well.

    Anyone familiar with statistical literature, however, knows far too much for the sort of nonsense in Education and even Counseling Journals and, yes, Political Correctness intrudes.

    Let me explain with some (oh my God!) facts:  it is true that there is a slight negative bias against these groups.  Also, if measurement devices are to be used to determine any sort of reward, such as College Admission (if that really is a reward)), the best one to use would be the parents' income.  College success and family income are very highly correlated, certainly more highly than ACT or SAT scores.  Actually, I think that everybody should be allowed admission and that it should be free, but that is a point of view, not related to the theses here.

    If we do want to consider bias, we certainly need to account for the fact that there is a 10% positive bias in favor of left-handers.  What sort of action should we take on that?  I can account for some of it as left-handers constantly need to adjust to a right-handed world and hence are more adaptable.  Still, should we not require a higher score before we admit left-handers?

    It is well-known that a left-handed batter has an advantage over a right-handed hitter in baseball.  A popular reason for this is that the curve ball of a right hander is easier to follow for a left-handed batter.  And that is true.  An additional, and I found more important, reason is that the bottom hand on a bat guides it and the top hand supplies the power.  With baseballs taking less that 2/5ths of a second to get to home plate, the batter has to have good hand-eye co-ordination.  In addition, the baseball will go far anyway if hit in the right spot.  Finally, a right-eye dominant person has an advantage batting left-handed as it is the eye facing the pitcher that focuses on the ball.  Additionally, someone with 20/20 eyesight (and this applies to all hitters) actually can not focus on the baseball during the last 2 or 3 feet as a rapid refocusing of the eyes is necessary.  To some degree, a certain amount of myopia is an advantage. 

    So, anyway, a great deal of nonsense is told us about statistics by people who don't know a damn thing about the subject, but who managed to pass nine credit hours in the field.  I found it the easiest 9 hours of A I ever got, but that was because the professors knew their subject.

    In Counseling or Therapy, let me assure you that ability is more a matter of instinct and honesty, mixed with empathy.  If you do not have that, all the numbers in the world will not do you or your patients a damn bit of good.   


Review of

    Bridgeman, Brent & Lewis, Charles.  1994.  The relationship of essay and multiple-Choice Scores with grades in college courses.  Journal of Educational Measurement, (31, 1).  37-50.


Description
    Bridgeman and Lewis used data from 32 colleges in an attempt to show the relationship between essay-type examinations and multiple-choice examinations as predictors of freshman grade point averages.  On the whole, they seem to come to the conclusion that multiple choice examinations are more reliable and accurate than essay questions except for certain situations in which they are just as reliable. 
    The introduction compares the two types of examinations and some of the prior research after giving some faint praise to essay examinations and pointing out that multiple-choice questions were gender biased against females (37-38).  The sample of 32 colleges and the various grade point averages, SAT scores, Advanced Placement (AP) scores, along with self-reported high school grade point averages (HSGPA) were used (39).  The AP tests form the basis for the essay exam data as well as some of the multiple choice data used in the analysis and how they were graded are described (39-41).  Next, there is a "Results and Discussion" section correlating the AP scores with College GPAs in the respective categories of History, Biology, and the English Language.  The SAT scores and HSGPA are also correlated with first year scores in general and in the particular subjects.     
    The article concludes with some suggestions for further study of essay type examinations and what might be done if more weight were to be placed on the essay examinations (48-49).  For example, reliability is a significant problem in essay type examinations and that more such exams and more graders would help in this respect.  Also suggested is some sort of statistical adjustment for "systematic differences in the scoring standards" (49) of each grader.  Some suggestions for further study are also made which will be discussed below. 
   
