High School Principal Suggests Segregated School Meetings
By News One May 5, 2009 10:26 am
This story comes to us from the state of California, which, ironically, was the first state to desegregate schools, seven years before the game-changing Brown vs. Board of Education decision. Did you know that? Watch the video below:
From Pasadena Star News:
Parents and students of Pasadena High School are furious after the school’s principal thought it would be a good idea to have segregated assemblies, according to the Pasadena Star News. The separate assemblies was an attempt to motivate Latino and African-American students to improve their test scores but only resulted in outraging parents and the student body.
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What’s up to my people. First off I just want to say that ironically I just left a very republican anti everybody town meeting on our struggling school district, and I must say too most of these comments the same thing I said to them which is ” Get over it!”
Get over the Reagan years, get over racism, get over slavery, get over JFK, get over MLK, get over Malcom X ( a real activist ) get over the bulls**t and let’s stay focused on the real issues.
I’m not saying let’s forget what has happen. But this is a relationship that we have with each other as Americans.
If you went out and cheated on your spouse, and they found out. There’s only two roads too take. Either they forgive you and move on, or they don’t forgive you, and stay stuck in the past.
Blacks are not about to revolt against the government because of past treatment of the race so get over this racism crap!
All this principal did was what he felt was the right way too address some issues, and now he’s being hung over it.
We need more caring principals, and teachers in our schools teaching our children. They don’t do it for the pay believe it, or not. They just care about our youth.
Let’s stop hanging people just because of their misinterpreted actions, and stay focused.
Hell, the Klan hung blacks, and whites because of misinterpretation not so long ago, and let’s not forget the native Indians that also suffered.
Let’s stop playing this ” Mother may I . .” blame game people, and get real.
This is not an issue, it’s just the media taking people off focus from the real issues. . . .
Keep your eyes on the ball.
tomslick 04 im sick and tried of house n****rs like you thinking you are ameriklan.you dont have the right to vote. i see you look at to much white peoplls tel- lie vision . respect th motherland f**k america
One more post. If the man in this story feels that this was wrong why is his organization named “Latin American Student Association” and not the “American Student Association”: see below.
Senior David Flores, a member of the school’s Latin American Student Association, said while Evans intentions may have been sincere, the execution was poor.
I’m a father of 4. My daughter goes to school in Moreno Valley and my sons go to school in Norwalk. I have no problem with the Principle action. Reason 1: Majority of Mexican parents don’t understand English nor do majority of Americans understand Spanish. 2. I have been in countless assemblies that our conducted in English only to be held in Spanish after the English. 3. English is the State and Country’s national language, so every assembly I’m sitting for an extra hour listen to something I don’t understand. (What could you do with an extra hour). 4. The Principle did not do anything wrong. he just held separate meetings. (Hispanic Caucus and African American Caucus one governing body to address two different concerns). Think if you are Spanish speaking you show up an hour early to listen to gibberish. If you’re English speaking you stay an hour later to listen to gibberish. Maybe this was a way to address the concerns within the Hispanic and African-American community as it relates to their culture. (Side note: Whenever my daughter or sons school tries to deliver a assembly in Spanish I either protest or walk out. No disrepect to the Spanish speaking population. I’m American of African descent. My country and state language is English. So any government event should be conducted in the English language. If not, as Americans you have a right to protest. (Would they be this kind in their country to translate for you or would you have to find someone who understands English to translate for you). America first don’t lose this culture. We have already lost one.
Wow. I don’t even know what to comment on. First of all I understand your sentiment sir, but going back to Africa is NOT the answer. As another poster mentioned Africans don’t just live in harmony and love each other just because they’re black. That doesn’t even make sense. There are billions of people there, and people will ALWAYS find a basis to differentiate each other. Race is only an issue in the “first world” for the most part. I guarantee you that if you were to move to any African country they would see you and your family as outsiders. That’s not to say that EVERYONE would treat you badly, but you would not be seen as an African. Identity is what f**ks people’s heads up in the first place. Segregating the students for the meetings will only mess their heads up worse with the idea of being different from other students as if race means anything in the first place.
And like the guy below said, we all speak the same language (most of us at least) and watch the same brainwashing television so we (as Americans) have a lot more in common than most Africans have in common with the majority of the other Africans on the continent. Moving back there will not solve anything.
With all that being said, I think we could benefit heavily from networking with Africans and other immigrants that aren’t as racially concerned as people in countries like the U.S. and UK are. I think “black people” is an idea that does not resonate as loud in a place like Africa where most people are black. However networking and collaborating with an outsider with resources that we don’t have here in America (particularly black America) can do us a lot more good than any welfare system or talk of migrating to the motherland could ever do. I feel your frustration but you should be a little more realistic. (And I’m not claiming to be holier than thou because I used to feel the same way when I learned of how much injustice, slaughter, torture, and torment had gone down in history based on the idea of race.) We (human beings) shall overcome though
If you read the entire article, you’ll find his heart was in the right place, he simply lost everyone in the execution. I don’t believe he intended to offend, however, common sense should have prevailed. Had it, he would have realized this suggestion would only fan a flame.
