This paper reviews “Resegregation in American Schools,” by Gary Orfield and John Yun, which argues that a new form of segregation is emerging in the nation’s schools.
This paper explains that many white students remain cloistered in their own schools; meanwhile, non-white racial groups, Latinos and blacks in particular, are often located in schools with a non-white majority, often in areas with high crime and poverty rates and no access to a quality education. The author points out that a better solution than school vouchers are charter schools, which allow communities and educators greater leeway in designing their curricula, lesson plans, and school missions. The paper states that a quality education is the right of all Americans, not just a select few.
This new segregation will have several important long-term consequences not only for the Latino and black students but also for society as a whole. Education is seen as a stepping-stone for a brighter future. The goal of educators, after all, is not only to teach students skills for gainful employment. In doing so, education is supposed to give young people the critical and analytical foundations that will later allow them to contribute to their communities.