The shame of a nation, one that goes beyond Bush.
October 22, 2006 9:35 AM Subscribe
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, American public schools are now twelve years into the process of continuous resegregation. The desegregation of black students, which increased continuously from the 1950s to the late 1980s, has now receded to levels not seen in three decades. *** The word "segregation" is used while describing the contentious changes of the 1960s, the Civil Rights movement, and the America of the past. It is also a word that is now gone from the American social and political landscape. In actuality, however, the word segregation continues to characterize the present lives of many minorities in America. *** I asked how many white kids she had taught in the South Bronx in her career. “I’ve been at this school for 18 years,” she said. “This is the first white student I have ever taught.”
The problem comes from segregated neighborhoods. Since you are not likely to get too many middle class folks to move into poor urban neighborhoods, except in regentrification, it would help to give opportunities for lower income people to move into middle class neighborhoods. Given the ethnic disparities of these income groups it would lessen segregation and not involve the kind of quotas and other stuff that tend to send people into apoplexy.
posted by caddis at 10:01 AM on October 22, 2006
posted by caddis at 10:01 AM on October 22, 2006
But people needs jobs that would support living in a suburb. That either means there has to be a source of jobs nearby, or there has to be a good transit system in place to get people to their jobs.
That, and the NIMBYism and the real estate dip that any low cost housing would create could probably match the apoplexy of quotas beat for beat.
posted by zabuni at 10:08 AM on October 22, 2006
That, and the NIMBYism and the real estate dip that any low cost housing would create could probably match the apoplexy of quotas beat for beat.
posted by zabuni at 10:08 AM on October 22, 2006
They don't call it segregation anymore. They call it diversity.
posted by milarepa at 10:11 AM on October 22, 2006
posted by milarepa at 10:11 AM on October 22, 2006
The thing that drives me mad is the way American schools are funded according to the property taxes in its district, not the number of students in it. It's fucking criminal.
Busing to me seems to be a pretty crap solution. Making it so that poor people didn't have to go to crap schools would be a nice first step.
The Wire has been great in its dealings with an inner-city public school this season.
posted by Bookhouse at 10:29 AM on October 22, 2006
Busing to me seems to be a pretty crap solution. Making it so that poor people didn't have to go to crap schools would be a nice first step.
The Wire has been great in its dealings with an inner-city public school this season.
posted by Bookhouse at 10:29 AM on October 22, 2006
The thing that drives me mad is the way American schools are funded according to the property taxes in its district, not the number of students in it. It's fucking criminal.
Not always-- it depends on the implementation. I went to high school in a somewhat wealthy inner suburb of a poorer city. The city schools spent about $1500 per student per year more than my suburb, and the split between state money and local money for funding was about 75% state/25% local for the city, and 33% state to 66% local for the wealthy suburb. In short, it worked just like any other progressive tax system.
What is amazing to me is that the average expenditure per student by state can vary so much across states- from 5.5k in the deep south to 15k in the northeast.
posted by Maxwell_Smart at 10:44 AM on October 22, 2006
Not always-- it depends on the implementation. I went to high school in a somewhat wealthy inner suburb of a poorer city. The city schools spent about $1500 per student per year more than my suburb, and the split between state money and local money for funding was about 75% state/25% local for the city, and 33% state to 66% local for the wealthy suburb. In short, it worked just like any other progressive tax system.
What is amazing to me is that the average expenditure per student by state can vary so much across states- from 5.5k in the deep south to 15k in the northeast.
posted by Maxwell_Smart at 10:44 AM on October 22, 2006
What is amazing to me is that the average expenditure per student by state can vary so much across states- from 5.5k in the deep south to 15k in the northeast.
They really hate taxes in the deep South. No taxes means no money for schools. The schools really stink so your kid goes to private school. Now you have even less incentive to fund the public schools. It's a vicious circle, or perhaps more accurately a downward spiral.
posted by caddis at 11:01 AM on October 22, 2006
They really hate taxes in the deep South. No taxes means no money for schools. The schools really stink so your kid goes to private school. Now you have even less incentive to fund the public schools. It's a vicious circle, or perhaps more accurately a downward spiral.
posted by caddis at 11:01 AM on October 22, 2006
I mean that schools that are effectively segregated, and populated mainly by so-called minorities, are now often deemed diverse, whereas white schools are still called "white schools" or "good schools."
