Do you support greater integration in your child's school and classroom?

[Anonymous]

Of course. Our elementary school is very diverse, I think less that 50% white children (which my kids are). When we have International Night there is something like 50 different countries represented. We have an amazing principal who really engages all the culturally diverse families. I love that my children are growing up with friends with names that they have to teach me how to pronounce and spell and learning about cultures that I had zero knowledge of growing up in a 98% white community. It is hard sometimes - I have a little heartburn about my kids having playdates at some of the lower income housing apartments, but I've found that getting to know the parents is good for me too. These are, by and large, people who are educated beyond the work they are doing and making their way in a (sometimea )new country.

I'm sad that our diverse elementary school will be very watered down in middle school and high school. My kids' elementary is one of the few in our area that is diverse so the high school is very white. I hope they can hang on to some of these friendships they are making now.

It's not always possible to find a diverse community for your kids and I certainly don't fault that, but I think it's sad to be scared of the thought of diversity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't say I support further attempts at integration of my mostly white/asian school but I don't consider myself a racist. I'm struggling with my feelings on this issue and would like to hear from others.
Try to address this as if you own child's classroom were directly affected, with at least 13 to 14 percent minority enrollment, reflecting national proportions.

You may not consider yourself a racist, but that is a racist attitude for sure. You don't want students who are not white or Asian in your child's school. Why is that? Unpack your concerns and examine why you hold the beliefs that you do. Are you concerned that Latino kids aren't as smart as your kid? Are you concerned that Black kids are badly behaved? Those are stereotypes that are both harmful and untrue.

Most of the rich liberals in this area feel this way.

They surround themselves with people just like themselves, with little diversity of thought, politics, (lack of) religion, race and socioeconomic difference, and fight like dogs to prevent any rezoning that brings the undesirables into their neighborhood schools.

In my experience rich conservatives also feel this way.

The difference is that they aren't hypocrites about it. Conservatives outright state their thoughts up front.

Not sure that being openly racist is better than being quietly racist.

What do you call it when people assume someone is racist based on wealth?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here: I've observed that very few people on these threads are supportive when their school is being rezoned to include more diversity.
I live in an integrated neighborhood and send my kids to integrated schools (more than just a token or two). Even our close biracial friends, who come over once a week, are struggling with these issues as the kids get older and their daughter is exposed to aggression from some girls who consider her uppity because she has a white boyfriend. I'm reassessing what to do about high school, as are they.
I'd say my life is far more diverse already than those who are calling me a racist.

I’m supportive at the elementary level and we chose our school to be diverse. I like to think of my self as libreral and progressive, but I also struggle with how I feel about it for Jr High and HS. When my home almost got rezoned to a majority minority middle school, my neighbors fought it hard. I did nothing. I didn’t stand up for better integration and I feel guilty. I told myself it was ok because I didn’t support their efforts. Personally I didn’t want to switch schools because the less diverse school is logistically better for my family. I work from home and it is a few blocks away. My fears and hesitation have a lot more to do with class / wealth divide than race.

The things I struggle with and I want to deal with personally while my kids are still small is this -
1. I know research shows more diverse schools are better for everyone, but I don’t understand how when I hear about opportunity hoarding that my North Arlington neighbors engage in. I have heard such and such is a great school - but then I hear that special programs and activities are dominated by white kids in a school amthat is 70%+ minority. That seems wrong. How is that teaching my kids anything about diversity if their exposure to kids of other races is that “brown kids are poor” or “brown kids aren’t in my advanced classes so they must be less intelligent” or “brown kids get in trouble more”. I grew up in a college town so my school was racially diverse but more socioeconomically homogeneous.

