Minority Students Now Outnumber Non-Hispanic White Students

[Townhallsavoy]

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-students-to-no-longer-be-majority-in-us-public-schools/

KENNETT SQUARE, Pennsylvania - For the first time, U.S. public schools are projected this fall to have more minority students than non-Hispanic whites, a shift largely fueled by growth in the number of Hispanic children.

The changing demographics of American education are apparent inside Jane Cornell's summer school classroom in Pennsylvania's wealthiest county, where giggling grade-schoolers mostly come from homes where Spanish is the primary language. The sign outside the classroom reads "Welcome" and "Bienvenidos" in polished handwriting.

Non-Hispanic white students are still expected to be the largest racial group in the public schools this year at 49.8 percent. But according to the National Center for Education Statistics, minority students, when added together, will now make up the majority.

About one-quarter of the minority students are Hispanic, 15 percent are black and 5 percent are Asian and Pacific Islanders. Biracial students and Native Americans make up an even smaller share of the minority student population.

The shift brings new academic realities, such as the need for more English language instruction, and cultural ones, such as changing school lunch menus to reflect students' tastes.

But it also brings up some complex societal questions that often fall to school systems to address, including issues of immigration, poverty, diversity and inequity.

The result, at times, is racial tension.

In Louisiana in July, Jefferson Parish public school administrators reached an agreement with the federal government to end an investigation into discrimination against English-language learners. In May, police had to be called to help break up a fight between Hispanic and black students at a school in Streamwood, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, after a racially-based lunchroom brawl got out of control.

Issues of race and ethnicity in schools also can be more subtle.

In Pennsylvania's Kennett Consolidated School District, Superintendent Barry Tomasetti described parents who opt to send their kids to private schools in Delaware after touring diverse classrooms. Other families, he said, seek out the district's diverse schools "because they realize it's not a homogenous world out there."

The changes in the district from mostly middle-to-upper class white to about 40 percent Hispanic was in part driven by workers migrating from Mexico and other countries to work the mushroom farms.

"We like our diversity," Tomasetti said, even as he acknowledged the cost. He has had to hire English-language instructors and translators for parent-teacher conferences. He has cobbled money together to provide summer school for many young English-language learners who need extra reading and math support.

"Our expectation is all of our kids succeed," he said.

The new majority-minority status of America's schools mirrors a change that is coming for the nation as a whole. The Census Bureau estimates that the country's population also will have more minorities than whites for the first time in 2043, a result of higher birth rates among Hispanics and a stagnating or declining birth rate among blacks, whites and Asians.

Even as the population becomes more diverse, schools are becoming more racially divided, reflecting U.S. housing patterns.

 
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The disparities are evident even in the youngest of black, Hispanic and Native American children, who on average enter kindergarten academically behind their white and Asian peers. They are more likely to attend failing schools and face harsher school discipline.

Later, they have lower standardized test scores, on average, fewer opportunities to take advanced classes, and are less likely to graduate.

As the school age population has become more nonwhite, it's also become poorer, said Patricia Gandara, co-director of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA who serves on President Barack Obama's advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.

Roughly one-quarter of Hispanics and African-Americans live below the poverty line - meaning a family of four has nearly $24,000 in annual income - and some of the poorest Hispanic children are dealing with the instability of being in the country illegally or with a parent who is, Gandara said.

Focusing on teacher preparation and stronger curriculum is "not going to get us anywhere unless we pay attention to the really basic needs of these children, things like nutrition and health and safety, and the instability of the homes," she said.

This transformation in school goes beyond just educating the children. Educators said their parents also must feel comfortable and accepted in schools.

[CCTAU]

None of these numbers matter.

We all still agree that the asian people will kill the bell curve!

[smooth_operator]

I don't care about this, but doesn't the content of this article make the title incorrect? You can't call students other than non-hispanic white students minority in the article if that article's main point is that non-hispanic white students are now minority.

[WiregrassTiger]

I don't care about this, but doesn't the content of this article make the title incorrect? You can't call students other than non-hispanic white students minority in the article if that article's main point is that non-hispanic white students are now minority.

I would like to know how many non-black, half white, spanish speaking Asian Americans there are in public schools west of the Mississippi.

[AUChizad]

I don't care about this, but doesn't the content of this article make the title incorrect? You can't call students other than non-hispanic white students minority in the article if that article's main point is that non-hispanic white students are now minority.

