School district starts classes separated by race.

[former9thward]

EVANSTON, Ill.— School leaders in this college town just north of Chicago have been battling a sizable academic achievement gap between Black, Latino and white students for decades. So, a few years ago, the school district decided to try something new at the high school: classrooms voluntarily separated by race.

Nearly 200 Black and Latino students at Evanston Township High School signed up this year for math classes and a writing seminar intended for students of the same race, taught by a teacher of color. These optional so-called affinity classes are designed to address the achievement gap by making students feel more comfortable in class, district leaders have said, particularly in Advanced Placement courses that historically have enrolled few Black and Latino students.

“Our Black students are, for lack of a better word…at the bottom, consistently still. And they are being outperformed consistently,” Monique Parsons, Evanston school board vice president, said at a November board meeting. “It’s not good.”

Creating classes for students of a single race is a strategy that has been used sparingly in public K-12 education. When it does happen, it is more often in elective classes or after-school programs focused on leadership skills and creating a sense of belonging. Researchers have found some small improvements in grades and retention from such programs. Other studies have shown some improved educational outcomes, such as graduation rates, for Black and Latino students taught by teachers of the same race.

https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/to-shrink-learning-gap-this-district-offers-classes-separated-by-race-394d82dd

Several problems here. Are the white students are going to think of black students in these segregated classes as inferior? And what about after high school? Segregated workplaces?

[Walleye]

1. And the biracial kids, how they feel

[ret5hd]

2. The "one drop rule" handles that scenario.

[Walleye]

4. I'm not sure kids today understand that rule, certainly I never did

I did see Showboat though

[mopinko]

19. if they're visibly biracial, they'd likely b interested.

cuz the problem does extend to biracial kids.
this is a huge school. there’s room for all kinds of niches.
and i think if there is any resentment from white kids/parents, it will not go well for them. but i dont expect it. it’s a very liberal city.

[treestar]

22. How they identify ?

Usually as black.

[JohnSJ]

3. I don't care what excuse they use, this is racism. If it wasn't, they would separate classes

on the basis of those kids on achievement testing not on race.

The fact that they choose race as a criteria tells you everything about those proposing this crap, and I have no doubt Murdoch’s WSJ fully supports this.

[Walleye]

5. I tend to agree, I don't like segregation according to gender either

[redqueen]

9. I support separation by gender but not race.

Especially in middle and high school, where the potential for distraction increases.

[Walleye]

11. Except for the girls who don't fit their idea of feminine role models

[DBoon]

23. teenage boys can be agressive and dominating to their female peers

An all female class would give them the space to speak out, assert themselves and to learn traditionally male skills without male harassment

Ideally, the boys would be trained to deal with women respectfully, but unfortunately that doesn't happen.

[Think. Again.]

26. Teenage boys (and girls) can be...

...aggressive and dominating to all their peers.

Segregation is not an answer to any of this.

[redqueen]

54. Girls start experiencing sexual harassment in school.

I'd prefer that they were able to learn in a less hostile environment.

[Think. Again.]

55. Absolutely...

...the hostility of sexual harassment must be stopped.

[Think. Again.]

6. THIS!!!

[brer cat]

7. I agree, John. They are separated by race, not by achievement scores.

More division by race is the last thing we need in our schools.

[jimfields33]

12. Sure the hell is. This is a complete travesty.

Stop this nonsense. I can’t believe it’s actually real.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

42. I see the word, "voluntarily".

[JohnSJ]

50. Voluntarily racism. Isn't that special. A public school has

no business to promote voluntary segregation based on race.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

51. Y'all have a good night.

[JohnSJ]

52. You too

[tritsofme]

8. Ah, maybe George Wallace was onto something...

[Initech]

10. WTAF. We are going so damn backwards it's scary.

[mopinko]

18. u dont have all the facts if this is scary.

this is an earnest effort to solve a problem that this very liberal, very multicultural city has been grappling w for decades.
pls read my replies below.

[jcgoldie]

13. When people ask me about the public high school where I teach...

Very high on the list of benefits of a public education which I have always believed in is that kids don't just learn about math and english, and history... they learn to get along in a diverse multiracial, multiethnic society. Private academies may have better achievement scores in individual subjects, but learning academics is only part of what kids learn in school. If you don't learn to interact and get along with people who don't look and think like you in these formative years, then you never will. You will likely miss out on opportunities later in life as a result, and you will definitely hold a more limited and perhaps defensive perspective. The kids need to be together in classes with others who are not like them. Thats a huge part of the benefits of public schools.

[mopinko]

17. these kids will still b surrounded by the rest of the population.

i’m sure many will b on sports and other teams. it’s a huge school, w tons of extra curricular activities.
it’s the only public hs in town. they’ll rub plenty of elbows.

[Igel]

43. "Adjacent to" doesn't mean "interact with."

My school is large. And it's really several schools that are superimposed on each other.

They pass in the hall, talking to friends that are going to the same classes.

Even extracurricular activities self-sort. Not lots of academically low-achieving tennis players, not a lot of football players taking AP Calc BC or AP Physics C as sophomores.

