I recently listened to an episode of Code Switch: What About Your Friends, that discusses how friendships are developed between people of different races. Researcher Grace Kao found that students who are White and Black overwhelmingly have homogeneous friend groups, while Latino and Asian are more likely to have friends of different races. In addition, kids of color were disproportionately unable to name one single friend at school. Specifically, 30% of the students who were unable to name one friend were Black, Hispanic, and Asian males.
Why does this happen? The United States has a long history of housing segregation which has led to de facto segregation in schools. Since friendship is largely determined by proximity, it’s not surprising that this phenomenon occurs. Even in racially diverse schools, systemic tracking of students often lead to alienation and pitting of one group of students against another. Students of color often choose to come together as a form of protection from prejudice and rejection.
Why does this happen? The United States has a long history of housing segregation which has led to de facto segregation in schools. Since friendship is largely determined by proximity, it’s not surprising that this phenomenon occurs. Even in racially diverse schools, systemic tracking of students often lead to alienation and pitting of one group of students against another. Students of color often choose to come together as a form of protection from prejudice and rejection.
One thing that Cinzia Pica-Smith, associate professor at Assumption College, says can help is to have students work towards common goals that are supported by adults and school leadership. Secondly, teachers need to be learn about and reflect on their own implicit bias. Even if explicit tracking isn’t happening in schools, interactions that white, middle class, monolingual teachers are having with students of color might inadvertently be impacting the way that students see themselves and each other.
This episode led to my own reflection about the people who I call friends, both growing up in school, and as an adult. I know that there are friendships that I have been able to maintain because we have a sense of shared history and understanding. Some friendships have developed due to proximity or activities in common. There are other friendships that I’ve had to work harder to cultivate because we come from different backgrounds and might have differing worldviews.
In what ways have you been able to create safer and more equitable schools so that our students feel open to reaching across racial lines? How can we lay a foundation for learning about each other when the curriculum does not reflect the students we work with? Please share the work that you’ve done in your school settings!
This episode led to my own reflection about the people who I call friends, both growing up in school, and as an adult. I know that there are friendships that I have been able to maintain because we have a sense of shared history and understanding. Some friendships have developed due to proximity or activities in common. There are other friendships that I’ve had to work harder to cultivate because we come from different backgrounds and might have differing worldviews.
In what ways have you been able to create safer and more equitable schools so that our students feel open to reaching across racial lines? How can we lay a foundation for learning about each other when the curriculum does not reflect the students we work with? Please share the work that you’ve done in your school settings!
Blog Post Written By: Laura Lin, Assistant Director of School Partnerships
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