Whites are still by far the majority. According to that article 49.8% of students in public schools are white. So there's still about the same number of white kids as all other races combined. Not counting private schools, which without looking at the data I'm sure is around 90% white, if not higher.

So no need to break out your Helter-Skelter race-war riot gear yet, CCTAU.

[Townhallsavoy]

I don't care about this, but doesn't the content of this article make the title incorrect? You can't call students other than non-hispanic white students minority in the article if that article's main point is that non-hispanic white students are now minority.

It's combining minorities into one minority group.  25% are Hispanic, 15% are black, 5% are Asian or Pacific Islander and 5% other racial minority.  Those numbers combined outnumber whites.

This has big implications in public education as much of the curriculum and culture in America's history has been tailored towards the earliest Americans and largest majority group - white folk.  It doesn't necessarily mean "white privilege" in the sense that many right wingers will scoff at, but it does mean that in the future, diversity will have to be considered even more so than originally believed. 

For example, lunch menus.  30% of American students may not be familiar with hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza.  If a quarter of American students identify with tacos more so than salisbury steak, then cafeterias will provide that choice on the menu. 

Also, the old argument about the nation's official language.  We don't have one.  If 30% of your student population is just beginning to learn English, how do you differentiate instruction?  Can't segregate the schools or the classrooms especially after No Child Left Behind.  So if the ESL inclusion students gain more and more of the desks in the classroom, can we really call it an inclusion classroom?  Or is it just the classroom and a sizable if not majority chunk of the students don't speak English?  How is that handled? 

Also also, school culture.  I think I've posted here in the past about what happened to school pep rallies when I taught at a high school.  Around 35% of the school was Hispanic.  They gave zero shits about school pep rallies and would just sit in the bleachers.  When I first arrived there, pep rallies were HUGE with the kids.  Absolute freedom and craziness Friday afternoons before a home game.  Then after six years, 35% of the student population didn't care which of course influenced others not to care.  Then it was behavior problems and sour pusses and angry teachers and administrators and then extra rules and regulations then suddenly no one gave too much of a shit about pep rallies and then guess what happened...

...they quit having pep rallies the year after I resigned.  Said it wasn't worth the trouble. 

It's not as simple as demanding minorities and immigrants to "assimilate or get the hell out!"  It just doesn't work that way.

[CCTAU]

For example, lunch menus.  30% of American students may not be familiar with hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza.  If a quarter of American students identify with tacos more so than salisbury steak, then cafeterias will provide that choice on the menu. 

Not even close. Mickey Ds has introduced the whole world to hambrgerlars.

And the Asians don't care what you feed them. They are still gonna make 100s!

Where is that one Asian kid we used to have around here? He'll tell ya.

[Snaggletiger]

Not even close. Mickey Ds has introduced the whole world to hambrgerlars.

And the Asians don't care what you feed them. They are still gonna make 100s!

Where is that one Asian kid we used to have around here? He'll tell ya.

Long Duk Dong?

[GH2001]

It's combining minorities into one minority group.  25% are Hispanic, 15% are black, 5% are Asian or Pacific Islander and 5% other racial minority.  Those numbers combined outnumber whites.

This has big implications in public education as much of the curriculum and culture in America's history has been tailored towards the earliest Americans and largest majority group - white folk.  It doesn't necessarily mean "white privilege" in the sense that many right wingers will scoff at, but it does mean that in the future, diversity will have to be considered even more so than originally believed. 

For example, lunch menus.  30% of American students may not be familiar with hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza.  If a quarter of American students identify with tacos more so than salisbury steak, then cafeterias will provide that choice on the menu. 

Also, the old argument about the nation's official language.  We don't have one.  If 30% of your student population is just beginning to learn English, how do you differentiate instruction?  Can't segregate the schools or the classrooms especially after No Child Left Behind.  So if the ESL inclusion students gain more and more of the desks in the classroom, can we really call it an inclusion classroom?  Or is it just the classroom and a sizable if not majority chunk of the students don't speak English?  How is that handled? 

Also also, school culture.  I think I've posted here in the past about what happened to school pep rallies when I taught at a high school.  Around 35% of the school was Hispanic.  They gave zero shits about school pep rallies and would just sit in the bleachers.  When I first arrived there, pep rallies were HUGE with the kids.  Absolute freedom and craziness Friday afternoons before a home game.  Then after six years, 35% of the student population didn't care which of course influenced others not to care.  Then it was behavior problems and sour pusses and angry teachers and administrators and then extra rules and regulations then suddenly no one gave too much of a shit about pep rallies and then guess what happened...

