(Blog 8) "The Problem We All Live With" Parts I and II, "Separate and Unequal" by Bob Herbert, and the Brown vs. Board of Education website

ARGUMENT

     Since there are three separate pieces to look at for this week's blog, I decided to talk about each of their arguments individually, and then connect the three at the end. I first listened to the radio show, "The Problem We All Live With". There were a few different speakers on this podcast, but they all had the same argument; integrated schools are very beneficial for student's education. The podcast talks about the Normandy school in Missouri. In 2013, it was very behind in racial matters. When the school wanted to bring in kids from a less fortunate background, the parents reactions were shocking. One parent even mentioned that they were worried about their child getting stabbed. The blatant racism is hard to listen to, and the teenage speaker in the show really proves this racism. She had, first hand, experience on what it is like to be treated differently because of your skin color. For the time being that the school was integrated, the new student's education improved greatly. However, as stated, it was too much for everyone, and sadly, they did not continue it. Overall, this radio show was very surprising, but definitely showed that racism still exists today.

     In "Separate and Unequal", Bob Herbert's main argument is that there is still segregation in schools, and that this segregation is holding students back from their full potential. He is very big on the matter of integrated schools. Separating students automatically makes their education unequal. Keeping kids that have bad tendencies with similar peers can only make them worse. They need motivation. It is very similar to putting someone out of shape into a running competition. That person will see everyone else running much faster than them, and it'll only discourage them. They'll most likely feel bad about themselves and will give up on trying to run faster. 

     I then explored the Brown vs. Board of Education website. While they don't really have an argument, their work relates closely to this podcast and reading. It is for the exact cause that these resources are arguing. I found the project's history very interesting. Integration in schools would not be what it is today if it weren't for this association. 

     To relate these three resources, they all have very similar arguments. They all stress the importance of mixing students from poverty backgrounds (who are doing poorly in school), with students that are more fortunate. They kids that are doing better in school can really influence students who have worse grades. They will catch up much faster, and all the students will have a chance to be equal. Overall, these resources send a huge and important message.

QUESTION: After listening about the Normandy school, I looked up their website. They seem to be a lot more diverse than back in 2013. However, I did find this issue that happened two years later. I also noticed that on the Brown vs. the Board of Education website, they had no accomplishments on their timeline since 2003. Do you think the issue of integration is still around in 2018? If so, what could we do to get less diverse schools to expand their racial backgrounds?