Over the past several weeks, I listened to the podcast Nice White Parents, which discusses the influence and power white parents have on the school system and the systemic, unequal opportunities students have for success.
Brown v Board of Education declared segregated public schools were unconstitutional. Over half a century later, we still see inequalities (see School Segregation Still Exists). NWP explores the notoriously segregated New York school system, specifically the story of an influx of white kids who decide to attend a traditionally underprivileged school in Brooklyn. When white parents wanted something, they got it. White parents showed up with donors, fundraisers, and ways to transform a school as marketable to other white parents.
White parents first arrived to the School for International Studies (SIS) with the expectation they could create a dual-language French program. The new group of white parents was led to SIS by fellow parent Rob, who encouraged others to send their child to school at SIS with this promise. For this to occur, funding would be necessary. Rob, who worked in fundraising, along with other new parents set up a gala to obtain funding. The PTA parents were upset as these new parents walked in, started fundraising and making changes without consulting the original PTA committee. This dynamic can relate to Spivak’s subaltern theory. White parents arrive and start making changes giving the original group of parents very little – if any– power to contribute. White parents pushed their agenda as if the other parents were mute. While circumstances are drastically different, you can see a similar dynamic when missionaries arrive to foreign places and enforce their customs onto locals. SIS had a way of running before white parents showed up, but they’re here now with money & additional resources belittling the power of the original parents.
This podcast caused me to re-evaluate the schools I attended growing up. My elementary school was almost all white and came from neighborhoods of mid to upper-class socioeconomic status. Of the two middle schools in our system, there was the ‘ghetto’ and ‘non-ghetto’ school. What made one ghetto vs. non-ghetto was the socioeconomic status of students which impacted what part of town they came from.
A theme consistent with NWP in my own community is the power of reputation. NWP makes their argument clear: white parents can make or break a school. Where white students go, others follow and so does money. This holds true for my elementary school. Reputation is huge. Families aggressively try to live within the school zones and currently face overcrowding accommodate the influx of families moving in.
The path to success is easier for some than others depending on what socioeconomic status you belong to which directly impacts opportunities you have. The inequality in schools is one part of an unequal system that seeps into other aspects of life created by the money you have to buy opportunities to success.
Nice White Parents is published by Serial Productions, a New York Times Company. If you are curious to learn about this topic, I encourage you to listen to Nice White Parents for free through Apple Podcast or Spotify.
References
Camera, Lauren. “More Than 60 Years After Brown v. Board of Education, School Segregation Still Exists.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 2016, www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-05-17/after-brown-v-board-of-education-school-segregation-still-exists.
Joffe-Walt, Channa. “Episode One: The Book of Statuses.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 July 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/podcasts/nice-white-parents-serial.html?action=click.
Serial & The New York Times. “Nice White Parents on Apple Podcasts.” Apple Podcasts, 20 Aug. 2020, podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nice-white-parents/id1524080195.
Serial & The New York Times. “Nice White Parents – Serial & The New York Times.” Spotify, Serial & The New York Times, open.spotify.com/show/7oBSLCZFCgpdCaBjIG8mLV?si=Jq5GwWpyRw6VoocZg3F8ow.
Hi! Wow, I really enjoyed reading through your diary of systemic injustices showcase, and also cannot help but relate to this idea of white parents coming in to invade, and getting what they want. I also was completely oblivious to this before reading your post. Your post really opened my eyes to how this happens all around the world, but also in my home town. I too had a “ghetto” and “non-ghetto” school, where white PTA parents were often the reason for a lot of funding for my school. Overall, I really liked your showcase and how it opened my eyes to something that’s been happening under my nose for years.
To add to this, we see the long term effects that this has on specific schools and districts. Districts that are primarily white tend to have more reputation and more money to spend, while primarily non-white schools and districts receive less money and accolade. Teachers want to work in well funded schools because they are able to receive better compensation for their work. This allows for well funded schools to obtain better teachers and students receive better grades.
This makes so much sense! I come from a small town, mainly middle/upper class and am white myself so looking at this really opened my eyes to this problem. Although we had colored students, I couldn’t tell you a time when I saw a colored member on our school district’s PTA board. This is so sad and most importantly doesn’t create an inclusive environment in school. The problem I always had was that these women that were on the board in my high school were highly conservative and took their values and translated it over to our school. If you ask me, politics shouldn’t be a matter in high schools as it shapes student’s opinions and blinds them from their own opinion they weren’t able to come up with themselves.
I really enjoyed being able to read this systemic injustice. I also related a lot of my experiences to the few comments made on this post as well. I was part of a very rural, small town high school that lacked in student diversity. We had students of color, but almost all students and all staff were white. I also did a diary entry during one of the weeks on the hidden racial bias in the education system. It was defiantly an eye opening read because you do not realize how it really can affect a students ability to succeed. The education system is here to guide and shape these students, but at the same time it is failing some.
Hey there,
I found what you posted to be quite enlightening, as I did not think of the impact that white parents would have on things such as the classification of “ghetto” and “non-ghetto” schools. Where I grew up, we had the same type of scenario, and it never occurred to me what could cause it just besides a name. While I agree, being of high socioeconomic status does give you more opportunities, I feel that it is more based on the drive of the individual. With things like FASFA and such, giving opportunities to those who not as rich as others to have a chance at making a difference in the world.
Hi! This post was very interesting to read and brought many details to my attention about the impact white parents have in school systems. Growing up, I went to school in a school district of mostly white students then moved a city over to a school that was also referred to as “ghetto”. After attending both schools I realized the difference in value parents had for the school districts. I really enjoyed reading this post as it pointed out realities I experienced but failed to realize were there. Thank you!
Hello
This post really opened my eyes about how so called “whites” can get whatever they please. I went to a predominately white school growing up and then moved during high school to a predominantly black school. After reading this and thinking back to when I attended both of those schools it makes sense why my mom wanted me to have a more diverse life and how parents were exposed differently to bake sales and fundraising. Obviously the white school was more about fundraising and trying to be one community, while the black school was more about being one community and not much about fundraising.
Hi! This is a really nice post that I learned a lot from. I think that systemic injustices of this nature are more common than any of us understand in today’s world and this post summed up one of them that I usually don’t think of. This post even made me look back on my own early education and think of the lack of diversity in the schools that I was sent to. I was sent to a Catholic Elementary school and a Catholic high school and never thought of the privilege involved. While this is greatly my own fault, I also was not exposed to anything else, it is what I knew. I really appreciated reading this showcase to help me understand the issues and privilege involved in schools in the United States.