Parents were outraged last month in April when a California high school decided to cut honors classes. The High School explained that it is to reduce racial injustice because White students make up the majority of those who apply to Honors programs. Of course, there are serious debates between the school and parents.
Report of the story from KATV (NBC-7): https://katv.com/news/nation-world/parents-upset-after-california-high-school-cuts-honors-classes-for-equity-reasons-san-diego-advanced-patrick-henry-gpa-college-admissions-kids-students-grades
This reminds me of my high school's plan to cancel all Honors programs next year for the same reason. I enquired about my mixed-race/gender classmates. The majority of them believe the Honors should not be canceled. They believed that because it makes their courses less rigorous, it would harm all students' chances of admission to college. Some of the students wanted to express their opinions to the School Board to resist this agenda.
Our Student Newspaper, for which I also write, published an article in which they interviewed multiple teachers anonymously. The teachers also don't support the High School's decision. One teacher stated, "if [the district] wants more access to kids who would never really be in honors, are we playing down the curriculum just so we can say that they are getting 'honors'?"The paper ended with the comment, "For now, the model [our district] plans to enforce will only achieve the effects of lessening the racial gap between honors and non-honors courses, creating more problems in the long run, and not necessarily fixing anything in regards to the learning gap."
I would like to hear more perspectives on this subject. Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. (The most thorough comment will get the Above and Beyond award.)
I think it is important that you mentioned that fewer colored students apply as opposed to being accepted. Many schools have a lower amount of racial diversity, so clearly, if there are naturally fewer colored students in a school, fewer will apply to honors programs. This said, I believe that racial injustice is a poor reason to cancel such programs. These programs challenge students to become the best student they can be. It is difficult for above-average students to fully apply themselves if the course rigor falls short of their capabilities.
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