--
Title: race, class, public vs. private
schools
I'm
probably nuts to wade into issues of race, class and public
education, race being THE most taboo subject in America,
followed closely by class. Then you add in the subject of one's
children and the choice of public versus private schools and suddenly
the Elephant In the Living Room starts moving around, breaking up the
furniture, pissing on the carpet. But here goes:
1) I'm
a white middle-class parent who sends her kids to Minneapolis public
schools and I agree with Ken Avidor of Kingfield---I think public
schools are the canary in the coal mine of public life. What happens
to them says a lot about our willingness to trust our community and
each other. I wish more white middle-class people sent their kids to
public schools. Fortunately, in my neck of the woods, more and more
people are doing exactly that. Six years ago, something like 14
percent of the incoming kindergartners at Burroughs school in
southwest Minneapolis were from the neighborhood and most people
avoided the place. Now something like 75 percent of the incoming
kindergartners are from the neighborhood. The school has a waiting
list and people worry they won't get in.
My
kids' school, Lake Harriet (formerly Fulton and Audubon) just
added another section of kindergarten for next year to keep up with
the demand. I remember sitting in meetings at district headquarters
six years ago and being told that white, middle-class people had
extremely low birth rates which is why the district was considering
closing a school in our area. Alas, there just wasn't enough
demand for those classrooms.
So
what happened? Was there a sudden baby boom? Nah--it was the return
to community schools and, in our case, the creation of a K-8 program.
Now we're getting the families who used to go private because they
didn't want the hassle of schools lotteries and the 17 different
choices and the bus rides and all the uncertainty of dealing with
this huge urban system. Also when everyone in the neighborhood has
started going to the same school, it changes the way parents make
choices. We are only in our second year of this combined school, K-8
program and I can already feel the momentum.
I'm
aware some folks say community schools are racist because our city is
so segregated. And my answer is---okay, but what's the alternative? I
once strongly supported busing--which was a pretty radical piece of
social engineering-- because I hoped it would create a more just and
integrated society, not to mention higher test scores.
Unfortunately, almost 20 years of busing didn't accomplish any of
this. Schools and neighborhoods remained rigidly segregated; I
believe minority scores actually went down. However, throughout the
country, including Minneapolis, busing did manage to accomplish one
key piece of social engineering---- white middle-class people left
the city public schools in droves.
Why
does that matter? Because if public schools are seen as the province
of only poor minorities, they're political toast. The state
legislatures cut these school systems off at the knees so fast, it
takes your breath away. I've lived in Detroit and Washington, D.C.
I've seen up close and personal, what this looks like and it ain't
pretty. And once the middle-class flees, it's really hard to
reverse.
Anyway, I'm not saying community schools are perfect. But
busing didn't work either, so I give a lot of credit to Mayor Sharon
Sayles Belton,Superintendent Carol Johnson and the Minneapolis School
Board for having the political courage to move away from it.
(An
aside about diversity: I remember reading a story in the Strib a few
years ago about a Minneapolis school (and I'm forgetting the name)
that was nearly 100 percent minority. The reporter asked parents and
staff about the lack of diversity and their response was, "What
are you talking about? We have tons of diversity--we're
African-American, Hmong, Vietnamese, Mexican, Somali, Native American
and more." The story made me laugh because there certainly
was a little white arrogance going on, i.e. There Can Only Be Real
Diversity If We're Around.)
Of
course, since race and class tend to be linked, an all-minority
school often lacks economic diversity. Schools that are
overwhelmingly poor aren't healthy. But neither are the schools that
are overwhelmingly rich. (You want to see a bunch of troubled kids
strung out on booze and drugs and living in a very narrow social
sphere? Go to an elite boarding school.)
2)
Both Detroit and the D.C. area had a large, visible black
middle-class, something I don't see in Minneapolis. I wish we had
more black, middle class families in our city schools. But I couldn't
presume to judge Matthea or others on the private versus public
choice, especially when smart black kids are getting routinely teased
for "acting white." I hear those stories and feel
furious, depressed and just sick. So I can only imagine how black
parents feel and how complicated it is to try to bring up sane,
healthy, grounded kids in what remains a deeply hostile culture.
