Saturday, September 08, 2007
A Diversity Update
Because I love to mock “Diversity”: A Local Answer to the Integration Challenge
(Integration Challenge???)
“As education officials nationwide search for ways to balance enrollment after the Supreme Court sharply limited the use of race in school assignments, they might look at the record in Arlington.”
To begin, does anyone recall the Post ever FAVORABLY commenting on local efforts to, say, apply the desires of many to protect the unborn “after the Supreme Court sharply limited the use of” local restrictions? We hear and read constant platitudes about how Roe is now settled law – in fact many Democrats (and RINOs – i.e. Arlen Specter) want a near-promise from Supreme Court nominees not to overturn it. I guess there is “precedent” and then there is super precedent.
As the subject matter would inspire, the article is replete with insipid observations:
“Some civil rights advocates said the ruling rolled back the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling, which outlawed racial segregation in schools.”
Well, Chicken Little has nothing on these so-called and unnamed civil rights advocates but let’s revisit Chief Justice Roberts’ words of wisdom in the ruling:
"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." SCOTUS - Parents Involved...
(…and Brown did not outlaw all racial segregation, it outlawed state-imposed racial segregation.)
Later, the article discusses two of the more attractive schools in Arlington; H-B Woodlawn and Arlington Traditional:
“For years, admission to each was based on a lottery that gave some preference to minorities. But lawsuits on behalf of white students in 1997 and 1998 ended that practice. Minority enrollment fell afterward.”
Well, we can’t have that so…
“In 2001, the school system turned to geographic admissions for H-B Woodlawn, apportioning a certain number of slots to students coming from each of the county's elementary schools. That improved the chance of admission for students from less-affluent neighborhoods, who tend to apply to H-B in fewer numbers.”
So another way to improve the chances for students from less-affluent neighborhoods might be for them to, I dunno, apply? I know that did wonders for me getting into the schools I wanted to go to.
Finally we get to read the predictable comments of a public education bureaucrat:
“[H-B Woodlawn Principal Frank Haltiwanger] said the push for diversity reaps educational dividends.
"The students will find themselves talking about race, which is an important conversation to have and which is important especially in a school that is mostly white," he said. "Those conversations are taking place more often, and more thought is given to how families might feel to be in the minority."
Yeah right – that diversity is soooo important in education must be the reason we see leading Leftists lead the charge against the United Negro College Fund and additional federal funding specifically directed to Historically Black Colleges. It’s why Hillary Clinton is often heard lamenting that her alma mater (Wellesley) remains closed to that half of the population identified as males.
Side Note: Also from Principal Haltiwanger:
“For most of the program's 35 years, he said, the student body drew heavily from more affluent and less diverse North Arlington.”
Do you ever read about mostly Black, Hispanic or other favored minority neighborhoods as being “less diverse”?
(Integration Challenge???)
“As education officials nationwide search for ways to balance enrollment after the Supreme Court sharply limited the use of race in school assignments, they might look at the record in Arlington.”
To begin, does anyone recall the Post ever FAVORABLY commenting on local efforts to, say, apply the desires of many to protect the unborn “after the Supreme Court sharply limited the use of” local restrictions? We hear and read constant platitudes about how Roe is now settled law – in fact many Democrats (and RINOs – i.e. Arlen Specter) want a near-promise from Supreme Court nominees not to overturn it. I guess there is “precedent” and then there is super precedent.
As the subject matter would inspire, the article is replete with insipid observations:
“Some civil rights advocates said the ruling rolled back the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling, which outlawed racial segregation in schools.”
Well, Chicken Little has nothing on these so-called and unnamed civil rights advocates but let’s revisit Chief Justice Roberts’ words of wisdom in the ruling:
"The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." SCOTUS - Parents Involved...
(…and Brown did not outlaw all racial segregation, it outlawed state-imposed racial segregation.)
Later, the article discusses two of the more attractive schools in Arlington; H-B Woodlawn and Arlington Traditional:
“For years, admission to each was based on a lottery that gave some preference to minorities. But lawsuits on behalf of white students in 1997 and 1998 ended that practice. Minority enrollment fell afterward.”
Well, we can’t have that so…
“In 2001, the school system turned to geographic admissions for H-B Woodlawn, apportioning a certain number of slots to students coming from each of the county's elementary schools. That improved the chance of admission for students from less-affluent neighborhoods, who tend to apply to H-B in fewer numbers.”
So another way to improve the chances for students from less-affluent neighborhoods might be for them to, I dunno, apply? I know that did wonders for me getting into the schools I wanted to go to.
Finally we get to read the predictable comments of a public education bureaucrat:
“[H-B Woodlawn Principal Frank Haltiwanger] said the push for diversity reaps educational dividends.
"The students will find themselves talking about race, which is an important conversation to have and which is important especially in a school that is mostly white," he said. "Those conversations are taking place more often, and more thought is given to how families might feel to be in the minority."
Yeah right – that diversity is soooo important in education must be the reason we see leading Leftists lead the charge against the United Negro College Fund and additional federal funding specifically directed to Historically Black Colleges. It’s why Hillary Clinton is often heard lamenting that her alma mater (Wellesley) remains closed to that half of the population identified as males.
Side Note: Also from Principal Haltiwanger:
“For most of the program's 35 years, he said, the student body drew heavily from more affluent and less diverse North Arlington.”
Do you ever read about mostly Black, Hispanic or other favored minority neighborhoods as being “less diverse”?
