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Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)
elementary school that would welcome my biracial child?
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Anonymous
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pp is absolutely right. There is so much code it can be hard to slice through it: diversity, ability grouping, tracking, homogeneous grouping.
When parents stop voting with their feet by moving or finding back doors to Bethesda/CC/Potomac public schools where there are more students "like them" they can talk about other people's children. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
One with friends that are open and honest about their experiences and don't make assumptions about people today based on an experience they had as a child 20 yrs ago. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
Who would ever say that - I don't even see you as black - what?!? I know my friends and love the fact they have another culture I can learn from . I don't see my friend as Hispanic - because I actually know she is Cuban so I don't have to count her as a statistic. I can learn from her culture. Yes she had experiences as a child/young adult like people assumed she was illegal and it bothered her but she does not blame me for that "the white person". And she is understanding because she understand that people don't know and they are afraid to ask. Because they will be called a racist. My Korean friend laughs at how they speak Spanish to her when she goes to ger Peruvian Chicken and my friend from Costa Rico - everybody thinks she is Asian. "They love Asian hair" that is the comment she gets. So I get that people have these experiences and I am not saying to send your kids to a school where these things would bother them. I think my friends would rather just talk to their kids about their experience - why it happens and how they should deal with it. That this in not racism - since there is no ill intent. My friend from Pakistan was talking to my son in a heavy accent and he said "sorry I don't speak spanish" - okay the kid was 4 and guess what he didn't know any better. She laughed histerically - her daughter was in school and the teacher asked if anybody spoke a 2nd language and she said "Spanish" - see that is funny! You guys need to get over yourself. Bethesda is snooty but racism is not rampant. Takoma Park needs to stop wearing their diversity on their sleve like a badge of honor and get that anybody that has a different culture to share is diversity not just blacks and hispanics. The post is "school that would welcome my biracial child" - I don't think statistics can answer that. If she said "school with at least 30% black kids" that is different. |
Anonymous
| To 11:07 --I LOVE your post! Thank you for being so eloquent and reasonable. I know Moco is full of open hearted, open minded folks just like you -- I see it every day! |
Anonymous
I'm not sure why you're cracking on Takoma Park. Also, if you think Takoma Park's "diversity" is so limited, you maybe have an imperfect perspective on the place. Maybe you can get a better sense from yesterday's July 4 parade -- http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=takoma+july+parade&s=rec&z=e |
Anonymous
I find your post hilarious. You are calling me a racist and I have to ask: racist against whom? I am white myself. I have not painted an entire population with a "disparaging brush." I have said, in effect, that black and biracial kids are likely to experience some forms of racial prejudice in school and that it's better for them to go to schools where at least some of the other children look like them. My kids do go to schools with "a lot of white children." They go to school in Montgomery County so of course there are a lot of white children. It is not a child's responsibility to represent their race and integrate schools on their own. The OP is looking for a more welcoming environment for her biracial kids. I also have biracial kids so I have some experience with this. Some kids (in the more diverse schools which my children currently attend) have made comments that were pretty disturbing. I used those comments to illustrate the fact that racial prejudice does exist here in Montgomery County whether we like it or not. I am not saying that everyone is prejudiced although I really question people like you who become overly defensive when the subject comes up. I mean, look at what you did! You assumed I was black and that I was somehow racist against you and your children! That's so absurd that it almost doesn't deserve a response. I would like to say to the OP that overall, Montgomery County is a great place for biracial kids to go to school but that I would investigate the demographics of individual schools pretty closely. Some are MUCH better than others. I would avoid the richest, whitest areas where people like the PP are in complete denial about their own views on other races and their children will reflect those views. Some of these white kids have never really interacted with black people as friends and equals. This will make a difference in how your children are treated. Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Kensington, Wheaton, Rockville, and parts of Chevy Chase are pretty good for diversity in the schools. I would not recommend most of Bethesda if you are looking for diversity. |
Anonymous
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Some info on racial diversity profiles of different neighborhoods. Maybe this will help inform the discussion.
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Anonymous
This is interesting but it doesn't show school demographics which are very different. For instance, Chevy Chase schools draw from other, more diverse areas. And DC public schools can be majority black or majority white. |
Anonymous
| You need only walk through the downtowns of Bethesda and Silver Spring to appreciate how very, very different the communities are in terms of diversity and affluence. In all likelihood each community is fine with that. The Ethiopian festival in SS was an astounding display. I haven't noticed any cultural festivals in Bethesda, but then I'm not really paying attention. |
Anonymous
You do realize that only about 13% of the US population is AA, right? So that's already more than reflective of American society as a whole. 
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Anonymous
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http://colesville.patch.com/articles/is-the-northeast-consortium-shortchanging-springbrook-high-part-one
The writer is African American. A few of us - offended by its undercurrent of racism - wrote in. I can certainly pick up on subtle racist remarks and am no "Pollyanna" when it boils down to stereotypes, especially having grown up in what was considered an "ethnic" family during the 70s and 80s. But keep these points in mind: * that although we divide by race, it's really a matter of socio-economics * that there are divisions among races, too. As only one example, many African students will not associate with "American blacks." So although I've been at schools with diversity, if you scan a cafeteria, you'll see students self-segregate - Koreans with Koreans, Cubans with Cubans, Nigerians with Nigerians. Don't think that it's so easy to ignore race by placing your child in a diverse setting. Culture trumps skin color. Furthermore, with reference again to socio-economics, I can list several situations where there's been tension btw. black friends over money issues. And the reveres is true. As a white person with a not so impressive HHI, I can't compete with someone living in Chevy Chase. And yet, by these boards, you'd think that all whites are lumped under that "Bethesda umbrella: as hoity toity whites. So it's not as simple as people make it out to be. It takes courageous conversations and a bit of bending on both sides to meet halfway. Or else what will ultimately happen is yet more white flight to the outer burbs. I see it now, living in a somewhat diverse Mo Co community. While some may not care (as in good riddance), it will only make the situation worse. |
Anonymous
Uh, first of all...wrong! Also, black people are not the only non-white people in the US. This is from the census: White persons, percent, 2010 (a) 72.4% Black persons, percent, 2010 (a) 12.6% American Indian and Alaska Native persons, percent, 2010 (a) 0.9% Asian persons, percent, 2010 (a) 4.8% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, percent, 2010 (a) 0.2% Persons reporting two or more races, percent, 2010 2.9% Persons of Hispanic or Latino origin, percent, 2010 (b) 16.3% White persons not Hispanic, persons, 2010 63.7% And secondly, 13% non-white is not in any way representative of the Washington area, especially Montgomery county. Please. |
Anonymous
Yes, but that 13% number includes places like Idaho, Nebraska, Vermont, Maine etc where very few black people live. No one experiences the national racial breakdown in their day to day life. It is not representative of the daily experience of black people, it is an aggregate number for the country as a whole. Day to day, people in Maine live with a maybe5% black population, while people in Atlanta experience life with a different ratio. Citing that 13% with the eye roll just displays the attitude about minorities getting too uppity. "We are allowing more than 13%, so what more do you people want," right? |