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Lifeinthegaylane

News & Issues > My Thoughts on Affirmative Action
 

My Thoughts on Affirmative Action

I was sitting in my American Culture class, dubbed AMCULT, by us students. It fulfilled my senior requirement and didn't meet on Fridays - I was sold.

The racial make-up of the student body at my high school is very diverse. One day the teacher did some sort of visual grouping assessment.

"Those born in the midwest stand here, those from the south here, those from the northeast here, and west coast here."

There wasn't much to see from round one, but as the rounds went on our perceptions of groups unfolded.

Another question started with all 40 of us in a corner. The teacherr asked, "if you plan, after graduating from high school, to go on to a four year college, stand here." We watched as the WASPs moved over to their area. The students slowly started working the number downwards. Next went the Asians, then the suburban whites, followed by the blacks and hispanics. By the end the only people left were a scattering of white people, plainly dressed.

The next question grouped us by where we we live. "Suburbans here, rural here, and city there," the teacher announced. Nearly every white and Asian person went to stand in the suburban category. Half the blacks went to the city, and the other half went to the suburbs. The rural crowd? ... you guessed it, the same scattering of white people with the lowest percentage stating they were planning on attending a four year college.

We stood in our respective groups and looked around, we were seemingly one giant stereotype come to life.

The teacher then asked. "Those of you planning on going to college, where do you think you'll live, not where you want to live, but where you believe you'll live."

The suburbans stood firm, a few whites moved to the city group. Half the blacks from the city moved to the suburb group. The rural white kids? They all stood firm. I thought about wanting rural, but deep down I figured I'd be city again, and my gut was right.

One of the other thoughts that this impromptu grouping exercise confirmed in my head was that rural white schools are often times worse off than inner city black schools. In our class the rural white students were the least likely to attend college followed by city blacks.

It was because of this exercise that I became skeptical of affirmative action. In my mind the affirmative action policies probably only increase the number of minority students at the suburban level at the expense of the city blacks and rural whites. Nothing is solved by this policy as rural whites and city blacks still underachieve. How do we solve this problem? Put the wasted money into improving educational standards for areas that underachieve. Easier said than done.

posted on Apr 24, 2008 2:35 PM ()

Comments:

The point, as I see it, is that if no one makes an issue of people's differences most people would not notice the differences. Here in the U.S. (for example) we are never allowed to forget our racial, gender, religious, etc, differences. And we're taught by a hundred examples a day to be offended by the acts and comments of those "other than us". It's sick. And it's equally stupid to think that favoring one group with affirmative action will heal a wound more than it aggravates it.
comment by think141 on Apr 25, 2008 6:15 AM ()
He is a good teacher--much was taught from this exercise. You are stating what I have felt for years--being from small school rural America.
comment by angiedw on Apr 25, 2008 2:31 AM ()
Your teacher has an interesting way to teach, visually. Sounds like a great teacher.
comment by hopefields on Apr 24, 2008 10:24 PM ()
And with my one track mind I would have asked gay suburban students to stand here and gay rural students to stand over there and those who weren't sure to stand in the middle--pun unintended.
comment by greatmartin on Apr 24, 2008 5:11 PM ()
An eye-opener, huh? Good post, Matt!
comment by hayduke on Apr 24, 2008 4:03 PM ()
Affirmative action - another government program to bring everyone down to a much lower (but equal)level. Success = giving everyone an equal opportunity to raise themselves up!!!
comment by oldfatguy on Apr 24, 2008 3:46 PM ()
Good post,Matt.You do a fine job
here.
comment by fredo on Apr 24, 2008 2:48 PM ()
Very interesting exercize. Thanks for sharing.
AJ
comment by lunarhunk on Apr 24, 2008 2:37 PM ()

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