Today I listened to this excellent podcast from the radio program This American
Life. It’s about school integration –the one single solution that has been
proved successful at decreasing the inequalities between black and white students’
test scores. The podcast is eye-opening and quite infuriating –well it was for
me, a white person with no experience yet of how the US school system concretely works.
The podcast reminded me of an exercise I did at a work
retreat a few years ago. Picture this exercise with me:
One group is given some construction paper. Say 10 pieces. The
other group is given 10 squares of toilet paper.
Now each group has to build a tower.
The results are as to be expected: the first group can build
a tower in about a minute or two whereas the second struggles to have a tower
that stands straight, if it stands at all.
This exercise is made to illustrate the chances we are given
at birth –privileges we have because of where we were born, where we live, our
parents’ life experience, etc. -things that do not depend on us, our work, our ethics; in short things that depend largely on the "luck of the draw." And it starts in childhood of course. Let’s choose 5 of the factors that influence a child's life: ability of parents to find and keep a job; community strength; school infrastructure; teachers’ qualifications; safety
at home. Now if you are born with all of this, your tower will be easier to
build. If on the contrary you lack all of that at birth,
the issues you have are huge to surmount and might not get better as you get
older –so the American myth that working harder will work in your favor doesn’t come
true. Privilege is a matter of social-economic status, but in the US, as in many other countries, race plays a role -so blacks and minorities are more likely to be poor than whites. This is a systemic issue, not a personal or attitude-related issue.
Let's take this exercise a bit further. Let’s say the tower
represents the high school experience. If you have a stack of construction paper,
you can build that tower pretty fast. You don’t have to think about it. High school
graduation is expected. You even have time on your hands to do extra-curricular
activities, maybe volunteer, play sports, hang out with friends, spend time with a tutor, etc. On the
other hand, if your resources are thin, you’ll spend all your time trying to
build that tower. If you are extremely dedicated, graduation will become your sole
objective and you will spend your time and energy trying to make 2 squares of toilet
paper stand together –then 2 more, then 2 more. Graduation in itself is an
achievement!
(My attempt at building towers today!)
Now imagine that your whole life is this: construction paper vs. toilet paper. From school to job search to relationship with authorities to
perceptions people have of you. It’s hard. It’s unfair. It’s frustrating. This
is why we have to look at our privileges and acknowledge that some of us have
it easier than others –and that is why we need to change the status quo so that
people have equal opportunities in life. This is not a zero sum game: everyone
wins if we increase people’s chances at success.
I don’t know yet what I am going to do to change the way I live
in order to decrease the very real and unfair inequalities that exist in this country –but I know something has to change, and change starts at the individual level. If you
are white or if you feel privileged, what have you done or are you willing to do to equalize the playing
field? If you are black or from a minority, what do you wish white /or privileged people would
do?
(This cartoon illustrates the issue of privilege extremely well)
I've been listening to episodes of This American Life on my commute to and from work, but I'm always behind since I just work in the office once a week. :P That said, I'm about halfway through this particular episode and, like you said, it's infuriating. Some parts of it had me in tears. I think about this a lot, living in our neighborhood, and hearing all the fears, thoughts and decisions that surround schooling. But I also have strong opinions about being an active part of our local school and hoping that I can play a role - even a tiny one - in making it better for current and future students. I think that many of the families in our area might not have the luxury of being actively involved in their kids' education or advocating for better schools. But I do. And that's a privilege that I often overlook. I don't NEED to work full-time and, therefore, I CAN be involved in the school. I just have to make sure that when the time comes, that I remember why we're choosing public school - and not to be lazy about being involved.
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