Anybody listening to NPR?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Oh wow, listening right now--what a tough account from the young lady who described the loneliness and discrimination she and others experienced being one of the very few visible minority students at Whitman.

Yes-- she said if she'd known in advance what she knows now about being a student of color at Whitman, she would have transferred to a different school. I thought that was really sad.

Keep in mind that this is also true of students of other races who are "in the minority" in schools in other parts of the county. It's often hard for those students to fit in, as well.

I'm hard pressed to think of a school anywhere in MCPS where a white child would be in as much of a minority as a Black kid in some of the west county schools. Whitman has so few Black kids that they don't even register statistically. Is there a school in MCPS where white kids are in that much of a minority? Kennedy may be the only one.

My kid goes to one for elementary school. So far she's been fine but is only in kindergarten.

Here's an ES where white is <5%., but the HS is a different story.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02788.pdf

Where at Whitman HS , there are <5% Blacks

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04427.pdf

Yes Kennedy HS has < 5% white.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04815.pdf

Wow, that really does show the segregation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Oh wow, listening right now--what a tough account from the young lady who described the loneliness and discrimination she and others experienced being one of the very few visible minority students at Whitman.

Yes-- she said if she'd known in advance what she knows now about being a student of color at Whitman, she would have transferred to a different school. I thought that was really sad.

Keep in mind that this is also true of students of other races who are "in the minority" in schools in other parts of the county. It's often hard for those students to fit in, as well.

I'm hard pressed to think of a school anywhere in MCPS where a white child would be in as much of a minority as a Black kid in some of the west county schools. Whitman has so few Black kids that they don't even register statistically. Is there a school in MCPS where white kids are in that much of a minority? Kennedy may be the only one.

My kid goes to one for elementary school. So far she's been fine but is only in kindergarten.

Here's an ES where white is <5%., but the HS is a different story.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02788.pdf

Where at Whitman HS , there are <5% Blacks

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04427.pdf

Yes Kennedy HS has < 5% white.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04815.pdf

Wow, that really does show the segregation.

Parts of the NEC are like this, too -- a child could go to Galway ES (<5% white), Banneker MS (<5% white) and Paint Branch HS (6.3% white). I'm the parent of white children in elementary school in this part of the county, and it has so far been fine, but is something I keep an eye on to see if it will ever start to be a problem for them socially.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, I take all these witness accounts with a grain of salt. We live in a very "poor me" society today, and it's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between painful, traumatizing discrimination and just dealing with being different, through no fault of anyone's.

I was educated in different countries because of my father's job. During one 4 year stretch, I was not only the sole foreigner, but also the sole mixed-ethnicity student of the entire school. I was bullied and teased for a little while, but I dealt with it and made good friends. It felt absolutely no different than later on, when I went to an international, diverse school full of kids of mixed ethnicity.

So suck it up, kiddos. We all have to deal with things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Honestly, I take all these witness accounts with a grain of salt. We live in a very "poor me" society today, and it's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between painful, traumatizing discrimination and just dealing with being different, through no fault of anyone's.

I was educated in different countries because of my father's job. During one 4 year stretch, I was not only the sole foreigner, but also the sole mixed-ethnicity student of the entire school. I was bullied and teased for a little while, but I dealt with it and made good friends. It felt absolutely no different than later on, when I went to an international, diverse school full of kids of mixed ethnicity.

So suck it up, kiddos. We all have to deal with things.

+ a million.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Parts of the NEC are like this, too -- a child could go to Galway ES (<5% white), Banneker MS (<5% white) and Paint Branch HS (6.3% white). I'm the parent of white children in elementary school in this part of the county, and it has so far been fine, but is something I keep an eye on to see if it will ever start to be a problem for them socially.

I went to a HS that was probably <5% white (I am not white). I had a few white friends, but I think it was kind of hard for some of them.

I have the opinion that whatever you are, be it creed, color or religion, it's hard being one of only a handful, especially when you are a kid. I would never want my kids or myself to live in an area where we are one of the handful of "only" something. I would probably feel the same if I were white, so I certainly wouldn't blame you if you wanted to move.

I live in Rockville now.

[Anonymous]

It probably depends on the race, culture, SES and kid.

My kid was the only white kid in her Montessori class of 30 kids. Everyone else was asian. It didn't bother her. Her public school is more diverse with more white and asian kids and a smaller but not micro population of black and latino kids. DD's friends are white, black, asian and latino. In her friend group there is actually only one other white kid and one kid who is half white/half asian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Honestly, I take all these witness accounts with a grain of salt. We live in a very "poor me" society today, and it's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between painful, traumatizing discrimination and just dealing with being different, through no fault of anyone's.