For example, my daughter goes to a school in brooklyn that is supposed to pride itself on its "diversity." But, there is one white child. Now you go half a mile up the hill and you don't get diversity, you get a "good school," i.e, white school.
posted by milarepa at 11:16 AM on October 22, 2006
For example, my daughter goes to a school in brooklyn that is supposed to pride itself on its "diversity." But, there is one white child. Now you go half a mile up the hill and you don't get diversity, you get a "good school," i.e, white school.
posted by milarepa at 11:16 AM on October 22, 2006
Gentrification doesn't even help--many of the new students (and there are always fewer of them compared to family size of those they displaced) either go to magnet schools or private ones instead of the local public school. Some urban school systems have also broken up their old, massive high schools and junior highs into those magnets and mini-schools, which has the result of bringing in kids from outside the district but shutting out those born there, which does nothing for integration.
I don't know why we have to have local funding based on property taxes, especially in areas where most people are renters--it makes no sense and priviledges those who own property at the expense of those poorer (which is pretty much what this country always does).
I'd love to see even one state try across-the-board equal funding of all schools from a common pot.
posted by amberglow at 11:17 AM on October 22, 2006
I don't know why we have to have local funding based on property taxes, especially in areas where most people are renters--it makes no sense and priviledges those who own property at the expense of those poorer (which is pretty much what this country always does).
I'd love to see even one state try across-the-board equal funding of all schools from a common pot.
posted by amberglow at 11:17 AM on October 22, 2006
They don't call it segregation anymore. They call it diversity.
Segregation is the exact opposite of diversity.
posted by delmoi at 11:28 AM on October 22, 2006
Segregation is the exact opposite of diversity.
posted by delmoi at 11:28 AM on October 22, 2006
Segregation is the exact opposite of diversity.
I think diversity is a great thing, but people use the term when they really mean segregated. If you go places that are labeled "diverse," you could almost invariably call it "segregated" and have it be more accurate.
Diverse is the postive term they use because segregated is a dirty word.
It's no accident that the more schools resegregate, the more diversity is thrown around to mollify it. "You can't criticize this school, it's so diverse."
posted by milarepa at 11:39 AM on October 22, 2006
I think diversity is a great thing, but people use the term when they really mean segregated. If you go places that are labeled "diverse," you could almost invariably call it "segregated" and have it be more accurate.
Diverse is the postive term they use because segregated is a dirty word.
It's no accident that the more schools resegregate, the more diversity is thrown around to mollify it. "You can't criticize this school, it's so diverse."
posted by milarepa at 11:39 AM on October 22, 2006
I'd love to see even one state try across-the-board equal funding of all schools from a common pot.
ever since proposal a was passed in michigan 20 or so years ago, it's been done more or less that way ... and many school districts are still financially and educationally troubled
i'm not saying it won't help ... but it's not going to fix everything by a long shot
posted by pyramid termite at 11:51 AM on October 22, 2006
ever since proposal a was passed in michigan 20 or so years ago, it's been done more or less that way ... and many school districts are still financially and educationally troubled
i'm not saying it won't help ... but it's not going to fix everything by a long shot
posted by pyramid termite at 11:51 AM on October 22, 2006
Yeah, they're doing this in Omaha, my home city. Omaha Public Schools tried to swallow up the rich suburban school district to get some much needed funding, but somehow the plan backfired and OPS is now being split along neighbourhood boundaries that are also racial boundaries. Ernie Chambers, a black senator from the Nebraska legislature, supports the division on the grounds that it will advance education for minorities by removing them from the discriminating white school system.
posted by Derive the Hamiltonian of... at 11:52 AM on October 22, 2006
posted by Derive the Hamiltonian of... at 11:52 AM on October 22, 2006
Ok...bad thing, for sure. Now, look in the mirror: how many people posting comments or reading the post have blacks in their neighborhood, in their schools (public schools or private but not college), how many blacks in your apt complex? on your street?