DJFrost1 ,05.06.09…time 10:43A.M. I THINK IF WE DO MORE ABOUT OUR CHILDERN”S GRAEDS THAN LOOKEN AT WAY”STO TAKE UP TIME WE”D BE A BETTER POEPLE. THE WHITE POEPLE LOOK OUT FOR THEIR OWN ,AND THE LATEENO’S LOOKOUT FOR THEIR POEPLE ,BUT US BLACK”S WE AER AS SEPRIT AS OIL AND WATER .IASK YOU ,WHY IS THAT? THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME IN READING THIS, AND THE NEWSE CLIPING .AND HAVE A GOOD DAY… HAPPY MOTHER”SDAY…
Let me just say this…unless every Black or Latino student has the lowest score then every white student…then this was the wrong way to handle this. Why not have the meetings with the students based on their scores…regardless of race? Why talk to a Black student who’s score was HIGH (assumming this is the case) about improving his grades…if he already has high scores? By the same token…what about the white students that had low scores? Again..unless every white student had a higher score then every lack or latino…this was a bad decision.
I think the Principals heart was in the right place, but if he wanted to improve performance he should have had a general assembly and addressed his issues. If what he said did not apply to certain students then they are free to disregard what he says. But to single out certain races is inappropriate. I find it quite interesting that there was not one caucasian student who had low performance since no caucasians were invited to the assembly. What message does that send to the caucasian students when they see all the African American and Latino students missing from class? Whether the teachers or the students in the assembly told the caucasian students the purpose of the assembly that the reason for the African American and Latino’s absence is that they are the students with the lowest performance, leaves a stain in the minds of all the students. What does that do to their self-esteem? This is very sad and I would expect more from a principal. If the principal wanted to help why didn’t he find the resources to implement programs to help the students. Saturday school, after school tutoring, guaranteeing bus rides home to those who come to school when it is not in session. Or why didn’t the principal find out the underlying issues of why the students aren’t learning? Give them an aptidude test to see where they are, their strengths and weaknesses, and formulate plans with the teachers to help them learn. People have different learning styles and some people need a little more help in certain areas. Whether the student learns visually by flowcharts, by reading, or by hearing matters. And why didn’t the principal involve the parent(s) by asking them to help with their kids learning and make the parent(s)aware that the student could fail if he/she does not improve. This is a community effort that needs the school and the parent’s teamwork. All the students need to write essays of a normal day in their lives and the school can read them and compare them with the students of higher performance and find out what obstacles are preventing the students from learning.
I am white but not american. I am Romanian living in Nigeria, Makurdi. I am the only white there, but not this is the topic…
how can somebody segregate the schools? In schools we don`t learn only science but also how to behave with diferend kind of persons.
I see nigerian schools public and private (weak). In big cities like Lagos, Port Hancourt, Abudja or to a leasser extend Warri where those schools are not segregated and where childrens learn to accept each other irrespective of their tribe or religion. They learn to become modern citizens and nigerians. and i see the segregated schools in makurdi, ibadan, maiduguri and jos. the interethnicall conflicts are very often and distrust exist. the education level is even more low in those schools.
To that person that write that african-americans must go back to “motherland”: Africa exist only when you look from outside. I would say more: even Nigeria exist only when you are outside. only 2,5% of population call themself nigerians (those coming from mixed nigerian-non-nigerian marriages). for the rest the ethnicall-tribal appartenence is even more important. For surre the diference between nigerian tribes is bigger then that between ethnicall groups in USA. Diferent leanguages, diferent culture, diferent religion and diferent behavior… to give an extreme sample : for yoruba is no shame to pi in public places… more they never shutt up the toalet door when they use it. for houssa or bini it can`t be… I can give many other samples… still those peoples live in more or less armony together in cities like lagos. and you, americans, can`t evoluate the “racial” problem and topics. you are all americans why to took so much about “ethnicity”?
Reading some of the comments below and the parent feedback in the article outline just how stupid and hyper-sensitive we’ve become as a society. Who actually bothered to READ the whole article? Too many words? Damn…
What I read out of the article – when filtering out the “my feelings are so hurt” crap… – is that the Principal was NOT attempting to segregate the school. He was merely trying to hold targeted motivational meetings with specific groups to address performance issues.
Those of you who actually graduated school might remember that not all ethnic groups played well together. Peer pressure in High School is tougher than during any other time in your life.
