This American Life tackles Desegregation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:De-segregation would work even better if we require mixed-race tables in the school lunchrooms. That would teach the students the correct mind-set from the very beginning. Over time, general social desegregation would become a matter of learned behavior, rather than a product of government-mandated busing.

While we're at it, let's require mixed-race friendships, dating, and marriages. Let's socially engineer the problem away. What could go wrong?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:De-segregation would work even better if we require mixed-race tables in the school lunchrooms. That would teach the students the correct mind-set from the very beginning. Over time, general social desegregation would become a matter of learned behavior, rather than a product of government-mandated busing.

While we're at it, let's require mixed-race friendships, dating, and marriages. Let's socially engineer the problem away. What could go wrong?

Clearly, advocates for forced busing are not necessarily pro-integration.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:De-segregation would work even better if we require mixed-race tables in the school lunchrooms. That would teach the students the correct mind-set from the very beginning. Over time, general social desegregation would become a matter of learned behavior, rather than a product of government-mandated busing.

I would never ever send my child white or black to a school that required such social engineering. Encouraging it or making it part of some lunchroom rotation of seating fine but if you start counting races at tables and making kids move because of it I am out.

Well then it could become part of a diversity awareness program at the schools. The principal and the homeroom teachers could make presentations to the kids explaining how important it is for a diverse tapestry to exist at every lunch-table, and indeed the entire school. I agree that forcing the kids to sit together might seem a bit draconian, but they should at least be educated from the very beginning about what is appropriate behavior in society.

When I was in elem and middle school we were required to sit with our class. And because the class was diverse, the people sitting next to us were diverse.

+1

That's what my child's (suburband) Title 1 Elementary does. They have long tables with benches and classes sit together, and they sit in the order that the file into the cafeteria in so that kids aren't jockeying for position. Nobody blinks an eye. This is not social engineering. It's socialization and I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would have a problem with this. I have visited at lunch and all the kids are laughing and talking together and just being kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:De-segregation would work even better if we require mixed-race tables in the school lunchrooms. That would teach the students the correct mind-set from the very beginning. Over time, general social desegregation would become a matter of learned behavior, rather than a product of government-mandated busing.

I would never ever send my child white or black to a school that required such social engineering. Encouraging it or making it part of some lunchroom rotation of seating fine but if you start counting races at tables and making kids move because of it I am out.

Well then it could become part of a diversity awareness program at the schools. The principal and the homeroom teachers could make presentations to the kids explaining how important it is for a diverse tapestry to exist at every lunch-table, and indeed the entire school. I agree that forcing the kids to sit together might seem a bit draconian, but they should at least be educated from the very beginning about what is appropriate behavior in society.

When I was in elem and middle school we were required to sit with our class. And because the class was diverse, the people sitting next to us were diverse.

+1

That's what my child's (suburband) Title 1 Elementary does. They have long tables with benches and classes sit together, and they sit in the order that the file into the cafeteria in so that kids aren't jockeying for position. Nobody blinks an eye. This is not social engineering. It's socialization and I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would have a problem with this. I have visited at lunch and all the kids are laughing and talking together and just being kids.

I doubt anyone does have a problem with this. I think the problem is with idea of someone designating who sits next to whom deliberately: Susie, you go sit next to Malik. Fernando, you go sit next to Akiko.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Breaking news: contrary to OP's premise, some schools have decided that segregation is a GOOD thing for students:

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2016/09/19/san-francisco-state-to-launch-afro-themed-dorm-floors/

And, DCPS has a new "males of color" high school -- founded explicitly on the idea that segregation is good for males of color.

So, why in the world should we entertain forced de-segregation via government rule, when when many educators are explicitly deciding that schools should do the opposite?

It's so inspiring to see what the Obamas have done for their daughters, all the way from Chicago private schools to DC private schools.

Shows what character means.

They bus their minority daughters to a predominantly white school so they are integrating!

That's why I said it's so inspiring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yesterday the This American Life podcast put out an episode tackling the subject of desgrigation. I think it gives some interesting food for thought and is worth a listen: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/562/the-problem-we-all-live-with - This is definitely a general education subject but I posted it here in DCPS because 1) I am a DCPS parent and teacher and 2) It made me think about the OOB set aside. Listen if you have a chance!

Is there a transcript instead? I hate podcasts and videos; I'm a reader.

