Regarding the impact of Brown v. Board of Education (Topeka) discussion, I fully support the decision and the social policy as a critical component of our march toward equal justice for all Americans. However, the real impediment to achievement of racial equality in schools is the inequality of wealth and economic opportunities in America. However, equal funding for teachers and facilities would, in my opinion, speed the day when there is significant wealth in black households. Quality education is the key to achieving economic equality.

What enables successful education of our children is their father's presence. Not legislation.

In my current school, all of the black kids are treated the same as the white kids. This is the way it should be. I believe that separating the races is B.S. and racist and wrong. I also think it makes them look bad. It's like saying "We aren't as smart as others and must have our own school to prove it." I am not saying I would agree with that statement. I am saying that people will interpret it in that way. Also, what if someone is 1/2, 1/4, etc. african american? Would they be turned away from this school if they don't look fully black?

I am white. I grew up in a lower middle class neighborhood -- my father was a mathematics teacher. I graduated from HS in 1980, which was, at the time, the advent of bussing in DE.

I went to the U of DE from 1980 - 1985 for degree in English.

Returned in 1989 to seek a degree in Computer Science. At the time, if my memory serves me right, Affirmative Action was active and under debate.

Quite honestly, I found that both bussing and Affirmative Action was one of the best things that have ever happened to my part of the world. I learned what it was like to learn with African-Americans; I learned what it was like to work with African-Americans; I learned what it was like to live among African-Americans. I learned what it was to be an American.

Integration and Affirmative Action were one of the best things to have taken place in our great nation.

Matthew H.

helmm,

If blacks (African-American is an incorrect term - these people don't have dual citizenship) are so great, how come even blacks don't like living around blacks and try to get away from their own kind?

The problem with schools is not race it is liberalism and the NEA. Focus on that and the problems will go away. When a black can call another black the N word and have it be socially acceptable because of politial correctness there is a problem. My acid test is - whatever statement is made by someone take the reverse. Substitute the opposite word and see it it sounds right. If it dosn't then it it racism. When there is constant behavior problems of a student at school that student should be expelled. This is not happening. The standards are now so low at schools, because of the NEA, it makes me sick. What's worse is that they hand out bumper stickers stating 'Proud parent of a horor student at ___' - what a joke! Lastly, pouring more money at it is not the solution. Catholic schools operate on a fraction of the budget of public schools and turn out far greater quality graduates than public - hands down!

i remember there only being two black kids at my elementary school. this was confusing for me as i saw black people everywhere, all the time. Why then was my school not more racially integrated? the problem seemed to get worse as i moved on into highschool, and started attending a private school. althuogh the school was very small, it didn't make up for the undeniable fact that 100 percent of the schools population were white. this was especially disapointing because the school always talked about being very progressive and what-not. this brings me to my point. i don't believe that black kids and white kids aren't mixed with each other in school systems so much because one has more rights legally than the other, i think that it more has to do more with the position that our government left them in after black segragation was illegalized. i mean, sure, we told them that now they can go to the same resturants as us, they can live in the same neighborhoods, ride in the front of the buses even, but they're still stuck in the same broken down houses, in the same broken down neighborhoods, with low paying jobs, and, because of the way our culture and system is based on money and class, they don't truely have a way to enter it. it's our governments way of maintaining power and keeping the class system the way it is. give them the illusion that they're free by taking them half way there, bring a few to the top, and say everything is alright while the majority is still left behind, with seemingly no way to progress in this culture.

however, i feel that it's our responsibility as the people of this country, to change the government. a big part of the problem is that we don't do anything about the government. now that black people have the same rights as white, nobody really tries to do anything about the segragetion and racism that is still very real in our country.

i am fifteen years old, and i see it so clearly, in our job systems, in our school systems, and in our government. and by no means do i see it just with black people, its with native americans, latinos, and it's with white people. the government gives us just enough freedom so that we feel that we can make our own choices, but in the scheme of things, we're still so controlled.

i think that one of the biggest challenges that we americans face, is the challenge of getting over feeling isolated. i think that when a person feels isolated it makes it that much easier for the government to maintain control. and, although the government may have done a very good job in keeping control over us, we still have one very powerful right, the right, as humans on this earth, to work together as one. i think that we need to realize the truth, that we are not alone. that there are millions of others like us, in and out of this country, that don't make good money, or can't send there kids to school, or can't feed themselves or there families. i feel that we can change all of this, and all we have to do is work together.

peace

sam weinstock

I find it disturbing that the lady guest defends the expansion of laws allowing additional surveillance of citizens; stating repeatedly that judicial oversight is required and capable and etc.

My problem is that she defended the bugging of the United Nations based upon the frequency with which it is done and the quality of the data gathered. I believe that she was more "in character" in the latter case.