Holding these meetings with separate groups might have actually helped focus on the content of the message – and less on how this would look across the entire student body.
Imagine it at the workplace – would you rather have your boss call you out in front of everybody – or call you into his/her office for a one on one? What about if it affects your group within a larger department? Should management address it with that group or call it out in front of everybody? “Accounting – you’ve done a fantastic job – except those losers over in in Accounts Payable – they just don’t have their act together…” – how productive would that be?
I’m using that as an example – not saying that the segregated groups were losers in need of a reprimand – but the concept remains the same. On the contrary – these meetings were supposed to be “motivational”.
So rather than trying to focus on the effort – it’s much easier to pull the whiny “race” card and create another drama festival….
i think the principal was wrong and should have tryed another idea to present this like in latino/afro-am histoy month first ,to show diversity not to sepaerate sperate is not equal it was already proven with brown vs. bd. of ed. we our a complex ,yet diverse nation when it come to race and racism. we have fought as all maericans against this kind of thinking to seperate ouselve we are all here by choice NOW, if we dont like we dont have to stay here .I am not ashamed of my families multicultural heritage i am proud of it, and i embrace it ,there is no pure race .my children and grandchildren have a free choice in education and all things because we r in america, where we have these choices,the parents there did the right thing to protest there greivances for there children . the pricipal could have also tried mass tutoring like the did at my son school which happen to b a chater school,and bring in motivational speaker of a of all races to motivate the children, i have experince this as a adult in college now and it has changed me too.my g- children r latino /native-am jamaican/afro-am ,and if i was a parent in Pasedena i would have protested too.we all bleed red blood and have bones , we look different on the outside, on our skin-eyes, but we all want what right and fair and equal for ourselves and our children, that we have all faught for in this country since its conception.
I can respect SOME of what the poster above me said. BUT! And it’s a BIG “BUT”, whether “we” admit it or not we ARE NOT AFRICANS. And by the below posters on words “we even not africans” but yet in the same breath “lets go back to our continent and be true redeemers of the mother land”. WHICH IS IT? That’s EXACTLY like when the Neo-Nazis,Klan,etc DENY the Holocaust, but then turn around and say “6 million more”. It’s EXTREMELY UNREALISTIC that any significant number of Black folks,African-Americans,etc are going to up and leave to go to the “Motherland”. Sorry it’s just not going to happen.
First of all MrMan18, the word when you are referring to another person is “their” or “they’re”, not “there”.
Parents need to take more responsibility for their children education. As a parent if I know my child’s grades are slipping I would have a conversation with the child, teacher/principal to ensure we were on the same page, the ultimate goal is to ensure my child gets the best education possible.
The principal doesn’t have a realistic view on life; he’s forcing these children to think that they are not as smart as their white counterparts.
I wish people would remember that in real life we have to work and go to school with all cultures! So it’s only fitting that while we’re in school we learn how to work with and get the same education as everyone else. This way we can compete on the same level with them instead of standing on the sidelines.
MrMan18, even if you did go back to the “Motherland”, you still have to compete with white people, Indian people and Africans who are better educated than yourself!
MrMan18, ease up off the controlled substance before you ever post another comment…this principal is a idiot. Segregation is a stupid, unrealistic, and counter-progressive way to conduct any type of human relations-ESPECIALLY in a school. We as Adults may need some proper re-education ourselves, if we are letting such thinking still permeate our society.
lol….
“let’s go back to our continent”
I’m already in my continental ‘mother land’ bruh…
but ummmm……BYE.
also thats a seriously ignorant statement below my own, but thats just my humble opinion…I’m sure many would agree with it.
THE PARENTS & STUDENTS SHOULD BE UPSET THE DAMN PRINCIPAL SHOULD BE FIRED. AND TOO THE PERSON THAT SAID THEY SHOULD SEGREGATED THE SCHOOLS U ARE A DUMB ASS. I BET THAT U ARE WHITE.
i think its a good idea. the same motivation that is used on europeans is different for africans and so called latinos. we need to stop all that we have the same blood whining talk and wake up. we do we think that what is done for europeans is needed for the rest of us. or we think its best. i think the school need to segregate big time. we learn different. our taste is different. our understanding on life is different. that was a stupid mistake anyway(desegregating the schools).why do we think we need there education. we made this country with out there help. the only thing they have done is claim it as there creation. europeans are very overrated in many forms. the only thing they are good at is stealing, deceiving, and mass murdering. its a fact look it up. you can get mad at me and say other wise but its in record. we wont be able to integrate till we learn our selves. we are not black but yet we accept that. we even not africans but yet we take that. its many things we have to do to reconnect after that is done. we can deal with other stuff. lets go back to our continent and be true redeemers of the mother land