Our school has always been inclusive, which we appreciate, but this year the efforts have reached a new level and seem to surpass the focus on education. Every new hire over the summer is a person of color, which makes the ratio about 70% of the total. Every family zoom event is focused on diversity, while Id like to know more about the academics, Covid plan and so on. Is anyone else noticing this trend?
I’m all for diversity but my view is that the school should pritoritize academics and safety right now.
Hmmm, no, I have not noticed this. COVID-19 has been the center of almost all of our parent events and communications. There are a lot of equity and racism issues that come up with both COVID and academics so I can see why schools would want to proceed with their institutional plans to address these issues. However that hasn't been the case at our school.
@anonymous OP yes I agree that Covid has been unfairly distributed by class, and also that the BLM is timely and important
But the ratio of minority educators at our school does not reflect any other professional environment. And since we’re paying for the academics I just wish they’d focus more on that versus on civil rights.
Are you joking? Do you think the ratio of minorities in “other professional environments” is a benchmark? The ratio of minorities in ALL professional fields does not reflect the ratio of minorities in this country because of our nation’s history of slavery and continued systemic racism. Glad your school is trying to do their part.
public or private?
@anonymous it’s a private school
@Anonymous Brearley?
You’re not paying for academics. You’re paying for education. Huge difference. So sounds like you may well be getting what you paid for.
As for the ratio of minority educators, presumably they are well qualified, so not exactly sure what is your complaint.
Finally, I’m guessing a lot of this is your perception. I find it exceedingly hard to believe that the totality of school communications has failed to address covid safety etc.
@anonymous Which school? I'm curious to know which schools are like this and which are not.
@anonymous To where will you move your kid? I'm trying to find out which schools aren't like that.
@Anonymous I can't imagine anywhere else except maybe Fieldstone being this bad.
I'm an educator. Schools should model the ideal versions of society in order to demonstrate whats needed to go about life when you're done. What's happening now in NYC education is the de-centering of whiteness and a revolution of cultural representation in schools. My school staff is now 40% white - when I started, 15 years ago about 80% white. My student body is only 15% white. I think it's a good thing for my school and my students but hard to swallow as there is lots and lots of rhetoric on the BLM side and, as a white person I have to hear constantly about my own imbedded systemic racism (I'm tired!) More talk of Breonna than Ruth for example.
OP this is good perspective thanks. Our school is private and the student body is predominantly white, other than the kids on grants who are almost 100% of color. I: it reverse racism not to give lower income whites kids a chance?
OMG! I can't roll my eyes any harder.
They still have a leg up over POC - there is such institutional racism in this country - it's like we don't even realize that we are racists and it's a hard pill for us to swallow. Please read White Fragility - it's a book written by a white woman that I think gives a solid perspective.
@dyedinthewoolNYr it is poppyvock. white people arent all racists. Black people shouldn't identify with victimhood. This is a sickness and it has to stop. Both the actual racism and the seeing it everywhere
You got what you wished for, it's too late to complain now.
I'm not complaining - just stating how tough it is - (well, you can read that as a complaint) - it's easier for my white collar husband surrounded by white well-to-dos - to ignore racism at work and sail along. As educators, we have a responsibility to teach it. I'm lucky I can take a break and blend in on the weekends. I'm reminded of that constantly at work, and, just by appearing white and walking into a room of predominantly brown people- that contains baggage that I wish I didn't have to deal with - lots of trust work to do.
Many private schools were called out over the summer via the black@ instagrams and the student movement. So now they are trying to ramp up efforts to address the demands students have made to the school administrators and boards. Some schools are farther along in this than others -- but all institutions in this country are wrestling with these issues.
Yessssss.
My goodness, It's been one freaking summer. The only thing that makes me feel better about this thread is that the kids at my (small) private seem to be a lot more grounded and open than adults in general. They seem smarter and more empathetic. They're owning their feelings (ALL of the kids) and are encouraged to dig deeper and not hide behind facades that don't do anyone any good.
The kids will be fine, and they'll be much, much better than us as long as we don't do our usual defensive, angry, self-righteous, indignant, and dismissive spiel. They're watching us.
This post reminds me of that study where they asked college students to estimate the percentage of time each gender talked in classes (and tracked who actually spoke). If female students contributed more than 30% (but still less than half) of the discussion in a class, the male students perceived that the women were "dominating" the conversation and would estimate that women had spoken ~80% of the time.
If a group or issue that is usually silent or underrepresented starts receiving more attention, it's easy to perceive it as "dominant" when it's not really. I doubt that "all" or even most of the communication from the school has been about race/equity. It just feels that way because you're pissed that they're discussing it at all.
great point. i've never heard of this study, and i'm surprised bc i read a lot but i'm looking forward to reading about it. it reminds me of that study that showed that more expensive cars were less likely to stop at stop signs.
also i'm in agreement w the poster who said she can't roll her eyes any harder. yikes.
that's a great study. At our school I hear from parents of girls that there is gender bias and too much focus on race, families of color think there is racism and too much focus on anti-semitism and lgbtq, jewish families that there is too much focus on BIPOC/anti-racism, and from parents of straight white boys that they are silenced and shamed for not being girls, bipoc or lgbtq. Whenever an issue comes up that doesn't impact one group they criticize the school for putting too much focus on it and not doing the same for "their" issues. I think this supports that when we hear things that we don't think are relevant to us it's "too much". It also shows how terribly hard it is to manage through myriad issues right now.