Has Use of Ethnic Labels Gone Too Far? : Schools: Why are millions being spent to separate children into inaccurate categories and then artificially mix them up again?

My sixth-grade son recently brought home from school a student ethnic survey. The instructions were to choose one appropriate ethnic classification for my child. I refused.

My son’s father is Mexican, and I was born in Kenya when it was a British colony. My father is a Norwegian-American who was born in the Philippines, and my mother was born in the United States. Citizenship in our family has never been an easy matter.

So in what category does my son belong? Is he “white,” defined as “not of Hispanic origin (not Portuguese). A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa or the Middle East”?

Or is he “Hispanic,” defined as “a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race?” But Mexicans come in many ethnic shades as well--Spanish, Russian, Aztec Indian, even American Indian. Perhaps that could place my son in the “American Indian” category, defined as “a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North America and who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition”? (What do American Indians become when they don’t have tribal affiliation?) There was no mixed American or Heinz 57 category, and I was not allowed to choose two of the above.

The school staff advised me that it is an advantage to be classified as Hispanic, as there are more opportunities to get into the best magnet programs.

But what I want to know is why millions of dollars are being spent to separate children into inaccurate categories and then artificially mix them back up again.

The San Diego Unified school board informed me that the ethnic survey is required by the state and federal governments and because of a 1965 court order to desegregate San Diego schools.

The court’s definition of a segregated school is “one in which minority students are so isolated that they are deprived of an integrated educational experience.” The court’s order was “to take reasonably feasible steps to alleviate school segregation regardless of its cause.”

In practice, a school is considered minority-isolated if the minority enrollment exceeds the district’s overall minority percentage by 20% to 30%. To assure this artificial balance, every school and every class in every school is documented. Reams of reports are written.

There are 19 possible ethnic choices, a list that reflects the amount of political pressure applied by ethnic groups that want to be identified individually. Thus we have Portuguese, and four Southeast Asian groups: Hmong, Laotian, Vietnamese, Cambodian. Evidently Egyptians, Iraqis, Israelis, Palestinians, Germans, Italians, Greeks, Saudis, Norwegians, Ethiopians, etc., don’t have the lobbying power to get a separate ethnic classification. They are all under “white.”

Don’t get me wrong. The intent of desegregation is laudable. But parents have taken care of many desegregation problems by marrying each other. Children come in hundreds of wonderful shades of gray.

Educators point to the low achievement levels and high dropout rates of some ethnic groups. But achievement levels are not equal across ethnic-racial groups, by sex or economic background, or even within the same family. What happened to the concept of a teacher referring students to special programs when the teacher thinks they are not achieving as they should? From my own experience I know that a student has to be two grade levels behind before he can get help with achievement problems and, then, only after much effort.

The schools are overcrowded, and understaffed. Kids don’t have enough textbooks or desks or teacher’s attention. Yet last year the San Diego Unified School District spent $47 million for a program built on the false premise that children can be helped by sorting them into “black or white” categories.

“Black and white” labels are no longer needed in a day when there are so many racial-ethnic mixtures and so many more pressing educational needs. Cultures can still be taught in geography, social science, language, and arts courses.

Stop dividing us by our differences, and start uniting us by our need for a better education.

STUDENT ETHNIC SURVEY

PARENTS: Please complete the Student Ethnic Survey by reading the given definitions and indicating one appropriate ethnic classification for your child.

* AFRICAN AMERICAN--Not of Hispanic origin. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Africa.

* AMERICAN INDIAN or ALASKAN NATIVE--A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North America and who maintains cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition.

* ASIAN INDIAN--A person having origins in any of the original peoples of India.

* CAMBODIAN--A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Cambodia.

* CHINESE--A person having origins in any of the original peoples of one of the following countries: Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong.

* FILIPINO--A person having origins in any of the original people of the Philippine Islands.

* GUAMANIAN--A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Guam.

* HAWAIIAN--A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii.

* HISPANIC--A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.

* HMONG--A person having origins in any original peoples of Laos or Cambodia, and are of the Hmong culture or origin.

* JAPANESE--A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Japan.

* KOREAN--A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Korea.

* LAOTIAN (not Hmong)--A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Laos.

* OTHER ASIAN--A person having origins in any of the original peoples of one of the following: Burma, Malaya, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Mien, Singapore, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, or any other Asian country not listed.

* OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDER (other than those listed above)--A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Pacific Islands other than Hawaii, Guam, Samoa (American Samoa or Western Samoa). Includes islands such as Polynesia, Fiji Islands, Marshall Island, Melanesia, Palau, Tonga, Truk, Yap or Tahiti.

* PORTUGUESE--A person having origins in any of the original people of Portugal.

* SAMOAN--A person having origins in any of the original peoples in Samoa. (American Samoa or Western Samoa).

* VIETNAMESE--A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Vietnam.

* WHITE--Not of Hispanic origin (not Portuguese). A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East.