Blog Post #8 Argument

Post #8, Herbert Article, “Separate and Unequal”

            According to Herbert’s Article, he believes that Educators find it extremely difficult to get good/promising results in schools that would be characterized by high concentrations of poverty. Schools who have many black and Hispanic children tend to have lower student achievements along with lower levels of parents being involved. Herbert states, “evidence show that poor kids of all ethnic backgrounds do better academically when they go to school with their more affluent – that is, middle class – peers.” Another eye-opening quote from the article is, “there is very little evidence that you can have success when you pack all the low-income students into one particular school.” Educators want to take away children from poor learning environments and bringing them to a school where the neighborhood and children around them would be considered a good influence where the poor income students would have impressive results regarding student achievement. Educators believe this is true because an important study was done where it showed, “low-income students who happened to be enrolled in affluent elementary schools did much better than similarly low-income students in higher-poverty schools in the country.” When growing up in a poor environment, there is more crimes that are committed along with that influences bad behavior. Putting children from low-income neighborhoods in an improved environment with better teachers, fewer classroom disruptions, parents who are more involved and students who are more engaged will hopefully influence and benefit the poorer students. 

This American Life “The Problem We All Live With”

            In this prologue a women named Ira speaks with New York Times Magazine about her years working in different kinds of schools. She says that everyone in the school board would talk about the same things like more testing, improve teacher quality and so much more in each district. She admists that the bad schools never caught to the good schools, she also makes a statement that the schools that always do their best are the ones with white students where the ones that doesn’t succeed are the ones with Hispanics or African American students. Lia admits that there’s so many ways to try to improve and achieve the schools standards towards each student that doesn’t work. She wants to cut those standards in half and wants to start having interracial schools because that’s what she thinks will start improving scores towards the kids who need the most help.

Separate Is Not Equal, Brown v. Board Of Education

            The Brown v. Board of Education case was a big turning point in race relations. On May 17, 1954 the court had made a decision to make equal opportunity in education and to stop segregation by race.  Before this new law was made, African American lawyers from Howard University law schools and people from National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to campaign and take a stand. Five brave African Americans from different types of communities bravely turned to the courts to demand better educational opportunities for their children. Soon this big problem went to court on 1954 and changed history.