Sending kid to school where they would be the minority

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It can be an issue in middle school, but in Kindergarten they are unaware of differences of that nature unless someone tells them.

That's complete bullsh*t. You obviously have no idea what you are talking about.

[Anonymous]

My kids are definitely the minority. We’re white in PG public schools. It’s not been an issue so far as the kids are concerned. We just deal with questions as they come up. However, I have noticed that we are treated differently in some situations, and that makes me uncomfortable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hahahaha. More white privilege. As an American-born Asian, neither my parents nor we have ever had the choice.

Get over it. It's not a problem unless you're a white supremacist or racist. If the school is good it doesn't matter what the racial composition is.

Did OP say they were white?

Not the PP. It's obvious.

I'm the LOL PP. Yes, it is obvious. First, most non-white minorities don't have the option of switching schools to be in the majority unless you are talking about PG county (where I happen to live) or going to a private school. Even then, it is hard to find a minority majority preschool class outside of PG county.

Bolded PP. You're just being obtuse if you can't figure out that the OP is white.

Did OP say they were from the DC area? There are plenty of parts of this country where AAs are an extreme minority and have these concerns. Get out of your bubble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hahahaha. More white privilege. As an American-born Asian, neither my parents nor we have ever had the choice.

Get over it. It's not a problem unless you're a white supremacist or racist. If the school is good it doesn't matter what the racial composition is.

Did OP say they were white?

Not the PP. It's obvious.

I'm the LOL PP. Yes, it is obvious. First, most non-white minorities don't have the option of switching schools to be in the majority unless you are talking about PG county (where I happen to live) or going to a private school. Even then, it is hard to find a minority majority preschool class outside of PG county.

Bolded PP. You're just being obtuse if you can't figure out that the OP is white.

Did OP say they were from the DC area? There are plenty of parts of this country where AAs are an extreme minority and have these concerns. Get out of your bubble.

That is true, but they usually say it this way: “Sending black [African-American] child to white school.” The people contorting themselves to characterize situations in which their kids “would be the minority” are white.

[Anonymous]

I’m white and UMC and went to schools growing up where I was the extreme minority (less than 5% of my graduating class were white out of a class of about 500 and something like 85% were on free or reduced lunch.)

It was fine. Actually, it was good. I’m glad I have a lot of friends from different races and backgrounds. I’m glad I learned from an early age how privileged I am just by being white and also of course from being UMC. There were some difficult times socially and sometimes I was excluded but that could happen at any school. I do remember once in 2nd grade my best friend at school, who was black, asked her mom if I could play at her house after school and her mom initially said yes but then once her mom found out I was white, she said no that we couldn’t play together outside of school. That definitely hurt and I didn’t understand it at the time. But now I kind of do (I don’t agree w her mom’s decision but do understand it to a certain extent...I grew up in the south and there are still so many racial problems in the city I grew up in that I can see why a black parent may not want their kid hanging out w a white kid.)

I think if it’s a good school, you should do it.

[Anonymous]

I would not want to send my white kids to a majority black/brown school. At the same time, I hope that the minority kids are having a pleasant experience at our mainly white school.

[Anonymous]

I think it's a broader question of racial minority; it can be being a minority in other ways. OP, think about these extra issues.

Someone is always going to be the tallest, shortest, fastest, slowest, etc. But if the same person is many of these things, that's when it really can be crushing.

My friend had her DD in a predominately white, community-based pre-school class. In that class, she was the only AA kid.

However, she was ALSO the only adopted kid, the only kid in a single parent household (no dad), the only kid who lived in a location far from the school (so not easy to have playdates with), the only kid in the class who had been held back a year, etc. There were too many areas where she was an outlier on the bell curve, so it's like "not fitting in" from too many angles.

It was hard on her and her mom, and around 1st grade they found another school where she was not an outlier except for where she lived--but even that wasn't an outlier situation because nobody else lived near the new school either. She's really happy these days...omg she's 17 now! ha!

[Anonymous]

^^my point is, just saying to OP, look at your DC and see if the racial component is the only thing that will set your DC apart, or if there are more components, because imo they add up when you are trying to figure out whether your DC will be happy or not.

[Anonymous]

It really depends on the school and school district.

My close friend was one of the only white kids in her middle school and she got jumped twice in eighth grade (by a crew of popular girls who used racial epithets while doing so), and also got her hair set on fire with hairspray and a lighter in the hallway.

As you can imagine, she went to private for high school, though her parents were teachers and could really not afford it.

[Anonymous]

How is the experience of being a racial
Minority worse for a white person? Ive asked this question twice and three separate posters have alluded to a “different” set of treatment/problems but not articulating what those are. I’m genuinely curious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is the experience of being a racial
Minority *different* for a white person? Ive asked this question twice and three separate posters have alluded to a “different” set of treatment/problems but not articulating what those are. I’m genuinely curious.

PP here. *Correction above.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was one of 6 people of color on my grade all through high school. Was fine although all six of us became friends. We were also “model minority” groups and lived up to the reputation of being high achievers. When I was really little I didn’t mind being a POC and liked showing off my culture to my white classmates.

I went to high school in suburban NY (LI) and there were eight black kids in my entire school. I thought it was great that they weren't all friends with each other. I felt like it said something about us (whites) that we made the black kids feel comfortable enough that they didn't have to stick together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It can be an issue in middle school, but in Kindergarten they are unaware of differences of that nature unless someone tells them.

You are wrong and spreading this idea is dangerous.

Get a grip. Racists are made not born. Didn’t you learn anything from South Pacific? You have to be carefully taught.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is the experience of being a racial
Minority *different* for a white person? Ive asked this question twice and three separate posters have alluded to a “different” set of treatment/problems but not articulating what those are. I’m genuinely curious.

PP here. *Correction above.

I mentioned it in my previous reply. Frankly, we have gotten much better treatment at our schools than many of the brown children. I don’t know if it’s because we’re white, we’re involved in the life of the school, our children are at the top of their classes, we ask for more... I don’t know. But I feel uncomfortable many times because I know that the principal and staff of the school will respond to me and my problems in a very different way than I’ve seen them deal with other kids and parents. It doesn’t stop me from advocating for my children, but it does encourage me to advocate for the greater good of all of the children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No. I hated being an extreme minority as a kid so I’m not doing that to my kids. Unless it’s a white kid. In that case, I think you get enough positive depictions who look like you just by living in the US, so it’s ok if that doesn’t happen at school.

My child is white and was in the minority (1-2 kids like him in class).
Nobody picked on him but somehow he had few friends.
I thought maybe it was more SES related, but!
He is now at a school with many white and Asian kids and some hispanic kids sprinkled in and his friends are mostly white (some hispanic). I have no idea why that is, but will try to stick to majority white schools just for him to have a good “selection” of friends.

WTF kind of racism is this? You want to make sure your kid goes to a majority white school so he has lots of choices of white friends? That is pretty awful.