Why is this? What will YOU do about it?
posted by Postroad at 11:53 AM on October 22, 2006
Why is this? What will YOU do about it?
posted by Postroad at 11:53 AM on October 22, 2006
I think diversity is a great thing, but people use the term when they really mean segregated. If you go places that are labeled "diverse," you could almost invariably call it "segregated" and have it be more accurate.
In other words, "diverse" has become a euphemism for "there are minorities here," even when they're only members of one minority group.
posted by nebulawindphone at 11:55 AM on October 22, 2006
In other words, "diverse" has become a euphemism for "there are minorities here," even when they're only members of one minority group.
posted by nebulawindphone at 11:55 AM on October 22, 2006
What will I do about blacks on my street? I say hello to them (usually, and the black woman across the street is the friendliest person around--I might honk, however, if one of these black individuals, or a person of any other color, is blocking my way on such a narrow street to, say, talk on a cell phone) and bought chocolate-almond candy from one of the kids recently.
posted by raysmj at 12:01 PM on October 22, 2006
posted by raysmj at 12:01 PM on October 22, 2006
Also, I imagine the reason black people, like the white and Hispanic people, ended up on my street was the housing. It's pretty nice!
posted by raysmj at 12:02 PM on October 22, 2006
posted by raysmj at 12:02 PM on October 22, 2006
Diverse is the postive term they use because segregated is a dirty word.
It's no accident that the more schools resegregate, the more diversity is thrown around to mollify it. "You can't criticize this school, it's so diverse."
You know that's a really good point because I go to a university which is almost entirely white. The university has decided it wants to create a multicultural center in order to promote diversity; however, this center actually increases tuition. Another funny thing is that this center will be built across from the student union, and has been labled not only a multicultural center, but also a 'second union.'
posted by j-urb at 12:26 PM on October 22, 2006
It's no accident that the more schools resegregate, the more diversity is thrown around to mollify it. "You can't criticize this school, it's so diverse."
You know that's a really good point because I go to a university which is almost entirely white. The university has decided it wants to create a multicultural center in order to promote diversity; however, this center actually increases tuition. Another funny thing is that this center will be built across from the student union, and has been labled not only a multicultural center, but also a 'second union.'
posted by j-urb at 12:26 PM on October 22, 2006
and bought chocolate-almond candy from one of the kids recently.
Man, I just can't keep up with all the names those crazy kids call dope these days.
posted by three blind mice at 12:34 PM on October 22, 2006
Man, I just can't keep up with all the names those crazy kids call dope these days.
posted by three blind mice at 12:34 PM on October 22, 2006
While segregation may be a bad word, it is also a natural tendency, I think.
I went to both an urban public school and to an urban college, and it was remarkable how most students would willingly clique-up along racial lines. There were black parts of the cafeteria, asian parts, white parts, and so on. This was in no way encouraged by the school, who often (and unsuccessfully) tried to rearrange us. It was our own proclivities that made it so, and most surprising (and disheartening, depending on how you see it) was how little all of this had changed by college.
This extends to the communities we live in - I can still point out distinctly Italian, Lebanese, or Chinese communities in my city. If you've ever visited them, it's quite clear that some don't really want to mingle, but would rather stay within the tent of their own culture. This inertia doesn't need to be stoked by discriminatory zoning practices, it will be there because people are drawn into their own nets of family and culture. Write your new laws, but Chinatown will continue to be Chinatown.
Take away the racial overtones, and the real issue here is that poor communities have poorer schools. For those who actually want to break out of their own cultural milieu, better access to education is needed and is a worthy investment. However, I think some idealists might want to step back and consider racial and cultural segregation not as a top-down ruling-class manipulation, as the FSU link argues, but also as a bottom-up tendency among all classes and kinds.
posted by kid ichorous at 12:56 PM on October 22, 2006
I went to both an urban public school and to an urban college, and it was remarkable how most students would willingly clique-up along racial lines. There were black parts of the cafeteria, asian parts, white parts, and so on. This was in no way encouraged by the school, who often (and unsuccessfully) tried to rearrange us. It was our own proclivities that made it so, and most surprising (and disheartening, depending on how you see it) was how little all of this had changed by college.