Analysis
    For the purposes of this analysis, I would like to take the unpopular stance of being pro-essay exam.   From my own experience as a teacher with essay examinations and observations of other graders at a variety of types of colleges, I can say that the attempt to subject them to the same sort of statistical analysis as one does with multiple choice examinations is formidable indeed.  Of most interest is the fact that the evaluation of these essays is remarkably consistent and this suggests that essay-type responses on an intake questionnaire might be just as reliable, and depending on the inclinations and attitudes of the therapist, potentially more rewarding.
    Bridgeman and Lewis correctly point out that essay examinations assess skills that can not be measured in the multiple choice format (37) and that they are primarily used to assess "... acquisition of skills and knowledge taught in specific college-level courses" (38) rather than to predict future success.  I feel that they also allow the student to demonstrate knowledge and skills acquired in the course with less restraints -- in other words, a multiple-choice format may not allow the student the opportunity to demonstrate a knowledge of specific areas even if they are covered in that format.  The format also precludes the client's ability to qualify answers given in the multiple choice format.
    An interesting phenomenon that the authors point to is the gender bias in multiple choice formats.  Even in the sample used, the difference between males and females on multiple choice questions is about .3 standard deviation units and this is a well-known phenomenon.  In this particular study, essay examinations, on the other hand, yielded about .02 difference. 
    The sample seems adequate and the approach to standardizing the letter grades seems reasonable (using a 13 point scale).  The one possible weakness in the basic data described here is that the HSGPA is self-reported.  There could well be a tendency for a certain number of students to under- or over-estimate this variable.  If we can assume a uniformity of bias on the part of all students and if this bias in uniformly distributed (it is possible that males and females would exhibit different patterns of self-reporting), this is not a significant problem.
    The authors realize, as noted above, that using essay examinations as a predictor is problematic as those exams were used primarily as an assessment, but they do point to what they consider relatively high correlations as predictors in cases where the college grading is based on essay examinations.  Two examples are particularly interesting, the English and the history grades (44-45).  In both cases, the correlations between the essay examinations and the grade point average in those subjects is slightly higher than those pertaining to multiple choice examinations.  I believe that some study is warranted in determining if similar correlations exists between open-ended questions and multiple-choice personality determiners. 
    The so-called "Holland Game" where people simply report what sort of people they would like to be with seems about as accurate as the self-directed test.  I would like to see added a question of why the client would prefer to be with a certain group.  For example, my own "Investigative" and "Social" scores seem to be quite close together and I generally would prefer to be with the "Social" types.  However, the game specifically mentions that this takes place at a party and in that case I would prefer the "Investigative" types because a wider variety of topics for discussion would be available.  While it is only my own subjective opinion, I also think that "Enterprising" types consider themselves "Social."
    The fact that these subjects rely on essay type examinations with their own particular biases merely reinforces another possible suspicion.  The physical sciences, for example, which require a great deal of specific knowledge of the sort that is easily tested in the multiple choice format, eventually require basic communications skills on a higher level.  The authors point out that "essay examinations usually an in-depth understanding of a few content areas..." and that as a result of "...measurement error created by subjective scoring ... essay tests may be substantially less reliable that multiple-choice tests in the same general subject area" (37).  Any individual who wishes to advance in the physical and social sciences, whatever these areas may contend about their objectivity, will eventually need to present their investigations in writing, in essay form, to a highly subjective audience (peer review), and eventually not only present their findings in an understandable written form, but also do it in a convincing manner either to publish or obtain grants.  It may well be that the discussion focuses on undergraduates, but it has been my experience that even those who graduate with a B.A. or a B.S. have found their communication skills sorely untested.  I think this is as a result of a political and social situation that makes computer scored examinations more important than education (see Moore, 364-365).  The authors also point out in a different context, one in which they are explaining the high correlation between undergraduate grades in history and English, that "...this analysis suggests that the construct assessed by the course grades is closer to the construct assessed by the essay scores than it is to the construct assessed by the multiple-choice scores" (43).  In this case, the "construct" is may well include communicating to someone who does not necessarily share the student's point of view.    For the counselor, it may well be providing additional insight and context as well as perception of the client's interpretation of the questions and attitude towards them.
    There are several interesting insights or facts that come to light during the article but which are not highlighted as central facets.  Most interesting is that reader reliability in essay scores was "only" .79.  This seems to mean means that the same reader will grade the same essay the same way on a thirteen point scale 89% or 90% of the time.  This is a remarkably high relationship based on my past experience, especially since the data are based on a 13 point scale (39).  To give the same grade on the same essay on a 13 point scale 90% of the time seems to me to be almost superhuman.  I can see it on a 5 point scale, however.
    The conclusion section provides the most interesting topics for further discussion.  For example, the authors point to the assumption that "...college grades are themselves gender fair" when, in fact, they are biased towards females (see appendix).  Another potentially explosive statement is that "..the generally neater handwriting of women could be discounted as an explanation of their relatively strong performance on essay tests if the same size gender difference were observed with typed essays (49).  I have heard of a survey which indicated that a typed paper earned an average of one letter grade higher than the same handwritten essay.  Rather than lamenting this phenomenon, it behooves us to understand it.  Would this particular review be more highly regarded if right justified?  In one font than another?  In 10, 12, or 14 point?  I have heard that people are generally more impressed by right justified papers but that they retain more from unjustified ones.  In other words, to what extent does presentation overwhelm content? 
    The possibility of "...making statistical adjustments for systematic differences is the scoring standards of different raters (Braun, 1988)" is intriguing with respect to essay examinations.  We all know that there are differences in standards between graders.  Obviously. there are differences in standards between graders and these differences may well extend to gender, style, attitude, focus, etc.  Within a given class, or even on a college-wide exam, when the grader knows the author of the exam, personal or even gender bias may intrude.  If a grader thinks that women should score higher on essay exams, I think it is reasonable to assume that they will.  The idea of having the exams typed is essential, but even more, I would suggest that the typing be done by a pool of typists that had no relation to, or knowledge of, the grader or the author.  They should also be typed in the same format, including font and style. 
    To conclude, I would say that this is an excellent article with some intriguing methodological issues and which provides support for the validity of essay-type questionnaires.  The authors did their best to standardize the scores so that we were discussing similar problems.  The concern seems to be with the place of essay type examinations in a world that is progressively multiple choice oriented, mainly for the convenience of scoring. Could it be that counselors rely on the for the same reasons?  The fact that we are talking about undergraduates, or candidates for undergraduate status, should in no way preclude us from realizing that whatever the discipline, communication skills are an integral factor in success, perhaps both for the client or student and the admissions boards

