There is often discussion of how teachers are hesitant to talk about controversail issues. The article written by Jervis notes that in some classrooms race is not talked about because it sometimes it is just overlooked. I dont think that teachers are avoiding talking about race in schools today because it is controversial, it may have been controversail 40 years ago but not today. I think that they are not talking about it because maybe they feel as though its not their job to talk about it. This is a difficult issue. How many and what kind of social issues should teachers raise in thier classroom. Gay rights might be an issue that teachers today feel is controversial, probably because of the backlash of some parents.
There was an interesting statement made in the article that white people dont think race is an issue. I would agree, that some white people do not think it is an issue. I think this would be the case for more white people than black people when it comes to this opinion. Its typically the people in power that are unable to see that there are problems that exist. This could possibly be a reason for why some teachers dont talk about it, they possibly may not think its as big of an issue today as when they were growing up. If you live in Milwaukee you better think that race matters. Its impossible to ignore it, ecspecially considering MPS. Many people often are concerned by the fact that most M.P. Schools are severely segregated. This should not come as a surprise since Milwaukee has been consistantly at the top of most segregated cities in the country. I feel as though schools mirror the societies in which they exist. If you live in a rich neighborhood you're going to have a school with many resources, and if you live in a segregated neighborhood you're going to have segregated schools. I think problems need to be taken care of in the community first, instead of relying on changes in the school to influence society. Theres no argument that there needs to be changes in the schools to address issues such as race, but people should not expect these changes to be responsible for the changes that needs to happen in the surrounding community.
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Yes, and then there is an even bigger issue of how these changes in the community are going to begin! If the schools want a change, is it their responsibility to get the ball rolling in the community? Is it the people living in the community? How does this begin? There are so many variables it seems like a very daunting task, yet one that is incredibly important. I think a lot of people tend to think that it is somebody else's responsibility to get the ball rolling or that they cannot do it because they don't have the authority or resources...this is just not true. Anybody can get involved even if it is a limited kind of involvement.
ReplyDeleteI agree that changes do need to be made but it is extremely difficult to figure out how to go about dealing with the problem. Part of the issue I think lays in the fact of how our society and how unfair it is, especially for people without money. Where you live decides the education you receive. This is not fair. When people are segregated it is really easy not to recognize a problem because you don't have to deal with those issues hardly ever.
ReplyDeleteI agree that making changes in the neighborhood WOULD be a good start to solving the ultimate problem BUT the problem is that because of "school choice" kids don't really go to the school in their neighborhood. Kids are getting bussed all over town to go to school when they should be going to the school in their neighborhood. In my perfect world, kids would go to the school closest to them. The reason i think this is ideal is because I think having a good school in the neighborhood gives the community a sense of pride. With that sense of pride, there is no telling what the community could accomplish and the changes the could make.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to play devil's advocate for minute and be your prime example of someone who looks like they are in power and doesn't think that there is a problem. Fact: The MPS is one of the most racially segregated school districts in America. Question: Why does that matter? If schools "mirror the neighborhoods" and one has more resources than the other one, again now what? Should we write a letter of complaint to the white people in Brookfield and ask them to send their children to North Division? Should we ask the legislatures to take away the tax dollars that go toward Brookfield to be allocated elsewhere? So when you say the solution starts within communities, whose community are you talking about?
ReplyDeleteUsually I play devil's advocate but looks like Amber beat me to it on this one...This is very difficult to answer because, as everyone was saying, I do agree that it is up to the communities to further develop the changes necessary. But....in MPS we bus students all over the place and we have very segregated communities. Maybe this is something to consider...
ReplyDeleteMaybe we all realize how racially segregated Milwaukee is and we accept that it is WRONG. And maybe because we realize it is wrong and that it is a part of a hypocritical system that has left minorities in this city powerless we are willing to offer them a choice when it comes to which school they will attend. What I'm trying to say is, our neighborhoods are so segregated here because that is the way the system has designed it to be. We don't want to associate ourselves with poor minorities so we force them into neighborhoods we would never even think to walk through--let alone live! Just a thought...
Your comment that it may not be our responsibility to talk about race I think is off. I primarily think it is very necessary to talk about these issues especially in MPS. We still have race issues today. Within the last decade Milwaukee was nailed for practicing un-equal housing practices. Something that you would have thought to take place at least 30 or 40 years ago. And stereotypes still exist, I think its important to embrace and tackle the tough issue race and society.
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