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April 2nd, 2012
10:25 PM ET
Kids on Race: School diversity matters
The AC360° study results indicate exposure to diversity is key for children, and young African-American kids are more optimistic about race than white kids.
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Post by: Anderson Cooper, Soledad O'Brien Filed under: Kids on Race • Race in America |
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The commercial for this show includes the words "what we should be teaching them" referring to what we "should" be teaching our kids about race implying that "we" are not up to the task. So, CNN is now the great, judgemental, all knowing guru that will show us how to raise our kids and what to teach them?
That episode with the parents listening to their children was amazing. More of that type of dialogue could be the key to solving a tremendous amount of sadness and misunderstanding.
Children learn behavoir from conscious and unconscious cues at home. Race is not a predictor of behavior. Its that simple.
My kids learned more about race at school than at home – we never talked about "race" just about Susie, Joey, Robert, etc. By middle school the kids were all self-segregating and culteral differences were dictating things – the Jewish kids were all hanging out together, the Catholic kids (who were likely to go to a Catholic high school), the black kids, etc. Then in high school the black kids all wanted to go to the "black school" and the Jewish kids the "Jewish school" and my kids came home with definite sterotypes – JAPS, ghetto, the black kids calling each other the N word. We have to stop blaming the parents and the teachers and get the kids to take responsibility – we're in an upscale, highly educated diverse area FYI. Kids can't perpetuate ethnic racial stereotypes and expect a different outcome.
Acts of racism occur everyday in this nation. What sets it apart, like the Trayvon matter, is the official sanctioning of racism. by officials in a position of authority. Denial of racism and discrimination is a inherent part of this nations racial history. For 8 years I have tried to expose "State Sponsored Racism" by the NH Judicial Branch where white court officials used my son's race and skin color t0 violate the law, rule of law, equal protection clause and Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by ordering him to attend high minority, high poverty, de facto residentially segregated persistently failing school system in the midst of an area of high drug, crime and gang related activities yet the medial isn't interested because it implicates the NH Supreme Court Justices, Governor and the former Attorney General now Senator of racial and gender bias, first amendment retaltion and color of law violation. This is how society works. Had it not been for my extensive background and education in law enforcement/criminal justice I could easily be sitting behind bars because of a retaliatory first amendment arrest due my outspoken opposition to "State Sponsored Racism" in New Hamsphire where Black children are not allowed to live in a white middle class state. We all know racism when we see it. What's Up Anderson and CNN, why the medial bias and blackout. My son is the modern day example of Unlawful Court ordered racial segregation in education perpetrated by the NH Judicial Branch and affirmed, without opinion, by the NH Supreme Court. This is the kind of injustice African Americans routinely suffer at the hand of a corrupt and biased criminal justice system. I've repeatedly challenged the Justices and the Governor to an on-air public debate about racism in tsociety and the court system. As long as there is no national public debate on racism and bias, incidents like mine will continue to happen.
Unfortunately, as a white substitute teacher at racially diverse schools, I have an almost daily behavior problems with black male students. The problems start as soon as they enter the classroom, inappropriate language, disrespectful toward other students and me, unable or unwilling to focus on what the class is doing. Even before I have said a word to the class. It has gotten so stressful, because I don't want to feel racist. And there are plenty of great black male students too. But day after day seeing the same problems surface with this population is so distressing.
Are these high school/middle school or elementary kids/
The study shows that at about 13 years, the attitudes of the kids change quite some