<p>Fryer brings mathematical economics to stubborn racial issues</p>
<p>By Beth Potier
Harvard News Office </p>
<p>Roland G. Fryer Jr. is a brave man. </p>
<p>An economist and self-described math geek, Fryer plunges fearlessly into the roiling waters of racial inequality, often surfacing with findings that contradict conventional wisdom…</p>
<p>“I take stubborn old questions of racial inequality that have been around for decades and decades and try to use simple mathematics to be able to answer those questions,” says Fryer, assistant professor of economics and a junior fellow in the Harvard Society of Fellows…</p>
<p>Fryer’s empirical analysis found - contrary to the popular beliefs of many - that a stigma attached to “acting white” does exist. In integrated schools, black students’ popularity rose with their grade point averages but declined when their GPAs rose above 3.5. The disconnect between popularity and academic success was even more dramatic for Hispanics, whose popularity took a sharp dive once grade point averages reached 2.5. </p>
<p>Yet the research also found something that confounds many of the popular assumptions about acting white: In predominantly black schools and integrated private schools, black students’ popularity kept pace with their GPAs. Acting white is nearly nonexistent in those situations. </p>
<p>This finding dispels the notion that black students don’t value education and ridicule those who strive for academic success, says Fryer. …</p>
<p>I am really excited about these findings and have actually experienced the decline in popularity as my gpa rose but then it fell and I became more popular. Of course among my actual friends, who are primarily white, my popularity never changed. I also agree that black students do value education but like Mr. Fryer am perplexed as to why so many don’t achieve their potential. I will be interested to know what comes of this research as it becomes popular.</p>
<p>The cause and effect here leaves a lot to be examined.</p>
<p>If I spend no time studying and am a goof ball cutting or sleeping in class whenever, will other students think of me as popular…I probably won’t even come to mind since I cut so many classes.</p>
<p>If I go to classes and hang out with fellow students…my popularity increases.</p>
<p>If I spend all my time out of class in the library studying…my popularity drops…</p>
<p>I am not comfortable with the idea of being scholarly as “acting white” I think it is acting scholarly and that you would get similar results from the small rural all white high school I graduated from. B, B+ students were most popular with most students…</p>
<p>I agree with Mr B’s comments regarding being scholarly as acting white. Frankly I have a really hard time trying to wrap my mind around the whole “acting white” concept as to why does some one have to be acting white if they speak correct english and enunciate? </p>
<p>why is it acting white because you actually go to class, go home , do homework, study, pass your exams and get good grades? In all my years I have never heard any white kid that wasn’t doing well in school accused of acting black.</p>
<p>when I grew up in brownsville and bedford stuyvesant brooklyn, going to school and as my parents from the south would say “getting your lesson” was expected of you whether you were black, white or green. I graduated from a very racially diverse h.s. and I knew plenty of kids both black and white that did well and plenty of kids both black and white who cut class all day everyday in school.</p>
<p>This “acting white” claim holds a lot of loopholes. It does not apply to black students who attend predominately (or all-black) schools. So what is the reason that they tend to fall through the cracks?</p>
<p>I was wondering if, instead of “acting white” one were to say “acting nerdy,” one would not get exactly the same results, no matter the skin color of the student.</p>
<p>“Acting white” at my school would be considered talking proper, being in honors or AP classes, being ranked up in the top 5%, not playing basketball, football(for guys), or volleyball (for girls), wearing “white” label brands (Tommy Hilfiger, Hollister, Abercrombie). It is the black people at the school who define what “acting white” is. Blacks who hang out on CC are not “acting white”, because the majority of the people at school do not know that they hang out on CC. If the whole school knew…then maybe they would classify it as “acting white”. “Acting nerdy” and “acting white” are used very differently. “Acting nerdy” is a term used for the white people, and “acting white” is the term that black people and hispanics use for other people who are minorites (with the exception with Asians…they would just say that they were “acting nerdy”). That just the way it works at my school.</p>
<p>Personally, I don’t like the term “acting white”…I’ve had it said to me before, because I did well in my academics. When you become an upperclassmen in high school, instead of people saying that you are “acting white”, they say that you are very smart, because they are more mature and they respect it even more when college admissions comes rolling around.</p>
<p>I think “acting white” could be a tag given to someone who oes not excell in academics, it can be more of an attitude, and the way you carry yourself.
For example in my highschool we had one guy who did not excell in academics at all yet he was still considered to “act white” not because of his academic endeavors but because of his demeanor.
To contrast two of our “smart” students in our class were black and NO ONE would ever say they “act white.” This is because acting white was not tied to academic excellence, it was more of an attitude and demeanor.</p>
<p>ppl tell me all the time that i act white cuz of the clothes i wear and the fact that I was in all honors and AP classes and made the honor role and stuff like that. but i consider myself popular. but then again i havent gone to a predominately black school since the 4th grade.</p>
<p>I’ve never known anyone to be cosidered “acting white” by excelling in school???
Have you honestly ever heard a black person say, “oh you made the honor role again, you need to quit acting white.”</p>
<p>I personally haven’t however I have heard black people say that you talk or dress like a white girl.</p>
<p>Are we certain that these kids labeled as acting white don’t have other attributes that contribute to the degradation besides good grades. It could just easily be that the black kids with good grades may wear Abercrombie and Fitch only and talk like a valley girl or surfer boy (no puns intended just exaggerating to make a point). How are we sure that these kids are singled out for their grades. </p>
<p>An appropriate study would control for dress, dialect, peers, and not just race and GPA.</p>
<p>One more side note, a person with a GPA > 3.5 may not have much time for socializing and worrying about popularity.</p>
<p>Well, I know I was singled out because of my grades. I don’t wear the brand levels or talk like a valley girl (even though everyone says that I have a slight British accent…I’m from up North)…so the study seems kind of logical to me. I’ll have to ask my cousin about how “acting white” applies to her school (her school is predominately minority). Yes, I remember back in my middle school , that everytime report cards came out, some of the girls would look at mine to see whether I was elgible for basketball and track, and when they saw my report cards, they would say “You got straight As with all those classes with the white people, if you keep this up you might start turning into them.” or “Girl, you study too much, stop acting white, and worry about next week’s game.”</p>
<p>The term “acting white” shouldn’t be used at all. I don’t use the term “acting white”, but I know people who do, so I will ask them their perspective on your example.</p>
<p>I know it’s been a while since this thread was in action, but Roland Fryer was at my school today talking about affirmative action, the economic implication of having a historically black name, and variables that effected the economic growth of black americans. Mr. Fryer was an extremely charismatic and engaging person, and was not afraid to throw out his thoughts on several important issues. Although many disagreed with some of his points, he was so engaging and entertaining that he recieved a standing ovation at the end of his address. He mixed personal experience with factual research to make some detailed observations of the economic and social situation of African Americans.</p>
<p>One of Mr. Fryer’s most contraversial points was the fact that he is giving young students in disadvantaged areas money in exchange for reading books. He says that these students need an incentive in order to be interested in learning, and that results show that the students continue to read books and study after he pays them the money. What are people’s views on Mr. Fryer’s incentive thought process? I know that a lot of people at my school were really split over the whole idea.</p>
<p>Financial incentives to learn are controversial? That bothers me not at all, and slightly less than the idea of wealthy parents paying their kids for report card A’s. I am more interested in what he had to say about