Reply to Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science (MS)²

Forum Index » DC Public and Public Charter Schools

Reply to "Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science (MS)² "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]Minorities are expected to be the majority by 2050.

http://articles.cnn.com/2008-08-13/us/census.minorities_1_hispanic-population-census-bureau-white-population?_s=PM:US

So... I was standing at my black DS's Ward 3 elementary school speaking with a Korean mom, when a white mom walked up and starting telling us about the midle schools her white DS might attend next year.  We were all happily chatting away and she went on to say that they ruled out a really good middle school only because her DS would be one of the few white kids there.  There was silence..  I waited to see if she was aware of her audience, but she didn't blink an eye.  Mind you, there are very few Koreans in the entire school, and a handful of black kids in each grade level.  The Korean mom was really put off by this comment (she told me later) because her DS had tough time adjusting since they moved here from Korea.  Really, some poeple are not only clueless, but truly insensitive.  Truth be told, a college buddy of mine who happens to be a white male, went to an all boys black school growing up.  When I first met him, I could't figure it out-but I knew there was something special about him.  He was so friendly and down to earth.  He treated everyone with respect, had a diverse set of friends, and was comfortable in many different social circles.  A few years later I learned about his upbringing- and that his father chose this school in the south because it was the best school in their area.  He is one of the most well-rounded people I know, and he learned about world history at an early age (it was part of the ciurriculum).  Poeple in DC often say oh our school is so diverse.. Actually it's not, unless you call families from England being diverse.  Most of these so called ward 3 schools are majority white (from north america mainly but also europe, and south america).  Yes it's diverse in that people are from different european countires.  But by no means is it diverse in the sense that there are a good mix of blacks (from the US or africa), asians etc. (say more than 2 per grade).  I think people fool themselves into thinking that's diverse enough.  We have people from Spain so that counts.  Not the same at all.  So just like the white mom, there is a certain level of comfort knowing that your child goes to school with kids who he can identify with, who kind of "look like him"- or are from the same racial background.  But diveristy breaks stereotypes, and at the end of the day, it's the sterotypes that perpetuate racism.

I wonder what the coversation will be in 2050 among moms of different racial backgrounds.  Will it be... "oh, I don't know, I don't want Maria to be one of the few hispanics at that amazing school with high academic achievement.  It's called X.  Have you heard of it?"[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics