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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Both of my AA sons are at SFS lower school and love it. We have been there 4 years and so far no problems. This year the school has stepped up in terms of addressing race and inequality. To be honest, I have no nonsense children who have a strong sense of who they are. If you have a confident child, I am sure they will thrive at any school. [/quote]

Are you Black?[/quote]

All skinfolk aren’t kinfolk. [/quote]

True.  To me, it sounded like it was coming from a non-black parent.[/quote]

I wrote the original post and I am black and my husband is black. WTF is wrong you? Cause we aren't screaming claims of being mistreated my black card is being questioned. GTFOH, I teach my kids to stand up for themselves and confront bullshit like what you and your sidekick here has peddled. But oh yeah, we not kinfolk. [/quote]

NP here. I think the issue is that some schools are more proactive than others at acknowledging and addressing symptoms of racism or related aggressions against students. Some do a better job protecting and teaching kids on these issues.  It is great that your kids are confident and thriving! It sounds like the positives outweigh the negatives for your family. I suspect that you are already giving your kids opportunities to be in social environments where their race is either a complete non-issue or celebrated. But your comment could have the unintended effect of minimizing these concerns, as overcome simply by being a confident kid. I think parents are correct to look into these issues when considering a school, regardless of their kid's personality. I ultimately took my kid out of private in part because I was worried about the effect of the cumulative, though often subtle, messaging that was imbedded in daily life. My child did not ask to leave the school. But I also know as an adult that you can't hear certain things on a regular basis and not be affected by it in some way, no matter how strong you are.

I had a strong sense of who I was growing up and consider myself a confident person. But I still struggled with the dynamics as a black student at predominantly white private school. My parents would never have guessed how much I was managing. They taught me how to stand up for myself, which has been useful in life. I managed it as "successfully" as possible. But I got out of that environment the moment that I had a choice.  In other words, don't assume that just because your kids are thriving, that they are aren't also internalizing terrible messages, and struggling in certain ways. Don't assume that they would share it with you. If they know you see  as strong and confident, they may be concerned that sharing this stuff will change your view of them. [/quote]

Thank you NP for your post. The pp stepped out there with the kin-folk comment which wasn't called for and just ignorant. What your children will experience in these schools as a minority is no different than what I and others have had to experience in the workplace. Yes, children do not have the coping mechanisms as adults, but this is the reality of the situation and unless the world chooses to change overnight, there will be additional encounters. As a parent who has had my children in both DCPS and private schools, you are just trading evils amongst the two to be frankly honest. Parents have a plausible concern to be worried concerning race relations in privates. I would encourage those not to walk away from the school, but blatantly confront the issue. If your child is impacted, any sensible parent would agree your child's mental health comes first. [/quote]

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