Autism and the Ct. School Shootings

    I very seldom, in fact so far as I can remember, never comment on current events using my Psychological Training or Cognitive Science as an element.   I try to keep that separate.

     However, I am becoming very disturbed at the facile way reporters and commentators are throwing around terms such as "Autism" and "Asperger's Syndrome" as related to causation in the situation.    Neither is or could be true.  It is possible that some sort of identity disorder could be involved, but this is not Dustin Hoffman or Jerry from Boston Legal. 

    End of story.  If you want to know more, let me know.   Otherwise, look elsewhere for the causes.

Review of an old article about Ellis - more relevant for statistics today

Lichtenberg, J. W., Johnson, D. D., & Arachtingi, B. M.  Physical illness and subscription to Ellis's irrational beliefs.       Journal of Counseling & Development, 71(2), 157-163.

 

Overview:

     There is a significant correlation between subscription to Ellis's irrational beliefs and physical illness.  As the abstract states, "...the older the participant, and more often for women, higher need for approval, higher need for competency and achievement, lower need to find perfect solutions to problems, and to a lesser extent, higher dependence on stronger persons were correlated with a greater number of organ systems affected by illness, a greater number of chronic illnesses, and to a lesser extent, a greater total frequency of illness."  (157)  However, it is not entirely clear which is the dependent and which the independent variable.  Many of these irrational beliefs are stressors, furthermore, and this study at least supports the contention that stress is a cause of illness.

 

PERSONAL RESPONSE

Overall Reaction to the Article:

     This is one of the most tightly written and thoughtful of all the research articles I had read in the area of the behavioral and social sciences in general.  It is not simply or clearly written, but it is very precise and, so far as I am able to tell, address all of the significant research design issues. 

     For example, one possible flaw would be the fact that the history of illness was self-reported, but studies cited indicate that such self-reports are 82% to 93% accurate.  (159)  While this "builds in" a degree of inaccuracy, we at least know how much. 

