It's the 50th anniversary of the legendary Supreme Court ruling, Brown vs. Board of Education, which declared segregated schools to be unconstitutional. President Bush is visiting Topeka, Kansas, in order to speak about righting this great wrong; not be outdone, John Kerry will be there, too (I feel for the Topekans, who can expect some serious traffic jams).
Other anniversary celebrations are rather subdued; as Znet reports, white flight has produced de facto segregation in some parts, with a not-suprising fall in funding for primarily-minority schools as well.
Regular readers of N2P don't need a rehashing of the test score gaps. However, I have to disagree with Znet article's insistence that standardized testing is the real problem in beleaguered schools. It's absurd to say that reliance on testing and rote memorization is driving teachers from schools in poverty-stricken neighborhoods and preventing minority students from achieving in life. It's absurd to say that poor schools are "neo-Dickensian," and controlled by a "corporate-Stalinist curriculum;" more likely, the problem is the "soft bigotry of low expectations" that prevents poor schools from adequately challenging their students. And how can someone claim that poor children are being deprived of quality teachers without pointing the finger at teachers' unions, instead of test developers?
This article, on the other hand, takes a more sensible, less knee-jerk approach. It acknowledges the gap but doesn't disregard or vilify testing; it posits reasons that the score gaps might exist, and explores ways those gaps can be closed.
Finally, here's an article about one South Carolina high school that remains fairly segregated for a "sense of community":
Despite the Brown vs. Board of Education decision 50 years ago, segregation never really ended at Alfred E. Beach High School. Today, Beach High still has the district's largest black student enrollment...
Ninety-four percent of the students there are black, compared to the district average of 66 percent. The difference between the all-black Beach High of 1954 and the primarily black Beach High in 2004 is the exodus of some of the best black teachers and students...Today, even the brightest of the students who remain in the neighborhood have the option of enrolling in academically enriched magnet programs and charter schools in other neighborhoods.
Still, a great many choose to stay right where they are.
They don't find the modern facilities and standardized test scores at other schools as appealing as their school's promise and rich history. In fact, there is a sense of pride and ownership at Beach that is not as strong at more desegregated schools.
Beach High is not without its problems. Located in a high-poverty, high-crime neighborhood, it's not surprising that Beach High crimes often make the news (on the other hand, the teacher who got voted Miss Savannah and then was indicted for murdering her boyfriend was probably an unexpected event). SAT averages are low, but school spirit and community participation are high, which means Beach High stands a fighting chance of fixing its problems.
Posted by kswygert at May 17, 2004 01:26 PM