Insert "IMHO" into each of the following: > 1) Why is it important that a school be "racially diverse"?
It's much more important for a school to promote racial equality, than it is for the school to be "racially diverse". That being said, I've always believed that best way to actually learn something is to experience it. The best way for students in a school to learn about and understand racial diversity...would be to experience it on a daily basis. > 2) Is it more important that a school be "racially diverse" as opposed to > "locally attended"? I don't see why "locally attended" would really matter at all. So...I'd say yes, much more important. > 3) Children are taught that everybody of every race is equal. If this is > true, then why the constant battle to achive racially balanced schools? > What difference does it make? This harkens back to 1. It's one thing to constantly tell students that people are equal, its quite another if they are shown examples of that on a daily basis. > 4) Does "racially diverse" = "economically diverse" in actuality? It doesn't have to, but unfortunately in some cases it does. Look at the extraordinarily high poverty rate among african-americans in New Orleans. (which became painfully evident after Katrina.) > 5) Why is a school of all white or all black wrong? How are they > different? I think schools should simply attract students. Black, white, grey, blue...whatever. BUT....I think that a school benefits by greater diversity, for the reasons i've already stated. > 6) Would you call achieving "racial diversity" in a school to be a form of > "social engineering"? Why or why not? I think programs that aim to attract students from diverse backgrounds are terrific. I think programs that specifically enroll students based on "diversity", are wrong. > 7) Is "social engineering" morally and/or ethically acceptable? I'm not exactly sure what "social engineering" encompasses. > 8) Why do schools with more poverty students do worse than those with > student who come from wealthier families? That seems academic. Poverty can have far reaching affects on the daily life of a student...from disrupted daily activities, to poor diet, to insufficient facilities..... Poverty can make it very difficult to meet your basic means of survial. It doesn't take a Hierarchy of Needs (nod to Maslow) to realize that if you're hungry, it can be hard to concentrate on math. > 9) How is economic diversity expected to fix these kinds of problems? If it is indeed true that poverty affects academic performance....better economics would lead to better academics. Its probably true that there is a corrolation, but we all know there are many other factors to consider. So...fix the problems? No. Help them? Perhaps. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:191445 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
