~Belle~
In 1954 the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation violates the 14th Amendment. But because of the housing patterns, many schools remained segregated.
The NAACP on behalf of the Swann Family and their 6 year old son sued the Charlotte School District. They wanted their son to attend a school in their neighborhood that was one of the few integrated schools in Charlotte. James McMillian, the federal district judge in the case ruled on behalf of the Swanns and oversaw the implementation of a bussing strategy the integrated schools in the district. This decision was appealed and the Supreme Court upheld it.
Busing, that’s what it’s all about. The Swann decision meant that segregated districts needed to balance their district racially, even if it required cross-town busing to do so. In theory, this sounds great and a noble idea. But, let’s think about it. Back in the 70’s most city neighborhoods were “self-segregated”. Not just Black and White. We had Irish, Jewish, Puerto Rican…. So, that meant kids were put on busses no matter what the ethnicity and were being bussed across town, sometimes riding for an hour or more, in order to create racially balanced schools. Is this really in the best interest of the child? Probably in the south and in small communities it did not have the same effect.
Times are different now and neighborhoods are more diverse so I do not see this being such a big issue. In the context of the 70’s I would have to disagree with the court. I think another remedy could have been found.
The student learning outcome that this would apply to is: Domain 1.3- Apply legal guidelines (e.g. in relations to students with disabilities, bilingual ed., confidentiality and discrimination to protect the rights of students and staff to improve learning opportunities.
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8 comments:
I would have to agree with the blogger and the court. I do think the schools needed to be desegregated; however, I'm not sure the court's solution was the best for some children. I think it would be interesting to talk to some families whose children had to be bused an hour or more and see how they felt about it. In today's times, it probably wouldn't be as big of an issue. In the small community I live in it isn't as issue at all. Didn't we say that some schools are still segregated due to where people in the community live and the court has stated that is not unconstitutional?
Hunt74
kay82:
I do think that the schools should have desegregated for the best interest of the children in the quality education they would receive. I would have to agree with the blogger. I do think that another solution could have been found regarding desegregating the schools. I just don't see how riding for more than an hour benefits the child any. I am sure that students had to get on buses two hours before school even starts. How is that in the best interest of the child?
SHOOTER
I will agree with the blogger in saying there needed to be desegregation. I however think the best interest of a child is to have the best education possible no matter their race. I really think some of the parents would have been proud to have the bus come and take their child to school no matter how far it was. I wonder how many schools there actually were in this particular are? If there were schools close to there home I do think it is ridiculous to drive this far but if there are not schools close by I do think getting the students to a school is in their best interest.
sucram54:
Desegration was an important step in the growth of our country, but I do see the point of the blogger about the bussing issue. By the time the kids got to the school in the morning, they would already be up for several hours, and so this probably didn't play into the best interest of the students.
I think this topic would definitely play into today's schools, especially with the issue of rising gas prices. I could see schools going to court over misused tax dollars just to address the issue.
Desegregation was needed in education in our society to promote an equal education for all. However in this case, I have to disagree with the court decision to have this one child bused for an hour or more when there was more than likely a school much closer to where he lived. The best interest of a child needs to take precedence in this situation. That makes for an extremely long day for that child having to get up extra early to catch the bus, go to school then have to make the hour or more trip back home. This decision easily could have been made according to attendence zones and busing routes in the appropriate zone and led to a much shorter bus ride for the child to school each day.
posted by ironman25
I agree with the blogger and the court that desegregation was a must. I however disagree with the solution the courts developed. I find it interesting that they had and "expert" assigned to figure out a plan based on ratios and mathematics. In my eyes, it became all about numbers and stats, not about the best interest of the people. How is this any better? I understand the board had the task of developing something and no one was satisfied with the solutions presented, but then the courts go on to say "no rigid guidelines could be established concering busing of students to particular schools," but yet numbers must be met. That just causes more problems. I do not feel the courts had the best interest of the child at heart.
I think sometimes as a supervisor I get caught up in numbers and meeting quotas which causes me to lose sight of the big picture...This case reminds me that I should always have the best interest of the child at heart and that sometimes it is not going to be easy.
Trout Fish
agree with the court but with the blogger. Several inner city schools like Waco and San Antonio are segregated by race unfortunately and do not benefit from integration. The fourteenth amendment requires that this family be afforded equal protection under the law and not to be deprived or life liberty or property. In this case the choice to be a part of an integrated school and to be transported their deprived them of property and liberty.
Posted by Fatboyslim
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