I live in Little Rock.

Central High School ring a bell, anyone?

I also used to work for federal judge Bill Wilson, who is now the presiding judge over the Little Rock School District case.

I think the Court will say that the systems involved do not violate the Constitution, because the districts are actually working to ensure a more balanced school district.

To hold otherwise would be an approval of white flight, which ensures, in most cases, that predominantly "white" school districts are the recipients of more tax dollars, which leads to better teachers and better materials, which perpetuates the legacy of a more educated white population.

I am all for the program, actually.

But what do I know, I am also that person who wants to live in a more racially-diverse neighborhood, so that my child (should I have one) is culturally aware of the blended nature of our society!

 

I just met a great guy from Cali on this business trip who feels the exact same way that you do (I need to find out if he's on Myspace). He was telling me that those feelings are one of the reasons that he loves the Bay area and why he couldn't live in the South where people seem to naturally segregate themselves willingly. We actually talked about this story today and he echoed your thoughts.

Thanks for stopping through.

 

It is frustrating to live here sometimes.

I think my worldview is influenced by the fact that my older sister has two biracial children, and it sickens me to know of the prejudice here.  


 

Yeah. It's sad to think of how far we haven't come. You've been writing about it for the past few weeks so I know you feel the same way I do about people not opening their minds up to new ways of thinking.

Although I am all for my people and I think that in a lot of ways we are still not on equal footing, I couldn't help but find some merit in the cast out parents. But then I thought on it more and the schools are not using academic tests to figure out who will be admitted and then dropping the standard for AA's. The school is just setting a desired diversity quota.

After reading your comments I revisited the link that has another version of the story in the paper. The internet story talks of a white woman who is sending her child to a very good school that happens to be located in the "hood". She's not complaining about the diversity quota. I think I feel more like the diversity mandate is a good thing as long as there aren't special circumstances on the basis of academic accumen.

 

Very good point, Jess. I know exactly what you mean. I had it the opposite way around going to a predominately white high school and then going to an HBCU (all black university). Racial tension was big, but I also had an opportunity to interact with different types of people. So when I made it to Tallahassee I found myself at a lot of FSU functions where I was the only black person or one of very few. But I was comfortable b/c I had those opportunities when I was younger.
 

Yeah. You know I'm a big fan of King High  and I am so glad that they now have a Magnet program. The faces are still the same for the most part, but the kids look different. I still see little girls out there looking for grown men and the little boys are still running around holding their nuts, but there were a great deal more students out there who looked like they were at school to learn. I was happy to see it.
 

This is a hard issue to face, because I agree, there are strengths and weaknesses to the program. The obvious weekness is busing kids way the hell around the world to satisfy a "diverse environment," but I also know that property values effect how much money a school gets, so school district lines heavily effect how much money goes to a school, so for monitary reasons alone, it is important that schools are economically diverse. PLUS, having a diverse environment is really important, and I should know, I'm from Pasco County and Hispanic, 19 years ago, before there was any racial-diversity AT ALL. I never even had a black classmate until middle school, 8th grade. Me, my sister, plus Manny from Central America WERE the hispanic student population in my elemetary classrooms at NW Elementary (Richey Fundamental was SLIGHTLY more diverse....but not by much at all). NW elementary was not a wealthy school at all, though. It was one of the poorer schools, but Hudson, FL was and still is a very whitewhitewhite town. We could really use some diversity in the schools there, but that would mean bussing kids for 45-minutes-1 hour at the least. WOuldn't that suck, to be 6 and on the bus for 2 hours a day? And NW was not a wealthy school, so they would be busing kids for over an hour to go to an elemetary school of the same quality as the one around the corner. See, its a hard argument to make. I have been divided on this subject for a long time.
 

