Got to say… I’m thrilled with the conversations that have sprung up on our discussion forum around the issue of self-segregation that I wrote about last week. I’m not going to post the entire thread… but we’ve had teachers and students writing about the issue… and it’s been talked about in our classrooms and our cafe… and kids are looking at the issue and trying to make smart, informed decisions about the meaning of the word "diversity," and in the end, that’s all we can ask.

Student voice:

I don’t think we mean to segregate our selfs but we just hang out with friends from our old schools or people we knew before or people you take the bus with. So it is more segregated by schools and neighborhoods than race. However, Philadelphia’s neighborhoods are pretty segregated by race. so if people went to their neighborhood schools than they aren’t use to the diversity here. I think eventually we will all get to know everyone and it won’t seam so segregated. That is just what i see anyway.

Student voice:

Mr. Lehmann, I know I sit with alot of black kids but it’s not on purpose. When I came here from [her school] [another black student] came with me and so did [another black student]. They happen to be black and since I knew them already I hang with them. But mostly I think we seperate not on purpose but we sit with the people we know from our old schools. Thats just what I think..but I do know that we could all break apart from our "comfort zones". And meet different people.

Teacher voice:

Are we seeing the clubs segregating? I haven’t, but I haven’t been looking for it either. I’ve noticed that few (if any) of my poetry kids are white – and there’s nothing inherently "black" about poetry. How about drill team? And the other clubs?

Student voice:

Well, like [student] said it really isn’t on purpose. Now the school I came from [school] when it first opened it was very inter-racial. But as the years went on there became less white students. Now if you know the area i’m talking about around the school there is a lot of little kids that are white and do go to [that school]. But there are not as many older white kids in the upper grades. Now I don’t know whhy that is, but that does "limit your choices" as you might say. But like my friend is trying to transfer here right now and yes she is white and if she was here right now she would be sitting at our table. And it’s also about friends and close friends. At SLA I have plenty of friends that are not the same race as me but technically since I don’t know them as well to be my close friends. And of course I would sit with my close friends and talk to my friends. Now some people I still don’t know. And at my old school I remember one day out of the year they would give a student a random number that signified what table we would sit at and some tables still had one race. Now if I could make a sugestion I would suggest that one every two months or once a quarter we could put all the tables together pick one topic randomly and we all talk about it. Not in little small groups but as one big group.

Student voice:

When I was at [school], then there were only 4 all white people in the whole 8th grade. But in the lower grades then there were a lot of white kids. Almost more then the black kids. That’s how it was when I was in the lower grades too, but then all of the white kids started to leave. I don’t know why this is, because eerybody says that [school] is one of the top elementary schools in philly. But, I sit with people from my old school, and they happen to be black. It’s jsut the people that I know. But, the other people that I hang out with, I’ve only known since the week of orientation. It’s just that we have a lot of things in common. The other people that I hang out with i’ve only known since school started, and some of them are white and puerto rican. My table is very diverse.

Teacher voice:

A question that I plan on bringing up in my class seems relevant here . . . Do you feel "aware" of your Blackness, Whiteness, etc. at SLA? How often are you conscious that "Hey, I’m black!" or "Hey, I’m White!"?

I went to [Philly HS], which was one of the few public Philly high schools that is still integrated. I hung out with mostly black kids, where of course, I didn’t really have to "feel" black. Because, to them, I wasn’t different. Then I dated interracially, and all of a sudden I was very aware of my skin color, because I started hangin with white folks too. – And the funny looks came from both sides, making me "aware" that , hey, I’m black! And somehow different.

Is it the same being a student at SLA? Do we hang with people like "us" so that we don’t have to feel different?

Student voice:

I like to be "color blind", not really aware of skin color, but rather of who i’m hanging out with… Maybe we should be more like that… "color blind".

Teacher response:

Sam, I understand your point. However, look at it this way too: when we turn off our ability to see color, we also turn off our ability to value and appreciate differences, understand where we are all coming from, and get to know and love each other for who we all are, and what makes us who we are. Color is a part of our identities and should not be ignored. Yes, color can cause conflicts and hard questions to answer and grapple with. But in the end, these are all healthy conversations to have. There is no right answer here; rather, it’s the journey and exploration of issues like this that draw us closer to each other as people.

Student voice:

I know I’m black and I am grateful of what I am. I dont want to be any other color then what I am. But I actually have lots of white family members and friends too. I don’t look at white people differently then I look at blacks and the same with all the other ethnicities and at school I do see how we seperate our selves. But one thing to look at is, if we learn to mix as a group this year, by the time next year comes will the new 9th graders seperate themselves just as we did??

Student voice:

It’s just like this. We feel more comfortable around people of our own race, because people of different races sometimes act differently. Its somewhat like a wild mouse hanging out with wild rabbits. A wild mouse would feel more comfortable around other wild mice than with wild rabbits. Also, whites are raised by whites (usually) and same for blacks and all other races. Since whites spend most of their time at home with other whites, and blacks spend most of their time at home with other blacks, people feel more comforable when they are in an environment similar to the one they are used to.

Student voice:

So it is how you are raised! Score! My thesis is right! When and how you are raised determines the actions of a person!

Teacher response:

I think Trading Places with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd is a pretty funny study of this. I believe the nurture side of the argument won over nature.

And a somewhat more serious response from the same teacher:

There was an interesting study a few years ago about people’s levels of comfort with the racial makeup of who they’re with. I forget the exact numbers, but basically it said that on average, for people in the USA, whites needed the highest percentage of the people around them to be of the same race (>50%), hispanics next, then blacks (about half the percentage of whites), then asians. The same study done in Europe showed different results (although i completely forget the numbers there). This shows that there is not a genetic component to feeling comfortable around different races, it’s about the circumstances of where we live and that type stuff; it is a cultural thing, not a natural thing (shown quantitatively).
What is a natural thing is an aversion to things we don’t know well. I think we have a great opportunity at SLA that is not present all over to acquaint ourselves with different races, cultures, and belief systems. By interacting with people we would not normally have the chance to interact with we have the opportunity to expand our comfort zones, making us able to function in different spheres. Learning to adapt is a very important part of the human experience. We have the opportunity to become people who can better adapt, let’s not waste the opportunity

What do I think of all this? I’m really proud of our community for being able to talk about an issue like this. And I believe that our student who made the point that if they don’t really look at it, how will next year’s class act? is right. But I think we are talking about these issues, and I think talking about them changes the culture. I love that our kids were willing to deal with an issue that many adults won’t. I love that they took it seriously and wrote from their head and heart. I love that they were willing to look at their own behavior within the community. And I love that, a few days after the thread started, kids at our Halloween Dance came up to me and pointed out the dance floor and said, "That’s not black kids or white kids dancing together. That’s SLA dancing together."

And it was. Rock on.