So many schools! (15-20 min)

There are so many schools we now know of in Nice White Parents:

• IS 293
• MS 51
• Brooklyn School for Global Citizenship (separate school in basement of IS 293)
• smaller schools broken up from IS 293 and/or renaming of IS 293 since the 1990s (e.g., The Mathematics Academy, The Academy for Performing and Fine Arts, The School for Integrated Learning Through the Arts)
• The School for International Studies (SIS)

Why are there so many schools? MS 51 and the Brooklyn School for Global Citizenship were separate schools from IS 293. But, still, they depended on the existence of IS 293.

Why did all of these schools come to exist? What is their relation to one another, based on how the podcast describes them?

Pick one of these schools and write as much as you can about them, in terms of why they existed. Do this on a separate piece of paper that I may collect. Can be messy, unpolished writing.

• IS 293: argument about where to place the school. Put it somewhere accessible for white and Black and Latino neighborhoods. “Fringe” school to integrate different communities. The White parents around neighborhood wrote letters to make the school closer to them to encourage White families to enroll. None of the letter-writers enrolled their kids and few White families enrolled. People had pride for going there, valued it, part of community (e.g., where to vote, hold events), but lacked in resources over time relative to other schools. Predominantly Black, small White population at first. Black parents were sending letters in 1980s to investigate School Board about their plans to change the school, not acting on best interest of children currently there. MS 51 creating gifted program affected resources for IS 293.
• MS 51: Was used to contrast IS 293, bigger schools and was more well-resourced (e.g., orchestra). Less large-scale changes over time. In same district as IS 293. Got “better” students, trying to attract White families with gifted program.
• The Brooklyn School for Global Citizenship: It was in the basement in IS 293. A lot of conflicts with teachers and students between the two schools. Founded by group of White parents for diverse and academically excelling schools. Only one White family enrolled kids there (of the founding families). Tension with access to facilities and distribution of resources. Tension between the students, felt forced, was a lot of feeling that space once theirs was no longer theirs. Competition, jealousy. Senses of superiority or inferiority. Divisive.
• smaller schools broken up from IS 293 and/or renaming of IS 293 since the 1990s (e.g., The Mathematics Academy, The Academy for Performing and Fine Arts, The School for Integrated Learning Through the Arts): similar deal to above about the basement school.
• The School for International Studies: As school reforms negatively impact IS 293, it rebrands but has poor reputation for a bit. Eventually, gets “better” reputation with the attraction of wealthier and White families, stuff like French program helps with this.

Discussion Post Mix-Up (20-30 min)

Let’s get into three types of groups depending on how many people we have today: a “causes” group, an “effects” group, and a “solution” group. Read excerpts from your classmates Reaction posts and talk about why the changes happened over the years if in “causes” group, the effects of these changes if in the “effects” group, and the possible solutions to these continued problems if in the “solutions” group. Then we will talk as a large group.

Groups 1 and 3: Causes group

Groups 2 and 4: Effects group

Groups 5 and 6: Solutions group

Possible answers to why there were so many changes to IS 293 over the years:

Amira: “It also wasn’t surprising that keeping up the white population in those programs was described as an integration tactic when it did the opposite. The impact of deep-rooted segregation and the lack of effort to address these issues made the plan to merge Global Studies with SIS seem like it presented ‘too many challenges’—just like other initiatives that white parents view as quick fixes for integration but ultimately discard.”

Aidan: “This system was apparently shown in a way that it made It seem as if non-white students were the plain sole cause of problems at schools such as SIS, with the introduction of white families being the only solution to their problems.”

Suleidy: “Through out each episode it all connects to how white parents only seem to care about integration when it benefits their children. These overly involved parents often create a form of segregation within the school system even if it is not physical when they feel integration will take away opportunities from their own children. Parents will often resist when they feel that the push for integration threatens their privilege.”

Milo: “In episode 3 of Nice White Parents, This Is Our School, How Dare You? It became clear that the effort to integrate I.S. 293 was not only about incorporating students of color but also about control. The white parents, who at first were enthusiastic to integrate the school, appeared to care less about the actual distribution of power within the system than they did about the ability to control the end result. One part that stood out to me was how a program was introduced to attract white families, which reinforced the idea that what makes a school valuable is its whiteness.”