     Another problem frequently encountered in research articles is an undue stress on the significance of the correlation, either in claiming causation or implying it.  Even if these concerns are addressed, authors often leave undiscussed the direction of the correlation.   In this case, while reading the article (I find it informative generally to read the article and ignore the abstract as not enough researchers write useful abstracts), I kept wondering if these irrational beliefs could not be a product of illness rather than vice versa, especially in light of my reading of some of the tables.  The authors, however, conclude the discussion by stating that "...illness proved to be a better predictor of irrational beliefs than beliefs were for them."  (161) 

     Perhaps the only shortcomings of the study are the sample size and a suspicion that it may not be representative.  They were "selected from two midwestern communities."  The population within the sample was representative.  In other words, variables such as gender, age, income level, etc. were considered. (158)  The question is whether the restrictive location (midwestern, size of community not specified), and size (122) is sufficient to justify generalization to the population at large.  There are statistical techniques available to adjust for these factors, but no mention of them in the article.  The authors do state, however, that the results were "statistically significant" (157) so I assume they were applied.

  While the conclusions reached were very carefully stated, the data will be supportive of some of Ellis's claims.  In the distant future, it is difficult to predict, but the article does serve as a useful example of careful research.

Implications for the Field:

     Although few studies have been done exploring the relationship between irrational beliefs and illness, those that exist support a significant relationship.  This relationship makes this study and others important not only to counselors but to physicians in general and supports a holistic approach towards both physical and mental health.  The relationship between the two is strong enough not to be ignored. 

A Reasonable Analysis of Racism in Education

 

     As we contemplate the situation today, not much discussion of the fact that we have a “Black” President seems relevant.  His actions and behavior and activities would be more appropriate in a study of Capitalism and resultant alienation. 

 

     My concern here is not with why people can not get along with one another.  That, again, would require a discussion of the Capitalist World System and how power is maintained by perpetuating division between people on any basis other than class or income.  I believe that it is quite clear, however, that there is absolutely no “Hard-Wiring” involved in Racism or ethnic division or religious prejudice.  It is most certainly acquired as a result of experience and conditioning and that cognitive analysis yields little evolutionary basis for such attitudes.

    One final note: Please excuse the spacing in the notes.  Moving this from one format to anther simply caused extra to be entered at the point of "hard returns".

 

 

Racism in Education

©2011 by Charles Stanford

Introduction

     A brief look at the subject of genetics and a more detailed look at Carl Rowan's The coming race war in america:  A wake-up call (1996) introduces the major issues for this discussion of racism in America's schools.  It also forms the background for a brief discussion of African-Americans and International Relations.  A plethora of statistics and data exist to show the inequity of racism (Axelson, 1993) and enough information is available to show that multi-cultural approaches work and are of benefit to all cultures, including the dominant one (Nieto, 1992).  Afrocentrism is discussed to illustrate how a study of contributions of non-dominant culture members can inform the general curricula.  This paper is not intended as a summary or digest of such information nor is it an agenda.  Rather, it is intended as a philosophic reflection on the issue facilitated by a discussion of the literature.  Educators must become cognitively engaged on the subject before they consider their own, one hopes unique, approach to the issue.

Genetics

     A great deal of information was made available to the world through the O. J. Simpson trial, information that was available elsewhere but not quite as dramatically.  One point that was discussed during the DNA phase of the trial was genetics.  It was pointed out at one point that ninety-nine percent of our genetic code is identical to that of the other primates.  This leaves one percent to account for all of the differences between humans.  Most of that one percent is devoted to such factors as longevity, height, liver size, etc.  This leaves a very small percentage to account for all the other, easily observable, differences such as skin, hair, and eye color.  With lamentable human logic, most of our energy is spent in making decisions based on this minute information, and discussed inadequately and incompetently at that.  Rowan (1996) summarizes the nonsense well enough to make further discussion here superfluous, but it is worth pointing out that he neglects to mention that the first significant rebuttal to the genetic myth was published as long ago as 1906 and by an African American (DuBois, 1906).

Carl Rowan and the International Arena

     Carl Rowan's The coming race war in america:  A wake-up call (1996) has several uses, but it is particularly useful for citing and documenting those incidents one remembers from the news but has difficulty in locating.  It is also useful for a few interesting comments and approaches.  For example, when the inane, but inevitable, question of where the money is going to come from to implement programs that will help to bring about needed progress in education, Rowan replies "...with the money we're spending for new prisons -- or that Gingrich proposes to spend on stockades or orphanages." (295).

