"The Problem We All Live With"
This week's blog is centered around a podcast called "This American Life", hosted by Ira Glass. In this particular episode, Glass interviewed Nikole Hannah Jones regarding the issues and barriers that are in the way of closing achievement gaps between black and white students. The interview starts out discussing the police shooting of Michael Brown, and then quickly transitions to discussing the failing school system of Normandy, Missouri. According to Jones, the school system here was collapsing, and as a result, the state payed for students from Normandy to attend a school district other than their own. The unintended integration of white and black students raised a lot of concerns from both sides of the conversation. Below, I have listed three segments of the interview that I found the most thought provoking, coupled with my own thoughts, reactions and connections to my own experiences.
Quote #1
"What integration does is it gets black kids in the same facilities as white kids, and therefore it gets them access to the same things that those kids get-- quality teachers and quality instruction."
This quote truly drives at the WHY behind how integration works for closing achievement gaps; access to quality teachers and quality instruction. Due to the way in which schools are funded (primarily through property taxes), higher income districts will always have higher quality teachers, instruction, resources and facilities. Meanwhile, a district that is low-income, will struggle to have access to the same resources provided through higher property taxes. The cycle continues when less desirable school districts reduce property value further, thus perpetuating the cycle.
Quote #2
"We have both-- my husband and I both have worked and lived in underprivileged areas in our jobs. This is not a race issue. And I just want to say to-- if she's even still here-- the first woman who came up here and cried that it was a race issue, I'm sorry, that's her prejudice calling me a racist because my skin is white and I'm concerned about my children's education and safety.[CHEERING]This is not a race issue. This is a commitment to education issue."
TAL Notes
This week's blog is centered around a podcast called "This American Life", hosted by Ira Glass. In this particular episode, Glass interviewed Nikole Hannah Jones regarding the issues and barriers that are in the way of closing achievement gaps between black and white students. The interview starts out discussing the police shooting of Michael Brown, and then quickly transitions to discussing the failing school system of Normandy, Missouri. According to Jones, the school system here was collapsing, and as a result, the state payed for students from Normandy to attend a school district other than their own. The unintended integration of white and black students raised a lot of concerns from both sides of the conversation. Below, I have listed three segments of the interview that I found the most thought provoking, coupled with my own thoughts, reactions and connections to my own experiences.
Quote #1
"What integration does is it gets black kids in the same facilities as white kids, and therefore it gets them access to the same things that those kids get-- quality teachers and quality instruction."
This quote truly drives at the WHY behind how integration works for closing achievement gaps; access to quality teachers and quality instruction. Due to the way in which schools are funded (primarily through property taxes), higher income districts will always have higher quality teachers, instruction, resources and facilities. Meanwhile, a district that is low-income, will struggle to have access to the same resources provided through higher property taxes. The cycle continues when less desirable school districts reduce property value further, thus perpetuating the cycle.
Quote #2
"We have both-- my husband and I both have worked and lived in underprivileged areas in our jobs. This is not a race issue. And I just want to say to-- if she's even still here-- the first woman who came up here and cried that it was a race issue, I'm sorry, that's her prejudice calling me a racist because my skin is white and I'm concerned about my children's education and safety.[CHEERING]This is not a race issue. This is a commitment to education issue."
This plea from a parent in the new district for Normandy students expresses the ideas and thoughts of many of their community, as evidenced by the cheering during public comment. What took me by surprise was the comment made after the cheering: "This is not a race issue. this is a commitment to education issue". From my perspective, this is an incredibly ill-informed and strikingly racist statement (because we all know saying "this is not a race issue" is usually said before a profoundly racist comment). In this public comment, the speaker is completely 'othering' the students (i.e. human beings) from the Normandy school district. Not only is it disregarding the lives and futures for these students, but it doesn't make any sense from a logical perspective. These students are literally fleeing their school district, willingly bussing 30 miles and waking up at 5:00 AM in order to continue their education. If anything, their commitment to education is to be applauded, not met by comments that are meant to harm and divide. Finally, in an article from Rethinking Schools, the author writes, "The inferiority of the Black and brown races is now said to lie not necessarily in genetics but in culture and history." This idea is a remnant of past scientific cases for racism, in which racism is justified due to differences in intelligence or ability between the races. This argument is seen in the comments of these concerned citizens, in which they continually discuss the differences in the students cultures, experiences, and environments, by saying they are unsafe or violent.
Quote #3
"This is how far they will go to avoid that one thing, that one thing that already seems to be working-- integration."
This comment made me think about a past conversation I had with a parent of students attending one of the top private schools in Rhode Island. We were discussing certain school programs that take students from low-income districts, and then sends them to this particular school for after school programs. This appears to be a fantastic situation, as students from the low-income schools are receiving access to facilities they would otherwise not have had the opportunity to. Additionally, it mirrors the Normandy school district scenario in which black students are shipped off to white schools. My issue with this idea is that it is the equivalent of giving a patient a bandaid when they need emergency surgery. The idea that we can integrate schools in order to close achievement gaps is an important one. The reality is that as long districts are funded in the ways that they are, the system will perpetuate these inequities. A white school district opening its arms for POC students will help those POC students, but it will require additional systemic change to help all POC students in our school systems.TAL Notes
Christian, these were great quotes that you dove into! I really liked the last one you chose and how you brought it home, right here, to Rhode Island. It really wakes me up to the reality that these issues are happening all around us, and not in some "other" part of the US or with some "other people." These problems are systemic and are happening in our own backyard. Your imagery with a band-aid, was a perfect metaphor to explain the severity of the problem. This is not just going to go away overnight, and we all need to be vigilant and allies to make a change. Nice Job!
ReplyDeleteHi Christian,
ReplyDeleteFor some reason it is answering in my school email google acct. I totally agree with your second quote. That mother probably had no idea how hypocritical she sounded. If she truly was "committed to education" then she would be happy to share with the Normandy students what Francis Howell had to offer. In 2014, "Department of Education stated that black and latino kids in segregated schools have the least qualified teachers, the least experienced teachers, the worst course offerings, the worst facilities and the least access to AP and upper level courses." How "committed to education" is she when she is protesting and trying to deny access to Normandy students to a better education. However, she did contradict herself just prior to saying "this is not a race issue" by saying "I'm concerned about my children's education and safety." Hmm so it is a Race issue!!
I often use the metaphor "a bandaid on a broken leg" to talk about how when we seek individual solutions to institutional problems we never really get at the real issue. I also hear Delpit all over this!! People with power....
ReplyDeleteHi Christian!
ReplyDeleteI picked one of the same quotes for my blog this week, your second quote was also my second quote! I remember being so shocked when I got to this part of the podcast. I like how you brought in the other article. I wish more people would understand that race is a social construct.
Christian, I enjoyed all three of the quotes you chose and your thoughts on them. I was equally appalled by the parent response that it wasn't a race issue and that it was a commitment to education issue. I agree that the students and families trying to leave the Normandy school district have incredible committment to education to be bused so far and have to wake up so early, just because of how much they value high quality education. I am wondering if you have put any thought into what other systemic change would need to take place. I think maybe you are talking about the way schools are funded? Just curious as to anything else you might be thinking that I am not. Great post!
ReplyDelete