Well the case is not about "equal" schools. These parents are upset and took this to a Fed trial b/c the children were not able to get into "choice" schools. The schools the parents of these children wanted to get into are (I'm assuming) the cream-of-the-crop schools. That makes a difference. I don't think the parents would have been mad if the inner-city students were put on buses for an hour to be shipped to schools that didn't matter to them. They want their children to have an opportunity to have the best education possible. That's why I said it's an emotional decision. There is no way to make everyone happy here.
 

ahhhh....I must have not read carefully enough...I see. I thought t was about districting in general, which is still a really hot topic in education. Yeah, there are a lot of reasons for and against including if you are pulling your kids out of a school, the money that would have gone to that school for your kid gets pulled, too. So, if you are pulling your kid out of a school with less resources, they are loosing the money they despretly need to compete, but at the same time, you want YOUR child to have the best educational experience possible. I won't discuss my views here because they are very long and drawn out and I have very specific lines on each, so too much. If you wanna call me, I'll tell you---b
 

Nope. Kids screw everyday. No need to talk about that today...
 

Well, at first I almost thumped my head against the desk thinking, 'what now, kentucky?'  But then, I read the article and thought a little on this.  I grew up in a 98% white farm town until I was about 15.  I then transferred to a much larger, more diverse school and city.  I have to say that if the schools can even out the cultures, then it might not be such a bad idea.  Inner city schools are known for incredibly low to no funding right?  Most of the children there are minorities.  Bring them up to 58% white and maybe someone will finally do something about our education issues.  Also, I can say in the small farm town that I grew up in, there is an awful lot of racism flowing.  It's because of ignorance from so much segregation of knowing others of different races and cultures personally.  The more we can eliminate that, the better the future of this country will be. 

Also, I wish whiney parents would stop finding some stupid complaints and blaiming it on anything than what it is -

"The way they taught [at Whitney Young] was not fit for him," she says. "He was bored." Her lawyer, Teddy Gordon, says race was not a factor in her complaint.  -Yeah right. 

 

 

I love the quote, BTW...

I believe that there are advantages of going to a racially diverse school. There aren't many disadvantages to the system in my mind. I don't know how it "denegrates a 5-year old's self worth" to have him enrolled in a diverse program. Sure the parents can go to him and say "you're only going to this ghetto school because you're white." But why is 'only b/c you're white? Can it not be 'to become a more racially diverse nation'? And why is the school "ghetto"? What the hell is "ghetto" anyway?!?! (Seriously people. Stop using this word to describe things that are substandard. It's degrading to the people who are from the ghetto; those people definitely are not substandard.)

My feeling is that if the end is a more diverse school and for that there are a few casualties what's the issue. Bush sends young men away to die to promote equality and democracy in Iraq, but in America his administration does not back equality in America. WTF?!?!

 

Bush sends young men away to die to promote equality and democracy in Iraq, but in America his administration does not back equality in America. WTF?!?!

That is the issue with the damned Bush administation, except that I am a Condi Rice fan.  I really, really would like to see Rice run for president.  She is one of the few working for Bush that I respect.  Did you see her interview on 60 minutes back a while ago? 

 

First off look at my white self....

I went to a mostly black school here in Arkansas....Northside (the other school Southside only had one black kid & one Hispanic kid). Though the town has managed (since I graduated) to even out that was just pure luck.

What I learned from going to such a diverse school has helped me understand people my whole life. These are life lessons I use more than any class I ever took. It's important for kids to understand we can all live together. Scientists have proved with DNA that we are all 99.9% the same. It's that 0.001% that people use to drive us apart. We need to show kids early in life that skin color does not matter your worth.

Now on the surface you could say that all the schools get equally good teachers and facilities so all the kids are getting an equal education...but education is not all about books.

Great blog! Thanks for doing it!

 

Yeah. There's definitely a lot that can be learned outside what you get from the text books...
 

 

Fifty some odd years after Brown, I hope we're not coming full circle.

 

I live in Tacoma, WA which is about 30 min from Seattle, and we have been using a smaller version of this policy for years.  If you want to opt out to a different high school than your neighborhood school, then race plays a factor, but I don't see the big problem with making it a consideration in school assignment outside of that.

