Wednesday, September 18, 2013
It's Time To Do Away With The "Urban" and "Inner City" Labels
My time spent at District C High School this week has me thinking about many things, but one thing in particular has been on my mind quite a lot. This is the tendency to label schools as being "inner city" or "urban." I, for one, will try to refrain from using these terms, as I feel they do nothing but stunt the students' educational growth. What is accomplished by referring to these schools using these terms. While "urban" may mean a densely populated, industrial area, it has many negative connotations. The same can be said for "inner city." We all know the what these negative connotations are. Are "urban" or "inner city" being used because they sound better than "ghetto"? Let's stop with the euphemisms. Do we use these terms as a way to excuse high dropout rates? Does it make the problem easier to deal with if we say that a school is failing because it's an "urban" or "inner city" school? The students aren't stupid. They know what these labels mean, and it makes it harder to fight through the adversity they have to deal with on a daily basis if they know they are being labeled. These terms perpetuate stereotypes, thus keeping things the way they are. It's time for a change. And I saw this change happening during my first visit to District C High. There is an excitement there that is contagious and has me believing that they are trying to change the culture in District C. Needless to say, this experience has me looking forward to my visits to the school this semester.
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Justin- I can see why you feel that "inner-city," and "urban" would be demeaning or condescending. Mentioning that you visit an inner city school once a week for school brings odd looks, like the school is some sort of burden on your life. I think the divide between "urban and suburban" occurred a long time ago, when the U.S stopped the bussing services implemented as a mandate of Brown v. Board of Ed. I remember (somewhat vaguely) reading an article in FNED 346 by Jonathan Kozol in which he discusses the statistics that indicate U.S schools are more segregated than ever. It is this lack of transportation, as well as a massive lack of funding and resources that make "inner city" have negative connotations, not the students or faculty themselves. It would be refreshing to hear a politician or legislator acknowledge that these schools aren't some forsaken moneypit, but a place that is as deserving, or even more deserving than most other schools. The beginning of course, starts with acknowledging that there is a divide, and actively seeking to eliminate that divide.
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