tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270815429299703055.post3845577309885721849..comments2023-09-29T06:32:16.005-04:00Comments on My School Committee Blog: Editorial: Extracting lessons from Rodriguez's parting shotCatherine A. Sandersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03523667921190365891noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270815429299703055.post-40134458281803200462010-06-23T13:33:36.804-04:002010-06-23T13:33:36.804-04:00Are we as a town making progress on diversity/colo...<i>Are we as a town making progress on diversity/color/multi-cultural issues?</i><br /><br />The issue in this town is social class. As there is a co-relationship between race, gender, sexual orientation, single parenthood and disability with Socieo Economic Status (SES), many mistakenly believe that the issue is something other than economic.<br /><br />It is not.<br /><br />And the black college administrator and her retired professor husband and their $300K household income have everything in common with their rich white friends and little with either the minorities living in Section 8 apartments or the white UM students living in the adjacent apartments.<br /><br />And if you look at the Pelham issue, if you look at the old Amherst K-6 district lines, if you even look at what Rodriguez cites as evidence for his claims, it is all SOCIAL CLASS.<br /><br />And I am seeing it getting worse...Ednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270815429299703055.post-9401698262492003662010-06-22T10:52:12.189-04:002010-06-22T10:52:12.189-04:00Here is a website that is dedicated to closing the...Here is a website that is dedicated to closing the achievement gap: http://www.agi.harvard.edu/.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270815429299703055.post-88416900881344226322010-06-22T07:41:59.688-04:002010-06-22T07:41:59.688-04:00For the most part, I think that ARPS staff are sen...For the most part, I think that ARPS staff are sensitive to the issues of diversity - but being sensitive to diversity and actually taking actions that help students of color achieve at higher levels (as a system) are two different things.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6270815429299703055.post-12651308810549016002010-06-21T17:21:07.959-04:002010-06-21T17:21:07.959-04:00To reiterate an observation that I made (4 days la...To reiterate an observation that I made (4 days late) to the related June 8 blog post, the stunning aspect of Dr. Rodriguez' report is the prominence of his criticism of the Amherst school system's 'lip service to racial diversity' and treatment of students of color (achievement gap, 'broken' referral system).<br /><br />In Amherst we often believe that we are better-intentioned, more sensitive, and doing the right thing to advance the cause of equity. Rodriguez' comments sternly challenge this view, differentiating between what he sees as the posture and the reality.<br /><br />It surprised me that Dr. Rodriguez gave such attention to this in his report. And it surprises me that this aspect of his report has gotten so little attention, at least so far, from the community that comments on this blog.<br /><br />Are we as a town making progress on diversity/color/multi-cultural issues? And have we ever articulated the <i>precise</i> goal - so we can measure our progress as we get closer, and know when we have achieved it?Tom Porter, Amherstnoreply@blogger.com