Reply to African-American parents - where are your kids in school and how are they doing?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]What a great thread, I can't believe I missed it months ago!

Thank you to the ladies who shared their experience (and their child's experience) being the 'only' in class.  On the flip side, I went to a diverse high school with kids from primarily middle/lower income families.  On paper, the school resembled the United Nations.  Within the classrooms it was a different story.  The honors/AP classes had 2 or 3 black students [b](all girls)[/b] per grade, so if you were on this track, you still had a high probability of being the only black student in the classroom.

As I'm sure you can guess, this introduces yet another set of complications.  I didn't really relate to the white kids, yet I wasn't black enough for the black kids.   When I was a sophomore, I remember pretending to dumb myself down just so I could fit in with a particular group of girls (luckily my mother quickly put a stop to that)  I really didn't feel comfortable in my own skin until I went away to college (also an HBCU!)

My DC is only a toddler, so we have a few years before we have to make any big decisions.  I don't want him to be the only black student in his class, but I'll be damned before he wastes his potential to impress his peers.  If I had a daughter, I think I would be more inclined to choose diversity over academics….but it seems so easy for boys to lose focus, I'm hesitant to take that risk with my son.  I wish I had a solution for you ladies….best of luck.  [/quote]

This brings up another sad point, it is the girls who do better academically. I have some friends who see nothing wrong with their AA sons doing poorly in school, but I be darned, the daughters are planning on becoming vets and dentists. WHO are these girls supposed to marry. I have made it my mission to make sure that my son turns out to be "eligible" and does not become someone's burden. 
 [/quote]

This describes my parents...I was expected to get straight A's, ace the SATs and attend a top notch university.  My brother on the other hand...the fact that he just managed to stay out of trouble was deserving of a medal in my parents' eyes.  [/quote]

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