     It is also deficient in several ways.  First, it hardly lives up to its dramatic title because it does not delve deeply enough into the militias and their plans for a race war which seems to be the justification for the title.  Second, it does not describe in any detail how African-Americans today will fight back.

     Perhaps his neglect of DuBois, who is not mentioned in the book, can be explained by Rowan's previous ties to the U.S.I.A. (where he was Director), and his membership in the National Security Council -- hardly the credentials of a "leftist" or a "militant" as he has been called often enough.  As Pilgram (1989) points out, DuBois earned his doctorate from Harvard in 1896 and his dissertation became the first volume of the Harvard Historical Series.  He helped found the NAACP and published a series of intellectually pioneering studies, including The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study in 1899, the first empirical sociological study conducted by any American.  As he became more aware of international relations and the United States' role in it, he became Chairman of the Peace information Center in 1950.  After attaining Having attained international prominence through his discussions of United States foreign policy, he was consequently indited on federal charges of being an "unregistered foreign agent."  He joined the American Communist party in 1961 and went to Ghana and died in 1963, one day before the march on Washington. 

     Rowan's association with the National Security Council could also explain his approach to Louis Farrakhan.  Rowan quotes Farrakhan as calling Judaism a "gutter religion" and Israel an "outlaw state."  (63)  On CSPAN2 and other broadcast outlets I have heard the first quote as: "Someone who uses religion to justify such acts has their mind in the gutter."   Farrakhan's main point seems to be that "... the black man will never be free until we address the problem of the relationship between blacks and Jews." (69)  On his second point, the international issue, Israel is, in fact, in violation of numerous United Nation's Security Council resolutions.  When Andrew Young, during the Carter Administration, talked with the Palestinians secretly in an attempt to resolve some peace issues, he was forced to resign as a result of the reaction of Jewish organizations in the United States.  The real point here is that Farrakhan does not fit the mainstream notion of what a "good" African-American should be like, but instead, as did DuBois, achieved international recognition, especially from those not likely to be embraced by the National Security Council and its alumni.  While a complete discussion of Farrakhan is beyond the scope of this paper, and while, despite the fact (or, perhaps, because of the fact) that his grandfather was "probably" Jewish, he may indeed be prejudiced against Jews, we can at least quote him correctly.  Part of the hatred between races is a result of ignorance and people can only reason from the facts laid before them.  No service is done to the people by distorting reality. 

A Modest Hypothesis

     Other African Americans seem to have run afoul of society when they began to discuss international affairs.  Martin Luthur King, of course, was the target of J. Edgar Hoover for some time before King made statements about the Viet Nam war, but it was only after these statements that he was assassinated.  Winning the Nobel Peace Prize hardly endeared him to bigots.  Mohammed Ali was tolerated, but derided, through his name change and religious conversion.  Opinion was fairly split on his refusal to be inducted into the service until he spoke out with typical directness: "I ain't got nothing 'gainst them Viet Cong."  He was then stripped of his title and boxing license and the only sports reporter to support him was Howard Cosell, a law school graduate.  Ali was eventually vindicated by the Supreme Court.  Stokely Charmichal eventually left the country as DuBois had earlier.  Paul Robeson is another example.  Carl Rowan, unlike Andrew Young, has always been careful to seem more "patriotic" than others and, while he regularly receives death threats, will most likely survive.  Hank Aaron received many death threats when it became clear that he would break Babe Ruth's lifetime home run record, but he never to mentioned anything about international affairs.

     One may hypothesize that African Americans are less likely than "White Americans" to judge foreign countries and leaders on the basis on color and, hence, are less likely to adopt an imperialist approach.  When they begin to invade foreign policy which is seem by the power structure as its own province, they are highly suspect and prone to retaliation.  However, further  development of this issue is beyond the scope of this paper.

Racism

     Molnar (1989) warned of the seriousness of racism and Rowan (1996) has amplified the warning.  There can be no doubt that it exists and is pervasive even in higher education (Djangi, 1993) where, presumably, the brightest intellects of our species collect. 

     In addition, racism exists in many guises and forms.  A review of the literature shows, if it needed documentation, that racism is directed at Arabs (Shabbas, 1991), Hispanics (Ponciana, 1989), Native-Americans (Harvey, 1993), and every other minority or ethnic group. 

