Education Segregation
In the spirit of not posting anymore, I've been reading an article today by Jonathan Kozol, author of Amazing Grace and other must-reads. Entitled "Still Separate, Still Unequal: America's Educational Apartheid," the article addresses continued segregation in American schools.
I think of this every day I ride the #24 bus down Burton, passing by Ottawa Hills High School and near GR Christian High in the space of a few blocks. I think of it when I see the neighborhood kids get picked up in their buses every morning, and wonder where they are going.
I think of this every day I ride the #24 bus down Burton, passing by Ottawa Hills High School and near GR Christian High in the space of a few blocks. I think of it when I see the neighborhood kids get picked up in their buses every morning, and wonder where they are going.
posted by James at 8:36 PM
4 Comments:
I finally got to reading this article (you know... grad school) and I was struck by this sentence:
Schools in which as few as 3 or 4 percent of students may be white or Southeast Asian or of Middle Eastern origin, for instance—and where every other child in the building is black or Hispanic—are referred to as "diverse." Visitors to schools like these discover quickly the eviscerated meaning of the word, which is no longer a proper adjective but a euphemism for a plainer word that has apparently become unspeakable.
it reminded me of some comments made by friends in Calvin's ed program (such as my ex-roommate Sarah) about "diverse" meaning minority.
It also reminded my of my friend Janice's work for our CommTheory class on the term Cultural Diversity and why that sort of work needs to be done. Segregation is alive and well and many people don't even know the meaning of the word "diversity". Literally.
Bethany - I'm surprised that you remember me saying that (but glad too).
Also, I just want to encourage everyone to read Kozol books. I'm reading my 3rd one now and want to read his newest too. "Savage Inequalities" has a lot to do with segregation in education too, but it mostly focuses on the unjust way that we fund public schools which only increases the gap between rich and poor. "Ordinary Resurecctions" was delightful because it has lots of stories about children who are poor but who are still childlike - wise and funny. Plus that one is interesting because Kozol isn't Christian, but he writes about how he is influenced by the faith of many of the children.
I think I got carried away - I didn't intend to write so much!
"ex-roommate Sarah"
That's my sister, Elisa, and I'm proud of her!
As for me, I finally read the complete article (which I posted after reading only half).
Living at the intersection of the South Hills, Baxter, and Madison neighborhoods, I have begun to notice these inequalities. Sarah told me yesterday that the nearest school to my house - Madison Elementary - is closing because of its poor performance on Michigan's standardized MEAP tests. Now I finally understand why all the kids on our street go to different schools, from private to charter to vocational to public. When they come over in the afternoon, I ask them about school: what they're doing, how they like it, what they don't like... and then I help them with their homework. But only when I have time in my busy schedule and courseload.
As we drove past East GR High and Wealthy Elementary at the post-school rush, I was again struck by the savage inequalities of the educational system in this very city. While the GR Public School system suffers dropping enrollment (possibly due to population decrease/movement out of the city) and the concurrent loss of funds, the EGR school system can afford the best teachers, the finest football field, the most expensive equipment, and the attention of parents with too much free time.
I don't mean to denigrate them too much, but I've never understood the reason for the separate existence of EGR as a city apart from GR. Why isn't it just a separate neighborhood? It seems like all the rich people just decided to separate off into their own little world, centering around Reed's Lake and the Gaslight Village district.
Dr. Jamie Smith offers brief comments on this article as well at this website.
Post a Comment
<< Home