...they quit having pep rallies the year after I resigned.  Said it wasn't worth the trouble. 

It's not as simple as demanding minorities and immigrants to "assimilate or get the hell out!"  It just doesn't work that way.

No it really is that simple. Has always been. Italians didn't demand that this country tailor everything to them and speak their language and teach their culture as our own. Neither did the Jews, or Irish, or Polish. They assimilated into the unique "American" culture and then added their own unique little piece to the bigger puzzle.

[Townhallsavoy]

No it really is that simple. Has always been. Italians didn't demand we tailor everything to them and speak their language and teach their culture as our own. Neither did the Jews, or Irish, or Polish. They assimilated into the unique "American" culture and then added their own unique little piece to the bigger puzzle.

Italians and Jews were mostly isolated in ghettos of major cities, namely New York. 

Not to mention, the number of immigrants is greatly different.  From 1820 to 2004 (according to the Wikis), 5.5 million Italians immigrated into the US.  Further, we weren't teaching Italians shit.  They were abused and used like indentured servants in manual labor and it wasn't until the 1970s that they began to rise out of being a lower class citizen. 

Also, Italians, Jews, Polish - European immigrants had distinct cultures which isolated each into a confined people group.  The majority of Hispanic immigrants are largely similar in language, values, and culture. 

There are 11.6 million Mexicans alone in the United States.   Between 1960 and the present, the total Hispanic population has swelled to 50 million immigrants.  In less than half of the time when compared to Italians, there have been 45 million MORE Hispanic immigrants in the US.

And they don't live in a few isolated ghettos.  They're in nearly every state from California to Texas to Alabama to Florida and up the Eastern Seaboard.  There's not as much pressure on them to assimilate or leave because as the OP article discusses, they've become the largest minority group and the minority groups combined outnumber whites. 

You can say it is that easy because other foreigners have done it, but the power to force them to do so is slipping away and it's slipping away quickly.

[Snaggletiger]

She's got Brazilian leather boots on the pedal of her German car
Listenin' to the Beatles singin' "Back in the USSR"
Yeah, she's goin' around the world tonight, but she ain't leavin' here
She's just goin' to meet her boyfriend down at the street fair

And it's a French kiss, Italian ice
Spanish moss in the moonlight
Just another American Saturday night

[GH2001]

Italians and Jews were mostly isolated in ghettos of major cities, namely New York. 

Not to mention, the number of immigrants is greatly different.  From 1820 to 2004 (according to the Wikis), 5.5 million Italians immigrated into the US.  Further, we weren't teaching Italians shit.  They were abused and used like indentured servants in manual labor and it wasn't until the 1970s that they began to rise out of being a lower class citizen. 

Also, Italians, Jews, Polish - European immigrants had distinct cultures which isolated each into a confined people group.  The majority of Hispanic immigrants are largely similar in language, values, and culture. 

There are 11.6 million Mexicans alone in the United States.   Between 1960 and the present, the total Hispanic population has swelled to 50 million immigrants.  In less than half of the time when compared to Italians, there have been 45 million MORE Hispanic immigrants in the US.

And they don't live in a few isolated ghettos.  They're in nearly every state from California to Texas to Alabama to Florida and up the Eastern Seaboard.  There's not as much pressure on them to assimilate or leave because as the OP article discusses, they've become the largest minority group and the minority groups combined outnumber whites. 

You can say it is that easy because other foreigners have done it, but the power to force them to do so is slipping away and it's slipping away quickly.

Not forcing them to. But not kowtowing to them either. My 4 year old has a Pre K class called "Spanish Culturalization". It makes up a 1/6 or 1/7 of her day. That is what I am talking about. They are not wanting to add to the American culture. They are changing it to be theirs. Never before has that been done. Those other groups were indeed in certain areas for the most part...but they still assimilated. They didnt demand that the culture they had arrived to change to totally represent where they came from.

[AUChizad]

Not forcing them to. But not kowtowing to them either. My 4 year old has a Pre K class called "Spanish Culturalization". It makes up a 1/6 or 1/7 of her day. That is what I am talking about. They are not wanting to add to the American culture. They are changing it to be theirs. Never before has that been done. Those other groups were indeed in certain areas for the most part...but they still assimilated. They didnt demand that the culture they had arrived to change to totally represent where they came from.

