Impact of being in the (Anglo) minority at Public School? (Arlington: home, neighborhood)

[padcrasher]

Originally Posted by Squirl

I have only one grandchild and I am totally understand all decisions belong to her parents. I don't butt in. I have to say she's a kid with parents who give her much attention and lots of material things. I have bitten my tongue over late bedtimes and sugary foods. I am refraining from forming an opinion yet about her new school. She attended a private school for pre-school and full day pre-K. She loved it, made many friends and got glowing reports from her teachers. The local elementary school is rated "exemplary" but feeds into marginal Middle & High Schools.

Her parents don't intend to move....ever... so they enrolled her in Summit Intl. prep. which is a charter school with exemplary ratings K-12. She is in her 2nd week. There are about 50 kids in kindergarten in 3 classes and only about 8 caucasian kids; she is one of the 8.

In theory, she will be going to school with pretty much the same group of kids now until she finishes school. So, that means she will be the "minority" in her school throughout her education. I know plenty of adults grew up as minorities and I am wondering:

*What were the up and downsides of being a minority at schools?
*Would you put your kid in a minority environment if you were otherwise okay with the school?

Not if I could help it. Anybody is free to send me a personal message for a candid explanation. Thanks!

[Mommy24kids]

Originally Posted by DanielWayne

Glad everything worked out. For most of my life, I was the only minority in my classroom from about 4th grade til graduation. I was the only brown kid, but overall life was pretty good. Then I went to U. Houston and met people from literally all countries on the globe, and now I go out of my way to embrace people from different backgrounds. I don't think being the minority is a bad thing unless you are at a bad school.

Ditto Daniel,

I, my husband and now my children have always been in situations (school, work, social, etc.) where we were the only Black people in a Sea of Whites. It's never really been an issue. I think race isn't an issue until antiquated minded people make it one. JMO

[SCFriend]

Originally Posted by Squirl

I have only one grandchild and I am totally understand all decisions belong to her parents. I don't butt in. I have to say she's a kid with parents who give her much attention and lots of material things. I have bitten my tongue over late bedtimes and sugary foods. I am refraining from forming an opinion yet about her new school. She attended a private school for pre-school and full day pre-K. She loved it, made many friends and got glowing reports from her teachers. The local elementary school is rated "exemplary" but feeds into marginal Middle & High Schools.

Her parents don't intend to move....ever... so they enrolled her in Summit Intl. prep. which is a charter school with exemplary ratings K-12. She is in her 2nd week. There are about 50 kids in kindergarten in 3 classes and only about 8 caucasian kids; she is one of the 8.

In theory, she will be going to school with pretty much the same group of kids now until she finishes school. So, that means she will be the "minority" in her school throughout her education. I know plenty of adults grew up as minorities and I am wondering:

*What were the up and downsides of being a minority at schools?
*Would you put your kid in a minority environment if you were otherwise okay with the school?

If the schools are good, the kids are nice, and the area is where her parents want to settle, then I say she is in a great place. She will feel like all people are equal and she will learn to accept others for who they are not judge by the color of their skin. The same is true of the children that she will be friends with in school.

The interesting thing about schools is that even though she may go to a middle and high that is not exemplary, if she is smart, tries hard, and excels, she will be in advanced classes all the way through school and will not even be exposed "much" to the kids that are behavior issues. She will be fine. Trust your daughter/son. They want what is best for their child too. If things don't work out, they will make the decision to change her learning atmosphere.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Originally Posted by SCFriend

If the schools are good, the kids are nice, and the area is where her parents want to settle, then I say she is in a great place. She will feel like all people are equal and she will learn to accept others for who they are not judge by the color of their skin. The same is true of the children that she will be friends with in school.

The interesting thing about schools is that even though she may go to a middle and high that is not exemplary, if she is smart, tries hard, and excels, she will be in advanced classes all the way through school and will not even be exposed "much" to the kids that are behavior issues. She will be fine. Trust your daughter/son. They want what is best for their child too. If things don't work out, they will make the decision to change her learning atmosphere.

Read the whole thread! The OP already came back to say how much she likes the school.

[Canine*Castle]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

Read the whole thread! The OP already came back to say how much she likes the school.

That kind of sounds like an impolite order. Not all of us have the "luxury" of reading entire threads and if the poster responds to the OP's post, I see no harm in giving an opinion whether or not the "problem" has been resolved.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

If you don't read the entire thread, you have no idea what has been said or how it developed. Then your post can sound off topic or ill considered in context.

[cmhackad]

My name is Carla and I am white. (he he) Here is my two cents for what it is worth. I was an army brat and used to moving every 3-4 years. My absolute most difficult year was a year in SC because we moved into a small town community that had grown up together. It was very hard to make friends that year and to ever feel like I "fit in." They were all white. My high school years were spent in El Paso TX and I went to a high school where the population was mostly hispanic. I never felt like an outsider because I was white. I never even thought about it to tell you the truth. Some of the people I met then, I am still friends with today. Not everyone's experience will be the same, but that was mine.

[padcrasher]

Moderator cut: racist
Ft. Worth area SAT scores by school district.

http://www.republictitle.com/outbound/ResGuide/Section%2004%20-%20School-Scores.pdf (broken link)

Do you see the majority minority school districts versus the white districts difference in SAT scores? What does that tell you?

[padcrasher]

Originally Posted by Squirl

UPDATE! Now in the 4th week of kindergarten at Summit International Prep (part of the Uplift Charter school program) I'm so pleased to report that my granddaughter is LOVING IT!!!! She has 3 new BFF's... all reportedly stunning,funny, spunky kids, one of the girls is African American and the other 2 girls are Hispanic. The two girls who are Mexican frequently speak Spanish to each other and my granddaughter now only wants them to speak Spanish to her as well. She is determined to become fluent in Spanish and already is speaking phrases. My son and DIL are delighted, and what makes my sweetie happy, makes Nanno happy!

Yes I didn't catch that your child was this young. This is basically socialization skills at this age. And I wouldn't look at as your child being exposed to Spanish, I'd look at is one less opportunity for your child to be exposed to proper English which is crucial at this young age.

And also, do you think what makes a child in kindergarden "happy" is good indicator of a wise academic choice? ..That's absurd.

[Campeador]

Originally Posted by padcrasher

Yes I didn't catch that your child was this young. This is basically socialization skills at this age. And I wouldn't look at as your child being exposed to Spanish, I'd look at is one less opportunity for your child to be exposed to proper English which is crucial at this young age.

And also, do you think what makes a child in kindergarden "happy" is good indicator of a wise academic choice? ..That's absurd.

Do you use proper English?

"And I wouldn't look at as your child being exposed to Spanish"

"do you think what makes a child in kindergarden "happy" is good indicator of a wise academic choice?"