So are you willing to give up quality of education for diversity?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:White parents are making decisions based more on the demographics of the school, its racial and SES make-up and not the actual quality of the education the school offers.

All other things being equal, white parents will always choose a predominantly white school over a truly integrated or majority minority school. The social science research bears this out.

White parents somehow equate low-income, high minority schools as "unsafe" or "low quality" when race and income has actually no relationship to the quality of the education a school has on offer.

The decisions white parents are making are based more on emotion and not on logic and rationality. They will accept a large number of Asian students at a school, a certain number of Latino students, but have a low tolerance for black students.

These individual decisions, when carried out across the entire system, strengthen and reinforce the racial and socio-economic inequality that exist in society.

+1000
I could not have said it any better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And here is a thoughtful discussion on the whole matter that is worth the time.

PP... Thank you for sharing this, everyone who is thinking about participating in this discussion needs to take the time to watch this video. At least take a few minutes to watch from 54:40 - 58:55.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I was a kid my parents purposefully put me on a bus with 6 or 7 other white kids to attend an all-black inner-city school in Virginia in a town fighting a court order to desegregate its schools. This was the best education about life that I could have ever received.

I'd love to hear more about your parents and your experiences!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:White parents are making decisions based more on the demographics of the school, its racial and SES make-up and not the actual quality of the education the school offers.

All other things being equal, white parents will always choose a predominantly white school over a truly integrated or majority minority school. The social science research bears this out.

White parents somehow equate low-income, high minority schools as "unsafe" or "low quality" when race and income has actually no relationship to the quality of the education a school has on offer.

The decisions white parents are making are based more on emotion and not on logic and rationality. They will accept a large number of Asian students at a school, a certain number of Latino students, but have a low tolerance for black students.

These individual decisions, when carried out across the entire system, strengthen and reinforce the racial and socio-economic inequality that exist in society.

Would an upper/middle income, educated black parent choose to send their children to a high poverty (50%+) FARMS school if they had a choice to send them to a lower FARMS rate school with a bit less diversity?

Yes, we purposely send our kids to a more socioeconomically diverse school. One of the reasons is because we find value in our children being able to interact positively with all kinds of people from all different backgrounds. Another reason is because I know that sending my kids to school with poor kids does not make us poor. At the end of the day, even if I sent my kids to the poorest school in town, my kids are privileged (in terms of wealth) and that does not change because of the school they attend. And the thing is, it doesn't end there for us, I also choose to live in a more socioeconomically diverse neighborhood. We could easily have afforded to spend several times what we did on a house, but we chose where we live because I want my kids to have all of the comfort and safety and privilege that our wealth can offer, but not so much that they are out of touch with those that don't have the same level of wealth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:White parents are making decisions based more on the demographics of the school, its racial and SES make-up and not the actual quality of the education the school offers.

All other things being equal, white parents will always choose a predominantly white school over a truly integrated or majority minority school. The social science research bears this out.

White parents somehow equate low-income, high minority schools as "unsafe" or "low quality" when race and income has actually no relationship to the quality of the education a school has on offer.

The decisions white parents are making are based more on emotion and not on logic and rationality. They will accept a large number of Asian students at a school, a certain number of Latino students, but have a low tolerance for black students.

These individual decisions, when carried out across the entire system, strengthen and reinforce the racial and socio-economic inequality that exist in society.

Would an upper/middle income, educated black parent choose to send their children to a high poverty (50%+) FARMS school if they had a choice to send them to a lower FARMS rate school with a bit less diversity?

It would depend on other things. I did not make the decision of where to send my kids to school (and where to live) based solely on FARMS and diversity. Diversity was a large factor, but beyond having a general idea that the FARMS rate was not in the 70s, we didn't really think about it. We spoke to people in the neighborhoods, toured schools, looked at curriculum and class offerings. We ended up with schools that were in the 45% FARMS range. We have been happy for the most part. But the few years that we were considering other options (middle school), we looked at private rather than moving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:White parents are making decisions based more on the demographics of the school, its racial and SES make-up and not the actual quality of the education the school offers.

All other things being equal, white parents will always choose a predominantly white school over a truly integrated or majority minority school. The social science research bears this out.

White parents somehow equate low-income, high minority schools as "unsafe" or "low quality" when race and income has actually no relationship to the quality of the education a school has on offer.

The decisions white parents are making are based more on emotion and not on logic and rationality. They will accept a large number of Asian students at a school, a certain number of Latino students, but have a low tolerance for black students.

These individual decisions, when carried out across the entire system, strengthen and reinforce the racial and socio-economic inequality that exist in society.

Would an upper/middle income, educated black parent choose to send their children to a high poverty (50%+) FARMS school if they had a choice to send them to a lower FARMS rate school with a bit less diversity?

