tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post3399688725167669993..comments2024-03-18T13:27:42.621-04:00Comments on CURMUDGUCATION: Guest Post: Is Integration Too Much Bother? Peter Greenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16511193640285760299noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-76606309292523931372016-08-27T15:26:46.876-04:002016-08-27T15:26:46.876-04:00Why do you feel the need to dismiss the experience...Why do you feel the need to dismiss the experience of others? If others say racism exists, we see and experience it, why do you deny it? What makes your perspective right and theirs wrong?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14434000805526077938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-42035470461508718532016-08-27T12:18:17.312-04:002016-08-27T12:18:17.312-04:00"Unconscious Racism"....they can't w..."Unconscious Racism"....they can't win with you. If they enroll their kid in a charter it's not because they want the best education for their child, it's because they're racists. Well, educated parents won't entrust their child's future to those who talk down to them like that. Parents value diversity, but diversity without academic rigor is worthless. Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06452330026472110482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-72600779575319986022016-08-27T09:11:59.608-04:002016-08-27T09:11:59.608-04:00Michael, there most definitely is unconscious raci...Michael, there most definitely is unconscious racism at play here. Your own statements imply that diversity and inclusion are incompatible with academic excellence and intellectual rigor. That is absolutely untrue and part of the narrative we must change. "Students who don't take their academic seriously" is one of the coded phrases teachers hear all the time. Do you really think that student of color or in poverty take their academics any less seriously that students who are privileged? I assure you the opposite is more usually true. You mention the "reputation" of Durham Public Schools. What reputation is that exactly? Is the the same reputation of a majority white district with exact same test score data? Is that "reputation" deserved or warranted?<br /><br />Durham has an early college program on the campus of our local HBCU. It is open to all students with a 2.5 GPA and boasts a 100% graduation rate, 100% college acceptance rate, and all student graduate with 2 years of college credit earned. Certainly a lot of rigor there. Yet last year, the school had 3 white students enrolled. In Durham, 1200 white students have left for majority white charter schools that have the same or worse test data and less AP and Honors course offering. Explain that one as a choice of "rigor" over "diversity." A survey found that 75% of Durham residents believed that Durham had a "significant" black and latino gang problem. The actual data? only 4.6% of crimes in Durham were gang related and the overall crime rates are lower than cities with of the same size around the country. The most active gang in Durham? The Hells Angels, a white motorcycle gang. <br /><br />We must interrogate the narrative and change it. R. Rathbonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11681973282349676689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-16798081317475286382016-08-27T08:15:45.882-04:002016-08-27T08:15:45.882-04:00Well, this is one public school teacher whose kids...Well, this is one public school teacher whose kids went to public schools in a city. They got a good education in a diverse environment. It probably helps that I live in a city of 300,000, which I think is a good size to work with. <br /><br />"...in a global economy stakes are high"? Parents don't care about this, and there is no data that says they do, though a global economy means we need to be able to get along with people different from ourselves, though we also need that just in our own country. Parents want academic excellence but most don't care about "rigor", and they want their kids to be able to get along with others.<br /><br />I'm not saying that it's a bad idea to approach this from a purely socio-economic perspective, but that isn't what's happening either. Schools were on a much better track in general to improvement until the whole "accountability" crap started. And the reason we have Trump and his followers is the fact that integration wasn't allowed to work and there are so many people who have never had any meaningful, normal contact with people different from them. Rebecca deCocahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13168718846105012814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-34924086276441057012016-08-27T08:01:02.776-04:002016-08-27T08:01:02.776-04:00When neighborhood schools were being debated in my...When neighborhood schools were being debated in my corner of North Carolina, I was told repeatedly in private conversations with white parents in my neighborhood that they did not want their children going to school with "those" children. "Those" children were the black children. One parent even told me that a busload of "those" children would ruin the school. He wasn't worried about poor white kids. He was talking about black children. He was concerned about race, as were many of the proponents of neighborhood schools. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07228908566250306699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-58903759001565909932016-08-26T20:49:53.536-04:002016-08-26T20:49:53.536-04:00To expand upon that class/culture observation. Th...To expand upon that class/culture observation. There's a reason Hillary didn't send Chelsea to public schools. Barack took a pass on public schools. Heck, even most of the Philadelphia public school teachers don't send their kids to public schools. It's because in a global economy the stakes are high. Parents value diversity and inclusion, but these are secondary to academic excellence and intellectual rigor.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06452330026472110482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6534665086749553287.post-63382812179262257292016-08-26T20:33:54.181-04:002016-08-26T20:33:54.181-04:00She's using race as a marker when the core iss...She's using race as a marker when the core issue is class and culture. Parents want their kids in an environment surrounded by peers who are also serious about education. To toss the racism charge at them is grossly unfair and counterproductive. Name calling only reinforces the perception that public schools care more about social engineering than actual education. Considering the reputation of Durham public schools, I expect Ms. Rathbone is well aware of this.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06452330026472110482noreply@blogger.com