Possible effects of these changes

Gilayne: “However, a part that really stood out to me was at 27:42 when it was revealed that the new School for Global Studies would be placed in the basement of this school. In hearing this is felt like a moment of deja vu for me growing up attending public schools in the bronx. While my elementary school was one school, the same couldn’t be said for my middle school (a zoned school) that had a bad reputation in the past and was there broken up into my school, another middle school that had a better reputation, and a charter preschool! It was the weirdest experience to live in because relating to the podcast, it was a given to view these schools as competition even the little kids! Putting myself in I.S. 293’s shoes, when it’s obvious who is treated better in how different the parts of the school may look in relation to who resides there it opens your eyes and can make you feel self conscious about your worth, something I can relate to as a NYC public school student.”

Jhosanna: ” Elijah told me that he had heard of M.S.51, and his mother considered sending him to school there but ultimately chose another school centered around the arts. However, during his tour and other visits there, he told me that the kids enrolled in M.S. 51 had a sense of “superiority” over kids attending other schools in the neighborhood. This further solidifies the episode’s emphasis on how some programs create a sense of privilege for some while simultaneously creating feelings of inadequacy for others.“

Ammar: “Another problem brought up was teachers leaving frequently, like Nadine, who had 6-7 social studies teachers. Even now, teachers are leaving and coming in so frequently that it’s hard to keep track of. Most of the teachers and staff I knew in that school have left, including the more beloved ones.”

David: “Like Nadine, I once believed hard work was enough, but this story showed me that access to resources matters just as much. It made me question how much success is based on effort versus privilege.”

Andre: “As Nadine a former student at IS 293 mentioned in the podcast “better resources, better equipment, better instruments. Everything was top notch” (16:26); many students and teachers at IS 293 felt that the local community board (constituted by white parents) was favoring the gifted programs only for white kids, thus taking resources away from their school. The implementation of the Global Studies School into IS 293, didn’t really accomplish the main goal of increasing “diversity” at schools but rather worsened situation at the school. Implementation of gifted programs and the newly school ultimately reinforced divisions within the school (no integration)

Solutions:

Julia: “Simply sharing the same learning space does not break racial segregation. True fairness can only be achieved by providing each student with an effective and meaningful learning model.”

Minyi: “The fact is that once ‘gifted’ tracks and schools are in place, it is very difficult to dismantle them, but in cities across the country, people are beginning to wonder if it is time. And this ignores the interests of students who are already enrolled. Because of the birth of these two programs, the new students recruited through these two programs may have more opportunities and resources than the old students. I feel like I.S.293 is breaking the integration plan and racial equality of I.S.293 with their own hands in order to gain the favor of more white families, even though there are still few white families enrolled. This blind pursuit of white student enrollment ignores the fact that a good school actually needs to give every student equal education and resources.“

What does that look like, do you think? The “providing each student with an effective and meaningful learning model”?

What does that look like in our own classroom? What constraints do we have? What advantages do we have?

Rhetorical Analysis Things To Notice (10-15 min)

As a group, let’s list as many things as we can to look out for when thinking about the structure, organization, and rhetorical moves in these podcasts. So, what are things that happen in the podcast that are worth paying attention to when writing about how the episodes are structured?:

• Music
• Interviews, different voices
• Long pauses
• How tone of voice shifts
• Questions narrator asks throughout podcast episode
• Background sounds of the environment
• Narrator’s reaction and reflection after interviews
• Choices of organization/structure to set you up for later segments
• Ending of episodes that foreshadow future episodes
• Types of evidence used: interviews, documentation/archival
• How segments transition: pauses, change in music, narration tells you, background sounds

Independent Writing Time (30 min)

Let’s review the first essay for this class again. Where do I find the instructions?!? I can’t remember! Please help me! Please!

Pair off with another student.

Go to this Google Doc. Write your names in one of the tables.

Each of you will state your goal for today’s independent writing session. For example: review notes from an episode or episodes, outline your paper idea, write middle portions of the essay, re-listen to parts of an episode that you want to focus on in your analysis, re-read portions that you already wrote that you would like to revise.

I’ll give you a warning when there are a few minutes left so you can do these last two items: 1) write down how far you got toward your goal, 2) write down your goal for next time, when you sit down to work on your paper next.

So, all together:

1. Write your name in the first column
2. Write your goal in the second column
3. Write how far you got toward your goal (progress is good if there is any progress!) in the third column
4. Write your goal for the next time you sit down to write in the fourth column

Next Time

• Submit your paper as Word doc or PDF on Brightspace by 9:55am tomorrow.
• I will see you tomorrow! Please print out copies of your draft. Have three copies (in case you are in a group of three) available. One for you, one for a partner, and one for another partner.
• Don’t forget about your weekly private writing in your composition book. How do we know what the prompt is for each week?