To think I should be able to express a desire to not want to send my child to the local school which has more than 95% asian children and not be called a racist!

[Sails]

The school is a few minutes walk away from me but I have no intention of sending my children there. Most classes there isn't a single white child in it especially the younger end of the school. The other nearest school is about a 25 minute walk away. It has a 50% mix have absolutely no problem with that whatsoever. I have asian neighbours and even they don't even send their Reception child to the local school. Told my hairdresser that I don't want to send my child to x school and she said "thats a bit racist!" Told my neighbour and she too was shocked and said I am probably the least racist person she knows!

I live half way between two primary schools: one with an 80% non white intake, the other has a mostly caucasian intake.

I visited both schools before making up my mind. I chose to put my child in the one where the children were the best behaved during my visit, where the children were achieving the most highly, and where there was the best atmosphere. It happens to be in the one where over 80% of the children are non-white.

I think you should choose a school on the basis of its performance, not on the ethnic origin of its pupils.

Please point out to me the racist bits in the OP, and the reasons why they are racist, because I can't see them.

It's about ratios not race.

Kew, the OP says one of her concerns is that in "Most classes there isn't a single white child in it especially the younger end of the school." and then goes on to say the other school she does want to send her child is more multicultural in that "It has a 50% mix have absolutely no problem with that whatsoever."

Has it got to the point where even being pro-multiculturalist can be construed as racist? It's madness. Utter maddness.

she may do very well, have you noticed how many doctors are asian?

This thread is scary. Kids are kids and far more accepting of any sort of perceived difference than we are. It's a massive shame that our schools/ cities can be so monocultured, and that's due to racism on every side and cultures/ races sticking together because of fear of abuse or exclusion. Still though, on a micro level if it's a good school, colour or religion won't be an issue and nobody will be made to feel excluded. So imo you should go for the school that feels calm, welcoming and friendly. Go with your gut instinct about the school and the education it offers. I really don't think it matters if the school's good. If it isn't, well that's a different matter.

Meant to add, but I went to an inner city very racially mixed school and I can't remember ever even noticing what colour my friends were until my mother asked me how many black children were in my class? Apparently I didn't know what she meant.

I went to a school where I was in an ethnic minority of less than 5%. Frankly I can't see what the fuss is about. If the OP is concerned about educational standards, that's fair enough, in which case she really ought to have expressed her view intelligently and thoughtfully. What she's written in her OP does sound racist, even if she herself is not a racist.

And ditto on Asians being very high performers when it comes to education. Also it should be noted that immigrant children generally do better academically than native-born children because they typically come from countries which have a better attitude towards education and respect for teachers. This is all the more relevant for refugees, who generally place a high value on the gift of a free education, whereas we spoiled Westerners seem to take these things for granted.

Monkeytrousers, she's either contradicting herself in the quotes you posted above, or she doesn't really know what she thinks. Either way, to complain that there aren't enough white children in a school does sound racist.

You can't really generalise about immigrant children and academic achievment as it varies hugely. Somali and Bengali children usually perform below national averages for example with many other groups doing significantly better.

My son was the only non-Bengali muslim in his class at his first school and was utterly miserable.

Talbot, I got my information from an expert who works with immigrant children in education! Of course there are always exceptions, however I am assured that the information I was given is accurate. Anyway, aren't you making generalisations about Somali and Bengali children?

Why was your son miserable in that class?

Funnily enough, I could have written a similar post when I was choosing a private school for our son. I visited the best known local school but wasn't happy because most of the classes "didn't have a single black or asian child" in them. A main reason for our eventual choice was that it had a much better mix. Is that decision considered racist?

I'm not making generalisations because that's what the studies show re Somali and Bengali kids.

He was miserable because hardly any of his classmates replied or showed up to his birthday party, our playdates were never accepted or returned and he found the fact that English wasn't the language of the playground difficult.

As I said I have absolutely no view on whether the OP is actually racist or not but the OP says that she has a problem with the school in which "Most classes there isn't a single white child in it " but that the school with 50% white children she has no problem with.