Sweets, why are you doing this? auburnredwing? Speak up! Explain yourselves!

[CCTAU]

Italians and Jews were mostly isolated in ghettos of major cities, namely New York. 

Not to mention, the number of immigrants is greatly different.  From 1820 to 2004 (according to the Wikis), 5.5 million Italians immigrated into the US.  Further, we weren't teaching Italians shit.  They were abused and used like indentured servants in manual labor and it wasn't until the 1970s that they began to rise out of being a lower class citizen. 

Also, Italians, Jews, Polish - European immigrants had distinct cultures which isolated each into a confined people group.  The majority of Hispanic immigrants are largely similar in language, values, and culture. 

There are 11.6 million Mexicans alone in the United States.   Between 1960 and the present, the total Hispanic population has swelled to 50 million immigrants.  In less than half of the time when compared to Italians, there have been 45 million MORE Hispanic immigrants in the US.

And they don't live in a few isolated ghettos.  They're in nearly every state from California to Texas to Alabama to Florida and up the Eastern Seaboard.  There's not as much pressure on them to assimilate or leave because as the OP article discusses, they've become the largest minority group and the minority groups combined outnumber whites. 

You can say it is that easy because other foreigners have done it, but the power to force them to do so is slipping away and it's slipping away quickly.

What percent of the I-talians were legal?

What percent of them Mexi-cans are legal?

Little harder for them I-talians to sneak in cross that big ocean. I guess they should have gone through Mexico...

WE SPEAKY THE ENGRISH HERE!

[Saniflush]

What percent of the I-talians were legal?

What percent of them Mexi-cans are legal?

Little harder for them I-talians to sneak in cross that big ocean. I guess they should have gone through Mexico...

WE SPEAKY THE ENGRISH HERE!

[WiregrassTiger]

You guys seem to laugh and joke about everything and that's fine. But I can tell you that, unless you've experienced stereotyping, you have no idea the pain that can be caused from seemingly light-hearted comments.

I have had girls turn me down for dates. I was not allowed on the freshman basketball team. I couldn't go swimming at the city pool as a kid. All because of my freakishly long penis that is genetic. Generations of men in my family have endured the same, I'm sure.

I finally came to realize that it makes me special and people poking fun at my penis doesn't bother me anymore. Plus, I dick slapped a few people for it and it started happening less frequently.

[AUChizad]

You guys seem to laugh and joke about everything and that's fine. But I can tell you that, unless you've experienced stereotyping, you have no idea the pain that can be caused from seemingly light-hearted comments.

I have had girls turn me down for dates. I was not allowed on the freshman basketball team. I couldn't go swimming at the city pool as a kid. All because of my freakishly long penis that is genetic. Generations of men in my family have endured the same, I'm sure.

I finally came to realize that it makes me special and people poking fun at my penis doesn't bother me anymore. Plus, I dick slapped a few people for it and it started happening less frequently.

The part in bold is where the joke didn't make sense.

[GH2001]

Sweets, why are you doing this? auburnredwing? Speak up! Explain yourselves!

Pretty sure they aren't part of the group we are speaking of. And to be fair, its not them so much as it is our federal govt. They think they have to baby and coddle anyone and everyone. For the record, I have hispanic people in my family through marriage. Mainly older but they assimilated perfectly. Its the newest arrivals that don't seem to want to and are basically being told that is perfectly fine to do.

[CCTAU]

You guys seem to laugh and joke about everything and that's fine. But I can tell you that, unless you've experienced stereotyping, you have no idea the pain that can be caused from seemingly light-hearted comments.

I have had girls turn me down for dates. I was not allowed on the freshman basketball team. I couldn't go swimming at the city pool as a kid. All because of my freakishly long penis that is genetic. Generations of men in my family have endured the same, I'm sure.

I finally came to realize that it makes me special and people poking fun at my penis doesn't bother me anymore. Plus, I dick slapped a few people for it and it started happening less frequently.

If you wouldn't run around yelling, "YOU GONNA LEARN TODAY! YOU GONNA LEARN TODAY!" They might let your ass stick around a bit.

#ANNOYINGLONGPENISGUY

NSFW

[Saniflush]

The part in bold is where the joke didn't make sense.

I think because he was too good of a basketball player as a freshman and had to play varsity.