Integration Formation
“Separate but equal,” which was the final verdict of the court case of Brown v. Education in 1954 was the biggest load of excrements that I had ever learned. Although this decision was supposed to theoretically insure that every one had an equal education and equal opportunities, we know that that is not the case. In the article Diversity’s Quiet Rebirth by Susan Eaton in Education Weekly, the issue of the lack of diversity in schools because of this ruling is being re-examined and more racially diverse schools are being considered. The article states that many school districts, such as Boston, Hartford, Conn., Milwaukee, and Palo Alto, California are implementing ways to offer students of color in low-income schools the opportunity to attend suburban schools outside of their established district lines. The problem with segregated schools is not just the fact that they are segregated, but the fact that schools where the majority of the schools are minorities do not have the same advantage that majority students have:
Consider, too, Berkeley, Calif. The district was far ahead of the nation in recognizing that for children of color who reside in disadvantaged neighborhoods, the inherent problem was not their physical separation from white children—although there was plenty of that—but that this isolation segregated them from equal opportunities to learn. In other words, such students were segregated from the opportunities disproportionately abundant in middle-class, largely white communities. And so educators there consider several variables—geographic, racial, linguistic, and economic—in granting school choice.
While the idea of racially integrated classrooms is phenomenal, I can’t help but to retrieve the disturbing images of the Little Rock Nine as they attempted to be the first African American students at Central High School in 1957. I’m also reminded of the hatred and unwelcoming attitudes of the white students as other students of color were being integrated into their classrooms. I wonder if our nation is mature enough to handle a student from the Bronx attending a prep school in Rochester (assuming that Bronx and Rochester are only a few miles away, I was never good at geography lol)? Certainly, racism still exists in our country and is present in all races, but have we, as a nation, been enlightened enough to understand that skin color should not determine the privileged and underprivileged?
A slight twist on the article: I wonder if any of the decision makers in this article ever considered transporting some white children to urban schools? I wonder whether or not that would make a difference in the amount of funding that these schools receive or the quality of resources that they had access to. I love the idea of integrating schools, but I’m also thinking that only transporting students of color to white schools has an underlying implication that white is better. I understand that largely white communities with better funding and resources would provide an better learning environment, but why is that? If the sole purpose for allowing students of color to attend suburban schools is in the name of integration, then why can’t it be the other way around? Perhaps I am just truly ignorant of educational politics and there is a logical reason. Or maybe not.
Before I even reached the end of your post, I started to wonder what it might have been like in the past to, as a white student, leave my “white school” behind for a day and set foot in a “black school”. Shortly after thinking about that, I came upon your question regarding sending students from suburban areas into urban areas.
Posted 1 year, 3 months agoI think one of the biggest issues that people might have with that is then notion that urban schools tend to have fewer appealing qualities than suburban schools. I also think that people would argue that the “good teachers” are in the suburban schools, and that urban districts are at a disadvantage. Do I believe that suburban schools have “better” teachers than urban schools? Absolutely not. I know of amazing teachers in both realms, and some not-so-great teachers in both realms. I think that finances play a major role in school advancement, and I do wish that funding was more sufficient for schools that are falling behind.
But your question certainly poses an interesting idea…if students who have excelled in successful districts reached out to schools of lesser development, and urban students transferred to excelling schools, would both learning environments experience benefits? I think they might…it’s certainly an abstract thought, and I don’t know if anyone would be up for such an experiment, but I like where you’re going with this!
I am really glad that someone is talking about diversity. I’m from Ferndale, which is just north of Detroit. I don’t know what you know about Ferndale, but it is very diverse. Before my freshman year at GVSU, I seriously hadn’t even realized that other schools aren’t diverse like my high school is.
I love the point you brought up…why can’t we send suburban kids to urban schools? Want to know why? Because all of the uptight parents would flip their lids! I will admit, I would not want to send my kids to an urban school. I think I have some wiggle room in saying this and not sounding completely ignorant, considering my diverse background.
I wouldn’t send my kid to an urban school for several reasons: a)they are poorly funded b)they are overpopulated c)they tend to be in dangerous areas. Having recognized these issues, I think urban schools don’t need to go away…they just need to improve. We need to balance the urban school experience with the suburban experience. Students in the suburbs experience smaller classrooms, classrooms where they have updated books (and enough books to go around), which is something that needs to be implemented in the urban schools.
The crime rates that surround urban schools also tend to be higher than the areas surrounding suburban schools, and I wouldn’t want to send my child to a dangerous area. I know no parent would, and the parents who send their kids to urban schools usually don’t have a choice.
I don’t think the answer to the problem is to ship urban students into the suburbs and hope for the best. This would not create equality. We need to improve the state of the urban schools in order to provide equal learning opportunities for all students in America.
Posted 1 year, 2 months agoIn response to Laurensibula’s comment, I first would like to commend you on your honesty in expressing how you feel about urban schools, but I also want to clarify some of the URBAN legends that you’ve heard about URBAN schools…. at least from my own experience. The first thing that stood out is the assumption that urban schools are embedded in crime ridden neighborhoods and dangerous environments. I’ve always attended “urban” schools, and hadn’t had a fear of anyone harming a hair on my head. I get really offended when suburbanites stereotype inner city schools, especially when they have not experienced what it is like to be in that environment. The news does a great job in painting negative images of urban schools and city life in general. In any major city there will be neighborhoods that are a little more secure than others, so we should be careful of all of the negative connotations that we trigger when we use the term “urban”. I won’t deny that instances do occur, but crime and danger will be present in any major city because it is largely populated, thus hosting many people from many different backgrounds.
Next, the high school that I went to was an urban public school in downtown Detroit, and it was literally called a “school of choice.” I graduated from a multi million dollar institution with high standards, adequate supplies…. surprisingly without any stab wounds. It was my choice to go there and my class sizes weren’t overcrowded.
Now, on the flip side of things, if there wasn’t something terribly wrong with MANY urban schools, Urban Education wouldn’t be the topic for my blog. My mission is to identify what is good, and try to expel what is not. By doing so, I understand that every urban school is not “bad” nor is every suburban school “good”. My high school is probably a rare depiction of an urban school, but I’m sure that it isn’t an anomaly. Someone somewhere had to be doing something right in order for my particular school to be as successful as it is. My aim is to find out what those people did so that the secret can be shared across the board.
Posted 1 year, 2 months ago