I was educated in different countries because of my father's job. During one 4 year stretch, I was not only the sole foreigner, but also the sole mixed-ethnicity student of the entire school. I was bullied and teased for a little while, but I dealt with it and made good friends. It felt absolutely no different than later on, when I went to an international, diverse school full of kids of mixed ethnicity.

So suck it up, kiddos. We all have to deal with things.

I'm assuming you didn't hear the NPR discussion. This child sounded visibly upset as she talked about how she would have given up the equity and resources associated with her Whitman experience if she wouldn't known then what she knows now. She talked about how some student were called the "n" word, and how the vast majority of students didn't care about discrimination because they never had to think about it themselves. And that her experience in the Minority Scholars Program was a saving grace.

But good for you, I guess? You assume your experience was similar to hers, and that therefore she should just suck it up. Nice going.

If anyone wants to listen, it's around the 49:00 mark.

https://thekojonnamdishow.org/audio/#/shows/2019-02-28/kojo-roadshow-a-town-hall-on-school-diversity-in-montgomery-county/113756/@00:00

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Honestly, I take all these witness accounts with a grain of salt. We live in a very "poor me" society today, and it's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between painful, traumatizing discrimination and just dealing with being different, through no fault of anyone's.

I was educated in different countries because of my father's job. During one 4 year stretch, I was not only the sole foreigner, but also the sole mixed-ethnicity student of the entire school. I was bullied and teased for a little while, but I dealt with it and made good friends. It felt absolutely no different than later on, when I went to an international, diverse school full of kids of mixed ethnicity.

So suck it up, kiddos. We all have to deal with things.

I'm assuming you didn't hear the NPR discussion. This child sounded visibly upset as she talked about how she would have given up the equity and resources associated with her Whitman experience if she wouldn't known then what she knows now. She talked about how some student were called the "n" word, and how the vast majority of students didn't care about discrimination because they never had to think about it themselves. And that her experience in the Minority Scholars Program was a saving grace.

But good for you, I guess? You assume your experience was similar to hers, and that therefore she should just suck it up. Nice going.

If anyone wants to listen, it's around the 49:00 mark.

https://thekojonnamdishow.org/audio/#/shows/2019-02-28/kojo-roadshow-a-town-hall-on-school-diversity-in-montgomery-county/113756/@00:00

I feel bad for her. Really I do, but unfortunately this can happen at any school where a student is really just one of the few who are like them. I'm Asian and when we first moved to this country, I attended a school where it was predominantly Blacks and Latinos. I was literally one of maybe 3-4 Asian kids (if that) in my grade. I got teased a lot and it was tough. This is why TRULY diverse schools are important.

[Anonymous]

So there are three different perspectives and approaches here depending on which political group you associate with for educational policy issues .

1. Takoma Park white liberal - react emotionally to one anecdote, run over and burn down Whitman, do nothing to actually help minorities, scare the rich white people off into VA -pat yourself on the back for accomplishing nothing.

2. Centrist Dem/ Moderate Liberal Republican - Realize that Whitman is already established to support high performing students but needs more minority representation. Also realize that bussing poor and low performing minorities from far away into Whitman is going to leave them stranded on an island and not be popular with the minorities you are trying to bus in either. Instead expand the minority scholars program and offer COSAs into Whitman to any minorities who are scoring in the upper 90s and at a lower performing school. Increase minority representation without creating stereotypes that minorities underperform. Give the equity opportunity to minority students who have the capability and desire to take advantage of the opportunity.

3. Republican - do nothing. Change the conversation to vouchers for parochial schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Honestly, I take all these witness accounts with a grain of salt. We live in a very "poor me" society today, and it's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between painful, traumatizing discrimination and just dealing with being different, through no fault of anyone's.

I was educated in different countries because of my father's job. During one 4 year stretch, I was not only the sole foreigner, but also the sole mixed-ethnicity student of the entire school. I was bullied and teased for a little while, but I dealt with it and made good friends. It felt absolutely no different than later on, when I went to an international, diverse school full of kids of mixed ethnicity.

So suck it up, kiddos. We all have to deal with things.

I'm assuming you didn't hear the NPR discussion. This child sounded visibly upset as she talked about how she would have given up the equity and resources associated with her Whitman experience if she wouldn't known then what she knows now. She talked about how some student were called the "n" word, and how the vast majority of students didn't care about discrimination because they never had to think about it themselves. And that her experience in the Minority Scholars Program was a saving grace.

But good for you, I guess? You assume your experience was similar to hers, and that therefore she should just suck it up. Nice going.

If anyone wants to listen, it's around the 49:00 mark.

https://thekojonnamdishow.org/audio/#/shows/2019-02-28/kojo-roadshow-a-town-hall-on-school-diversity-in-montgomery-county/113756/@00:00

I feel bad for her. Really I do, but unfortunately this can happen at any school where a student is really just one of the few who are like them. I'm Asian and when we first moved to this country, I attended a school where it was predominantly Blacks and Latinos. I was literally one of maybe 3-4 Asian kids (if that) in my grade. I got teased a lot and it was tough. This is why TRULY diverse schools are important.