Afro-Centrism

     Just as a discussion of Minister Farrakhan is beyond the scope of this paper, so is a discussion of the many "races" that face discrimination in society and in our schools.  Each cultural group comes to the school with a somewhat different experience and Weltanschauung just as each individual comes with a different experience than those within a cultural group.  Even the second child comes into an entirely different world than the first child.  For this reason, a brief discussion of what is possible in relation to African Americans is offered with the understanding that the general principles apply to all races.  In other words, the contributions and treatment of all people of color in the United States have been distorted or ignored in our curricula.

     African American studies as an academic discipline in often misunderstood.  Certainly, it is not a subject advisable as a major for an upwardly mobile undergraduate -- most career development specialists tend to emphasize technical specialties for that.  However, the research done under such programs and the knowledge that can be applied is certainly valuable.  Boyd (1992) discusses this issue adequately.

     Harris (1992) and Wieder (1992) and others emphasize that an understanding of the contributions to society by African Americans can help in combating racism and Assante (1991) points out that such studies are of value to both black and white youth.  Powell (1991) provides an excellent summary of the debate.  Essentially, those opposed argue that much of the work is irrelevant and inaccurate, deprives the students from learning what is important about the "real" roots of our society, and tends to take on a militant aura.  Those in favor argue that the current curricula ignores the significant contributions of Blacks to our culture, gives young African Americans a negative self-image, and ignores the contributions and experiences of Blacks prior to the days of slavery. 

     We can at least examine one example of what has come from such studies before we take one side or the other.  Over twenty years ago, Almonse A. Thompson, Jr. (1975) wrote his "Pre-Columbia Black Presence in the Western Hemisphere."  Columbus himself noted the presence of blacks when he landed, he got the idea that the world was not flat from blacks, and there is evidence that "Proto-Negroids" sailed from Africa and settled in Mexico a short time after Christ was born.  He also maintains that additional translations from the Arabic will further document these facts.  The article is well-documented and convincing and has only one sour note -- he reasons that since there was no land bridge 20,000 years ago in Siberia, the Native Americans could not have possibly arrived on this continent first. 

     It is enough, however, to know the facts about the Black exploration and contribution and this is the sort of information that needs further dispersal, especially in the elementary schools both as a necessary counter to the Columbus jingoism that still prevails, but more importantly as an indication to young blacks that their race is not a hindrance to pride in accomplishment.  Rowan (1996) recalls an incident at KcKinley High School in 1987 when the honor roll was called and many black students on that role "refused to stand when their names were called." (267)  It seems that they did not want to be considered traitors to their race and did not wish to be seen as acting like "Whitey." (268).  If more attention had been given to pre-columbian Black history (let alone to DuBois), perhaps achievement and intellectual capacity would not have been perceived as a betrayal of their race, a point Farrahkan repeatedly makes.

Multiculturalism

     Newman (1995) presents a convincing case that, over the past twenty years, the schools have had some success in reducing racism, both in their own structure and in the minds of the students.  On the other hand, Levy (1995) indicates that students in a multi-cultural class tended not to believe that they harbored any racist notions.  Her solution is to make available the literature of these groups.  If counselors, or would-be counselors, are unable to perceive these thoughts in themselves, one can reasonably argue that the population at large is in need of a great deal of education on this subject.  Houser (1996) points to the need for thinking of the entire issue as "self-development" and perhaps this is a more important concept than is often realized.  Nieto (1992) convincingly argues that a multi-cultural education is valuable to students of all cultures and Banks (1992) extended this concept to gender. 

     In the discussion of Afrocentrism (above), it became clear that role models were essential to members of minority groups, at the very least to dispel their own acceptance of racist myths.  Of course, the concept needs to be extended to all cultures.  Few people today, for example, realize that the works of ancient Greece and Rome come to us through Arab scholars.  However, pointing that out in the current political climate is about as iconoclastic as stating that Beethoven's father was Black.  Similar statements of fact could be made about any cultural group with the same reception. 

