No matter how many times people say it, the phrase “good schools” will never not be racist/classist

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We need to acknowledge stereotype threat and that standardized tests are culturally biased. Additionally, public school needs are seen as “products” that need to “deliver results.”

Are they biased against first generation Asian immigrants for whom English is a second language and are adapting to a new culture?

No they are not.

Other American demographics have been here hundreds of years and have English as a first language and for whom their parents and grandparents spoke as a first language, which means they are culturally and linguistically privledged over newer demographics.

The cultural bias assertion is easy to take down.

+1. Descendants of the enslaved seem to be the only ones that are not making much progress. From what I can see, people of Hispanic or Latino descent are becoming more accepted and integrated and will, sooner or later, go the way of the Irish, Italians, Eastern Europeans, Jews, Asians, etc. ... populations who have been discriminated against and oppressed by the established demographics but who, nevertheless, become prosperous citizens.

Do you think:
1. Descendants of enslaved people are making a lot of good progress toward equality?
2. There are other groups who have been equally prevented from improving their situation?
3. It's unseemly to make this observation?

My answer is obviously no to the bolded.

[Anonymous]

Ok so my black single mom co-worker put her kid in a charter. We’ve had several discussions about good schools. How is this racist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok so my black single mom co-worker put her kid in a charter. We’ve had several discussions about good schools. How is this racist?

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok so my black single mom co-worker put her kid in a charter. We’ve had several discussions about good schools. How is this racist?

It's "racist" because labeling things as "racist" is a way for me, a white person, to display my anti-racism even though I'm simply displaying my ignorance of black folks, most of whom make the same calculations as white folks, etc. when it comes to schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ok so my black single mom co-worker put her kid in a charter. We’ve had several discussions about good schools. How is this racist?

Well, charter schools perpetuate racism. Glad having a black friend made you feel better about your calculating attitudes, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok so my black single mom co-worker put her kid in a charter. We’ve had several discussions about good schools. How is this racist?

Well, charter schools perpetuate racism. Glad having a black friend made you feel better about your calculating attitudes, though.

PP, could you go into the "terrible parenting" thread and comment on the racism there? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok so my black single mom co-worker put her kid in a charter. We’ve had several discussions about good schools. How is this racist?

Well, charter schools perpetuate racism. Glad having a black friend made you feel better about your calculating attitudes, though.

Can you explain your reasoning to me?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok so my black single mom co-worker put her kid in a charter. We’ve had several discussions about good schools. How is this racist?

Well, charter schools perpetuate racism. Glad having a black friend made you feel better about your calculating attitudes, though.

Can you explain your reasoning to me?

DP. I think the argument is that school choice which results in some kids -- usually privileged in some way -- abandoning the traditional public schools, it has a disparate impact, usually falling on less privileged groups of people. If rich and poor, black and white, were all in the same schools, the rich white people would make sure the schools were good for their kids which would, necessarily, make the schools better for the poor black students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a teacher and longtime public school parent and I absolutely agree “good schools” is a loaded term. We have a racial test score gap everywhere in this country. So while it would be taboo to say “I want a school without black and Hispanic students,” it is perfectly acceptable in polite society to say “I only want a school with the top scores,” which gets you the same segregated outcome. Parents are literally afraid of black and Hispanic children and of low-income children of all colors because they perceive that they lower their own children’s prospects and also lower their home values when they’re in the same district. Frankly I find it morally wrong. I think we will look back in horror someday at how we chose housing prices based on how white a school was.

My own kids have gone to public schools rated 4-6 or so, and have had great experiences. Their education and their experiences have not had anything to do with those “rankings.”

Then you and the OP can enroll your children in the “schools without the top scores.” Put your money where your mouth is.

Yup, I just said that. Schools rated 4, 5, and 6.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a teacher and longtime public school parent and I absolutely agree “good schools” is a loaded term. We have a racial test score gap everywhere in this country. So while it would be taboo to say “I want a school without black and Hispanic students,” it is perfectly acceptable in polite society to say “I only want a school with the top scores,” which gets you the same segregated outcome. Parents are literally afraid of black and Hispanic children and of low-income children of all colors because they perceive that they lower their own children’s prospects and also lower their home values when they’re in the same district. Frankly I find it morally wrong. I think we will look back in horror someday at how we chose housing prices based on how white a school was.

My own kids have gone to public schools rated 4-6 or so, and have had great experiences. Their education and their experiences have not had anything to do with those “rankings.”

Then you and the OP can enroll your children in the “schools without the top scores.” Put your money where your mouth is.

Yup, I just said that. Schools rated 4, 5, and 6.

Are they the kind of 4-6 that has a cohort of high scoring kids but the equity score brings down the end number?

[Anonymous]

What bothers me is why are majority white failing schools never discussed? There are plenty of majority white schools that are failing. They exist all over the nation especially the south.

It’s odd that people think majority white schools is equivalent to a great school.

Also, many of the threads imply the average white family can afford to spend 30k+ a year on private school. The average American regardless of skin color cannot afford private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Classist, sure. Racist, nah. There are plenty of terrible schools that are all white. But class and valuing education are closely intertwined and it's not surprising that you'd see a correlation in schools.

I went to school with a bunch of low class white kids who sneered at "book learning."

Agree. Good school/bad school is in other words saying high income/low income student majority. It isn’t about race but about socioeconomic status. Poor white school districts are terrible too.

+100!!!
This is an SES thing NOT a race thing. Yes race is correlated with SES but the reason people are avoiding certain schools is not because of skin color. It is due to the reality that poor kids and non-English speaking kids sap the teacher’s time because their needs are so much higher typically/on average than MC English speaking kids. With schools having moved away from tracking this is a big deal

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m a teacher and longtime public school parent and I absolutely agree “good schools” is a loaded term. We have a racial test score gap everywhere in this country. So while it would be taboo to say “I want a school without black and Hispanic students,” it is perfectly acceptable in polite society to say “I only want a school with the top scores,” which gets you the same segregated outcome. Parents are literally afraid of black and Hispanic children and of low-income children of all colors because they perceive that they lower their own children’s prospects and also lower their home values when they’re in the same district. Frankly I find it morally wrong. I think we will look back in horror someday at how we chose housing prices based on how white a school was.

My own kids have gone to public schools rated 4-6 or so, and have had great experiences. Their education and their experiences have not had anything to do with those “rankings.”

Then you and the OP can enroll your children in the “schools without the top scores.” Put your money where your mouth is.

Yup, I just said that. Schools rated 4, 5, and 6.

Are they the kind of 4-6 that has a cohort of high scoring kids but the equity score brings down the end number?

NP. I think this is its own kind of terrible environment. It subconsciously sends a message to the “high scoring” kids that poor and minority children are not smart. Because that’s what they are observing everyday at school. The higher scoring kids also feel like geniuses for out scoring their peers, when in the grand scheme of things they are likely just average.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What bothers me is why are majority white failing schools never discussed? There are plenty of majority white schools that are failing. They exist all over the nation especially the south.

It’s odd that people think majority white schools is equivalent to a great school.

Also, many of the threads imply the average white family can afford to spend 30k+ a year on private school. The average American regardless of skin color cannot afford private school.

No one said that.

[Anonymous]

We don’t bother talking about “good” schools since it’s important for us that our kids attend the best ones.