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Florida school district apologizes for assembly singling out Black students over low test scores

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/florida-school-district-apologizes-assembly-singling-black-students-lo-rcna101706

Teachers told a group of Black elementary schoolers that having lower grades gave them a higher chance of going to jail, getting shot or getting killed, parents said.

Florida school district apologizes for assembly singling out Black students over low test scores

Teachers told a group of Black elementary schoolers that having lower grades gave them a higher chance of going to jail, getting shot or getting killed, parents said.

15 comments

FlyingSquid

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My god... telling elementary schoolers- young children- they could get shot or killed for bad grades... what kind of horrible inhumane teachers are at this school?

GentlemanLoser

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This is who we have left. Every teacher worth a damn left the state and I can't say I blame them.

Damizel

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Not just the state, lots of them have left the profession. Why get paid peanuts to be in a potentially life threatening situation ( any school shootings) be berated by teenagers ( or younger) daily with no consequence , and you aren’t even allowed to teach them certain things, just what the government thinks they need to learn. It’s a shame really.

Potatos_are_not_friends

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Person of color here.

School did this to me too. Brought all the kids of color (and only color). It wasn't even just those with low test scores. At the time, it felt normal. They didn't say anything different from what society (and cops) already saw us as.

The benefit is that it caused me to be politically active and work towards removing/dismantling the old guard. But every year, it feels like two steps forward and one step back

OutlierBlue

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it feels like two steps forward and one step back

That's how progress is made. Don't let it discourage you.

AnUnusualRelic

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Florida seems like two steps back and then another step back for good measure though.

stringere

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They also discussed how students with higher grades had a better chance of going to college, while those with lower grades had a higher chance of going to jail, getting shot or getting killed, parents told The Daytona Beach News-Journal.

Although there was no intended malice involved

Yeah, what harm could come from making a gradeschooler think about getting shot or going to jail every time they take a test? I'm sure it will provide great motivation instead of turning the poor kids into nervous wrecks.

weedazz

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It's ok they've been relieved from the burden of knowing LGBT people exist so they can now handle this additional strain

quindraco

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Regardless of method, it's also deeply stupid to attempt to motivate grade schoolers directly. You have to get their parents on board.

mr_robot2938

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A short story on how something like this happens in the first place:

A decade ago, give or take, nearby Seminole County, FL public schools created a department (called “Choices”) specifically to desegregate the school population. This was at the behest of the federal government applying pressure on the school board.

Due to Central Florida’s long history of geographical segregation, Seminole County was one of the most segregated school systems in the country. Even today, some areas within the county randomize school populations to eliminate geographic segregation.

School systems identify low social-economic status students (referred to as “low-SES”) based off free and reduced lunch applications. To the school systems’ credit, they provide additional services to low-SES students (ie. partnership programs with ISP’s for free internet). Low-SES students within Seminole Country are primarily located in geographically segregated African-American communities.

Central Florida has a long history of institutionalized segregation. Hell, I-4, the main highway that bisects Orlando, was routed through African-American communities and around white communities.

I’ve lived here 30 years. Anecdotally, I think things are getting better. However, we have such a long way to go to undo the social damage caused by our ancestors. It does not surprise me that school officials and teachers in predominantly white geographic locations would do something as stupid as this assembly. Institutional segregation and racism lingers on for generations after those who originally perpetrated it are long dead.

If you are reading this in the US, civil rights and social equality will be a constant evolutionary struggle throughout your lifetime. No one person can wave a magic wand and repair hundreds of years of racism. Be a kind person. Treat others who think, act, or look different from you with the same respect you have for yourself. Those who perpetrate racist ideals or philosophies should be admonished, and considered to be socially unacceptable.