Yes, we purposely send our kids to a more socioeconomically diverse school. One of the reasons is because we find value in our children being able to interact positively with all kinds of people from all different backgrounds. Another reason is because I know that sending my kids to school with poor kids does not make us poor. At the end of the day, even if I sent my kids to the poorest school in town, my kids are privileged (in terms of wealth) and that does not change because of the school they attend. And the thing is, it doesn't end there for us, I also choose to live in a more socioeconomically diverse neighborhood. We could easily have afforded to spend several times what we did on a house, but we chose where we live because I want my kids to have all of the comfort and safety and privilege that our wealth can offer, but not so much that they are out of touch with those that don't have the same level of wealth.

PP here.. I agree with you to a point, but I would think most minority upper class parents have an upper limit as far as FARMS rate is concerned. We chose a cluster that was diverse, with about a 20% FARMS rate over a cluster with <5% FARMS and very little racial diversity even though the latter was a 10 vs the 7/8. However, if the school FARM rate was 50%+, then I don't think I would send my kids there, just as I would not want my kids to go to a school with <5% FARMS rate, but for different reasons.

Thankfully, we have a 3rd, more ideal choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:White parents are making decisions based more on the demographics of the school, its racial and SES make-up and not the actual quality of the education the school offers.

All other things being equal, white parents will always choose a predominantly white school over a truly integrated or majority minority school. The social science research bears this out.

White parents somehow equate low-income, high minority schools as "unsafe" or "low quality" when race and income has actually no relationship to the quality of the education a school has on offer.

The decisions white parents are making are based more on emotion and not on logic and rationality. They will accept a large number of Asian students at a school, a certain number of Latino students, but have a low tolerance for black students.

These individual decisions, when carried out across the entire system, strengthen and reinforce the racial and socio-economic inequality that exist in society.

So true. How many times has DCUM repeated its mantra that only a GS8+ will do?

Those parents who choose not to make decisions solely on the basis of racial and SES make-up are then denigrated by posters like the OP for "not caring" about the quality of their children's education.

[Anonymous]

Roosevelt HS and Whitman HS have the same GS rating. One is 60 percent black.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand why people are so hard on parents not wanting to send their child to a predominantly black school? I agree that some of these schools are actually pretty good in terms of academics and teachers, which is great.

The downside (not always) is that the environment can be horrible. There is just way too much BS behavioral issues that I don't want my kids exposed to. Every human is biased, but I think there are often legitimate reasons for not wanting to send your kids to some of these schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:White parents are making decisions based more on the demographics of the school, its racial and SES make-up and not the actual quality of the education the school offers.

All other things being equal, white parents will always choose a predominantly white school over a truly integrated or majority minority school. The social science research bears this out.

White parents somehow equate low-income, high minority schools as "unsafe" or "low quality" when race and income has actually no relationship to the quality of the education a school has on offer.

The decisions white parents are making are based more on emotion and not on logic and rationality. They will accept a large number of Asian students at a school, a certain number of Latino students, but have a low tolerance for black students.

These individual decisions, when carried out across the entire system, strengthen and reinforce the racial and socio-economic inequality that exist in society.

Would an upper/middle income, educated black parent choose to send their children to a high poverty (50%+) FARMS school if they had a choice to send them to a lower FARMS rate school with a bit less diversity?

Yes, we purposely send our kids to a more socioeconomically diverse school. One of the reasons is because we find value in our children being able to interact positively with all kinds of people from all different backgrounds. Another reason is because I know that sending my kids to school with poor kids does not make us poor. At the end of the day, even if I sent my kids to the poorest school in town, my kids are privileged (in terms of wealth) and that does not change because of the school they attend. And the thing is, it doesn't end there for us, I also choose to live in a more socioeconomically diverse neighborhood. We could easily have afforded to spend several times what we did on a house, but we chose where we live because I want my kids to have all of the comfort and safety and privilege that our wealth can offer, but not so much that they are out of touch with those that don't have the same level of wealth.

The poors aren't here to be your jewelry

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why people are so hard on parents not wanting to send their child to a predominantly black school? I agree that some of these schools are actually pretty good in terms of academics and teachers, which is great.

The downside (not always) is that the environment can be horrible. There is just way too much BS behavioral issues that I don't want my kids exposed to. Every human is biased, but I think there are often legitimate reasons for not wanting to send your kids to some of these schools.

I will tell you why I am hard on you PP. Because you are using only race as the reason for choosing the school, and nothing more. All other things being equal academically, behaviorally, etc. you would just prefer that your child be in an environment where she is in the majority. Guess what, every day she is in the majority. The majority of the people she sees around her are white, the people on TV on white, the majority of the people she sees as leaders and professionals are white. Spending six hours a day in a situation where she is not among the majority will probably be healthy for her.