+1. I need something I can look away from, and then return to, during brain-breaks from work. These spoken-word essays require the time commitment and attention span of an actual performance (theater, concert, etc.). In my family and my job, ain't nobody got time for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yesterday the This American Life podcast put out an episode tackling the subject of desgrigation. I think it gives some interesting food for thought and is worth a listen: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/562/the-problem-we-all-live-with - This is definitely a general education subject but I posted it here in DCPS because 1) I am a DCPS parent and teacher and 2) It made me think about the OOB set aside. Listen if you have a chance!

Is there a transcript instead? I hate podcasts and videos; I'm a reader.

+1. I need something I can look away from, and then return to, during brain-breaks from work. These spoken-word essays require the time commitment and attention span of an actual performance (theater, concert, etc.). In my family and my job, ain't nobody got time for that.

There is a link to the transcript on the page the OP linked to. But it's an hour long show, broken into pieces. It's pretty easy to listen to in 15 minute chunks, and it's really not designed to be read.

Part 1: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/562/transcript
Part 2: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/563/transcript

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Desegregation is so great!

—says Ira Glass, a millionaire who went to Northwestern and then Brown, and lives in a $1.5M apartment in an elite, mostly white Manhattan neighborhood.

This story was reported by a Black woman who is sending her Black child to a racially integrated school.

Glass himself attended Millford Mill HS in Baltimore County, a school that is extremely racially diverse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Desegregation is so great!

—says Ira Glass, a millionaire who went to Northwestern and then Brown, and lives in a $1.5M apartment in an elite, mostly white Manhattan neighborhood.

This story was reported by a Black woman who is sending her Black child to a racially integrated school.

Glass himself attended Millford Mill HS in Baltimore County, a school that is extremely racially diverse.

That says a lot about his parents.

Now, assuming he has kids, where do they go to school? Living in a "$1.5M apartment in an elite, mostly white Manhattan neighborhood" doesn't seem to indicate much real interest in integration.

[Anonymous]

Going against human nature is a pipe dream. People like being around people that look like them

Walk into any diverse middle or high school cafeteria and peopel self segregate by race. Its human nature

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Going against human nature is a pipe dream. People like being around people that look like them

Walk into any diverse middle or high school cafeteria and peopel self segregate by race. Its human nature[/quot

I think that's rather "alt-right" of you. As a practical matter, I think most would agree that humans tend to segregate themselves based on such things as social class, culture, and tribe, with race being merely incidental to those more tangible social fabrics.

[Anonymous]

"While segregation of the past has a negative connotation, today its general definition — to set apart from the rest, isolate or divide — describes what’s going on at universities in which special events are designed for students of color, and often specifically for black students." --

http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/29109/

Worth a read. If you don't think creating "safe spaces" for various (non-white) cultures is a bad thing, then maybe you should also come around to the idea that de-segregation is something that should occur via free will, rather than enforced by the government.

[Anonymous]

It's on wamu radio now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It DID NOT work because it worked for too few of the people impacted. It has to be done in a measured way so the costs (or even the perception of costs) is sufficiently minimized. As was said above...

Anonymous wrote:The problem in DC is that successful integration will require a lot of time. Right now, the need for a better school placement dwarfs the capacity of the quality schools. The number of good schools is slowly spreading, with charters being a part of that, so DC is on the right track.

The 10% OOB set-aside should prove to be effective policy for the kids who get to take advantage of it. But at that rate, it will still be years and years before most students in lame schools get to escape for a good one. (It doesn't help that most of the high-quality schools where the benefit would be large are already way overcrowded.)

We've already seen what happens if you force rapid integration by quickly bringing in large numbers of new students into the more successful schools: the disruption is high and many of the preexisting families just leave. The high disruption can turn a successful school into an unsuccessful one.

I don't think you listened to the episode. 18 years of desegregation HALVED the achievement gap. The episode is pretty crystal clear about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"While segregation of the past has a negative connotation, today its general definition — to set apart from the rest, isolate or divide — describes what’s going on at universities in which special events are designed for students of color, and often specifically for black students." --

http://www.thecollegefix.com/post/29109/

Worth a read. If you don't think creating "safe spaces" for various (non-white) cultures is a bad thing, then maybe you should also come around to the idea that de-segregation is something that should occur via free will, rather than enforced by the government.

Wow, the same old argument. Every time I hear this, I am reminded of the mom who was asked by her kids "Mommy, why is there a mothers' day and a fathers' day but no kids' day?" To which the mother answered "Honey, every day is kids' day."

Safe spaces for minorities are totally unlike segregation because of the "minority" part. The majority doesn't need designated safe spaces because the ENTIRE F*CKING WORLD IS A SAFE SPACE for us. But you already know that, don't you?