"School!"

[manesero]

Not quite sure what to think of this article in the NY Times today. On the one hand, I'm all for courses that further educate students about non-white backgrounds - goodness knows there's too much not being taught about Canadian and North American histories. But on the other hand, do these classes somehow promote segregation? What are your thoughts

Comments

[lntothelens]

The proper term for this is discrimination, but that word has negative connotations. Separating people is necessary all the time in our lives (for example, being selected for admittance to a school or chosen for a job) but what is wrong - or so it seems - is to select people for arbitrary or bad reasons. So, when it came to segregation, for example, it was held as unethical because there was no useful reason to discriminate between use of school services.

In this case, if providing a class is purely educational and positive, using reason and not hate, then I think that it is discrimination, yes, but it has a useful purpose - to help people, specifically to whom it is relevant - learn about the history and culture of others. As long as the students aren't chosen or taught because of their background for this class, I think it seems good and I hope some good comes of it.

Thanks, Jeff!