The book, Inequality in the Promised Land: Race, Resources, and Suburban Schooling by R. L’Heureux Lewis-McCoy uses an ethnography to examine everyday interactions between parents, students, teachers and school administration in order to understand why resources seldom trickle down to a district’s racial and economic minorities (2). Lewis-McCoy observed fourth-grade classrooms in two public elementary schools within the Rolling Acres Public Schools (RAPS) – River Elementary and Cherry Elementary. The study used in-depth interviews with parents, children, teachers, community members, and school administrators (14). In this paper, I will focus on three major concepts: concerted cultivation, parental engagement and the colorblind ideology.
One …show more content…
Parental engagement is often viewed as desirable and is associated with positive school experiences and schooling outcomes. However, according to Lewis-McCoy, parental engagement is multidimensional, and beyond the positive image that is promoted there are negative dimensions as well, which affect the access if all families to a high-quality education. Some types of parental engagement made the educational terrain between white and black and between rich and poor even more uneven (66). Many parents learned about a school’s practices and opportunities via networks of parents. Lewis-McCoy observed three types of networks: formal, semi-formal and informal. Formal networks developed through organizations like the PTA or through “room parents,” which were groups of volunteer parents who coordinated volunteer opportunities, maintained phone trees, and served as brokers for the classroom teacher. For example, room parents would broker relationships with parents in their children’s classrooms by distributing information about upcoming school events and volunteer opportunities (70). Semi-formal parent networks that began in organizations often extend beyond their original purpose; semi formal networks made parents aware of extracurricular experiences and bridged the geographic divisions through emails to parents about upcoming volunteer opportunities. Informal social networks tended to be organized around clusters of friends …show more content…
For example,
I don’t agree with this because I think colorblind ideologies can actually be racist.
Parents should be teaching their children that everyone is different but not in a way that specifically points out that “you’re white, and they’re black.” No one is born racist, it is taught. I think it’s important we acknowledge our differences and different backgrounds. It also goes beyond the home; I think history classes at a young age should go more in-depth when covering important events in our history. For example, slavery shouldn’t just be glossed over. I believe in order to fight colorblind racism we must simply start talking about it. It must be taught in schools. Children should be learning about it. I also think it’s extremely important to listen to people’s stories and struggles because it will certainly enlighten you.
Many white families at Rolling Acres felt the classrooms were diverse. Just because there are minorities in a classroom doesn’t mean they have the same access to resources as other
One …show more content…
Parental engagement is often viewed as desirable and is associated with positive school experiences and schooling outcomes. However, according to Lewis-McCoy, parental engagement is multidimensional, and beyond the positive image that is promoted there are negative dimensions as well, which affect the access if all families to a high-quality education. Some types of parental engagement made the educational terrain between white and black and between rich and poor even more uneven (66). Many parents learned about a school’s practices and opportunities via networks of parents. Lewis-McCoy observed three types of networks: formal, semi-formal and informal. Formal networks developed through organizations like the PTA or through “room parents,” which were groups of volunteer parents who coordinated volunteer opportunities, maintained phone trees, and served as brokers for the classroom teacher. For example, room parents would broker relationships with parents in their children’s classrooms by distributing information about upcoming school events and volunteer opportunities (70). Semi-formal parent networks that began in organizations often extend beyond their original purpose; semi formal networks made parents aware of extracurricular experiences and bridged the geographic divisions through emails to parents about upcoming volunteer opportunities. Informal social networks tended to be organized around clusters of friends …show more content…
For example,
I don’t agree with this because I think colorblind ideologies can actually be racist.
Parents should be teaching their children that everyone is different but not in a way that specifically points out that “you’re white, and they’re black.” No one is born racist, it is taught. I think it’s important we acknowledge our differences and different backgrounds. It also goes beyond the home; I think history classes at a young age should go more in-depth when covering important events in our history. For example, slavery shouldn’t just be glossed over. I believe in order to fight colorblind racism we must simply start talking about it. It must be taught in schools. Children should be learning about it. I also think it’s extremely important to listen to people’s stories and struggles because it will certainly enlighten you.
Many white families at Rolling Acres felt the classrooms were diverse. Just because there are minorities in a classroom doesn’t mean they have the same access to resources as other