Monday, December 14, 2009

Progressive parental guilt

A writer deals with her struggles with sending her daughter to Seattle public schools and the less than ideal decision made to remain true to her commitment to integration:
The irony is that we’re probably as much a part of the problem as we would have been taking that Seattle principal up on his offer: We're officially participating in white flight. My daughter referred to one of her classmates as “the black guy,” and what she meant was he was the black guy. She later clarified: There are three African-American students in her school of more than 1,400. But there is only one in her grade.

Don’t worry. We got ours: .... we’re sending our daughter to a school where she is learning about books but not — at least to our way of thinking — about real life.

The outcome is that my husband and I, after only five months in the Pacific Northwest, have made a decision. We’re taking our daughter back to Minnesota where she can live and attend classes among a racially mixed population while getting an education of the quality we want her to have. This will mean living apart and maintaining two residences.

No comments:

Post a Comment