<p>This is a very candid look at how students at Phillips Andover feel about race and diversity at their school. <a href="http://pdf.phillipian.net/2014/02282014.pdf">http://pdf.phillipian.net/2014/02282014.pdf</a></p>
<p>I can’t help being a little bit surprised that some of this stuff (“You speak so well!”) is still pervasive. It makes me sad. </p>
<p>I applaud Andover for addressing this issue. I am sure it is not an issue only at that school. </p>
<p>Well, while I am sure racial differences/conflicts are on the school administration’s radar, just as socioeconomic ones are, I wouldn’t categorize this article as an effort from the school in looking into and tackling the issue. It is a commentary written by a student. I am also surprised by what’s described by the author, and I feel for the kid. I think maybe no matter what measures are being taken, being a tiny minority of a community is just not easy.
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<p>There were several articles and the one written by the girls really hit home. My AA daughter is at an even less diverse school and I know it has been more difficult than she expected. </p>
<p>Sorry my bad. I just read one and started talking. Didn’t even realize there were several articles. I took my comments back, at least part of it…</p>
<p>Yes, there are quite a few pieces in that paper. I may have jumped the gun on congratulating the administration, but I expect that there will be some renewed efforts akin to those made after the recent feminist discussions. </p>
<p>I had hoped that the current generation of privileged white kids were less likely to have developed the biases of previous generations.</p>
<p>FWIW, I have not observed any racial discord at my son’s school. It is a relatively small population, so that may have something to do with it. There is a clear socio-economic divide though- it is clear not only in the clothing choices made by the wealthy to distinguish themselves, but also in presumptions made by some adults on campus. As an example, my kid was the only one who didn’t have a smart phone freshman year, and he had to tell a teacher that he was unable to follow certain instructions because he did not have this type of phone. She told him to use his free time to go to the library instead. ALL semester. :(</p>
<p>@Rellielou That does not seem fair! Then again, life isn’t fair… </p>
<p>See, I have an entirely different way of looking at this. I’m 100% Hispanic, first generation. My mom was born and raised in Puerto Rico by a Cuban mother and a Puerto Rican Dad. My dad was born and raised in Cuba and escaped just before Castro took over. I was raised by a Mexican nanny in Texas until I was 4 years old. I spent my formative years in Puerto Rico, where I never fit in (I was a “gringa” there because of my American accent and my very European white skin), then moved to New England where, despite being in one of the most diverse cities in the country, I was again treated differently. I constantly heard, “But you don’t look Puerto Rican!” or “You don’t even have an accent!” or worse, “Yeah, but you’re not one of <em>THOSE</em> Puerto Ricans. You’re educated.” YES, acceptance is everyone’s responsibility, but I think we as a society put WAY too much emphasis on race and ethnicity rather than on the person. I was almost always the only Hispanic in many situations (work, school, social circles), and yet I never felt isolated because I had no other people “like me” around. I just enjoyed my friends, co-workers, etc, for who they were. Did that make me any less “Hispanic?” Maybe, but at least I didn’t dwell on feeling “different” and worked very hard at earning people’s respect and friendship through having them get to know me rather than force them to “tolerate” or “accept” my ethnicity. I think sometimes making race and ethnicity such a big issue backfires and it makes people LESS rather than more receptive to accept others who are different from them. There will always be ignorant people around - we are far from protected from that, regardless of race, gender, etc - and we have NO control over how others think or act, but what we CAN control is our reaction to them. And it’s my humble opinion as a Latino (I prefer Hispanic, but that’s just me… I’m “old school!” LOL!) that I earned much more respect and acceptance by letting people get to know me as a person rather than by accentuating my differences in order to feel more accepted by my peers. Did I compromise my identity? Absolutely not! I’m a proud Hispanic woman who has raised her half-Hispanic, half-white kids with as much of the Puerto Rican and Cuban culture possible in our very homogeneous town. I dedicated years of my life to work as an inner city bilingual education teacher. So it is entirely possible to belong to a larger yet homogeneous community without sacrificing your identity. I just hope that many if not most of these kids are able to develop a sense of belonging regardless of a few people’s ignorant comments and not feel like they are missing out on who they are in the process.</p>