How to make American schools less segregated - Harvard Gazette

makaanlontong.blogspot.com

GAZETTE: Let’s talk about how segregated American schools are. What schools do most white students go to? What schools do most Black and Latino kids go to? 

TORRES: We cite numbers in our report that are trying to depict school segregation in the country. It’s complicated, in part, because there are two ways of looking at it. One is that you can think about segregation in terms of how evenly distributed members of a given demographic group are in a district. Another way is to think about how isolated those students are. For example, if a district has 10 percent of low-income students, and all of the schools also have 10 percent of low-income students, you might think that it’s actually quite even and so it’s well-integrated. On the other hand, if you’re thinking in terms of isolation, you might say each of those individual schools only has 10 percent of low-income students and those students are quite isolated, and therefore, it’s highly segregated.

What we can say is that the average Black and Latino student in the United States attends a school in which 60 percent of the students are from low-income backgrounds. Forty percent of Black and Latino students attend hyper-segregated schools, with 90 to 100 percent of Black and Latino peers. White students, meanwhile, are more likely to be surrounded by white and affluent peers, and are the least likely to attend schools with children from other racial groups. This is the big picture, but there’s a ton of variation by districts and by regions, all of which is also affected by the changing demographics of the nation.

WEISSBOURD: There are many cities that are very segregated, with high percentages of Black and Latino students. That is common in urban areas, but in rural areas, there is a different trend. In rural areas, where there has been immigration, schools are becoming more integrated.

GAZETTE: Some people may still think that school integration benefits mostly Black and Latino kids and not white kids. Who benefits from school integration?

WEISSBOURD: This is a really important issue. Everybody benefits from integration, but integration is not just throwing kids together. We’re talking about thoughtful integration, where we pay attention to how we create an environment where everybody is respected and has dignity and where conversations about race are thoughtfully constructed. The evidence is that white kids in every income level of every demographic tend to benefit in many aspects of development from integration. They can benefit in terms of social emotional development; they can develop qualities like perspective-taking, gratitude, and empathy, which are very important for school success and work success. There are also ethical benefits for white kids in terms of having a deeper understanding of justice and a stronger commitment to justice. In our talks with parents, some said it was important for them to help their kids understand their privilege, and that’s one of the reasons they sent their kids to an economically integrated school. In other words, we’re not saying that white parents should do this as a service to other kids. That’s patronizing and not an accurate way to frame the issue. We’re saying that white parents should decide to send their kids to integrated schools because it’s good for both other kids and their own kids, because it’s vital to democracy and to the country as a whole.

TORRES: I would also add that many parents are really focused on the schools’ academic performance, and there’s good evidence that suggests that there’s no substantial harm to better-off students when schools achieve effective integration. And, of course, there are great benefits for, in particular, low-income students. White parents should think about integration in terms of the benefits it brings to their own children, and it shouldn’t be framed as a service to low-income and minority students because their own children are benefiting just as much as low-income and minority students.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

"make" - Google News
July 14, 2020 at 11:05PM
https://ift.tt/2Wm4d55

How to make American schools less segregated - Harvard Gazette
"make" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2WG7dIG
https://ift.tt/2z10xgv

Bagikan Berita Ini