First They Came For Urban Black and Latino Moms (For Arne Duncan)
11/17/2013
A few months ago, I walked past a “successful” charter school here in Harlem, NY, speed-walking to get my school supplies for the coming school year. I noticed a huge crowd of mostly Black and Latino families all waiting to pick up their children when a taut, pony-tailed White man came out with a clipboard and yells, “Alright, parents, we need everyone to line up!” My inner voice yelled “What!?” at the entire scene. No one protested. A few snickered and rolled their eyes. They all got in one straight line, parallel to Malcolm X Boulevard to pick up their children.
This would have never gone down at a suburban school.
Think about this in contrast to what US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a recent speech:
“It’s fascinating to me that some of the pushback is coming from, sort of, white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were, and that’s pretty scary,” Duncan said. “You’ve bet your house and where you live and everything on, ‘My child’s going to be prepared.’ That can be a punch in the gut.”
Oh. The HORROR. The racial and mansplaining undertones of this statement deserve the attention (read: outrage) it’s gotten in education circles. Yet, I can’t help but feel odd about the outrage about this racialized comment, benign compared to Duncan’s Katrina comment. When the Katrina comment happened, I was happy with the idea of holding Duncan accountable to his statement. I wanted Duncan to see that it’s immoral to suggest that passing his agenda via the deaths of close to two thousand people in the Gulf Coast region was a good idea. Many politicians and pundits profess that education reform is forall students, but the general public understands that ed reform comes on the backs of our most disadvantaged students, many of them poor children of color (and poor whites as well).
Context matters.
The outrage to his latest comment about white suburban moms only underscores the threshold for who we speak out for and who we don’t. My recent post about white privilege brought out supporters of all colors, many of whom were people who identify as White. For that, I’m appreciative. Yet, a few dissenters (all of whom profess to want better for children) either argue that it’s not about race, but about the kids OR won’t respond period, as if having a discussion about Trayvon Martin is equivalent to having a discussion about the way we approach race in life as a whole, or within people we ought to consider colleagues. I would have loved to hear a similar outrage about the way parents in poor urban schools get thrown into a web of bureaucracy and behaviorist politics.
I get the offense, and understand the need for flexing a bit of political muscle to hold Duncan accountable again. The package deal of the Common Core State Standards has me, at best, leery of the nonsense. Just don’t expect me to get riled up, either. I’ve been mad. Perhaps you should have been angry with us, back when the levees broke …
Jose
*** photo c/o http://www.pih.org/blog/u.s.-secretary-of-education-arne-duncan-meets-emgirl-rising-em-star-in-hait ***
p.s. – What Melinda said.
p.p.s. – What Mike Doyle said.
The post First They Came For Urban Black and Latino Moms (For Arne Duncan) appeared first on The Jose Vilson.
Fred Klonsky 
Duncan is an Ivy League know nothing that never taught a class in his life. A political lifer put into office by cronyism. Don’t be mad just consider the source. How we can afford to allow non educators make decisions on schools is beyond me. Between Vallas and Duncan not an ounce of credibility ever happened in Chicago.
Thanks for sharing, Fred.
The point (erroneous & stupid as it, in fact, is) that Duncan is attempting to make her is that “…their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were, and that’s pretty scary…”
Not yelling–again, can’t import the bold–the SCHOOL ISN’T QUITE AS GOOD AS THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE, and that’s PRETTY SCARY.” Yes–right–now our suburban schools–schools that have won the title “School of Excellence”–“ISN’T QUITE AS GOOD AS THEY THOUGHT THEY WERE.” And that’s the point of the Common Core and “standardized” Pear$on testing, people. NOW the SUBURBAN schools are lousy–and the kids are all dumb–and–hey, let’s turn ALL the schools into charter schools, because these schools are NOT “quite as good as they thought they were.” THAT’s the point of Common Core and the creation of “Tests that all students EVERYWHERE were meant to fail so that we can keep this charter school gravy train running!
A few years ago, New Trier High School–considered one of the best in the country–failed–FAILED to achieve AYP for at least 2 years (why? because of their special ed. subgroup–they did not achieve at 70% {ONLY 68%!}). So–the New Trier families received “choice” letters–that is, since their school did not make AYP (on those wonderful, “standardized” tests)–parents could send their kids to another high school (in a nearby suburb) that HAD made AYP. Living in this community, I can tell you that there was much laughter and paper crumpling going on in New Trier area homes. Many, in fact, probably played “basketball” with their letters while tossing them into wastebaskets from Winnetka to Wilmette (!) to Glencoe. But, then, one sees where this all comes from–TOTAL control of our public schools, and more money to be made for the like$ of Pear$on, AU$L, and whatever charter school corporation$ are waiting to steal our schools–ALL our schools. The final frontier, as it were.
Oh, and Jose–by ALL means, Arne should most CERTAINLY have been fired immediately following his Katrina/NOLA comment–I have always thought that. But, then, who should have fired him, and who continues to praise, to echo and to perpetrate Arne’s sickening agenda? President Obama.
I’m too disgusted to comment further.