The two experiences are not completely analogous. I believe you that your experience was tough as an Asian kid in a black/Latino school. However, it likely includes different dynamics than the experience of an AA girl in an all-white, affluent school. It's different for those who experienced a long history of oppression in this country.

-black and Asian PP, and 1st-gen American

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So there are three different perspectives and approaches here depending on which political group you associate with for educational policy issues .

1. Takoma Park white liberal - react emotionally to one anecdote, run over and burn down Whitman, do nothing to actually help minorities, scare the rich white people off into VA -pat yourself on the back for accomplishing nothing.

2. Centrist Dem/ Moderate Liberal Republican - Realize that Whitman is already established to support high performing students but needs more minority representation. Also realize that bussing poor and low performing minorities from far away into Whitman is going to leave them stranded on an island and not be popular with the minorities you are trying to bus in either. Instead expand the minority scholars program and offer COSAs into Whitman to any minorities who are scoring in the upper 90s and at a lower performing school. Increase minority representation without creating stereotypes that minorities underperform. Give the equity opportunity to minority students who have the capability and desire to take advantage of the opportunity.

3. Republican - do nothing. Change the conversation to vouchers for parochial schools.

How do you defend having a COSA program that effectively creates a magnet program where entry is race-based? The courts have specifically said that is illegal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Honestly, I take all these witness accounts with a grain of salt. We live in a very "poor me" society today, and it's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between painful, traumatizing discrimination and just dealing with being different, through no fault of anyone's.

I was educated in different countries because of my father's job. During one 4 year stretch, I was not only the sole foreigner, but also the sole mixed-ethnicity student of the entire school. I was bullied and teased for a little while, but I dealt with it and made good friends. It felt absolutely no different than later on, when I went to an international, diverse school full of kids of mixed ethnicity.

So suck it up, kiddos. We all have to deal with things.

I'm assuming you didn't hear the NPR discussion. This child sounded visibly upset as she talked about how she would have given up the equity and resources associated with her Whitman experience if she wouldn't known then what she knows now. She talked about how some student were called the "n" word, and how the vast majority of students didn't care about discrimination because they never had to think about it themselves. And that her experience in the Minority Scholars Program was a saving grace.

But good for you, I guess? You assume your experience was similar to hers, and that therefore she should just suck it up. Nice going.

If anyone wants to listen, it's around the 49:00 mark.

https://thekojonnamdishow.org/audio/#/shows/2019-02-28/kojo-roadshow-a-town-hall-on-school-diversity-in-montgomery-county/113756/@00:00

I feel bad for her. Really I do, but unfortunately this can happen at any school where a student is really just one of the few who are like them. I'm Asian and when we first moved to this country, I attended a school where it was predominantly Blacks and Latinos. I was literally one of maybe 3-4 Asian kids (if that) in my grade. I got teased a lot and it was tough. This is why TRULY diverse schools are important.

The two experiences are not completely analogous. I believe you that your experience was tough as an Asian kid in a black/Latino school. However, it likely includes different dynamics than the experience of an AA girl in an all-white, affluent school. It's different for those who experienced a long history of oppression in this country.

-black and Asian PP, and 1st-gen American

It is waaaaaaaay easier to be an AA girl in an all-white, affluent school than being an Asian kid in a black/ Latino, non-affluent school.

If you don't get that...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Honestly, I take all these witness accounts with a grain of salt. We live in a very "poor me" society today, and it's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between painful, traumatizing discrimination and just dealing with being different, through no fault of anyone's.

I was educated in different countries because of my father's job. During one 4 year stretch, I was not only the sole foreigner, but also the sole mixed-ethnicity student of the entire school. I was bullied and teased for a little while, but I dealt with it and made good friends. It felt absolutely no different than later on, when I went to an international, diverse school full of kids of mixed ethnicity.

So suck it up, kiddos. We all have to deal with things.

I'm assuming you didn't hear the NPR discussion. This child sounded visibly upset as she talked about how she would have given up the equity and resources associated with her Whitman experience if she wouldn't known then what she knows now. She talked about how some student were called the "n" word, and how the vast majority of students didn't care about discrimination because they never had to think about it themselves. And that her experience in the Minority Scholars Program was a saving grace.

But good for you, I guess? You assume your experience was similar to hers, and that therefore she should just suck it up. Nice going.

