Segregation in the American schooling system has only been reduced to barely detectable levels. Its earlier forms are to blame for the disproportionate academic achievement levels witnessed between the white and the black people. The number of young people who have passed through Charlottesville's college system is heavily bent on white dominance, with the white youths more educated than the blacks. The odds are stacked in favor of the white children and against black children. The evident levels of segregation and discrimination in the Charlottesville district's schools have widened the education gap between blacks and whites.
How do black and white students in Charlottesville compare in terms of reading at grade level?
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Reading at grade level is a nightmare for black children. The white children in the same grade exhibit great prowess in reading all the subjects with ease. For the black learners, achieving the task takes a considerable effort, which is no wonder that half of the black students in Charlottesville cannot read at grade level compared to the white student who accounts for a tenth of the total population (Green & Walden, 2018). The difference is too immense to ignore, and the reasons to justify such a state completely nonsensical. The white students have preparatory skills before starting school, a privilege out of reach of the black students in the same area.
Moreover, the predominantly white schools have the best instructors to tutor white students in mastering the leading art. Further research shows that black students lag behind their white peers by three and a half grades in maths, explaining why their reading proficiency cannot be rivaled (Reardon et al., 2019). Furthermore, while white students are entitled to the gifted program based on the first prerequisite of being white, the black students can neither change their skin to conform to the rule nor manage the credit scores to guarantee them a slot in the program.
How do Charlottesville School Officials explain the Disparities between White and Black Students?
The officials in Charlottesville have offered very blatant and reckless remarks to explain the situation at hand. The officials argue that the gap between the white and black students should be blamed on the massive differences in the two classes' socioeconomic endowment (Green & Walden, 2018). However, while it is true that white students have better resources at their disposal, it cannot be solely responsible for the disparity. The majority of Charlottesville schools hail from low-income families dependent on feeding programs to keep them in school. The schools have placed many prerequisites for advancing in studies and further worsened the already bad situation. Affluent families of white students can secure the best possible schools and tutors for their children, which the poor black families cannot (Meatto, 2019). The disparities in resources have allowed white students to free rule in the schools, with the parents' boards deciding whether black and white integration is beneficial. Furthermore, the test scores seem to support the rhetoric of socioeconomic differences as the root cause of the disparities.
In What Ways Do Socioeconomics Not Fully Explain the Gap Between White And Black Students?
In truth, however, socioeconomic status cannot justify the abject and severe disparities on its own. White students have the propensity to outperform their black peers in test scores and state exams. The same is true for the immigrants who are barely learning the language but surprisingly also outdo the black students in state examinations. In defense, black students have had difficulty trying to match their white counterparts' skills and prowess (Noguera, 2017). The black students must muster the content of two-year coursework under a year and still expected to rival students who completed the level earlier. The task is daunting, and the back students should be laud and not criticized for failures they cannot control. White students have had some form of preschool experience at the moment in their lives, a luxury that the black students cannot afford.
Why Are Achievement Disparities So Common In College Towns?
The apparent disparities in college towns are not shocking. Far from it, it is the norm for the differences to be more pronounced in areas where the rich dominate. In college towns and near college towns, the parents have prioritized investing heavily in their children's education, sparing no effort or resource whatsoever (Hung et al., 2020). The significant proportion of white proponents of separate schools for black and white students seems to be located in such areas. The wealth endowment has made the college areas the hotspots of peddling the segregation narratives.
Did Anything In The Article Surprise You? Shock You? Make You Angry Or Sad? Why?
Defending segregation for minor reasons is rather disheartening. It is worrying that policymakers such as a respected counsellor would rubbish a report that clearly outlines the findings of rampant segregation in schools only because it would be upsetting to the affluent families that support the schools (Green & Walden, 2018). It is unbelievable how the school officials defend terrible school policies that put white students at the forefront while peddling resource endowment as the critical determinant. Furthermore, it is sad that the Charlottesville district officials are comfortable facilitating only half of its people's academic success. The fact that the black students graduate with just ordinary diplomas that limit their chances of advancement can be blamed on the failure of those in charge to be responsible (Meatto, 2019). However, it is not surprising that white people want all the privileges for white students. The separatist narrative borrowed from white people's national attitudes harbored against the blacks has been transferred to the school setting.
Conclusion
The increasing disparities in educational achievement for black and white students is a crisis that no one is willing to fix. While the black activists point out the issues, the policymakers act ignorant of what needs to be done. The court rulings instructing schools to integrate or shutdown has been met with defiance and, eventually, complete abandon. The integration is barely fixing the issue since it is just being done on the surface. In truth, the convergence is slightly taken root, and there is a lot to be done to salvage the situation.
References
Green, E. L., & Waldman, A. (2018). You are still Black': Charlottesville's racial divide hinders students. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www. NYTimes. com/2018/10/16/us/Charlottesville-riots-black-students-schools. HTML .
Hung, M., Smith, W. A., Voss, M. W., Franklin, J. D., Gu, Y., & Bounsanga, J. (2020). Exploring student achievement gaps in school districts across the United States. Education and Urban Society , 52 (2), 175-193.
Meatto, K. (2019). Still separate, still unequal: Teaching about school segregation and educational inequality. The New York Times .
Noguera, P. A. (2017, April). Introduction to "racial inequality and education: Patterns and prospects for the future." In The Educational Forum (Vol. 81, No. 2, pp. 129-135). Routledge.
Reardon, S. F., Weathers, E., Fahle, E., Jang, H., & Kalogrides, D. (2019). Is separation still unequal? New evidence on school segregation and racial academic achievement gaps.
