Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Honestly, I take all these witness accounts with a grain of salt. We live in a very "poor me" society today, and it's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between painful, traumatizing discrimination and just dealing with being different, through no fault of anyone's.

I was educated in different countries because of my father's job. During one 4 year stretch, I was not only the sole foreigner, but also the sole mixed-ethnicity student of the entire school. I was bullied and teased for a little while, but I dealt with it and made good friends. It felt absolutely no different than later on, when I went to an international, diverse school full of kids of mixed ethnicity.

So suck it up, kiddos. We all have to deal with things.

I'm assuming you didn't hear the NPR discussion. This child sounded visibly upset as she talked about how she would have given up the equity and resources associated with her Whitman experience if she wouldn't known then what she knows now. She talked about how some student were called the "n" word, and how the vast majority of students didn't care about discrimination because they never had to think about it themselves. And that her experience in the Minority Scholars Program was a saving grace.

But good for you, I guess? You assume your experience was similar to hers, and that therefore she should just suck it up. Nice going.

If anyone wants to listen, it's around the 49:00 mark.

https://thekojonnamdishow.org/audio/#/shows/2019-02-28/kojo-roadshow-a-town-hall-on-school-diversity-in-montgomery-county/113756/@00:00

I feel bad for her. Really I do, but unfortunately this can happen at any school where a student is really just one of the few who are like them. I'm Asian and when we first moved to this country, I attended a school where it was predominantly Blacks and Latinos. I was literally one of maybe 3-4 Asian kids (if that) in my grade. I got teased a lot and it was tough. This is why TRULY diverse schools are important.

The two experiences are not completely analogous. I believe you that your experience was tough as an Asian kid in a black/Latino school. However, it likely includes different dynamics than the experience of an AA girl in an all-white, affluent school. It's different for those who experienced a long history of oppression in this country.

-black and Asian PP, and 1st-gen American

Anonymous wrote:So there are three different perspectives and approaches here depending on which political group you associate with for educational policy issues .

1. Takoma Park white liberal - react emotionally to one anecdote, run over and burn down Whitman, do nothing to actually help minorities, scare the rich white people off into VA -pat yourself on the back for accomplishing nothing.

2. Centrist Dem/ Moderate Liberal Republican - Realize that Whitman is already established to support high performing students but needs more minority representation. Also realize that bussing poor and low performing minorities from far away into Whitman is going to leave them stranded on an island and not be popular with the minorities you are trying to bus in either. Instead expand the minority scholars program and offer COSAs into Whitman to any minorities who are scoring in the upper 90s and at a lower performing school. Increase minority representation without creating stereotypes that minorities underperform. Give the equity opportunity to minority students who have the capability and desire to take advantage of the opportunity.

3. Republican - do nothing. Change the conversation to vouchers for parochial schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Honestly, I take all these witness accounts with a grain of salt. We live in a very "poor me" society today, and it's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between painful, traumatizing discrimination and just dealing with being different, through no fault of anyone's.

I was educated in different countries because of my father's job. During one 4 year stretch, I was not only the sole foreigner, but also the sole mixed-ethnicity student of the entire school. I was bullied and teased for a little while, but I dealt with it and made good friends. It felt absolutely no different than later on, when I went to an international, diverse school full of kids of mixed ethnicity.

So suck it up, kiddos. We all have to deal with things.

I'm assuming you didn't hear the NPR discussion. This child sounded visibly upset as she talked about how she would have given up the equity and resources associated with her Whitman experience if she wouldn't known then what she knows now. She talked about how some student were called the "n" word, and how the vast majority of students didn't care about discrimination because they never had to think about it themselves. And that her experience in the Minority Scholars Program was a saving grace.

But good for you, I guess? You assume your experience was similar to hers, and that therefore she should just suck it up. Nice going.

If anyone wants to listen, it's around the 49:00 mark.

https://thekojonnamdishow.org/audio/#/shows/2019-02-28/kojo-roadshow-a-town-hall-on-school-diversity-in-montgomery-county/113756/@00:00

I feel bad for her. Really I do, but unfortunately this can happen at any school where a student is really just one of the few who are like them. I'm Asian and when we first moved to this country, I attended a school where it was predominantly Blacks and Latinos. I was literally one of maybe 3-4 Asian kids (if that) in my grade. I got teased a lot and it was tough. This is why TRULY diverse schools are important.

The two experiences are not completely analogous. I believe you that your experience was tough as an Asian kid in a black/Latino school. However, it likely includes different dynamics than the experience of an AA girl in an all-white, affluent school. It's different for those who experienced a long history of oppression in this country.

