Long Island School Districts and Diversity: Percentages (Hempstead, Union: environment, rental)

[maisy123]

I think that it is ridiculous in this day and age to shy away from diverse communities. Our children will be competing for jobs in a global economy. China has 1 billion motivated young people hungry for success. India is near dominating the technology sector for employment. 9-11 made the world a much smaller place. Go out and purchace the book THE WORLD IS FLAT. It has great insight into what the world will look like in the next 10-20 years. I consider a diverse school an asset to my childs education.

[xbure9x]

Originally Posted by nbres

You must do what you feel is best for you and your family. If you are happy where you live then stay. If you are not happy where you live then move. No apologies or explanation necessary.

But you bring up a valid issue that another earlier poster brought up. At what point do Whites (I know this open ended) feel uncomfortable in a diverse setting? and does that make diversity impossible because different groups actually resist diversity?

Here's what I don't understand. When I was in school, yes, things were predominantly white, but there were those few Asian, Hispanic and Black kids in the schools, and we all got along with them great, we didn't think anything of it, we were just all kids in school together. Now that a lot of these towns have gone predominantly minority kids, these majority kids do not seem to integrate with the now minority white kids the same way that it was when it was the other way around. when I drive by the high school at lunch time or after school, what you see is packs of kids but very rarely are they a mixed pack, it would be black kids, or hispanic kids or a small cluster of white kids, but they don't seem to be hanging out with each other.

Obviously this is anecdotal and opinion, but I certainly feel that a majority white environment is more welcoming of minorities among them then a majority black environment is to white kids. Look, almost everywhere was white back in the day, then minorities moved into these neighborhoods, seemingly a progression from the city to long island. They were the ones moving into another area and culture and should have at least tried to blend in, and I believe that the first ones did this, but as more moved in, they seem to have kept their culture, which in turn is a factor in driving out the white culture, because now the white people feel uncomfortable being surrounded by all of their culture and little of theirs. I don't care how well the valley stream school district does with their test scores, but I would not feel very comfortable sending my child there now, and I am sure he would not feel very comfortable in the schools either, regardless of how well he did on tests or academically.

[UrbanQuest]

Originally Posted by maisy123

I think that it is ridiculous in this day and age to shy away from diverse communities. Our children will be competing for jobs in a global economy. China has 1 billion motivated young people hungry for success. India is near dominating the technology sector for employment. 9-11 made the world a much smaller place. Go out and purchace the book THE WORLD IS FLAT. It has great insight into what the world will look like in the next 10-20 years. I consider a diverse school an asset to my childs education.

India and China are nearly 100% homogenous societies. Why should we be the ones multiculturizing ourselves to death to accomodate them. I am a firm believer in (everything is o.k., but in moderation). We are overdoing it now, for the sole purpose of financial gain for the wealthy. When can we be a culturally stable country, like most others are. The reason we love doing business with the these nations, whom we seem to admire for their ease of doing business with, is due to their societal cohesiveness and cooperation. We are being sold piece by piece. The Multinationals think; we can buy a company and sell it off piece by piece to make a profit, why not a country?

[nbres]

Originally Posted by xbure9x

Here's what I don't understand. When I was in school, yes, things were predominantly white, but there were those few Asian, Hispanic and Black kids in the schools, and we all got along with them great, we didn't think anything of it, we were just all kids in school together. Now that a lot of these towns have gone predominantly minority kids, these majority kids do not seem to integrate with the now minority white kids the same way that it was when it was the other way around. when I drive by the high school at lunch time or after school, what you see is packs of kids but very rarely are they a mixed pack, it would be black kids, or hispanic kids or a small cluster of white kids, but they don't seem to be hanging out with each other.

Obviously this is anecdotal and opinion, but I certainly feel that a majority white environment is more welcoming of minorities among them then a majority black environment is to white kids. Look, almost everywhere was white back in the day, then minorities moved into these neighborhoods, seemingly a progression from the city to long island. They were the ones moving into another area and culture and should have at least tried to blend in, and I believe that the first ones did this, but as more moved in, they seem to have kept their culture, which in turn is a factor in driving out the white culture, because now the white people feel uncomfortable being surrounded by all of their culture and little of theirs. I don't care how well the valley stream school district does with their test scores, but I would not feel very comfortable sending my child there now, and I am sure he would not feel very comfortable in the schools either, regardless of how well he did on tests or academically.

What you are talking about is called "lunch room segregation." Meaning that even in a diverse school, especially by High School, sociologists have found that kids will separate themselves by race. As schools become more diverse, this form of self segregation might be increasing. When I was in high school (which was 99% White a long time ago) we separated ourselves based on popularity, athletics, academics, etc... typical of most high schools. Today, there is evidence, and not just anecdotal, that students will separate by race and/or ethnicity.

Sounds like you want to move, but are you trapped there economically?

[xbure9x]

Originally Posted by nbres

What you are talking about is called "lunch room segregation." Meaning that even in a diverse school, especially by High School, sociologists have found that kids will separate themselves by race. As schools become more diverse, this form of self segregation might be increasing. When I was in high school (which was 99% White a long time ago) we separated ourselves based on popularity, athletics, academics, etc... typical of most high schools. Today, there is evidence, and not just anecdotal, that students will separate by race and/or ethnicity.

