Problem:
Frightening scenes have been observed in streets and schools. Caravans of buses have been escorted by squads of motorcycle police. Other police, all the force could supply, stood elbow to elbow to protect black youngsters. Still, violence was not prevented. Stones and bottles thrown at buses broke the windows and cut children's skin. High school students beat each other with fists and clubs. A black man who happened to be parked near a gang of white youths was dragged from his car, kicked and beaten until rescued-and only because he was black.
...The[se] episodes seem to be most incongruous with the state which originated the nation's first open-housing law and subsequently passed an admirable racial imbalance law to assure equal educational opportunity for all of its children. Indeed, such hostile acts do not seem consistent with Boston-the "cradle of liberty"-the city that desegregated schools in 1855! Dan Richardson, a former Federal housing official, has provided a possible explanation: "We pass great laws here, but when it comes to Boston, there's never any enforcement. This must be one of the most segregated cities anywhere in housing and in schools, North or South."
...On Monday night, protesters firebombed the birthplace of former President John F. Kennedy and scrawled "Bus Teddy" on the front sidewalk. One of the 94 persons arrested during the first four days of school was a South Boston youth who was carrying 15 firebombs in his car. A school bus had disappeared, but 69 per cent of the students were in attendance and there were no serious injuries. School authorities were anticipating a successful school year. Busing is an unpopular term in Boston and many white parents are asking why it is necessary. They feel that if all schools had quality education busing would be unnecessary. Busing is not totally accepted by black parents, but they realize that segregated housing, in many instances, leaves no other alternative to quality integrated education. "Eighty percent of the people in Boston are against busing," said Mayor Kevin White. "If Boston were a sovereign state, busing would be cause for a revolution." On the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, [Federal Judge] Arthur Garrity ruled over Boston like a reincarnated King George. In the school system, his word was law and integration without representation had become the new tyranny.
...Busing has not only failed to integrate Boston schools, it has also failed to improve education opportunities for the city's black children. When Boston introduced Stanford 9 testing to the public schools in 1996, 94 percent of seventh-graders at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School scored "poor" or "failing" in math, as did 73 percent of fifth-graders at Brighton's Alexander Hamilton School. At Dorchester's William E. Endicott School, 95 percent of the fifth-graders scored "poor" or "failing" in reading and 100 percent scored "poor" or "failing" in math. Yet all of these students were promoted to the next grade.
On the statewide Iowa Reading Test, the Boston Public Schools ranked 275 out of the 279 cities and towns in Massachusetts. Even the working-class city of Lawrence, with a large immigrant population and a high crime rate, outscored the Boston Public Schools despite the fact that Lawrence teachers make almost $15,000 less on average than Boston teachers.
...On the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), Boston fares even worse. On average, SAT test takers in the city's high schools scored 845 (out of 1600) in 1996, surpassing only those in Chelsea. If you exclude the three exam schools, Boston would surely be last. With pathetic standardized test scores and an average promotion rate of 94 percent, it is hard to imagine the Boston Public Schools have improved since busing began. In fact, the evidence suggests they are probably worse.
Your response should be two to three paragraphs long and should include your position on the issue. Cite at least three specific pieces of historical evidence. Need Assignment Help?
In the long run, busing helped Boston because it desegregated the school system, provided equal educational opportunity for minority students, and set the stage for racial healing and an improved racial climate in the twenty-first century.
Develops an initial post with an organized, clear point of view or idea using rich and significant detail.
Provides relevant and meaningful response posts with clarifying explanation and detail .
Exceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understanding.
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