Bob is clear about his bias, stating:
I favor integration for integration’s sake. This society should be far more integrated in almost every way than it is now.
That's nice that he has such an opinion, but it is just that. Such a position has diddly squat to do with the potential educational achievement of negroes. And I want the reader to know that I am using "negro" on purpose.
You see if you read Bob Herbert's piece you will note that he does not deal with one very obvious question: If integration is so necessary for educational achievement, then why are white students in America doing so well academically with nary a negro in sight?
Ahh the answer soon shows up in the form of "oh this is about economics". Having affluent people around is what is needed for negro children to do better. Really.
Firstly lets address the whole "who's sitting next to who" question. You know what country has students who kick the tail out of the Affluent White Population(tm) that negroes are enamored with? China. How many white people are in China? How many of them are sitting in classes with Chinese students? I'd hazard to say very few if any at all.
You know another country who's students kick affluent white tail in education? India. How many white people are there in India? I could go on but seriously knowing full well that there are races of people who in the total absence of Affluent White People(tm) are somehow able to graduate engineers, doctors, etc. ought to make a laughing stock of any person who still seriously proposes that the fix for negro education is proximity to "affluent white people".
You know what else ought to make this line of thinking untenable? The huge number of negroes who graduate from HBCU's. Let me tell you that HBCU's are the most separated (segregation is a legal issue) places in America. on most HBCU's there are less white people on campus (if any) than there are black people on HWCUs. Seriously. Check it out. Still those students graduate and find employment and start companies just like their white counterparts. How is this even possible if it is the case that negro achievement is determined by proximity to Affluent White People(tm)?
So this brings me to why I'm using the term "negro" here. Negroes, that American invention as Baldwin pointed out, have this one trait that is mostly absent from other black people, particularly those who are in majority or all black surroundings: They need white folks. Negroes need white folk like Oreos need creme filling. Negroes simply cannot imagine their lives with the absence of the All Mighty White Person (tm). Negroes think that if white people are not involved there is a problem. For negroes white people represent the pinnacle of everything right with the world and whipping boy for anything that goes wrong. Negroes do not take responsibility for self and do for self. They complain when the All Mighty White Man(tm) doesn't give them a part of the All Mighty White World(tm). When the All Mighty White Man(tm) says that he doesn't like black women, negroes tweet about it. They lament and complain and vent in wrathful anger. They can do this for days. Negroes spend an awful lot of time and energy wondering why white people don't like them. Negroes will also complain if negroes act too much like the All Mighty White Man(tm) 'cause that's All Mighty White Man(tm) blasphemy. You wanna know when you're dealing with a negro, see how they deal with non-negroes. Negroes are quick to put non-negroes "in their place" when non-negroes do not show proper adoration of the All Mighty White Man(tm). You want to know when you're dealing with a negro, open a business, do something original. Negroes will pay you no mind. They will offer lip service but no business until or unless you get props from or support of the All Mighty White Man(tm). Then Negroes will talk about how they knew you back when and then negroes will come looking for a hook up. If your business fails, negroes will be talking about what you did wrong and how negroes are bad at business, but those same negroes won't have much to say while you were actually IN business that would help a non-negro stay in business.
I could go on and on about how negroes act but that would be beside the point. The point is that the race or economic background of the students in a school means nothing at all. The determining factors in the success of students are the involvement of parents (which includes feeding their kids, getting them into bed at a decent hour, etc.), the expectations of the schools and the quality of the teachers and the teaching tools. Nothing else matters. There are kids in Africa walking barefoot for miles to go to a one room school. They do that after morning chores which can include things like going to fetch water. They do homework by candlelight. Candle. Light. And negroes here are talking about how to get close to Affluent White People (tm).
Negroes; I tell you.
