This quote from Bakersfield paper just sounds...well awful, or am I being oversensitive?

[The Straight Story]

Parents sound off over school boundary plans
---cut

The district needs to change attendance boundaries at most of its 16 high schools to relieve overcrowding and fill the halls of two new high schools slated to open in 2008. Tuesday night was the district’s first public hearing. Ultimately, trustees will vote on one plan in March.

Many parents criticized plans 2, 3 and 4, which would move Bakersfield High students who live in the Laurelglen area to the new Independence High in the southwest.

Parents argued that a large number of Bakersfield High’s middle-class students come from the Laurelglen area. Parents worried that taking those students away from Bakersfield High would leave the school with a disproportional number of students from low-income families.

“My fear is there won’t be enough students to fill the AP, honors and GATE classes,” said BHS parent Gail Morris. Morris said she worries the quality of BHS will deteriorate without a large core of middle-class students.

In such a case, she said she’d be willing to make major changes.

“If we have to rent an apartment or buy a house somewhere so my child attends the best high school in town, then that’s what we’ll do,” Morris said.

http://www.bakersfield.com/619/story/84249.html

Is it just me or does that sound bad?

[acmavm]

1. Yeah, it sounds bad. It most certainly is nothing on your part.

[Sequoia]

2. It does sound bad.

If the "poor" kids have access to a better education then why couldn't they get the honors too. Or do they think poor children are dumb? Yes they do.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. You know...

if these people took all that time, money, and energy they spent being jerks, and spent it on helping their kids with homework and making sure they read books, there kids might actually end up with a good education.

[ronnykmarshall]

4. I grew up in Bakersfield ..

and BHS is probably the best HS in town. It's the oldest school and if I were a kid and had to go to some lame ass new school, I'd be pissed!!

[dkofos]

5. I shouldn't make a difference what building the students call

their highschool, if they were receiving an equally good education.

To bad that is not the case in most districts.

[NanceGreggs]

6. Nah, it doesn't sound "awful" ...

... it sounds downright disgusting!

“My fear is there won’t be enough students to fill the AP, honors and GATE classes.”

In other words, students from lower economic groups are (a) too stupid to ever be part of those classes, or (b) not worth the effort to GET them to the level of honours classes.

Disgusting attitude ...

[SoCalDem]

7. You should have heard the howling when a brand new school

near us chose the name "Martin Luther King High School"..

It's in a very upscale brand new development, and the parents were outraged that it was given that name./. why??

because "on paper", when their darlings applied for colleges, it "might" be perceived as a "black school", and their grades might not be as "valued"..

yep..

welcome to the 21st century...same as the 20th century..same as the 19th century..etc

[hlthe2b]

12. Uggghhh.... I couldn't give any benefit of the doubt to those

horrible people... That is just horrendous and shockingly amazing.

[SoCalDem]

14. I was shocked to see some of the letters to the editor.

A friend who was living in the area at the time said they even tried to "pass the name on"..

apparently there is a "naming list" for upcoming schools, and they are chosen in order.. this school tried to "skip their turn", so the name would go to the next school on the list..

[Clark2008]

13. And they would be right, sad enough to say.

Colleges WOULD think it was an inner-city "black" school and would judge it more poorly.

That's a shame.

[hlthe2b]

8. It does, but it sounds familiar from my childhood...

My parents were not biggoted people, but they were so fearful about possible violent consequences from forced segregation, that I heard them voice similar comments, when they thought the kids were out of earshot. Ultimately, we stayed in southern public schools and my parents were reassured.

Not every comment that sounds like possible racist intent, really is. These parents may just be giving voice to their very personal concerns for their child. I admit it sounds awful, but I'd hope they could be brought around. That, to me is the ultimate test (as it was for my parents). :shrug:

[SoCalDem]

10. Part of the equation is housing prices.. People spend a brazillion

dollars for a house near "good" schools, and cannot afford to move.. It's why people get so upset when "apartments" get sprinkled in with expensive houses. It's about the schools..

It's silly really, because things always change. example: when we bought our house, one reason was that an elementary school was being built down the street, and a junior high was just across the street and a few blocks in the other direction.. We thought.."Great", they can walk to school until they are in high school..

wrong!!

It took forever to get that elementary school built, and I had to schlep all 3 to 2 different elementary schools a long way from where we lived (one was in GATE..the other two in regular classes at a different school)

and when the oldest was in 4th grade, they turned that junior high into an adult education school..:grr:

so much for plans :)

[Tempest]

9. As a resident of Bakersfield...

Her attitude is the norm.

Bakersfield is a highly conservative, almost all white city.

Racism is alive and well here.

White power graffiti is prevalent in several large parts of town. Recently skinheads here broke into a Black woman's home and threatened to kill her and her kids if they didn't move. They stabbed a neighbor who came to her defense. A couple of years ago a Black couple were attacked while looking at a house for sale and told not to even think about buying it.

[Momgonepostal]

19. Bakersfield is almost all white?

I'm in Modesto, and that would really surprise me. There are lots of Latino families all up and down the Valley. Did they somehow skip Bakersfield?

[Tempest]

21. Over 80% as of the last census

Kern County has a large migrant worker population in the summer months, but they go back home once the season ends.

Home to places like Modesto. ;)

[Arkansas Granny]

11. Yep. Sounds to me as if that mom is equating economic status

with intelligence. One could look at the current resident of the White House and refute that logic.

[GeorgeGist]

15. Would you find this offensive?

Morris said she worries the quality of the United States will deteriorate without a large core of middle-class citizens.

[SoCalDem]

17. The problem is that "middle" implies an upper and a lower

EVERYONE (except the rich) either aspires to be, or thinks they already ARE "middle class"..It cannot happen.

We already know that the "upper" is a very small percentage...so where does that leave the other 90%?

90% cannot be "middle"..

If there was a real way to quantify things, I would guess that the "middle" we all want to be or think we have a real shot at being, is only about 25%...

[LanternWaste]

18. Offense was targeted at the direct implication

I believe the offense was targeted at the direct implication that the newly imported poor students will not be able to satisfy the requirements for the AP and Honors classes (e.g., poor people=dumb people), not that the U.S. needs a middle-class.

[wicket]

16. Apparently poor kids can't also be smart

:eyes: This woman needs her head examined.

[PVnRT]

20. No, that is a good example of latent suburban racism

If the school does become primarily low-income, yes, then those programs would be at risk of being cut, along with everything else that doesn't fall under a standardized test subject. That's a symptom, though, at any school that isn't either very large or very rich (or both).

Of course, maybe we should be looking at another issue - why are they building a new high school in a more upscale area in the first place?