I don't see how anyone can not interpret that on the surface as racist and obviously her hairdresser and neighbour agree with me

There was no mention initially of school results, percentage of children who don't speak english. Purely on what percentage of the children were white (what is the acceptible percentage anyway?). If she didn't mean that, then she needs to be clearer about what she says if she doesn't want people to consider her racist.

Surely in anyones book, judging by colour alone is racist?

So Kew was I racist to reject one school on the basis that it was 100% white?

probably if that was the only reason you rejected it. I would choose a 100% white school with good results and a good atmosphere for my non-white DS anyday over a multicultural school with worse results and a less nice atmosphere.

In the presece (unlikely) of two equivalent schools choosing one over the other on the basis that it is more multicultural is (IMVHO) perfectly reasonable (whether the more monocultural school is white culture or otherwise). However (again IMVHO) choosing a school solely on the colour of its pupils is racist. OP mentioned nothing else in her OP but colour of pupils.

I rejected a school for DD1 because it was too white and also because the culture wasn't one with which I had any connection - it does get good results though. Is that racist?

Talbot, you said "Is that decision considered racist?". My argument against the OP's statement has been that the way she's said it sounds racist, whether or not she actually is. I said earlier that she should explain her thoughts more thoughtfully in order to avoid sounding like a racist. Your situation is the same.

Obviously in the UK brown-skinned people are in the minority. In general in life Davids get the popular vote over Goliaths: we deem it socially inappropriate to side with the majority, hence, for example, why Barack Obama is more likely to be referred to as black than white, despite being both. So with this in mind people would assume, rightly or wrongly, that, being in the ethnic minority, your decision is about wanting to support your son's culture and identity, and not about you hating white people. However you would still need to qualify your statement in order to remove all doubt.

My thinking was that my daughter is growing up in a 21st century city and that she should go to a school that reflects that - to a good cultural mix is essential - and her education will be all the better for it.

Well as they are both successful independent schools who don't do SATs, it's not possible to exactly quantify the results but both are broadly similar. I have no qualms about choosing a school because it has a broad representation of cultures rather than being monocultural. It's something that's important to me and I would have thought it ridiculous to exclude it from the equation.

Smallorange - if that school gets better results than the one you eventually chose, I'd say that was pretty silly! As I said before I attended a school in which I was a minority; I ended up doing better than most of my peers academically and socially I mixed with people of all colours but found that I got on better with people who were not the same colour as me. Culture and skin colour are not such straightforward predictors of behaviour as you might think.

Talbot, you and I have clearly made the same sorts of generalisation about academic performance, then, haven't we?

not with you MrsMH - what generalisation have I made on academic performance?

Definition of racism is that it's a 'hostile attitude or behaviour to members of other races, based on the belief of the innate superiority of one's own race' So smallorange you're not being racist and neither is talbot.

I didn;t say you should exlcude it - I said if it were the only reason you chose a particular shcool it could be viewed as racist.

Like MrsTM I have repeartedly said that I don;t have any view on whether the OP is racist but saying you won't go to a school becasue of the colour of the majoirty of its pupils is going to be seen as racist. BEcasue it is... you're making a choise based entirely on colour which presumably we all agree doesn't actually make something good or bad per se?

My DS is not white - I would prefer him to go to a multicultural school but I would not choose a school for him solely on that basis. In fact in London difficult to avoid.

I'm afraid that I also beleive most white paretns would be slightly scared of their child going to a school of 95% non-white pupils despite the fact that non-whites outside of the major urban centres face this all the time and no-one expects them to be wailing and wringing their hands (rightly or wrongly).

YANBU - I would worry about sending my DS to a school where English wasn't the first language of the majority of it's pupils. In the same way I would worry about sending him to say a school in France or Spain or wherever. I would worry that DS would find it hard to interact with the other children and would feel left out if they didn't speak English to eachother.

It's not silly - the school has a predominantly Gaelic culture; the children speak nothing but Gaelic for the first few years.

I am English, have links, background or interest in Gaelic culture. Do not speak the language and would struggle to help DD1 with homework.

It is overwhelmingly white. And so am I! So am I showing prejudice? Should I just put her in the school because it gets good results?

The point I am trying to make is that people can share the same skin tone, but have widely differing cultures. Surely agood mix of cultures is the best way forward!