The article my student sent me was written by a woman in Kent whose daughter chose to go to Kent-Meridian High School because of the International Baccalaureate program there. The mother admitted to having trepidation because she had limited experience with people of color and heard that it was "scary". Some would not send their children there because of the way it "looked". Yet once the mother went to the school, she had a completely different attitude, and is thankful that her daughter has experienced being with such a diverse student body. She feels that her daughter is more prepared for the reality of a more diverse society and she found that the school is very respectful in the way that people treat each other, not the place of horror stories that everyone assumed it was.
Just recently, someone questioned why we were sending our son to Federal Way High School, calling it a "ghetto" school. It is amazing to me that this person said this, given the fact that of all the Federal Way high schools, it is ranked the highest on Newsweek's list of top high schools in the United States. Yes, it has a high number of students on free and reduced lunch and a high number of students of color. But it also has the only center for the Cambridge Academy on the West Coast, a highly rigorous curriculum developed by Cambridge University. It has the highest percentage of students taking advanced classes. Do people assume a school is "ghetto" just because of the high number of black and brown students? Do people not realize the ramifications of using that word?
People who commit to anti-racist behavior realize that if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. If you think the world is a better place without racism, then do your part and stop using racially loaded words like "ghetto" as an adjective. And if you think this is just about being politically correct, well if not using racist language is being politically correct, then I guess I'm guilty. I'd rather be politically correct than a bigot.
