Segregated Schools, Good or Bad?

[KaraKARMA]

For a while now there had been major controversy over the Toronto District School board, why? Parents and some people from the TDSB wanted to open a Segregated School specificity for the African community. Parents felt that their children were being looked down upon because of their skin color, they felt they weren't getting as much attention as the other children. They felt as if they weren't getting the respect that they deserved.

Needless to say, the vote was 11 to 9 and the school opened, today was the first day of classes.

So while yes, parents have every right to be concerned if they feel that their child isn't getting the grades they deserve, is opening a segregated school necessary... or is it taking it too far? I've also posted this up on my Twitter and have gotten some interesting responses! I'd love to hear your opinions as well!


Read the article here -> http://www.thestar.com/article/297001

[Johanna]

Citation needed.

And even if there are, why would it make it harder for you to make friends with women? Why would you have trouble learning from a female teacher? Most people I know have close friends of both genders.

It really just seems like you're trying to pass of your own problems on the notion that ''women are stupid and wierd, but not me because I'm a special snowflake''

[Loxi]

Two separate problems. The reason it's harder for me to make friends with women and learn from female teachers is autism and social anxiety, and understanding women less than men. I can understand guys easier, even though they're still a challenge. I can't communicate verbally with females at all unless they are tom boys, male brained, or under 8 years old.  

Women are NOT stupid, and while I don't understand them they aren't weird. I'm not going by the old stereotypes here, "like math and science is for boys" but by more subtle things in HOW girls think versus how guys think. 

And it DOES happen that people with guy brains are born in girls bodies. My husband said to look up Jamie Lee Curtis. And I do have physical symptoms of being exposed to high testosterone in-womb.

[Johanna]

So isn't the reason really that you have autism? You can't communicate with people beacuse they're feminine? Does this also then aply to boys whom behave stereotypically feminine?

Tell me this, HOW do men and women think?

[Johanna]

I can also see that you completely avoided my question. Nice going there.

[Fake Crowley]

"Something's wrong with our kids's education!"

 

"Well, yeah, the US's Public Schools are kind of awfu--"

 

"It must have to do with race! Let's segregate our children by something completely aesthetic and in no way related to their intelligence or education and make things even more expensive for the state!"

 

...Seriously. First off, the main problem with public schools today is that parents are lazy assholes who don't take a minute out of their time to help their kids learn. The teachers are usually doing all they can, but if the parents don't make an effort the kids won't either.

Second, the funding.

 

Third, the teacher's unions. I have no issue with unions in general, but the teacher's unions are literally the devil. They don't allow good teachers to be rewarded or bad teachers to be punished, and generally make life miserable for everyone all around.

 

[Jessica]

I agree with 2 of your statements. The funding issue, not so much. Schools have more money now than they have ever had! Its your other two arguments that are the basis for the educational problem in our country. There is also the problem that the government will come in a clean up your mess if you fail (welfare, food stamps, and every other live-off-the-taxpayer program), so there is no incentive to succeed.

[Vertigo_One [Ops Mod]]

Is that more money above the rate of inflation. Because 50 years ago $5 was a lot more money than now.

[Jessica]

That may be the case. I do not actually know the answer to that because it really doesn't matter. Students who want to learn can learn with a blackboard and old books. Teacher compensation may not be what other Master's degreed people earn, but teachers never did make bank. What teachers had was respect. Without respect, they've resorted to wanting more money. Looking at what states spend compared to their SAT scores is very telling. Vermont, Wyoming, New Jersey, New York, and Maine are the top spenders (http://blog.bestandworststates.com/2009/01/29/state-rankings-on-edu...). If the amount of money spent per student mattered that much, these states would have the highest scores, right? They don't. In fact, Maine was listed as #51 out of all states and Washing D.C. in SAT scores! Washington D.C. was 13th in spending and 50th in SAT scores (http://blog.bestandworststates.com/2009/08/25/state-sat-scores-2009...). The states with the lowest spending per student are California, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah which means they should have the lowest scores, wrong. Georgia, Florida, Hawaii, South Carolina, Washington D.C., and Maine have the distinction of being the bottom 5 states and district in the nation. In fact, Utah, the state that spent the absolute least per student scored better than 30 other states and Washington D.C. So, there is no correlation between per capita spending and educational benefits. We need to find out what actually is behind a better education and do it soon because America is being dumbed down.

http://blog.bestandworststates.com/2009/01/29/state-rank. ings-on-e...

[Fake Crowley]

...Yeah, so? Having more money than they did in the past doesn't mean that things are better. For one thing, supplies and education in general is much more expensive. For another, don't you think they would hire more faculty if they had the money?

 

And...no. Just, no. Shall I go into why your second part is wrong?

[Loxi]

I don't believe they should be allowed to self-segregate. I believe the biggest problem is the perpetuation of the stress on pigmentation and ethnicity in determination of how we view people. Most people still view discrimination as something only someone who is in the "majority" group in question can do. This is patently false.

I grew up in a town where "minorities" were the majority. I have family and friends of all sorts of nationalities and skin pigmentation. I have been beaten for being white and sitting down at a self-declared "black table" at school lunch. I've been harassed, stolen from, bullied, and refused service for being white. When I reported these things, I was told that they couldn't be reported as racially motivated, because I was white, and racially motivated crimes do not happen to white people. 

You don't beat racism by being racist back.

[Jessica]

In your first line you are saying to take away Americans' freedom. We have the right to happiness and all things that are not specifically written into the Constitution and amendments. Nowhere in these wonderful documents does it say that the government is allowed to control how people congregate. Nowhere is what you suggest legal. The govt cannot segregate but people are free to do what they choose. You are asking for the govt to control people. What do you want them to control next? Maybe the govt will force you to marry out of your race, take a job you don't want, have only 1 child...Where do you want the govt to go next?

[Loxi]

I never said I want the government to do anything. In fact, I'd rather the government get out of education all together. If they want to homeschool their kids, that's fine. If they want to start a school of their own, I don't think they should be turning kids away for something as stupid as race. Nowhere did I say I want the government to enforce this, just that I believe it's wrong. You don't have to want the government to get involved to think something's wrong.

I understand it's easy to read into things that aren't there. Given the usual discourse on this sight, it's generally safe to assume that everyone here is liberal and in favor of government. In this case, you were wrong, I'm not. However, I won't it personally, it's easy mistake around here. In the future, however, you might wish to actually read what it's said without jumping to conclusions and accusing people of being things they aren't and believing things they don't.