I recently moved to city block that is considered one of the worst areas in the state.  I enrolled my daughter in the neighborhood school (though she is on a waiting list for another school) foolishly thinking that things would be relatively the same as her old school because there is so much racial diversity in the city anyway.  Boy was I wrong.  Schools in this neighborhood truly have a lower standard for teaching staff and lowered expectations for student behavior.  I think bringing in more priveledged kids might force the school district's hand to better the education standards and available resources in the schools that desperately need funding and frankly, better staff.  And I hate to say it but the better schools also tend to have more parent involvement which causes the school to be more accountable, and bringing more involved parents would also assist in the betterment of the schools' environment, so even though the first few years might be an adjustment, I think the end result would be beneficial for everyone.  However, I can easily see this issue being treated the same way that affirmative action was...

 

I know exactly what you mean about schools not being equal. I work as a financial advisor and my core role is to work w/ employees of non-profit organizations, mostly schools. I have been assigned some of the worst schools in the Tampa area. I know what happens. I stay near the affluent area. I did my training and ride-alongs at these schools. I saw those kids, the facilities and the parents. The disparity is frightening. No one who sees both types of schools would argue the contrary...
 

Well done, Erv.

Because I don't have children, I can only postulate how I would feel about this matter. 

Unfortunately, I think the problem starts with poor / very poor city planning and is compounded by gentrification of formerly poor neighborhoods which only leads to more segregation.

I see both points, and persuasive arguements can be made for each.  I'm curious to see how this will all pan out.

 

 

I think it's good for people of all races to interact with one another...I grew up in Southern Indiana and only knew one or two black kids, the rest of my school was white. When I moved to LA, I became friends with people of all different races...but I am positive that some of the people from back home would completely freak out here.

One of my best friends grew up in South Carolina and he was the only white kid in the entire high school, and he says he felt completely alienated.

If I had kids, I'd want them to go to the school where they can get the best education, regardless of what race the other kids were that attended. I'd be pissed if they got bussed to a school where the quality of education was lower just because they needed to integrate...all schools aren't created equal, some kids get priviledges based on their location, which is unfair and it totally sucks- but what is the fair solution for every child???

 

The fair solution for every child is have schools that are on equal footing. If the level of education that could be received at every school was the same then there would be no problem. But the truth of the matter is that more parent involvement, more money and better fascilities have a direct impact on the level of education that is receiveed. There are many underfunded schools in America and most of them are mostly located in areas that are majority minority. I think that these diversity programs if allowed to stand will bring to the attention of more people that a child is not always afforded a "good education" just by being in America. Maybe then can we have a fair solution for every child...
 

I agree.
 

I think the program will have wonderful results! Especially when these kids have kids, and pass their knowledge down. We need to stop thinking about ourselves and think about the kids and future generations!

I recently took a diversity course and was "forced" to do a number of things that took me out of my comfort zone. One of the assignments was to visit a place/event that I had not previously visited, so I would become exposed to cultural or ethnic differences. The results reported by my classmates were simply amazing! We had males visit maternity wards, whites visit african-american museums, muslims visit synagogues, asians visit holocaust museums, etc...

The results of not only that assignment but of the entire class were simply positive. The groths experienced by all of us would not have happened if we weren't "foreced" to be exposed to them and expand our comfort zone.Not one person didn't claim to have grown because of being exposed to these new cultures. People broke down in tears a number of times b/c they were ashamed that they thought people from different environments were so different than themselves that they would never be able to relate to them. That's one of the problems with society ... our inability to relate with each other.

The kids involved in this program are going to be exposed to the ideas and thoughts of kids from different environments. (rich/poor white/black etc...) This in turn will expand their awareness of human life and the human race! Ya can't be mad at that!

If you've never read the Dr. Seuss book The Sneetches you really should check it out ... it's diversity related.

I wrote a blog on it here.
 

Shouldn't the issue to not see race as an issue? --- Don't people look at school districts when they move into an area?