Commentary: Together but separate

Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center

Growing up in a predominately Hispanic neighborhood with hardly any cultural diversity but your own can be limiting. My challenge was deciding after 8th grade to apply to better schools outside of my community because the test scores at my neighborhood schools are so low.

When I got into one of the preferred schools, it turns out to be one of the most diverse schools in the city. I open the doors and see every shade of color and people of many ethnic backgrounds, and as time passes, I became educated about different cultures. Then I began to question why some schools are more privileged than others when it comes to diversity and why Chicago is segregated.

Diversity in education prepares you for the real world. Students in ethnically diverse schools learn from each other’s religions and cultures. They end up making connections and learning that we are not all that different.

Some schools are more diverse than others because magnet and gifted schools tend to have lotteries that maintain the population of many ethnicities. Testing is also a requirement for gifted schools. This gives everyone an equal chance to get in because students from all over the city can apply to them, even though there is limited space. A neighborhood school only allows entry to students that live in the area of the school. Since Chicago is so segregated, communities are often predominantly once race.

Chatham is a majority African-American neighborhood where Kier Moore lives. Kier, a junior at Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center in the Albany Park, chose a school outside her community because her mother wanted her to go to a school with good test scores and cultural diversity.

Many communities are populated with a dominant ethnic group but students from those areas are filtered into diverse schools. According to Adam Green, an associate professor in American history at the University of Chicago, Chicago’s segregation is made up of three components: our historical roots, industry practice and law. He adds that since the 1950s and 1960s, African-American and Latino communities on the West Side, specifically in areas such as Lawndale and Austin, had a desire to remain close to each other. Integration was highly discouraged. “There were restrictive law covenants where whites could not sell to members of other races,’’ he says. We can assume that this racial encouragement to stay separate has continued with us as a habit or we have just become accustom to it.

Those components are showing up less in communities like Rogers Park, Albany Park and Hyde Park, three of the most diverse communities in Chicago, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. Living in a community that is diverse can teach people that differences are alright and ultimately allow you to break away from beliefs in stereotypes.

Argie Claro, a sophomore at Westinghouse College Preparatory High School, says: “Going to a school that is semi-diverse allows me to interact with more nationalities and get to know different cultures; with more interaction, there are fewer chances of conflict and stereotyping.” He also says going to his neighborhood school wouldn’t expose him to new people, their religions, and even their lifestyles.

Some schools celebrate cultures through clubs and organizations by hosting events, such as international nights where students can buy tickets to watch their peers perform and represent their school clubs.

Most of the clubs are ethnic clubs. Not only is it fun to attend but it’s also educational because you are learning about different cultures through music and dance. On certain holidays, some teachers will even explain what holiday it is and the importance.

Some people do not want to travel across the city to go to school when they have a neighborhood school that is near them. Jaxiry Lope, a student at Kelvyn Park High School in Logan Square, attends the school one block from her home. The majority of the people in her school are Hispanic, she says, and she chose to go there because it was convenient. She does, however, wish it was a bit more diverse, because she might be able to learn something new about the world that the school does not teach.

Overall, our city has deep roots in segregation. There is no need to continue what was given to us from past generations and stay restrained to one social group. Diversity is a positive thing we can all benefit from, especially in our schools. People from all over the city look for schools that are more integrated and these schools even tend to be magnet or gifted.

Let’s educate each other!