And you again make statements that a school that is majority black is a school rife with behavioral problems. That is your perception based solely on skin color, and nothing more. It is a "race neutral" code word for what is essentially a racist viewpoint.

I had to laugh at the white woman in the video. A) She really seemed to lack confidence in defending her choices; and B) was concerned about her child be the only white girl in the kindergarten. No one seems as concerned about the only black girl in the kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

Following on, and if you watched the video Nikole Hannah-Jones addressed this. After she wrote her article about her decision to send her child to a majority black school, people accused her of wanting to send her child to an "unsafe" school. No where in her article did she ever say the school was unsafe and she says in the video she would not send her child to an unsafe school. Yet, there it was.

She also pointed out that the local school that is more than 50 percent white is overcrowded and that the white parents will and are fighting tooth and nail to assure that their children retain access to what is perceived to be the superior white school.

[Anonymous]

I was an UMC kid who went to a diverse school. I think the quality of education was worse. It did make me understand other cultures. While I am not biased, the experience made me a strong Republican and made me work harder/smarter to send my kids to a W school. Many friends from HS echo that experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why people are so hard on parents not wanting to send their child to a predominantly black school? I agree that some of these schools are actually pretty good in terms of academics and teachers, which is great.

The downside (not always) is that the environment can be horrible. There is just way too much BS behavioral issues that I don't want my kids exposed to. Every human is biased, but I think there are often legitimate reasons for not wanting to send your kids to some of these schools.

I will tell you why I am hard on you PP. Because you are using only race as the reason for choosing the school, and nothing more. All other things being equal academically, behaviorally, etc. you would just prefer that your child be in an environment where she is in the majority. Guess what, every day she is in the majority. The majority of the people she sees around her are white, the people on TV on white, the majority of the people she sees as leaders and professionals are white. Spending six hours a day in a situation where she is not among the majority will probably be healthy for her.

And you again make statements that a school that is majority black is a school rife with behavioral problems. That is your perception based solely on skin color, and nothing more. It is a "race neutral" code word for what is essentially a racist viewpoint.

I had to laugh at the white woman in the video. A) She really seemed to lack confidence in defending her choices; and B) was concerned about her child be the only white girl in the kindergarten. No one seems as concerned about the only black girl in the kindergarten.

You make some really stupid assumptions.

My perception isn't based on skin color, it's based on my actual experience, and experience of friends and family members.
You can pretend that there aren't behavioral issues at these schools, but that isn't true in most cases.

It sounds like everything is racism to you. I guess what I experienced is just racism on my part lol

It sounds like you have an axe to grind with white people.

And I think you are confusing me with another PP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand why people are so hard on parents not wanting to send their child to a predominantly black school? I agree that some of these schools are actually pretty good in terms of academics and teachers, which is great.

The downside (not always) is that the environment can be horrible. There is just way too much BS behavioral issues that I don't want my kids exposed to. Every human is biased, but I think there are often legitimate reasons for not wanting to send your kids to some of these schools.

I will tell you why I am hard on you PP. Because you are using only race as the reason for choosing the school, and nothing more. All other things being equal academically, behaviorally, etc. you would just prefer that your child be in an environment where she is in the majority. Guess what, every day she is in the majority. The majority of the people she sees around her are white, the people on TV on white, the majority of the people she sees as leaders and professionals are white. Spending six hours a day in a situation where she is not among the majority will probably be healthy for her.

And you again make statements that a school that is majority black is a school rife with behavioral problems. That is your perception based solely on skin color, and nothing more. It is a "race neutral" code word for what is essentially a racist viewpoint.

I had to laugh at the white woman in the video. A) She really seemed to lack confidence in defending her choices; and B) was concerned about her child be the only white girl in the kindergarten. No one seems as concerned about the only black girl in the kindergarten.

You make some really stupid assumptions.

My perception isn't based on skin color, it's based on my actual experience, and experience of friends and family members.
You can pretend that there aren't behavioral issues at these schools, but that isn't true in most cases.

It sounds like everything is racism to you. I guess what I experienced is just racism on my part lol

It sounds like you have an axe to grind with white people.

And I think you are confusing me with another PP

PP its just another black race baiter so many of them here

You send your kid to the best school period which is directly correlated to SES which is correlated to income

Blacks and to a lesser extent hispanics have lower SES/income which is why people tend to avoid schools with higher percentages of blacks and somewhat hispanics

Blacks do it too. Blacks of means would never dream of sending their kids to public schools in DC or PG county

Diversity for diversity sake is liberal bs. As other posters have hinted if anything diversity for diversities sake inflames racial tensions

Finally looking for more qualified minority candidates is a good thing. Key word is qualified. Affirmative Action has been warped to focus on diversity instead of qualified diversity