Matthea is right--in the end, you follow your heart and do
what's right for your children. I believe to sacrifice your
kids' well-being to your own agenda--whether its political, religious
or your professional success or whatever--is wrong. And it causes a
lot of heartache.
3)
Which brings me back to why my kids are in my neighborhood
public school. My husband teaches at an elite private school. We
could send our kids there. But we're following our hearts and sending
our sons to a wonderful school and there ain't no noble sacrifice
going on. In fact, when people in my neighborhood tell me they're
"agonizing" over the public versus private thing, I
honestly don't get it.
My
kids are getting a great education. I don't need to drive them all
the way out to Plymouth or Wayzata for a play date because most of
their pals live within a few blocks. They go to the park and they
know everyone. It's like we live in a small town. Maybe my kids would
feel this way if we sent them eight miles away to a private school.
But I doubt it. (I think the gift of neighborhood community is
something people routinely under-estimate when making school
choices.) The parents at our public school are a varied
mix--doctors, electricians, lawyers, mailmen, carpenters, bar owners,
actors, shipping clerks. My kids seem at ease with people from
different backgrounds and races. And they don't stare and shrink back
from people with disabilities because most of the time, they've known
these kids since they were five years old.
Yesterday I was at the Saints baseball game (an exhibition
match against the Russians) with my son's fifth grade class.
The kid next to me was Vietnamese and was eating the lunch his mother
packed--a cold noodle salad with peanuts and fish sauce. (I love
Vietnamese food and tried to trade my bratwurst for it, but no luck.)
The kid next to him was black. The kid next to him was white. All
three were talking baseball together. It was gorgeous day and man,
this is my idea of what heaven looks like.
I turn
to the kid on the other side of me and say, "I feel sorry for
these guys from Russia. Their country is falling apart," And the
boy says, "Yeah, I know. I just read an article in the
Atlantic Monthly about that."
"You read the article in the Atlantic
Monthly?" I asked, pretty flabbergasted since my fifth grade
son, trust me, isn't reading the Atlantic Monthly.
"Well, not the whole article," he said casually.
"I only got about half-way through."
Just
then, one of our kids, Donovan who is mentally retarded needed to go
to the bathroom. The teacher asked for a volunteer and Matt, who is
Mr. Joe Cool Super Jock, said he'd take him. I watched those two boys
walk down the stairs, hand in hand, because Donovan is very huggy and
likes to hold hands with everyone.
Now
you can get plenty of good stuff in elite private schools. But you
can't get this particular, varied scene. Which I believes matters a
lot in what kind of citizens these kids will eventually turn out to
be.
4)
Michael Atherton of Prospect Park says diversity is an overrated,
urban myth. Maybe he just he hasn't tried it. Or maybe he had a
couple bad experiences. Now to be fair to Michael, I also get
impatient with all the endless PC discussions about diversity--all
the slogans and cliches and workshops and rants. But I wouldn't
trade the diversity of my public school for the sameness of
private schools. Why? Because the diversity makes it a kinder,
gentler place for my white, privileged kids. It's not a noble
sacrifice. It actually makes for a healthier school. When everyone
looks exactly the same and comes from the same economic status and
has no visible disabilities of any kind, it takes very little for a
kid to become the Other, the Scapegoat, the Weirdo. Often there's
Only One Way to Be Cool. One Way to Dress. There's the In Crowd and
the Out Crowd. Yet, the more diverse the school is, the harder it is
to have these rigid, deep grooves that everyone has to follow.
Everyone gets more breathing room.
In
fact, I just took a phone call from a friend who wants to transfer
her daughter to our school. Why? She has a great kid who just
isn't fitting in with the typically rigid definition of what it means
to be A Cool Girl in her private school. She wants to transfer her
daughter to our public school, not because of some sloppy liberal
devotion to diversity, but because she hope her daughter will have a
happier, richer life.
I hope
it works out for her---and for all the other parents who are making a
variety of choices on what's best for their kids in a world where
there's no perfect schools or answers.
Lynnell Mickelsen
Linden
Hills, Ward 13
