News for Educational Workers

Race, Segregation, and Ethnic Studies

“A Call for Change,” a new study from the Council of the Great City Schools, documents a far larger achievement gap for young black male students than previous expected. The social inequities start early: “Infant mortality rates are much higher for blacks than for whites, and one out of three black children lived in poverty in 2007, compared with one out of ten white children. Once in school, only 12 percent of fourth-grade black male students performed at or above proficiency levels in reading, compared with 38 percent of white males, and only 12 percent of eighth-grade black males performed at or above proficiency levels in math, compared with 44 percent of their white peers. Black males make up only 5 percent of the college student population . . .” The study rightfully calls this a “national catastrophe.”

On December 18, 2010, the U. S. Senate failed to pass the DREAM Act, legislation that would have provided a chance for U.S. citizenship to undocumented young women and men brought to the United States as young children if they either attended college or performed military service. For a statement from the National Immigration Law Center, go to delatorre@nilc.org.

In January 2009, the Civil Rights Project of UCLA reported that segregation in public schools was far worse in 2006 than in 1988. A current study from Diversitydata.org published figures that show even greater levels of disparity (The Boston Globe, September 21, 2010). Another current study from Northeastern University found that New England has four of the top ten most segregated cities for Hispanic students. For example, in Springfield, Massachusetts, “73 percent of Hispanic students . . . would have to switch schools for enrollment to become desegregated.” The study also found that segregation for black students was highest in cities like Chicago, Milwaukee, New York, Detroit, and Cleveland where “80 percent of black students would have to move to another school in order for the metro area to be completely desegregated” (Minority News, September 22, 2010).

As of January 1, 2011, Ethnic Studies classes are illegal in Arizona. For background on the law, see Revolution #202, May 20, 2010 and for a critique of the legislation, see The Christian Science Monitor, December 31, 2010.

For-Profit Colleges

For-profit educational institutions have become a focus of criticism since the “Frontline” television show began to expose them last year. According to Forbes (October 26, 2010), low-income Americans, because of class, race, or ethnicity, are disproportionately represented at for-profit institutions, often succumb to high pressure predatory recruiting techniques, graduate at very low rates, and have few employment opportunities. As an example (The New York Times, November 23, 2010), the University of Phoenix, the country’s largest for-profit college, graduates only 9 percent of its students within 6 years. A report by the Education Trust found that in 2008, “Only 22 percent of . . . students at for-profit colleges . . . graduate within six years, compared with 55 percent at public institutions and 65 percent at private nonprofit colleges.” Online students fare even worse: only 5 percent graduate within six years. For a highly detailed list of the failures and abuses of for-profits, see “Flogging For-Profit Colleges,” Inside Higher Ed, November 24, 2010. Radical Teacher is preparing a future cluster on For-Profit Education. Please see a Call for Papers in this issue.

International Student Activism

As economic collapse hits the world, education is often the first to suffer. In London, after the Comprehensive Spending Review announced that United Kingdom university funding would be cut by almost 40%, and that tuition would be tripled (www.bbc.co.uk, October 16, 2010), 50,000 students protested and planned November 24, 2010 as a national day of action. Protesters included schoolchildren, parents, and lecturers, with occupations being organized on more than thirty campuses (The Nation, December 20, 2010). For an interview about the November 24 day of protest, see “Democracy Now,” November 11, 2010. For photos and detailed descriptions of the protests across the United Kingdom, see www.guardian.co.uk, November 24, 2010.

Students in Ireland also took to...