In the halls, their group is in color, groups they overlap with in some classes are in black-and-white, and the others are transparent, colorless ghosts.

[ripcord]

14. White kids have been taught by teachers of the same race for centuries

They are saying that they are seeing some improvement in this program which is something important to consider. I don't think segregation is the answer but maybe having some Black and Latino teachers, tutors and mentors available to assist would be helpful. I thought the writing seminar was a good idea and if white students want to attend some of these that would be great. They need to take the results from this and find the things that will work in schools to improve the chances of these students.

[mopinko]

16. they've already done those things.

they’ve rly been trying for decades now.
and no, white kids shd not b allowed in. defeats the purpose.
but it wd b good if the writing was shared w the whole school.

[Think. Again.]

27. Correlation doesn't imply causation....

(I learned that in a mixed-raced classroom.)

[Sympthsical]

30. OK

That parenthetical was really funny.

[mopinko]

15. oh boy. ok. 1st- this is completely VOLUNTARY.

let me just situate this in the real world-
evanston is the burb across the border from me in chicago. home of northwestern, and as liberal a town as u can probably find in the u.s. there is a plan being debated right now on ways the city can pay reparations. this is coming out of a sincerely good place.
despite being very liberal, there is a racial housing divide, and an achievement gaps in the schools. there’s only 1 public hs, and it’s among the best in the state, at the least. they have been earnestly grappling w this for DECADES now. honestly, earnestly.
i think this is a very positive move. i dont think there will b much resentment or judgement from white students/parents. if there is, i think other white parents will b there to push back.

it’s a race centered problem. it’s only likely to b resolved w a race centered solution.
i applaud them for sticking their neck out in a climate where a whoooole lot of ppl will try to chop it off before getting their facts straight.
pls relax your knees, ppl.

[former9thward]

24. Nothing is voluntary at that age and situation.

Institutional pressure and peer pressure rules. It is wrong.

[mopinko]

31. that's just silly.

any other choices about their education u think only seem to b choices?
is it not voluntary for the parents? do u not think parents wanted and worked for this?

this school has been trying FOR DECADES to close the racial achievement gap. they arent sealing them in a pod where they have no contact w the rest of the student body. there r many, many tracks there. college prep tracks, sports tracks, music program, arts programs.
this is just 1 more that, trust me, the community asked for.

[Jose Garcia]

20. State sanctioned voluntary segregation is still segregation.

[mopinko]

32. 'state sanctioned'? rly. this decision was made at the school level. parents and educators.

searching for a solution to a racial achievement gap that WOULD NOT GO AWAY.

[Igel]

44. "State sanctioned" is usually a synonym for "government sanctioned"

Police violence is "state sanctioned" in many instances, but they're not talking state troopers or FBI agents for the most part.

[mopinko]

48. it's a big stretch to apply it to the decision of a school community.

i guess it’s sanctioned if the state doesnt sue. but this was not the ‘state’.
and no one is leaving the building.

[treestar]

21. Ironic

When the original issue was segregation.

[Prairie Gates]

25. Evanston was brutally redlined as was most of Chicago

(As a side note, we're not supposed to call Evanston a "suburb." It's a "city," doncha know!)

It would be hard to overestimate the racial housing divide in Evanston. Northwest parts of Evanston are pretty much North Shore communities. You may as well be in Winnetka, Kenilworth, etc. Far southern Evanston is pretty much Chicago, and what many would consider a dangerous and economically challenged part of it. Evanston also has a lot of very rich areas, and a lot of faculty-related areas for Northwestern.

I think the odd thing about it is that there's only the one massive high school (which is, as mopinko points out, one of the most desirable high schools in the state). I do think it's probably odd for a high school to be that big and to serve an area with such vast disparities, and for those disparities to have been pretty obviously caused (in part, of course) by deliberate and systematic racial segregation. And for the high school to be the "zoned" school, essentially.

Which is all to say that this is a fairly complicated situation. I would probably be more on the mopinko side of the debate than the former9thward side.

[Think. Again.]

28. I'm having difficulty...

...with the realization that we are actually discussing implementing segregation in 2023 America.

[mopinko]

33. it's no more segregated than the jocks and the nerds.

srsly. relax your knee. you’ll hurt yourself.
this is a big hs, w a very diverse population that has been trying for decades to close the racial achievement gap. it’s a very well funded district w good schools. w a great hs that cannot seem to get equal outputs.

i dont know the particulars of how this came about, but i know evanston and i can promise u it wasnt some bureaucrat. nobody is forcing anything here. it’s a big school w many other niches. this is just 1 more.
it’s hard to solve a race centric problem w/o a race centric solution.

[Think. Again.]

36. I don't think it's a knee-jerk reaction...

...to be immediately against a plan such as segregation after our horrible history of that exact plan.

And yes, this is the very definition of segregated education.

[mopinko]

38. r hbcu's segregation?

next you’ll tell me affirmative action is reverse discrimination.
it’s a race centric solution to a race centric problem. sometimes, u have to do that.
we’re talking about a small program w/in a larger school, which is something urban hs’s do all.the.time.
nobody’s leaving the building. nobody’s being thrown in a ghetto.

[Think. Again.]

