Wednesday, June 12, 2019

How Will The City Integrate The Schools Without Losing The Middle Class?






















According to Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chancellor Richard Carranza, the City is on track to integrate the public schools.  The student demographics and geography tell me that is an impossible task.

The City public schools are 70% Black and Hispanic and only 15% White.  How can you integrate the schools with so few White students?  Even if you included East Asian students, it only adds up to 25% of the public school cohort.  Moreover, I highly doubt the majority of middle class families will allow their elementary and middle school students to travel long distances into poor neighborhoods and poorly performing schools to achieve some semblance of integration.  Finally, the City has no control of the family environment, where many students are homeless, without a father, and financially insecure which affects student learning. This doesn't take into account the geographic isolation of many of the racial cohorts.

A retired middle school reading teacher wrote an article in the New York Post showing the racial disparity of different cohorts and according to the 2017 State test in Math,the racial breakdown for students who achieved the highest scores (level 4) was as follows.  Asians (52%), Whites (28%), Hispanics (17%), and Blacks (6%).  Why is there such a disparity between racial cohorts?

To me, the reason is that many of the inner city schools have a weak academic curriculum and lack student discipline to achieve a peaceful classroom that is necessary to improve education.  Further, peer pressure in the middle class and  East Asian community to excel in school is just the opposite of the peer pressure in the poor, minority schools that think education is for nerds.  No wonder there is a wide achievement gap between the racial cohorts.

Good luck integrating the schools without addressing the social-economic problems in the communities that the schools are located in.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

These liberal initiatives brought by the mayor and the chancellor, will in my opinion cause the the complete destruction of NYC DOE (or what little was left of it). Those last bastions of learning, Bronx High School of Science, Stuyvesant High School, etc. will be beset with problems like no time in it's history. If anyone thinks for one minute that these white middle class parents will send their children to these schools with these thugs from the neighborhood, or allow their kids to be bused to South Bronx your out of your minds. I would suspect some of this to be tied up in the courts. But, being liberal New York it doesn't look very promising.

Prehistoric pedagogue said...

It’s pretty ironic that the Mayor and the chancellor want to spread all this toxic whiteness all around the city

Anonymous said...

I was wondering how they will integrate the schools myself. If they force children out of their neighborhoods to achieve it, then I see a middle class flight out of the City public schools.

Anonymous said...

Teachers in the quality schools will have to work through more disruption.

Bronx ATR said...

There are very few White kids in the system outside the specialized schools. The city can’t force parents to send their kids to dangerous warehouses. If the city wants to truly integrate schools, and it should, it has to improve the schools. That means a real disciple policy, phones forbidden or taken at the door, separate alternative schools for dangerous incorrigible thugs, hiring experienced teachers over inexperienced ones, tutoring services for the SAT and specialized high schools, and this last one is most important - transparency in everything. Parents are shunned from most schools - under no circumstances do the schools want parents finding out how horrid the schools are. Parents should be welcomed everyday, not just open parent’s day and night with a dog and pony show. The parents have to become stake-holders in their kids education. Many have had terrible experiences themselves as students.
The speacialized schools should have alternative choices for those that missed by a few points and dedicated classes for the test in middle schools - there used to be great programs like the Macy program, which was on par with Bronx Science at Clinton HS.

Anonymous said...

Well, embattled Laguardia was much more racially balance before Dr. Mars. And, it always had high academics.
No one seems to point that out.

If it’s a good school, the middle class doesn’t care - and middle class doesn’t mean white.

Anonymous said...

Taking away neighborhood highschools in part created this problem in the first place.

Batman said...

The chancellor position is purely political. Every new administration wants to have their platform. In NYC it changes so often. Chancellors quit so frequently. So quickly the tides change. So far the only constant is that Danielson remains. The so called "rubric" has destroyed the profession of teaching.
The other constant is that the failing populations of students still remains because the parents couldn't give a darn for their offsprings education. The only fix is parental involvement in black and Hispanic majority schools. The only competition is found in white and Asian schools.

This is the American class system everywhere. All cities witness this state of affairs. The minority is not black and Hispanic anymore. Keep the high standards for those who desire to achieve. No excuses. The cream of the society will always rise to the top. We can't change segments without full support.

Contraception is a vital practice ignored. These failures were created by teens having unplanned offspring who follow in their own preceding generations. Only a few kids break free from the pattern. Schools have become dumping grounds and expensive day care facilities for teens. Elementary schools show hope. What happens later is is a complete breakdown when the true damage of fatherless upbringing blossoms.

Blaming successful, hardworking is not the answer.

Anon said...

WOW BATMAN! Holy community conundrum! Maybe some of those billionaire superstar role models in the worlds of sport and "entertainment" who the kids idolize could send a positive bat signal about personal responsibility and the value of being an educated citizen! How everyone can strive through education to seek the American Dream! Oh, wait, that goes against the prevailing narrative of victimization and the White supremacist patriarchy that won't let people just .....BEEEE!
How can we defeat the "Jokers" and the pushers pedaling self fulfilling prophecies to the youth!
Tune in next week...Same Bat time, same Batsh*t crazy DOE!

Anonymous said...

When white parents resisted 'integration' efforts, they were called racists.

When Asians segregate themselves it is called cultural pride and viewed in a positive light.

Now that white children are disappearing, and only Asians are remaining in so many 'good' schools, politicians are tepidly testing the waters to see if they can make Asians the new boogeyman.

Already some prominent people have said that Asians benefit from 'white privilege.'

As an aside, I am wondering what privileges whites have when they are the ONLY racial group that can be openly vilified in gov and the media and legally discriminated against.

Anonymous said...

What exactly is white? Italian, Irish, German, Polish, Albanian, Russian, Jewish, I mean what do these people mean by "white" people. And are all these nationalities of white people all evil doers?? Rome my friends, Rome.

Anonymous said...

Rampant disorder tolerated, unchecked electronic devices used constantly.
How many years will it take to undo the damage of Mayor Dante's policies? (enacted by Bill).

Anonymous said...

Everyone be prepared for implicit bias training to begin in September. How our white female AP dekivers this one will be a trip.
I guess she will have to check her whiteness at the door.
Have a wonderful summer everyone. Ill keep reading the blog through my retirement. I cheer for all of my tier 4 comrade comrads as they cross the finish line

E 55/30