This extends to the communities we live in - I can still point out distinctly Italian, Lebanese, or Chinese communities in my city. If you've ever visited them, it's quite clear that some don't really want to mingle, but would rather stay within the tent of their own culture. This inertia doesn't need to be stoked by discriminatory zoning practices, it will be there because people are drawn into their own nets of family and culture. Write your new laws, but Chinatown will continue to be Chinatown.
Take away the racial overtones, and the real issue here is that poor communities have poorer schools. For those who actually want to break out of their own cultural milieu, better access to education is needed and is a worthy investment. However, I think some idealists might want to step back and consider racial and cultural segregation not as a top-down ruling-class manipulation, as the FSU link argues, but also as a bottom-up tendency among all classes and kinds.
posted by kid ichorous at 12:56 PM on October 22, 2006
School funding is one issue, sure, but how much is spent is not as important as how the monies are spent.
The Education Department (yes, their acronym is officially ED) publishes statistics on how much is spent per student in each state--and how much is spent in the 5th, median, and 95th percentile.
I am no expert--and I think overall that integrated schools are the best--but the call I hear for re/segregation is coming from the African Americans in my neighborhood. As I have heard it, they feel that if there is true opportunity in the marketplace, then they should have the opportunity to teach children in voluntarily segregated schools--sort of a separate but truly equal configuration--since the track record of education improving in integrated schools is not (in their opinion) stellar.
I don't think that the race of the teacher or of the child determines the quality of the education--there are simply too many factors that come into play. My feelings are mixed on segregated schools.
posted by beelzbubba at 1:10 PM on October 22, 2006
The Education Department (yes, their acronym is officially ED) publishes statistics on how much is spent per student in each state--and how much is spent in the 5th, median, and 95th percentile.
I am no expert--and I think overall that integrated schools are the best--but the call I hear for re/segregation is coming from the African Americans in my neighborhood. As I have heard it, they feel that if there is true opportunity in the marketplace, then they should have the opportunity to teach children in voluntarily segregated schools--sort of a separate but truly equal configuration--since the track record of education improving in integrated schools is not (in their opinion) stellar.
I don't think that the race of the teacher or of the child determines the quality of the education--there are simply too many factors that come into play. My feelings are mixed on segregated schools.
posted by beelzbubba at 1:10 PM on October 22, 2006
Now, look in the mirror: how many people posting comments or reading the post have blacks in their neighborhood
I'm going to guess that, at the very least, the people who see black people looking back in their mirrors also have blacks in their neighborhoods.
posted by aaronetc at 1:18 PM on October 22, 2006
I'm going to guess that, at the very least, the people who see black people looking back in their mirrors also have blacks in their neighborhoods.
posted by aaronetc at 1:18 PM on October 22, 2006
milarepa, we might live in the same neighborhood.
I walk by a public school every morning that is 100% black. Now, this is a pretty nice neighborhood, and the parents walk to school with their kids, and all the kids look very nice, and I've heard that the school is pretty good but damnit there ARE white kids in this neighborhood too!
What's up wtih that? I assume that all the white kids are either going to private school or their parents have somehow gotten them into the good school in Park Slope.
posted by maggiemaggie at 1:38 PM on October 22, 2006
I walk by a public school every morning that is 100% black. Now, this is a pretty nice neighborhood, and the parents walk to school with their kids, and all the kids look very nice, and I've heard that the school is pretty good but damnit there ARE white kids in this neighborhood too!