Sounds like you want to move, but are you trapped there economically?

Actually we are moving, hopefully within the next couple of weeks, whenever we get our closing date. We are fortunate that we are able to buy a house in the town we've always wanted to live in but were unable to a few years ago.

[VillageOfWestbury]

Originally Posted by xbure9x

Here's what I don't understand. When I was in school, yes, things were predominantly white, but there were those few Asian, Hispanic and Black kids in the schools, and we all got along with them great, we didn't think anything of it, we were just all kids in school together. Now that a lot of these towns have gone predominantly minority kids, these majority kids do not seem to integrate with the now minority white kids the same way that it was when it was the other way around. when I drive by the high school at lunch time or after school, what you see is packs of kids but very rarely are they a mixed pack, it would be black kids, or hispanic kids or a small cluster of white kids, but they don't seem to be hanging out with each other.

Obviously this is anecdotal and opinion, but I certainly feel that a majority white environment is more welcoming of minorities among them then a majority black environment is to white kids. Look, almost everywhere was white back in the day, then minorities moved into these neighborhoods, seemingly a progression from the city to long island. They were the ones moving into another area and culture and should have at least tried to blend in, and I believe that the first ones did this, but as more moved in, they seem to have kept their culture, which in turn is a factor in driving out the white culture, because now the white people feel uncomfortable being surrounded by all of their culture and little of theirs. I don't care how well the valley stream school district does with their test scores, but I would not feel very comfortable sending my child there now, and I am sure he would not feel very comfortable in the schools either, regardless of how well he did on tests or academically.

I hate to say this, but welcome to what "minorities" have had to endure for years. For (maybe) the first time in your life you realized that you were white and it felt strange (i.e. uncomfortable) to have to acknowledge your race b/c you were surrounded by non-whites. Unfortunately minorities have had to "suck-up" that uncomfortable feeling in many cases to live in predominantly white neighborhoods provide a more stable and stronger socio-economic springboard for their children.

[xbure9x]

Originally Posted by VillageOfWestbury

I hate to say this, but welcome to what "minorities" have had to endure for years. For (maybe) the first time in your life you realized that you were white and it felt strange (i.e. uncomfortable) to have to acknowledge your race b/c you were surrounded by non-whites. Unfortunately minorities have had to "suck-up" that uncomfortable feeling in many cases to live in predominantly white neighborhoods provide a more stable and stronger socio-economic springboard for their children.

Problem is, my feeling uncomfortable has no benefits, ie, my children will definitely not be in a more stable and stronger socio economic position if I were to stay here. Whereas you say that minorities would come to a white area for the benefits of it, I really don't see any benefits of being white in an ever increasing minority area, which is truly a shame a sad, but nevertheless fact.

[VillageOfWestbury]

Originally Posted by xbure9x

Problem is, my feeling uncomfortable has no benefits, ie, my children will definitely not be in a more stable and stronger socio economic position if I were to stay here. Whereas you say that minorities would come to a white area for the benefits of it, I really don't see any benefits of being white in an ever increasing minority area, which is truly a shame a sad, but nevertheless fact.

How do you know that the folks moving in aren't stronger socio-economically than yourself?

[xbure9x]

Originally Posted by VillageOfWestbury

How do you know that the folks moving in aren't stronger socio-economically than yourself?

OK you're right, I don't know, however a very educated guess can tell you that at most they are on equal footing to my family, otherwise, they would have located into a more expensive area, no? This place probably represents a huge step up for what someone would be accustomed to in the less desirable areas of Brooklyn or Queens, however, as the change has been taking place, it represents a downgrade for what I was accustomed to as a child growing up here. It certainly looks and feels identical to what Queens used to look like when I was younger, so while it may be a step up for people coming from Queens, I certainly don't want to pay $8000 in taxes to live in pseudo Queens.

To me, VS isn't representative of the Long Island that I knew very much anymore, which is why we are moving east to get that feeling back. And no, it isn't totally the change in population that is making it feel this way, it just really has deteriorated in the last 10-15 years, I can make that statement since I have lived it. Merrick Road looks like Queens Blvd most of the time, it is really sad, but also truly remarkable to witness such a change right before your eyes.

[nbres]

Originally Posted by xbure9x

OK you're right, I don't know, however a very educated guess can tell you that at most they are on equal footing to my family, otherwise, they would have located into a more expensive area, no? This place probably represents a huge step up for what someone would be accustomed to in the less desirable areas of Brooklyn or Queens, however, as the change has been taking place, it represents a downgrade for what I was accustomed to as a child growing up here. It certainly looks and feels identical to what Queens used to look like when I was younger, so while it may be a step up for people coming from Queens, I certainly don't want to pay $8000 in taxes to live in pseudo Queens.

To me, VS isn't representative of the Long Island that I knew very much anymore, which is why we are moving east to get that feeling back. And no, it isn't totally the change in population that is making it feel this way, it just really has deteriorated in the last 10-15 years, I can make that statement since I have lived it. Merrick Road looks like Queens Blvd most of the time, it is really sad, but also truly remarkable to witness such a change right before your eyes.

From what you can tell are other neighborhoods close to Valley Stream nearby becoming more diverse?

What about Lynbrook, Rockville Centre, Oceanside, East Rockaway, West Hempstead, and Franklin Square?