As a teacher who has spent 4 years working with young children of professionals and about 21 years working with children of very poor families I want to add a slightly different perspective about race and discrimination. Race is not the main barrier to opportunity. Also race is not the main form of discrimination in this country. I am not saying that racial discrimination does not exist. It does and it may be pervasive but a far greater more destructive segregation occurs by socio-economic class. I do believe that if one is determined enough one can rise above this terrible barrier but if we truely want to provide equal opportunities for all American children this barrier needs to be addressed.

The fact that segregation by socio-economic class is far more endemic than segregation by race can not be denied. The evidence of this is overwhelming. Look at the real estate prices in those areas having what society deems as good schools. Real estate prices in these areas are far greater than prices in poor neighborhoods. Also how many professional people do you know that willingly live in poor drug infested neighborhoods and enroll their children in such neighborhood public schools? In addition, if you look at so called under performing or failing schools as defined by President Bush's "No Child Left Behind Law" they occur almost exclusively in poor socio-economic areas whether they are inhabited by Whites, Blacks, American Indians, Hispanics or some other immigrant group. I think I can safely assume that at least physcially people are segregated by socio-economic class.

Now I don't mean to judge a neighborhood as good or bad depending on socio-economic class however in terms of a child's best opportunity in school one best not live in a lower socio-economic area. People understand this of course. A lot of people no matter what their race leave poor neighborhoods if economic circumstances allow. Below I want to explain why socio-economic class is so important in children's performance in school. I do not think must people realize how powerful socio-economic concitions really are in school.

In the American Educator in the spring issue 2003 in an article titled "The Early Catastrophe", it is discussed how children in low economic circumstances have far lower vocabulary development than children in high economic homes. By the age of 3 children in welfare families experience hearing 616 words per hour while children in working class families experience 1,251 words per hour and children from professional families experience 2,153 words per hour. Because of this difference children in professional families had far greater vocabulary developement at age 3 than children from welfare homes. Many of the children in this study were followed until ages 9-10. Vocabulary at age 3 was found to be highly predictive of language skill at age 9 and 10.

Now if I am a professional person and I want the best for my child do I put the child in a classroom where all the children come from welfare families and they have less then 1/3 of the language exposure as children from professional families. I don't think so. What people don't realize is that if you are surrounded by people with either high or low vocabulary and exposure to words and experiences, this profoundly effects how these people do in school and thier success in school.

Well the powers that be recognize this problem of poor people's lack of opportunity in education hence we have the No Child Left Behind Law and all the schools get to get their names in the paper for test results. There are many schools that have figured out how to lesson the gap between poor and rich folks by modifying teaching practices however, I believe the issue of equal educational opportunity will never be resolved fairly if we do not address the systemic, endemic, pervasive physical segregation we practice in America by socio-economic class.

We will be in for many years of frustration and dissapointment if we think we can threaten teachers and administrators with their jobs and children with their drivers liscenses if they do not perform on the standardized tests. It is not fair that we place these teachers and children of lower socio-economic classes under such intense pressure to perform because we as a nation are unwilling to face the imorality of this system of geographic segregation by socio-economic class we have created and allowed!

There are plenty of black kids in my school. So far I have not seen any indication of segregation or discrimination.

All Americans have a right to be free and live freely as long as they abide by the rules. Who is anyone to judge what race you have to be in order to live it's not right. I have went to school with a lot of people who are a different race then me. To give a little NEWS FLASH the treat you how you treat them, so if you are treating them like they are outsiders then they are going to treat you as an outsider.Its only far that everyone is treated equally in there own state of nature. Just because they may listen to rap music does not make them a huddlem.They just like something nobody else does and thats ok because we are supposed to be a far and free county. Give them a chance they are just trying to fit in with us. NO MATTER WHAT RACE THEY ARE!!!!!!!!

Racial equality is still non-existent in some areas and aspects of modern American society. I have personally been discriminated against in the work area. At school I am often singled as aminority and harassed due to my African American ethnicity. Hopefully in the future my children will not experience racist insults and social segregation in what is supposed to be a safe learing environment.

Racial equality is still non-existent in some areas and aspects of modern American society. I have personally been discriminated against in the work area. At school I am often singled out as a minority and harassed due to my African American ethnicity. Hopefully in the future my children will not experience racist insults and social segregation in what is supposed to be a safe learing environment.

I think racism still exists all around the world, and I think that it’ll never end. Humans will always have something/someone in favor, and something/someone that they dislike. if everyone liked everything else, there will be no war, and there will be no discrimination, but that will never happen because everybody have different opinions. I think that the only way to stop racism is to get used to it and act so it’s not a big deal. I think that’s the only way to get closest to be non-racial and no discrimination.

Racism has come a long way but people are still racist everywhere you go. We need to fully integrate students, no special treatment for anyone. black, white,brown, blue it shouldnt matter. At my school we have seperate offices for native americans and african americans, i dont think that is right because they get special attention which makes others jugde them. everyone should use the same office and deal with the same procedures. In order to stop segregation and racism we need to put everyone together equally at all times.