The Racial Mis-education of America's Youth

A new study by the Pew Hispanic Center finds that enrollment in suburban schools by minority students has seen explosive growth.

The study authored by Richard Fry reports that "the student population of America's suburban public schools has shot up by 3.4 million in the past decade." Ninety-nine percent of that increase was driven solely by Latino, black and Asian students. In 1993-94 the student population of suburban schools was 28% non-white. In 2006-2007 it stood at 41.4%.

But... And there's a BIG but -- at the same time the study found that while the overall number of minority students in suburban schools rose, diversity WITHIN individual schools was stagnant.

From the survey:

In 2006-07, the typical white suburban student attended a school whose student body was 75% white; in 1993-94, this same figure had been 83%. So at a time when the white share of student enrollment in suburban school districts was falling by 13 percentage points (from 72% in 1993-94 to 59% in 2006-07), the exposure of the typical white suburban student to minority students in his or her own school was growing by a little more than half that much, or 8 percentage points.

Which means, although more minorities are now enjoying suburban life, part of that life still includes segregation.

This is the world in which our children are being raised. Forty-one years on from the Kerner Commission's "two societies" declaration we are traveling from "separate and unequal" to equal but separated. In a time when so many willingly accept a black man as president, it is still unlikely that they would have a black or Hispanic or Asian as a neighbor.

And we wonder why the likes of Miley Cyrus or Joe Jonas don't understand the wrongness of going around making "Chinese eyes."

That fact is while many were offended when Attorney General Eric Holder chastised us for being "a nation of cowards" when it comes to having discussions on race, when we head home at night there's rarely anyone except people like us to have these discussions with.

More than just a fact of life, diversity is an attribute of our nation. For children diversity needs to be real, and not merely relegated to learning the names of the usual suspects during Black History Month or enjoying south-of-the-border cuisine on Cinco de Mayo. It means talking to and spending time with kids not like them so that they may discover those kids are in fact just like them.

But our kids aren't the ones who pick neighborhoods or buy houses. The life is theirs, but the choice is ours.

For more perspective please visit That Minority Thing.com

Comments

[Flavor]

Mr. Ridley, your article was good. Sometimes, honestly I don't think that will change. I do know that sometime people are not conscience about their friends, I think we all tend to gravitate where we feel comfortable. I also think the media doesn't help matters, as an african american I'm aware of the negative press that seems to take over the media when it's a person of color, we need to diologue more on the issue and not take offense if someone disagrees, and see how we can listen and learn from each other. Let me also say there are some african americans I would not want to live next door to, as well as some whites ect.... I think today it would be hard to prove that as a fact why? because no one wants to admit it today. It is what it is.

[leopoldmozart]

Ok, Mr. Ridley. I'll forsake my cowardice and take the challenge. Having been a teacher for 25 years, and knowing many teachers who teach in schools of every socioeconomic class, there is NO WAY I would want my children going to a middle school or high school which is largely poor African American. Why?
1. They are much more disrespectful of authority.
2. They follow a culture of 100% posturing. Everyone is posing and posturing to be tough, to be cool, to be dangerous, and to avoid disrespect.
3. In poor African American youth culture, knowledge, learning, intellectual curiosity, respect of authority, and rule following is uncool. Ignorance, violence, and constant verbal insults is cool.
4. Being open to learning new things (like mathematics, standard English, writing skills, etc.) requires an admission that you are not absolutely fabulous and perfect exactly the way you are right now. These students can not for a second admit that they have something to learn from school: that would be uncool and proof that they aren't absolutely awesome.

The problem with ghetto schools is not the teachers. It's not the administration. It's not even the physical resources devoted to their education, though they are often shamefully lacking. The problem is the culture of violence, ignorance, and posturing that the students carry with them into the classroom. And THAT'S why you will not see whites, Asians, or middle class African American kids in those schools.

[Nommo]

Better you should keep your cowardice. That was kind of the point of the blog.

[papapj]

I doubt this coward will ever bother to respond, bro Nommo...Ki­nd of like the kid who drops a stink bomb in the hallway and disappears - he'll just sit back and watch everybody hold their noses at the funk trail he leaves behind....

Cowardice typical of a racist....

[Truthhurts60]

Nice to see you like to blame the victim leopoldmozart.
So you are blaming the pis poor education in minority schools on the culture of blacks? Not only are your assertions incorrect, but you fail to address any of the reasons responsible for these accusations you impose on these kids.

1. So poor black kids are much more disrespectful to authority? Compared to who? Poor white kids?
If this is the case, please explain to me why, when you adjust for socio-economic status, black kids out perform white ones in education?

2. I can name many white sub-culture's that have the same principles you are imposing on all black youth, but you fail to address that as well. I guess only blacks are influenced socially. Maybe you can explain to me why whites commit more crimes than blacks do? They just don't get in trouble for them.

3. Tell me what it is like in poor white schools, because they are doing so well. Stop equating poor black kids with white kids in different socio-economic backgrounds.

4. Your thinly veiled racist attitude towards blacks shines out through your so-called socially acceptable racist arguments. You should find better ways to mask your resentment

3.

[IrisBittencourt]

I am most thankful that you are no longer teaching (I assume), because you are a certified racist. Perhaps what is most surprising (though not shocking) is that you have no shame in openly stating your racist views. You sound exactly like someone writing in the 1950s from the South. Tim Wise said it best: "white teachers [are] among the biggest problems ... they front[ ] as enlightened, open-minded people, but so many of them reinforce[ ] racism and white privilege; punishing kids of color disproportionately even when whites break the rules just as often (ther have been 14 studies on this matter, and they all say the same thing), or blaming poor performance by kids of color on their "dysfunctional" families or presumably defective culturual traits--anything but their own tired methods."

[Flavor]

Leopoldmozart, I don't believe youra coward it's just this subject in all honesty is one we don't like to touch but if we don't diologue about this we won't ever come up with solutions. I don't think Mr. Ridley was just talking about african american poor students, as in general he stating that people like yourself who work with african american teachers still may not want to live next door to them. I believe you made some good points, and I'm going to tell you something, we need the black dad's in the home, not an abusive dad but a father, now some will argue this point, and that's fine because a whole lot of single mom's do fine but kids need dad especially our boy's. Leopoldmozart, I believe you care but you can help in the solution. TV, in all honesty has raised most of america's kids, white, black, hispanic etc.... no longer is the library important, no longer is reading important and where has the respect gone for all colors, look at the nanny and it tells all. It is what it is.

[leopoldmozart]

Actually, I live within 4 blocks of an african american teacher (who is a close friend) and an african american principal. I love and respect them. And I have to say, they completely and totally reject ghetto-black culture as being normative of american black life or achievement. They believe it is a pathology that interferes with genuine black life, culture, and history.

Also, I agree with what you wrote about the importance of intact families.

[pm247]

The urban gangsta culture, promoted by corporate America for the last 20+ years, has certainly not helped matters.

To say that it's only entertainment is a fallacy. A glorification and embracing of criminality has become embedded in America, much to the satisfaction of our corporate criminals.

[legalclubs]

Come on...is this really such a tragedy? If the typical white student in a suburban school goes to school where 1 out of every 4 students is a minority that would appear to allow everyone at the school to have all the positives of diversity, namely, as you stated in the article, an enviroment where "talking to and spending time with kids not like them so that they may discover those kids are in fact just like them."

So what's the problem? There are more white kids in this country then any other group (your numbers refer to increases, not absolute percentage representation), so it's impossible to have a school system where these kids don't at least make a strong majority within the system.

[mick7191]

Hence the school voucher program.