What's up wtih that? I assume that all the white kids are either going to private school or their parents have somehow gotten them into the good school in Park Slope.
posted by maggiemaggie at 1:38 PM on October 22, 2006
Kozol's article is really good, by the way. There was a lengthy section of it in--I think--Harper's last year. I have it kicking around somewhere.
posted by The God Complex at 1:50 PM on October 22, 2006
posted by The God Complex at 1:50 PM on October 22, 2006
I think its interesting to consider segregation alongside funding, since our urban schools tend to be highly segregated, well funded, and poor performing. Take the District of Columbia, for instance. Funding is great, something like $11,000 median per student. Segregation is fairly exteme, and the schools are frequently terrible. I'm not sure what the lesson of this example is, but it's certainly true that funding problems are not always the issue.
Also, it's worth considering the extent to which economic, rather than racial segregation is the problem. Students from poor backgrounds can have a lot more on their minds than school, and it drags the quality of schools down. Mind you, I'm not saying that poorer students are unintelligent, but that they don't have the stability in their community that is needed to focus on schoolwork. As a middle class student, there was almost 0% chance of me getting shot, it just wasn't a concern for me. This isn't the case in many inner city communities.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 2:02 PM on October 22, 2006
Also, it's worth considering the extent to which economic, rather than racial segregation is the problem. Students from poor backgrounds can have a lot more on their minds than school, and it drags the quality of schools down. Mind you, I'm not saying that poorer students are unintelligent, but that they don't have the stability in their community that is needed to focus on schoolwork. As a middle class student, there was almost 0% chance of me getting shot, it just wasn't a concern for me. This isn't the case in many inner city communities.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 2:02 PM on October 22, 2006
Also, it's worth considering the extent to which economic, rather than racial segregation is the problem. Students from poor backgrounds can have a lot more on their minds than school, and it drags the quality of schools down.
I think there's something to that. After 25 years in Fairfax County, Virginia, I recently moved my family back to my home in Hampton Roads. My six-year old son went from one of the highest rated public elementary schools in the country to one that is holding tenuously onto accreditation.
We moved to a new, relatively expensive subdivision in an area that is primarily lower-middle class and black. We are white, and I can say that the racial makeup of the area is, literally, of no concern to us.
The school, however, is beset by numerous problems- not the least of which is that over 90% of the students receive government aid of one sort or the other. If the school did not open early every day to serve breakfast, many (most) of the students would probably go hungry. If food is a problem, then you know there have to be numerous ancillary problems: money for clothes, books, supplies, health care, etc.
The government has shifted many of the problems onto the school system (one reason I want to punch the knee-jerk "no taxes" automatons), and our kids pay the price. Every minute a school has to spend on environmental problems is a minute that they don't have to educate the students.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 3:51 PM on October 22, 2006
I think there's something to that. After 25 years in Fairfax County, Virginia, I recently moved my family back to my home in Hampton Roads. My six-year old son went from one of the highest rated public elementary schools in the country to one that is holding tenuously onto accreditation.
We moved to a new, relatively expensive subdivision in an area that is primarily lower-middle class and black. We are white, and I can say that the racial makeup of the area is, literally, of no concern to us.
The school, however, is beset by numerous problems- not the least of which is that over 90% of the students receive government aid of one sort or the other. If the school did not open early every day to serve breakfast, many (most) of the students would probably go hungry. If food is a problem, then you know there have to be numerous ancillary problems: money for clothes, books, supplies, health care, etc.
The government has shifted many of the problems onto the school system (one reason I want to punch the knee-jerk "no taxes" automatons), and our kids pay the price. Every minute a school has to spend on environmental problems is a minute that they don't have to educate the students.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 3:51 PM on October 22, 2006
Segregation in the DC Public Schools is a strange thing – there are many schools that almost all black, a few that are mostly hispanic, and a few in each age category that have a mix of white, black and hispanic kids. The schools in Upper Northwest have a white population, but it's not necessarily a majority – even in the elementary schools, which are typically the most segregated.
posted by blasdelf at 4:00 PM on October 22, 2006
posted by blasdelf at 4:00 PM on October 22, 2006
"it would help to give opportunities for lower income people to move into middle class neighborhoods."