40. Affirmative action is a levelling of the field...

...mixed-race classrooms are also level field.

As I mentioned above, correlation doesnct imply causation, and I don't think that sharing a classroom with other races is truly a barricade to learning within that classroom.

If it is, the solution lies within addressing whatever racist difficulties are happening in that classroom and not in exasperating those difficulties by highlighting the false premise that there is any difference in ability based strictly on racial or cultural backgrounds.

[mopinko]

47. that's what they've been doing. it hasnt worked.

you may not think it’s a barrier, but it’s a barrier that they’ve tried very hard to get over.
now they’re going around. this is a decision made by those involved. no one is forcing anyone, coercing anyone. they’re supporting students.

[Sympthsical]

29. This is toxic to a cohesive pluralistic society

We seriously need to have a discussion about what's coming out of our universities.

[mopinko]

35. you dont know this town or this school.

both r already a cohesive pluralistic society. the city council has been discussing reparations, for pete sake.
it’s as integrated a place as u r likely to find. but there is still a racial achievement gap at the school. they have been trying to fix it for decades. this is not some top down, bullying thing. that shit would never fly there.

i have no doubt this came about through the efforts of parents, student and educators. that’s the only way it could.

[Sympthsical]

46. I do, actually

Lived on the North Side for years and went to school up there. I'm very, very familiar with Evanston.

It's a stupid, damaging, divisive, and racist idea.

[myohmy2]

34. this is...

...dis-integration, just like our politics...

...we're going backwards not forwards...

...figures...

[mopinko]

37. do u also disapprove of hbcu's?

nobody is leaving the building. if the students, parents and educators did want this, take my word for it, it wouldnt happen.
this school has been trying to close the gap for their black students for a long damn time.
this isnt the new jim crow. it’s a community w/in a larger community. that’s all.

[maxsolomon]

39. Worthwhile as an experiment.

If it makes SOC (Students of Color) less intimidated, less anxious about advanced mathematics, then fine.

Anecdotally, I took Calculus in Sr. year of high school with a class of 7 including 2 black kids. At the end of the year, there were only 4 kids left, all white.

[Think. Again.]

49. This "experiment" has already been run...

...and the result was that segregated education is bad thing.

[maxsolomon]

57. Meh, this isn't that.

this is more like an affinity group.

One of the things that really stuck with me from anti-racism training (remember that? oh, those halcyon BLM days) was learning that (some) black people have anxiety in majority-white settings, even if those white people are well-meaning. It seems like these classes are intended to address that phenomenon.

[Think. Again.]

58. I believe such anxiety...

...of anyone's, might be best handled on an individual level.

It's obvious this education system has a serious obstacle to overcome, but I feel that perpetuating any existing racial division is not the best educational solution.

[Jedi Guy]

41. This is honestly pretty unsettling.

Previous generations fought, bled, suffered, and died to end segregation and "separate but equal" schooling, correctly identifying it as wrong, evil. Now here we are 60 years later and some people are saying, "Hey, let's try it again." What's that old saying about doing the same thing and expecting a different result?

As others have rightly pointed out, coexisting with others who don't look, think, or act like we do is a crucial skill we must learn if a multiracial liberal democracy is ever to reach its full potential. Segregating classes like this is undermining that ideal whether it's coming from a place of good intentions or not. It encourages tribal thinking and "us vs. them" mentalities, and no child should ever be told, "Sorry, you're not allowed in this classroom" because of their race. Period.

[OldBaldy1701E]

45. So, they are going to blame race for a faulty education model? Okay. (n/t)

[Zeitghost]

53. I understand the concept

But even if it's a sustainable, long term solution educationally, it's a absolute disaster culturally.

The segregated kids do better in testing, leading to more segregation and before we know it looks like 1950's Alabama with kids never interacting with those outside their own race.

[ecstatic]

56. I think they're focused on the wrong things

I've attended schools that were 99% white and 99% black. In my opinion, it's not about the race of the kid sitting next to you. It's about the teacher standing in front of the room. Is that teacher holding every student accountable and believing that every student has the potential to succeed?

Or is that teacher standing at the board like a robot, barely turning around and barely interacting with the students?

For example, I took advanced classes in high school and my teachers challenged us. Well, all except one. If I turned in a paper, I would get detailed feedback on what needed to improve. In math class, teachers would engage us and even do pop quizzes. They expected us to perform and held us accountable.

The flip side of that is when a teacher clearly does not want to be there and s/he has low or even no expectations of the students. Or maybe the teacher does want to be there, but s/he only provides valuable feedback to white students while incorrectly assuming that students of color have no desire or ability to improve. It could be due to a lack of awareness, unconscious bias, incompetence or even racism on the teacher's part.

Regardless of the reason, not many people can learn in an environment like that, and unfortunately I've seen it way too often with friends and family members who had teachers that would literally face the board while students talked and played in their seats.

The first step in fixing the problem is to have teachers who actually give a fuck working in those classrooms. The second step is to make sure that those teachers have training on unconscious bias to make sure that they are not holding different students to different standards.

[The Wandering Harper]

59. everyone saying this is racist

needs to spend a few hours with F.D Signifier