Author: asiminah

As a result of preparing for and attending a highly-selective New York City public high school, I can reflect and say that the process to get in seemed more about learning how to take the SHSAT as opposed to learning pure subject material. I agree that specialized high schools should have some selective measure of admitting students, for it they do not, then what would make the school special or elite rather? Floyd M. Hammack describes two different ways in which “rules for access to highly valued public educational credentials have developed,” in his article Paths to Legislation or Litigation for Educational Privilege: New York and San Fransisco Compared (Hammack, 372). I agree with Hammack when he writes that “all educational credentials have not been created equal, nor do all citizens have equal access to educational opportunities” (Hammack, 372). This is also a topic that we have discussed quite a few times in class, specifically pointing out that children living in less privileged area with less income and less access to educational opportunity fall victims to these selection processes.

Before entering this class, I had no idea how seriously admission reforms were taken. This article more so opens my eyes by discussing the steps that New York and San Fransisco public high schools have taken to get to where they are today. I did not know that there was this much racism involved with exclusive schools. I did not know that “hiring ‘appropriate’ teachers” based on race was a thing (Hammack, 379). I was also unaware of the situation in Lowell High school where the Chinese American parents argued that it was unfair that their children have to score higher than any other racial group in order to be admitted. This specific case is interesting to me because it is something I have wondered about. In schools like Stuyvesant, that are predominantly asian, how does the method of admissions account for who it accepts? I have heard of admissions that require different scorings for race, and although one would think it is more fair for the races/ethnic groups that don’t have as many opportunity, it is also unfair to hold the races who do have opportunities to much higher standards.

Hammack’s comparative history of exclusive public high schools in New York and San Fransisco has deepened my view and understanding of how truly difficult it is to come up with an admissions process that guarantees fair entry to each and every ethnic group. I think that not considering race while admitting students was a good step for Judge Orrick to rule in San Fransisco; however, this rule also makes it more difficult to racially balance a school, because if some ethnic groups have less opportunities then they are less likely to do well and be admitted and then the school will mostly be filled of the ethnic group that has more opportunities and dominates the entrance exam (or whatever form of admittance is required). Today Lowell High school just requires grade point averages from seventh grade; meanwhile, New York specialized high schools require just an SHSAT score. Is there a way to get underrepresented and overrepresented ethnic groups to balance out? Perhaps different approaches to changing methods of admittance are not enough and we need to think more outside the box.

In “Power, Protest, and the Public Schools,” Melissa F. Weiner writes about two protest movements in the history of New York City schools. Specifically she writes about the Gary Plan, which “was guided by the necessity of Americanizing the 63.4 percent of the children in the schools with immigrant parents, and the Harlem 9, which sought to increase experienced teachers and funding for African American students in schools (pg 35). The Gary Plan was defined almost entirely by the Jewish immigrants/community, meanwhile the Harlem 9 was defined by the African Americans. I believe that Weiner wrote about these two protest movements together like this in order to compare and contrast the struggles that two different ethnic/racial groups had to go through. Writing about these two protest movements together is powerful because it covers more flaws with the educational system in New York City schools than talking about each event separately would.

The Gary Plan “was designed to shape children’s behavior and produce what later critics called ‘loyal citizens and docile workers'” (pg 35).  The plan saved money by utilizing the entire the entire school building by having students rotate through classrooms, playgrounds, auditoriums, etc. Each specialized teacher would teach in one room, and then send the students to another room, with another specialized teacher, for their next class; however, the plan did not preserve the language and cultures of the Jewish students, so the plan did not sit well with Jewish parents. Jewish parents began to worry about what their students would be learning in school, and if their religion would be preserved.

The Harlem 9 was designed to better the education system for African American students in New York City schools. African Americans were put in schools with “inexperienced teachers, district gerrymandering to promote segregation, overcrowded classes, dilapidated schools, and 103 classes for ‘retarded’ children to which African American children were assigned, illegally, based on the entire group’s test scores (rather than the individuals), but not a single gifted class” (pg 52). Not only were African American students provided with such low quality education, but also African Americans received almost a third of the funding that white students received.

A similarity among these two historical moments and groups is that the parents were fed up with the low quality of education their children were receiving, and realized that they had to fight (protest) for their children’s education and schooling situations. Jewish immigrants wanted the right to preserve their culture, and not have the schooling system force their children to learn the New Testament. Likewise, the African Americans wanted their children to have just as much access to a good education as white students did. Although both ethnic/racial groups were fighting for a better education, they were fighting for it in different ways; Jewish immigrants wanted the right to practice their religion in school, meanwhile, African Americans wanted funding for better resources to improve the quality of schooling. This difference is crucial because not having the ability or availability of resources to learn hinders education differently than course content does.