If anyone wants to listen, it's around the 49:00 mark.

https://thekojonnamdishow.org/audio/#/shows/2019-02-28/kojo-roadshow-a-town-hall-on-school-diversity-in-montgomery-county/113756/@00:00

I feel bad for her. Really I do, but unfortunately this can happen at any school where a student is really just one of the few who are like them. I'm Asian and when we first moved to this country, I attended a school where it was predominantly Blacks and Latinos. I was literally one of maybe 3-4 Asian kids (if that) in my grade. I got teased a lot and it was tough. This is why TRULY diverse schools are important.

The two experiences are not completely analogous. I believe you that your experience was tough as an Asian kid in a black/Latino school. However, it likely includes different dynamics than the experience of an AA girl in an all-white, affluent school. It's different for those who experienced a long history of oppression in this country.

-black and Asian PP, and 1st-gen American

Yes. I'm the white parent in the NEC who posted earlier. Although I keep an eye on the fact that my kids are in a small minority at their schools and watch to see if it causes any problems for them, I do not think they are having the same type of experience that black kids would have as a small minority in an all-white school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So there are three different perspectives and approaches here depending on which political group you associate with for educational policy issues .

1. Takoma Park white liberal - react emotionally to one anecdote, run over and burn down Whitman, do nothing to actually help minorities, scare the rich white people off into VA -pat yourself on the back for accomplishing nothing.

2. Centrist Dem/ Moderate Liberal Republican - Realize that Whitman is already established to support high performing students but needs more minority representation. Also realize that bussing poor and low performing minorities from far away into Whitman is going to leave them stranded on an island and not be popular with the minorities you are trying to bus in either. Instead expand the minority scholars program and offer COSAs into Whitman to any minorities who are scoring in the upper 90s and at a lower performing school. Increase minority representation without creating stereotypes that minorities underperform. Give the equity opportunity to minority students who have the capability and desire to take advantage of the opportunity.

3. Republican - do nothing. Change the conversation to vouchers for parochial schools.

I'm a Centrist Dem- So let's just take all the high achieving minorities from all the other schools and put them into one school ? In an effort to solve one problem, you just created multiple new ones. How about this? Let's put in the effort of making each school as strong as possible by having theme- based schools (like the DCC) and allow kids to go to whatever school they want to based on their interest, as long as it doesn't cause overcrowding at that school. Look at Wheaton. Wheaton HS used to be the school that no one wanted to go to; and now it's quickly turning its reputation around since the implementation of it's Engineering program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Honestly, I take all these witness accounts with a grain of salt. We live in a very "poor me" society today, and it's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between painful, traumatizing discrimination and just dealing with being different, through no fault of anyone's.

I was educated in different countries because of my father's job. During one 4 year stretch, I was not only the sole foreigner, but also the sole mixed-ethnicity student of the entire school. I was bullied and teased for a little while, but I dealt with it and made good friends. It felt absolutely no different than later on, when I went to an international, diverse school full of kids of mixed ethnicity.

So suck it up, kiddos. We all have to deal with things.

I'm assuming you didn't hear the NPR discussion. This child sounded visibly upset as she talked about how she would have given up the equity and resources associated with her Whitman experience if she wouldn't known then what she knows now. She talked about how some student were called the "n" word, and how the vast majority of students didn't care about discrimination because they never had to think about it themselves. And that her experience in the Minority Scholars Program was a saving grace.

But good for you, I guess? You assume your experience was similar to hers, and that therefore she should just suck it up. Nice going.

If anyone wants to listen, it's around the 49:00 mark.

https://thekojonnamdishow.org/audio/#/shows/2019-02-28/kojo-roadshow-a-town-hall-on-school-diversity-in-montgomery-county/113756/@00:00

I feel bad for her. Really I do, but unfortunately this can happen at any school where a student is really just one of the few who are like them. I'm Asian and when we first moved to this country, I attended a school where it was predominantly Blacks and Latinos. I was literally one of maybe 3-4 Asian kids (if that) in my grade. I got teased a lot and it was tough. This is why TRULY diverse schools are important.

The two experiences are not completely analogous. I believe you that your experience was tough as an Asian kid in a black/Latino school. However, it likely includes different dynamics than the experience of an AA girl in an all-white, affluent school. It's different for those who experienced a long history of oppression in this country.

-black and Asian PP, and 1st-gen American

P.S. I do agree with you that no schools should be quite this segregated. Diversity > homogeneity for kids who'll be adults in a diverse workplace and world, and will benefit from being educated alongside kids with diverse experiences and perspectives. I'm not exactly sure how to get there, though. Bussing has its own issues (and I attended schools where black kids were bussed from the projects across town to my high school). Also, I lived in a nearby "W" district, but moved for better commutes and more diversity, not wanting to raise our kids in an area where they'd likely be the lonely only in their class.

The only other thing I can think of is intentionally breaking up these affluent white enclaves by building more affordable housing in MoCo, upper NW, etc. NIMBYs will fight against that, of course, but I think that's at least part of the answer.