     A hostile attitude towards such statements or facts exists because we live in an economic system that emphasizes competition, that posits that success is built on the suppression and failure of others.  Multi-culturalism, on the other hand, stresses cooperation, the direct opposite.  In addition, we are conditioned to accept this Social Darwinist Weltanschauung to the extent that we look for any advantage in our relations with others.  Even the rhetoric we hear from politicians about "equality" is based upon the realization that preaching "inequality" sounds bad to the voting public and much of what we hear in "liberal" (whatever that means these days) circles seems more directed towards appearance than reality.  This competitive necessity as we see it is so deeply ingrained that members of all "races" tend to stereotype members of other races.   

     A multi-cultural approach, especially in the earliest grades, would help to reduce such friction.  Furthermore, this need not be seen as "political correctness" -- simply being as "correct"  about the facts should suffice. 

Conclusion

     It is absurd to look to genetics as a justification for racism.  Carl Rowan's The coming race war in america:  A wake-up call (1996) is an excellent introduction to the subject of racism in general and racism in America's schools in particular.  It also unintentionally provides a background for a brief discussion of African-Americans and International Relations.  Racism is clearly detrimental to people of all "races," and multi-cultural approaches are of benefit to all cultures, including the dominant one.  Afrocentrism illustrates how a study of contributions of non-dominant culture members can inform the general curricula.

 

 

REFERENCES

 

 

 

Assante, M. K.  (1991).  The afrocentric idea in education.       Journal of Negro Education, 60(2), 170-80.

 

Axelson, J.  (1993).  Counseling and development in a multicultural society.  Pacific Grove:  Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.      [While this text does not focus very well on the counseling   aspect, it does give valuable information about a number of      ethnic or cultural groups -- all in one place.]

 

Banks, J.  African-American scholarship and the evolution of      multicultural education.  Journal of Negro Education, 61(3),    273-86.

 

Boyd, A.  (1993).  Afrocentrism: Hype or history?  Library Journal, 117(18), 46-49.

 

DuBois, W.  (1906).  The health and physique of the negro american.      Atlanta: Atlanta University Press.

 

DHangi, A.  (1993). Racism in higher education: Its presence in the    classroom and lives of psychology students.  ERIC Microfiche.

 

Harris, M. D.  (1992)  Africentrism and curriculum: Concepts,      issues, and prospects.  Journal of Negro Education, 61 (3),      301-16.

 

Harvey, K.  (1991).  Native americans: The next 500 years.  Social    Studies and the Young Learner, 5(3), 1-4.

 

Houser, N.  Multicultural education for the dominant culture:      Toward the development of a multi-cultural sense of self.       Urban Education, 31(2), 125-48.

 

Levy, M.  Reflections on multi-culturalism and the tower of      psychobabble.  ALAN Review, 22(3), 11-15.

 

Molnar, A.  Racism in american:  A continuing dilemma.  Educational    Leadership, 47(2), 71-72.

 

Newman, G. (1995).  Racism: Divided by color, multicultural issues.  Springfield, N.J.: Enslow Publishers, Inc.

 

Nieto, S.  (1992).  Affirming diversity: The sociopolitical context   of multi-cultural education.  White Plains:  Longman.

 

Pilgram, D.  (1989).  A tribute to W. E. B. DuBois. in D. Pilgram, ed., On being black: An in-group analysis (second edition).      Bristol, Indiana:  Wyndam Hall.

 

Ponciano, J.  (1989).  Racism and the hispanic high school dropout.       ERIC Microfiche ED329604.

 

Powell, F.  (1991).  Acrican centered education: What is it and why   do we need it?  ERIC Misrofiche ED344832.

 

Rowan, C.  The coming race war in america:  A wake-up call.       Boston:  Little, Brown and Company.  [See esp. Chapter 5,      "I.Q. and Race, 142-158.]

 

Shabbas, A.  (1991). The Arabs: Activities for the elementary      school level.  The things that make for peace: Emporwering    children to value themselves and others.  Berkley: AWARI--Arab     World and Islamic Resources and School Services.

 

Thompson, A. A.  (1975)  Pre-columbia black presence in the western   hemisphere. Negro History Bulletin, 38(7), 452-56.

 

Wieder, A. (1992)  Afrocentrisms: Capitalist, democratic, and      liberationist protraits.  Educational Foundations, 6(2), 33-  42.