Amanda E. Lewis

The color line remains

Despite the Best Intentions: Why Racial Inequality Thrives in Good Schools by Amanda E. Lewis and John B. Diamond (Oxford University Press, $27.95).

Amanda E. Lewis and John B. Diamond, sociologists, decided to tackle the issue of racial inequality (lower test scores and graduation rates for students of color) by examining closely one high school in a Midwestern suburb.

In Despite the Best Intentions: Why Racial Inequality Thrives in Good Schools, they tried to find out show more why, in a school where resources and willingness to serve racial minorities were present, a persistent gap remained between black and Latino students and their white and Asian American classmates.

The oft-cited idea that African American children and families see education as a “white” thing is thoroughly debunked in their work; at the same time, the institutional habit of seeking to discipline black children while understanding and counseling white children exposes another problem area.

What teacher have been saying for decades–that educational inequality has its roots in economic inequality–is certainly true to a certain extent, as nothing guarantees academic achievement quite like a stable, middle class family, but what Lewis and Diamond uncover is that social inequality is hard-wired into the system. Even well-meaning teachers and administrators treat students of color differently, and this different treatment is not ameliorated by higher economic status on the part of the students’ parents.

While Despite the Best Intentions is an academic book, it is readable and will be of major interest to those who are exploring and attempting to mitigate inequality in education.

(Reviewed on Lit/Rant: www.litrant.tumblr.com) show less