2. To have diversity be valuable, my kids need to actually be friends with kids from different backgrounds. This is hard for me to accept because I don’t want my kids to think it’s an option not to go to a 4yr college. Again I grew up in a college town for a large state school so even the janitor’ kid got some tuition assistance. There were poor kids, but almost everyone planned to go to college and almost everyone had at least 1 parent with a college degree. I did ok picking a college that was well regarded in the region and finding a good career, but I think about the connections my husband had growing up in a town where most dads commute to Wall St. and the colleges he applied to and careers he contemplated. I want my kids exposed to successful, educated people so they have examples of what careers they might want and how to get there.

I have been wanting to talk about this for a while, but I haven’t because I don’t want to seem racist. But obviously I am and I have some hang ups I need to work through and get over for my kids’ sake.

Your first example is my experience exactly, as a white kid at majority minority public schools in the 90s/2000s. Sure, my school was diverse, but I was in gifted classes that were mostly white (including every Jewish person at my school....) and Asian. Everyday, the school was sending me a very strong message that white and Asian people are smarter than everyone else. I think I would've been better off race-consciousness-wise to attend an all-white school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD's school is approx 20% black and hispanic and I have no concerns. What are your concerns OP?

That's low for the DC area.

Well OP wanted to know about percentages higher than 13 or 14.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:yes, you're racist.

This. Next.

[Anonymous]

It makes me crazy that any time a white person advocates for their kids school they are a racist. It's not true, and your saying it doesn't make it so. You can nequote, advocate for your school and not be racist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It makes me crazy that any time a white person advocates for their kids school they are a racist. It's not true, and your saying it doesn't make it so. You can nequote, advocate for your school and not be racist.

If you are advocating for lower class size or more funds, no one thinks you are racist. If you are advocating to not have more brown kids in the school, then yeah, you might be a little racist.

[Anonymous]

Can someone point me to some studies showing that integration helps all students (including wealthier ones)?

[Anonymous]

all I care about is addressing kids who repeatedly cause trouble at school so that the others can't learn. get them elsewhere if a regular classroom isnt working for them. and these kids come from all walks of life. second, group kids with like abilities together. this would solve so many issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It makes me crazy that any time a white person advocates for their kids school they are a racist. It's not true, and your saying it doesn't make it so. You can nequote, advocate for your school and not be racist.

+1.

The racist ones are those expecting other parents not to do the best they can for their kids just because of their skin color.

[Anonymous]

"If you are advocating for lower class size or more funds, no one thinks you are racist. If you are advocating to not have more brown kids in the school, then yeah, you might be a little racist"

I have never met anyone in real life who has ever said or thought this. I have seen many on DCUM accused of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"If you are advocating for lower class size or more funds, no one thinks you are racist. If you are advocating to not have more brown kids in the school, then yeah, you might be a little racist"

I have never met anyone in real life who has ever said or thought this. I have seen many on DCUM accused of it.

I certainly have heard people say it -- maybe not in super direct terms -- but it was clear what they meant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"If you are advocating for lower class size or more funds, no one thinks you are racist. If you are advocating to not have more brown kids in the school, then yeah, you might be a little racist"

I have never met anyone in real life who has ever said or thought this. I have seen many on DCUM accused of it.

I certainly have heard people say it -- maybe not in super direct terms -- but it was clear what they meant.

+1, when arguing vehemently against boundary changes.

[Anonymous]

This is a stupid question if asked in a vacuum. Most people wish for a diverse student body.

However, if you ask parents, who have scrimped and sacrificed to buy into a great school district, to risk losing real estate value because of redistricting, you're going to get a much different answer! They will view it as unfair for them to have sacrificed so much while others do not. It becomes a financial issue.

Full disclosure - we are a family of mixed ethnicity who tightened our belts for decades to afford to buy in a good school district.

[Anonymous]

"+1, when arguing vehemently against boundary changes."

So anyone who doesn't want a boundary change is a racist? Maybe they want their kids friends to stay together? Maybe they on'y want their kid on a long bus ride. Maybe they really like their kids teachers?

I don't think not wanting a boundary change makes you a racist. A Nimby maybe....