by Carmen Van Kerckhove
The book that completely transformed the way I thought about race and racism was Amazing Grace: Lives of Children and the Conscience of a Nation by Jonathan Kozol. Before I read that book, I had always been a bit skeptical when it came to the concept of institutional racism. But after I read it, I began to question everything.
This video (Hat tip to Liz) is from an April 2006 episode of the Oprah Show, in which students from a low income, inner-city school swap for a day with students from a $65 million, state-of-the-art suburban high school. The contrast between the two schools is eye-opening, to say the least.
What can parents do to help eradicate the gaping inequalities in education?
As someone who grew up in the ‘burbs of Chicago, I know that difference. I know the institutional racism. As a mom whose daughter will might end up in the CPS system, my heart breaks. We do have the luxury, right now, to consider private schools.
Thanks…I’ll have to pick up that book.
That book moved me too. I have no answers to your question. It’s something I think about a lot and I am eager to see what others have to add to the conversation.
I think on an individual level, we can choose not to send our kids to segregated schools. I think a lot of parents accept the conventional wisdom about schools without really visiting or investigating the school. Test scores don’t always tell the whole story, and you can’t assume a school is a “bad school” because of how it looks from the outside. (Sandra Tsing Loh has written extensively about this. There’s a blog called Magnet Yenta on the LA Times website where she advises parents on how to get their kids into good public schools in L.A.)
On a societal level, we need to work to change the ways in which schools are funded. “Local control” means that schools in affluent neighborhoods get more money than schools in poor neighborhoods. Affluent parents organize fund-raisers for their kids’ schools, which further exacerbates the inequality. Maybe the PTAs from rich schools should give a portion of the money they raise to schools in low-income communities.
This comment is hardly fair, but this episode of Oprah seems particularly ironic given her comments on American students in inner cities.
Carmen, Jonathan Kozol’s books was also very illuminating to me. I’m glad you mentioned it here.
daisy – that was exactly what I was thinking as I watched the YouTube video. How can you do a show like this and then turn around and say:
“I became so frustrated with visiting inner-city schools that I just stopped going. The sense that you need to learn just isn’t there. If you ask the kids what they want or need, they will say an iPod or some sneakers. In South Africa, they don’t ask for money or toys. They ask for uniforms so they can go to school.”
Source: http://tinyurl.com/wtsbg
(Racialicious)
on a related note – a local inner-city chicago high school called Spry -http://www.spry.cps.k12.il.us/ – was highlighted on NBC nightly news and is considered a success story:
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/id/3902267438
it’s unlike any other school in the city really… maybe parents need to demand more schools modeled like this one instead of schools closing.
i love kozol… his book ‘savage inequalities’ is the reason why i pursued a ph.d. in urban education (that, and all of the wonderful children i met teaching in baltimore city). the video is compelling, but i agree that with oprah’s recent comments about “inner city” children, it’s tough not to scream at the screen when she commiserates with the kids.
Such a great question. My eldest goes to our neighborhood school here in LA, not a magnet, not super high performing. So, I observed every single kindergarten teacher and then picked the one I wanted for him. The principal balked at this but I wasn’t afraid to point out that low-enrollment was an issue in public schools and I could just put my son into a charter…and suggest charters to other parents in my neighborhood. I got the teacher I wanted.
All that to say that I really believe that if enough parents get mobilized and raise a ruckus, then school districts will respond, even if it’s only because they want to avoid the bad PR. Schools count on parents being intimidated by the system. They count on parents not knowing what questions to ask and not knowing that their kids are getting the shaft. You get parents riled up and in the principal’s office on a regular basis, somethings gonna happen.
I’m surprised that people are surprised seeing this, like the mother in the show. Its obvious that we don’t have the same things, and expecting to have the same access to these things is naive.
I’m 17 and go to public school in NYC. Although this is a reality, a lot of us have understood at a young age that we have to do a lot more to get to where we want to be. If this is “institutional racism”, then I don’t think this is something we can really change. (Unless, out of the blue, the government starts to support school vouchers. )