Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I am new to dc and I noticed the stark difference between the two types of segregation. Private schools are happy if they are racially diverse, but not so happy to be diverse in terms of socioeconomic groups. If find this attitude a bit schizophrenic. Do you think this is ok?
I think it’s pretty simple, racial segregation is viewed as a uniquely pernicious practice, both for contingent historical reasons and because basically everybody thinks that intentional racial discrimination is fundamentally unfair. A lack of socioeconomic diversity, however, is structurally inherent if your business model is “we’re going to charge a huge amount of money for something that is also available free of charge.” The great majority of people who see that as a viable option are going to be those for whom money is not a problem. I also think most of these schools do more than lip service in trying to find high talent kids from low SES communities—it adds value to the school community and they like to preen and take credit for such efforts, and they would, I think, do more of it if more low SES parents had any idea that, given a sufficiently talented kid, the schools can be flexible on money. I grew up low SES and it never crossed my mind that financial aid was even an option for high-end privates, and I assume there are lots of low SES parents of 140 IQ kids who have no idea they could apply to high end privates with reasonable prospects for major financial aid. Also travel logistics can be an issue.
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