We have that out here. It's called "Below Market Rate" housing. Most of the apartment complexes around here have to set aside a certain percentage of the apartment units for BMR applicants. There are income requirements for the program, and usually a waiting list naturally.
posted by drstein at 8:26 PM on October 22, 2006
We have that out here. It's called "Below Market Rate" housing. Most of the apartment complexes around here have to set aside a certain percentage of the apartment units for BMR applicants. There are income requirements for the program, and usually a waiting list naturally.
posted by drstein at 8:26 PM on October 22, 2006
It's sad: Kozol really feels for these kids, but he has zero clue what do for them -- a heart of gold and a mind of purest mush.
There are plenty of urban school districts (DC is a great example; many in NJ equally so) where money has been poured in to virtually no effect. There are plenty of non-urban schools which produce fine outcomes on tiny budgets.
I fail to see how anyone with a conscience can deny the obvious: schools are as "good" as the parents of the children who attend them are able and willing to provide the support and discipline which learning requires, and there is nothing racially exclusive about it.
The thriving DC charter school movement is a terrific example of what African American parents (diverse economically, monolithically committed) can do when they can free their children of the mess created by schools engaged in the least-common-denominator attempt to educate children whose parents cannot do what is required to make education possible.
School choice won't be a reality for many kids for a long time; DC only has it because Congressional Republicans overrode the teachers union. A good way to meet the problem halfway is to restore parental authority in neighborhood schools to the greatest extent possible, and to empower neighborhood schools to expel those who can't learn or won't behave.
posted by MattD at 9:28 PM on October 22, 2006
There are plenty of urban school districts (DC is a great example; many in NJ equally so) where money has been poured in to virtually no effect. There are plenty of non-urban schools which produce fine outcomes on tiny budgets.
I fail to see how anyone with a conscience can deny the obvious: schools are as "good" as the parents of the children who attend them are able and willing to provide the support and discipline which learning requires, and there is nothing racially exclusive about it.
The thriving DC charter school movement is a terrific example of what African American parents (diverse economically, monolithically committed) can do when they can free their children of the mess created by schools engaged in the least-common-denominator attempt to educate children whose parents cannot do what is required to make education possible.
School choice won't be a reality for many kids for a long time; DC only has it because Congressional Republicans overrode the teachers union. A good way to meet the problem halfway is to restore parental authority in neighborhood schools to the greatest extent possible, and to empower neighborhood schools to expel those who can't learn or won't behave.
posted by MattD at 9:28 PM on October 22, 2006
Do white teenagers exist in NW DC?
Yes, I was one, and my sister is one. There's plenty more, especially in Upper NW where there are more single family houses (though not where my family lives in Dupont), and some around Capitol Hill too. In 10 years or so I'd expect the white teenage population outside of Upper NW to explode in 10-15 years or so as the yuppies spawn. A number of elementary schools are already having their PTAs taken over by uppity white parents as their children come of age (including my old neighborhood elementary).
posted by blasdelf at 1:07 AM on October 23, 2006
Yes, I was one, and my sister is one. There's plenty more, especially in Upper NW where there are more single family houses (though not where my family lives in Dupont), and some around Capitol Hill too. In 10 years or so I'd expect the white teenage population outside of Upper NW to explode in 10-15 years or so as the yuppies spawn. A number of elementary schools are already having their PTAs taken over by uppity white parents as their children come of age (including my old neighborhood elementary).
posted by blasdelf at 1:07 AM on October 23, 2006
Making it so that poor people didn't have to go to crap schools would be a nice first step.
Unfortunately, in "diverse" (read "segregated black") neighborhoods, there tend to be a much higher percentage of the population that, for whatever reason, simply does not participate in the education of their children. The parents give up on their kids, the teachers give up on the kids, the system gives up on the kids, and finally, when eveyone else has given up on them, the kids give up on the kids.
My wife is a second-year teacher, and in her first year at such a school. She is trying very hard not to give up on those kids, and set her expectations for them higher than they've seen in a long time. Some, most even, resist it vehemently. A few are inspired.
