But then I read an article on StarTribune.com that has me focusing on why we shouldn't move back.
"Lakeville retools plan to attract more diverse student body"
Actually, not so much the article but the comments at the end (and the fact that six of six readers liked the following comment):
Somebody needs to be SLAPPED !!
"State law requires adjoining districts with a gap of more than 20 percentage points to come up with more ways to bring students together voluntarily and gives them money to do it." That's ridiculous. Spreading ESL and immigrant children out to other districts just drags down THEIR educational systems as well, the BES (Burnsville-Eagan-Savage) is bad enough as it is. The entire educational system is setting itself to the lowest common denominator, and our children's quality of education is becoming a joke, all for the sake of "diversity" - BAH !! SEND THEM BACK !!
posted by happy2oblige
I think the only person who needs to be slapped is happy2oblige. How ignorant and racist to assume that diversity means only ESL and immigrant children.
Having grown up in the south suburbs of the TC and attending schools in which I was often the only minority student in many of my classes, I applaud the state law that seeks to create diversity in the schools. If anything, I recall many of the other minority students and I were in the advanced classes and certainly NOT dragging down the education of other students or the system. We tended to be overachievers because we felt like we had to prove we were as good as or better and smarter than the white kids who teased and bullied us.
And regarding the send them back statement, as an transracial, international adoptee (one of more than 10,000 in Minnesota), I had no choice and if I had a choice, I would have gladly stayed with my birth mother and family. So to happy2oblige, I say, SHUT THE F*$% UP!!
I don't understand these suburban white parents who want to surround their white kids with other white kids, limiting their exposure to other races and cultures. What happens when these kids grow up, move out of state, travel outside of the Midwest, or move to bigger cities? Realize that their parents are racist, prejudiced bigots? Realize that the world is not all full of white people? Let's hope so.
After reading the article and comments, I'm glad I live in the Bay Area. According to Wikipedia:
Like many larger U.S. cities, San Francisco is a minority-majority city, as non-Hispanic whites comprise less than half of the population. As of 2007, the Census Bureau estimated that 45.0 percent of the population was non-Hispanic white. Asian Americans make up 33.1% of the population; Chinese Americans constitute the largest single ethnic group in San Francisco at about a fifth of the population. Hispanics of any race make up 14.0% of the population.
I'm glad I live in an area where many of the preschools and elementary schools are bilingual, whether it's English and Mandarin or English and Spanish. I think the students from this area are going to have an enormous advantage in education, work, and life compared to those whose parents post comments such as the one above.