-black and Asian PP, and 1st-gen American

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Honestly, I take all these witness accounts with a grain of salt. We live in a very "poor me" society today, and it's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between painful, traumatizing discrimination and just dealing with being different, through no fault of anyone's.

I was educated in different countries because of my father's job. During one 4 year stretch, I was not only the sole foreigner, but also the sole mixed-ethnicity student of the entire school. I was bullied and teased for a little while, but I dealt with it and made good friends. It felt absolutely no different than later on, when I went to an international, diverse school full of kids of mixed ethnicity.

So suck it up, kiddos. We all have to deal with things.

I'm assuming you didn't hear the NPR discussion. This child sounded visibly upset as she talked about how she would have given up the equity and resources associated with her Whitman experience if she wouldn't known then what she knows now. She talked about how some student were called the "n" word, and how the vast majority of students didn't care about discrimination because they never had to think about it themselves. And that her experience in the Minority Scholars Program was a saving grace.

But good for you, I guess? You assume your experience was similar to hers, and that therefore she should just suck it up. Nice going.

If anyone wants to listen, it's around the 49:00 mark.

https://thekojonnamdishow.org/audio/#/shows/2019-02-28/kojo-roadshow-a-town-hall-on-school-diversity-in-montgomery-county/113756/@00:00

I feel bad for her. Really I do, but unfortunately this can happen at any school where a student is really just one of the few who are like them. I'm Asian and when we first moved to this country, I attended a school where it was predominantly Blacks and Latinos. I was literally one of maybe 3-4 Asian kids (if that) in my grade. I got teased a lot and it was tough. This is why TRULY diverse schools are important.

The two experiences are not completely analogous. I believe you that your experience was tough as an Asian kid in a black/Latino school. However, it likely includes different dynamics than the experience of an AA girl in an all-white, affluent school. It's different for those who experienced a long history of oppression in this country.

-black and Asian PP, and 1st-gen American

Anonymous wrote:So there are three different perspectives and approaches here depending on which political group you associate with for educational policy issues .

1. Takoma Park white liberal - react emotionally to one anecdote, run over and burn down Whitman, do nothing to actually help minorities, scare the rich white people off into VA -pat yourself on the back for accomplishing nothing.

2. Centrist Dem/ Moderate Liberal Republican - Realize that Whitman is already established to support high performing students but needs more minority representation. Also realize that bussing poor and low performing minorities from far away into Whitman is going to leave them stranded on an island and not be popular with the minorities you are trying to bus in either. Instead expand the minority scholars program and offer COSAs into Whitman to any minorities who are scoring in the upper 90s and at a lower performing school. Increase minority representation without creating stereotypes that minorities underperform. Give the equity opportunity to minority students who have the capability and desire to take advantage of the opportunity.

3. Republican - do nothing. Change the conversation to vouchers for parochial schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Honestly, I take all these witness accounts with a grain of salt. We live in a very "poor me" society today, and it's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between painful, traumatizing discrimination and just dealing with being different, through no fault of anyone's.

I was educated in different countries because of my father's job. During one 4 year stretch, I was not only the sole foreigner, but also the sole mixed-ethnicity student of the entire school. I was bullied and teased for a little while, but I dealt with it and made good friends. It felt absolutely no different than later on, when I went to an international, diverse school full of kids of mixed ethnicity.

So suck it up, kiddos. We all have to deal with things.

I'm assuming you didn't hear the NPR discussion. This child sounded visibly upset as she talked about how she would have given up the equity and resources associated with her Whitman experience if she wouldn't known then what she knows now. She talked about how some student were called the "n" word, and how the vast majority of students didn't care about discrimination because they never had to think about it themselves. And that her experience in the Minority Scholars Program was a saving grace.

But good for you, I guess? You assume your experience was similar to hers, and that therefore she should just suck it up. Nice going.

If anyone wants to listen, it's around the 49:00 mark.

https://thekojonnamdishow.org/audio/#/shows/2019-02-28/kojo-roadshow-a-town-hall-on-school-diversity-in-montgomery-county/113756/@00:00

I feel bad for her. Really I do, but unfortunately this can happen at any school where a student is really just one of the few who are like them. I'm Asian and when we first moved to this country, I attended a school where it was predominantly Blacks and Latinos. I was literally one of maybe 3-4 Asian kids (if that) in my grade. I got teased a lot and it was tough. This is why TRULY diverse schools are important.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Honestly, I take all these witness accounts with a grain of salt. We live in a very "poor me" society today, and it's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between painful, traumatizing discrimination and just dealing with being different, through no fault of anyone's.

