Reply to Study: "Discussions of D.C. public school options in an online forum" (yes, this one)

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Reply to "Study: "Discussions of D.C. public school options in an online forum" (yes, this one)"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=jsteele][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The bigger issue here is probably this:

DC is unusual in that it attracts a lot of high-achieving people from across the country -- the sort who got good grades in school, who went to prestigious colleges and who now want (expect) the same for their kids.

But the reality of DC is that most schools here, beyond elementary years, are just bad. Some are unbelievably bad. The city of DC has a very high tolerance for very low performing schools.

I think that's where a lot of the tension comes from.[b] It's not race. It's more of a class issue.[/b] [/quote]

IME, they are inextricably intertwined.  I’m not sure if anywhere else in the country has almost complete separation by race and class—white, affluent newcomers on the one hand and black, largely poor/working class DC natives on the other.  For example, I’ve talked to plenty of black middle/UMC Families like my own who’ve had assumptions made about them based on this state of affairs, by both teachers/staff and white families.  There wouldn’t be as much tension if it were class alone that mattered.[/quote]

I noticed when DCUM first started that UMC black families are frequently left out of the conversation. This report does that too by assuming that anyone wanting to get into one of the popular schools is white. I keep coming back to this point that the entire topic is complex and nuanced. It cannot be adequately addressed why a word frequency analysis.
[/quote]

This is absolutely true and there are all kinds of things you learn if you are around long enough and take the time to talk with people and learn.  Am not from the area, so I was surprised at how popular the Catholic schools were with black families- until I figured out that for middle class black families historically, the Catholic schools were often the only option if they didn't want their kids at the segregated schools.  Also an important path for families with some money to afford private school, but not enough to splash out $40k/year.  Also learned over time that there are plenty of black families who have no interest in living in the District, seeing it much the same as white families who live in the suburbs.  DC and Atlanta have a lot of similarities in that way- would love to have someone take a look at those two metro areas and how they compare/are different from other areas.[/quote]

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