She failed one kid who was on the football team (no pass-no play state). He was furious and tried to get her to reconsider, but she held her ground. Well, he's playing again; after failing average the first marking period, he is carrying a high A the second. After seeing we he can achieve, he actually *thanked* her for failing him.
Ok...bad thing, for sure. Now, look in the mirror: how many people posting comments or reading the post have blacks in their neighborhood, in their schools (public schools or private but not college), how many blacks in your apt complex? on your street?
Why is this? What will YOU do about it?
Okay, I'll bite: My basic profile is a white married guy with two teenaged sons.
Blacks in my neighborhood? Yes.
Blacks in the school my sons attend (or attended; one is in college now): Yes.
Blacks in my apt complex: NA (I own my home.)
Blacks on my street: Yes.
We also have eastern Euro immigrants, Indian families, hispanics, etc. The flavor of our neighborhood has changed somewhat since we moved in 9 years ago from "middle- to upper-middle-class" to "lower-middle- to middle-class", although I think if you look at the families in the houses, most of them are upwardly mobile.
I don't know for sure, but I would guess that my street, my neighborhood, and the school my son attends are all majority black. So.... what's your point?
posted by Doohickie at 7:41 AM on October 23, 2006
Unfortunately, in "diverse" (read "segregated black") neighborhoods, there tend to be a much higher percentage of the population that, for whatever reason, simply does not participate in the education of their children. The parents give up on their kids, the teachers give up on the kids, the system gives up on the kids, and finally, when eveyone else has given up on them, the kids give up on the kids.
My wife is a second-year teacher, and in her first year at such a school. She is trying very hard not to give up on those kids, and set her expectations for them higher than they've seen in a long time. Some, most even, resist it vehemently. A few are inspired.
She failed one kid who was on the football team (no pass-no play state). He was furious and tried to get her to reconsider, but she held her ground. Well, he's playing again; after failing average the first marking period, he is carrying a high A the second. After seeing we he can achieve, he actually *thanked* her for failing him.
Ok...bad thing, for sure. Now, look in the mirror: how many people posting comments or reading the post have blacks in their neighborhood, in their schools (public schools or private but not college), how many blacks in your apt complex? on your street?
Why is this? What will YOU do about it?
Okay, I'll bite: My basic profile is a white married guy with two teenaged sons.
Blacks in my neighborhood? Yes.
Blacks in the school my sons attend (or attended; one is in college now): Yes.
Blacks in my apt complex: NA (I own my home.)
Blacks on my street: Yes.
We also have eastern Euro immigrants, Indian families, hispanics, etc. The flavor of our neighborhood has changed somewhat since we moved in 9 years ago from "middle- to upper-middle-class" to "lower-middle- to middle-class", although I think if you look at the families in the houses, most of them are upwardly mobile.
I don't know for sure, but I would guess that my street, my neighborhood, and the school my son attends are all majority black. So.... what's your point?
posted by Doohickie at 7:41 AM on October 23, 2006
After seeing we he can achieve...
After seeing what he can achieve...
posted by Doohickie at 7:43 AM on October 23, 2006
After seeing what he can achieve...
posted by Doohickie at 7:43 AM on October 23, 2006
I'm still trying to figure out why the parents in the last link named one daughter "Brianna" and the other one "Pineapple."
posted by Oriole Adams at 4:18 PM on October 23, 2006
posted by Oriole Adams at 4:18 PM on October 23, 2006
Take the District of Columbia, for instance. Funding is great, something like $11,000 median per student.
Then again, funding might not be so great because the cost of living could be significantly higher. Just a thought. . .
posted by j-urb at 7:03 PM on October 24, 2006
Then again, funding might not be so great because the cost of living could be significantly higher. Just a thought. . .
posted by j-urb at 7:03 PM on October 24, 2006
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Unfortunately, desegregation, like women's rights, gay rights, and the peace movement, is one of those glorious "liberal" ideas that America now seems have decided was a big mistake. I can't see this being fixed any time soon.
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 9:56 AM on October 22, 2006