I was educated in different countries because of my father's job. During one 4 year stretch, I was not only the sole foreigner, but also the sole mixed-ethnicity student of the entire school. I was bullied and teased for a little while, but I dealt with it and made good friends. It felt absolutely no different than later on, when I went to an international, diverse school full of kids of mixed ethnicity.

So suck it up, kiddos. We all have to deal with things.

I'm assuming you didn't hear the NPR discussion. This child sounded visibly upset as she talked about how she would have given up the equity and resources associated with her Whitman experience if she wouldn't known then what she knows now. She talked about how some student were called the "n" word, and how the vast majority of students didn't care about discrimination because they never had to think about it themselves. And that her experience in the Minority Scholars Program was a saving grace.

But good for you, I guess? You assume your experience was similar to hers, and that therefore she should just suck it up. Nice going.

If anyone wants to listen, it's around the 49:00 mark.

https://thekojonnamdishow.org/audio/#/shows/2019-02-28/kojo-roadshow-a-town-hall-on-school-diversity-in-montgomery-county/113756/@00:00

Anonymous wrote:
Honestly, I take all these witness accounts with a grain of salt. We live in a very "poor me" society today, and it's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between painful, traumatizing discrimination and just dealing with being different, through no fault of anyone's.

I was educated in different countries because of my father's job. During one 4 year stretch, I was not only the sole foreigner, but also the sole mixed-ethnicity student of the entire school. I was bullied and teased for a little while, but I dealt with it and made good friends. It felt absolutely no different than later on, when I went to an international, diverse school full of kids of mixed ethnicity.

So suck it up, kiddos. We all have to deal with things.

Anonymous wrote:
Parts of the NEC are like this, too -- a child could go to Galway ES (<5% white), Banneker MS (<5% white) and Paint Branch HS (6.3% white). I'm the parent of white children in elementary school in this part of the county, and it has so far been fine, but is something I keep an eye on to see if it will ever start to be a problem for them socially.

Anonymous wrote:
Honestly, I take all these witness accounts with a grain of salt. We live in a very "poor me" society today, and it's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between painful, traumatizing discrimination and just dealing with being different, through no fault of anyone's.

I was educated in different countries because of my father's job. During one 4 year stretch, I was not only the sole foreigner, but also the sole mixed-ethnicity student of the entire school. I was bullied and teased for a little while, but I dealt with it and made good friends. It felt absolutely no different than later on, when I went to an international, diverse school full of kids of mixed ethnicity.

So suck it up, kiddos. We all have to deal with things.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Oh wow, listening right now--what a tough account from the young lady who described the loneliness and discrimination she and others experienced being one of the very few visible minority students at Whitman.

Yes-- she said if she'd known in advance what she knows now about being a student of color at Whitman, she would have transferred to a different school. I thought that was really sad.

Keep in mind that this is also true of students of other races who are "in the minority" in schools in other parts of the county. It's often hard for those students to fit in, as well.

I'm hard pressed to think of a school anywhere in MCPS where a white child would be in as much of a minority as a Black kid in some of the west county schools. Whitman has so few Black kids that they don't even register statistically. Is there a school in MCPS where white kids are in that much of a minority? Kennedy may be the only one.

My kid goes to one for elementary school. So far she's been fine but is only in kindergarten.

Here's an ES where white is <5%., but the HS is a different story.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02788.pdf

Where at Whitman HS , there are <5% Blacks

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04427.pdf

Yes Kennedy HS has < 5% white.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04815.pdf

Wow, that really does show the segregation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: Oh wow, listening right now--what a tough account from the young lady who described the loneliness and discrimination she and others experienced being one of the very few visible minority students at Whitman.

Yes-- she said if she'd known in advance what she knows now about being a student of color at Whitman, she would have transferred to a different school. I thought that was really sad.

Keep in mind that this is also true of students of other races who are "in the minority" in schools in other parts of the county. It's often hard for those students to fit in, as well.

I'm hard pressed to think of a school anywhere in MCPS where a white child would be in as much of a minority as a Black kid in some of the west county schools. Whitman has so few Black kids that they don't even register statistically. Is there a school in MCPS where white kids are in that much of a minority? Kennedy may be the only one.

My kid goes to one for elementary school. So far she's been fine but is only in kindergarten.

Here's an ES where white is <5%., but the HS is a different story.

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/02788.pdf

Where at Whitman HS , there are <5% Blacks

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04427.pdf