1. Children in the Balance.
- Author
-
Schlesinger, Ina and D'Amore, Michael
- Abstract
In this book, we propose to describe what actually happened, as we saw it, in the schools of White Plains, New York, over a period of five years after a decision to integrate was implemented. Putting children together in one classroom is only a first step; it is desegregation rather than integration. The real work begins only after this first step has been taken. In the classroom, a teacher is now faced with: the age-old suspicion and distrust of black people; the "monumental hypocrisy" of whites; prejudice, blindness, and ignorance on both sides; two widely different sets of values, attitudes, and needs; and the disparity in academic standards created by the ghetto. All this must be dealt with patiently and realistically if integration is to become a fact. Both authors worked with the children discussed in this book, one as the classroom teacher, the other as a volunteer. The "I" in the book reflects our joint feelings and experiences. I came to teach sixth grade in White Plains in the fall of 1964, after several years' experience in the New York City public schools. I was to work in an elementary school that, until that year, had been entirely white and middle class. (Authors/JM)
- Published
- 1971