Asserts the moderate-liberal commentator in New York City: "Ours is a moment when we need to produce students capable of bringing the nation’s competitive edge in line with that of our international rivals, such as China. American students must be able to excel in this complex period of international warfare fought through high-quality products far more often than with guns and bullets. Nations now seek to conquer markets, not land masses. The motto of our age could be, 'You can keep the land and the people: all we want is for them to buy our stuff more frequently than anybody else’s.'"
Mr. Crouch continues his commentary: "That is what the President aims to do with his White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African-Americans, established last week to give black kids a better shot at getting the best schooling possible. 'A higher education in a 21st century cannot be a luxury. It is a vital necessity that every American should be able to afford,' Obama said. This is good to hear. The talk about slavery reparations is no more than just another hustle. We are in the business of real learning now. Real reparations will come from mastering math and science."
More: "The President’s initiative should build upon the high-level of work produced by people like Eva Moskowitz and her Success Academy Charter Schools, as well as the Harlem Educational Activities Fund. Both teach kids real lessons for the real world — not the world of vitriol and purposeless electricity. Jokes, threats, guiltmongering and hustling have made a mess of public education for long enough — and have not prepared enough of our students, across the board, to be bright lights in the classrooms and beyond. If something beginning in the black community expands outward across education until our kids leave college ready for whatever battles they must face, then nothing else is worth talking about . I mean from the White House on down."
Stanley Crouch: "The White House On Black Educational Excellence Is A Step In The Right Direction"
