PODCAST LINK:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nice-white-parents/id1524080195

Introduction

The 2020 New York Times podcast by Chana Joffe-Walt titled "Nice White Parents"
does an excellent job of analysing a basic driver in what is hindering educational
integration and equity in the United States of America, and that driver is the behaviour
of White families. The first episode of the podcast entitled "Nice White Parents," which
centres on educational disparity in the United States, was released in the summer of
2020. According to this podcast series, well-meaning white parents are at least largely
to fault for educational discrepancies in their children's schools.

The writers of "Nice White Parents" lay the responsibility for the education system's
most important problem, which is racial segregation, squarely on the shoulders of a
group that is generally considered to have a decent heart. According to Joffe-Walt, the
level to which a child is socially isolated from others is the most important factor in
determining the education of education that the child receives. The premise of the
podcast is that well-meaning white parents who want racially mixed schools do not have
the resources necessary to really make it happen. These reasons include overcrowding,
noise control, and general melancholy.

Critical Analysis of “Nice White Parents”

Nice White Parents is particularly concerned with individuals in authoritative positions,

who are scrutinised in order to make certain that they are held accountable for their
words and deeds and that they are subjected to the same scrutiny as everyone else
(Ramani and Siegler, 2011; Fortuny et al, 2010; Oyserman, 2008). People who are
white and wealthy, like Joffe-Walt, are put front and centre in this story. There is the
possibility that some people will raise objections, arguing that this positions African-
American and Latino parents and pupils in a position of inferiority (Shlay, 2010; Cokley
and Chapman, 2008; Awad, 2007; Eitle and Eitle, 2004). But it does make sense for
Joffe-Walt to turn to white parents thus far because the decisions that they have made
have led to the ongoing perpetuation of the inequality.
Joffe-Walt follows a group of reasonably well-off white parents in Brooklyn who, in 2015,
choose to send their children to a single middle school in the area. The pilot episode of
a five-part series, Joffe-documentary Walt's follows these parents as they make their
decision. They rapidly made headlines with their aggressive fundraising, French dual
immersion, and general disdain to the preexisting school community, which was mostly
constituted of people of colour. This community was predominantly white.

Along the way, Joffe-Walt introduces us to some understanding but foolish parents, as
well as a group of perspiring 11-year-olds who are certain they are preventing the
destruction of their beautiful new school. She drags us along to cringe-worthy PTA
meetings and then to a luxury Manhattan fundraising dinner, where everyone there is
under the impression that they are helping the community in some way.

The second occurrence takes place in the 1960s, when preparations for the
establishment are only beginning to take shape. Joffe-Walt unearths letters sent by
white parents who petitioned the Department of Education to locate the new school in
an integrated neighbourhood but then neglected the school once they achieved their
goal of having their request granted. After that, she searches out the people who wrote
the letters in order to hear their reflections on the past.

Some of them went so far as to uproot their lives and move to the suburbs. A number of
parents made the decision to put their children in more prominent private schools. In the
1960s, when integration was one of the most important issues in New York City,
according to Joffe-Walt, there was an increase in the number of private schools in the
city. In the South, where these institutions had been established as a reaction to the
Brown decision, they were referred to as "segregation academies," which led to
widespread ridicule (Aud et al, 2010; Chong and Kim, 2006; Lewis and John, 1974).

In addition to criticising the media for its historically inadequate reporting, the book Nice
White Parents makes the argument that this has contributed to the continued existence
of racial inequality over the course of time. In addition, the media has given a
disproportionate amount of attention to large-scale integration plans despite the fact that
white parents have held their own counterprotests that are significantly smaller in scale
(Zucker et al, 2007; Fuller and Shih-Cheng, 2003). According to Joffe-Walt, even though
there were a fraction of the number of white parents, they received ten times the
amount of attention from the media.

The prejudicial and erroneous belief that white kids, families, and ideas will instantly
better problems is the white focus of the pilot episode. Alongside this is the belief that
children of colour, their families, cultures, and educational institutions have nothing of
education to contribute (Aitschul et al, 2006; Vigdor and Ludwig, 2008).

In the second episode, we begin to see a path forward by laying out the historical
patterns that have kept schools divided since the 1960s (Moody, 2001). This allows us
to begin to realise that there is a way forward. It is essential to keep in mind that there
has never been an attempt made to systematically integrate schools in the city of New
York. This provides a lot of cause for optimism. Because nobody even attempted it, it
was a waste of time. There is a political will to make this happen, and politicians are
more inclined to attempt than they let on (Nasir, 2012). Politicians, members of the
Board of Education, White families, and the media can be of immense assistance to this
effort if they refrain from ignoring or suppressing the voices and desires of BIPOC
families and instead choose to listen to, amplify, and act on those voices and desires
instead. One of the most recurrent ideas expressed by BIPOC families is the
significance of ensuring that all members of the community have the same opportunities
to reap the advantages of integration. The story would have you believe that it is far
more straightforward than it actually is.

The conclusion of Episode 3 is that we need to do an in-depth analysis of "gifted

programmes" and "special new schools," both of which primarily attempt to segregate
pupils based on race and economic position while also providing a disproportionate
amount of resources to households who are white. It is true that "gifted" programmes
and schools are extremely difficult to deconstruct once they have been built;
nevertheless, many are beginning to question whether or not this is the case in a
number of locations across the country (Gonzales et al, 2007; Burchinal and Cryer,
2003).
The fourth episode was hopeful because it modelled concrete methods that institutions
may take to enhance and facilitate racial and socioeconomic diversity on campus. This
was accomplished through the use of role playing. For a variety of reasons, the newly
implemented BHS measures to increase the number of people of colour in the
workforce, as well as to have open conversations and trainings about race and
inclusion, look to be succeeding.

In the season-ending episode of "Nice White Parents," viewers are given a cause to
have hope by witnessing how changing legislation to enable school integration can be
done, how effective it can be, and how important it is. We cannot place all of our faith in
the decisions that are made by people or families if the institutions in which we live are
biassed and detrimental. Additionally, if individual families, particularly White families,
collaborate to achieve these structural changes, it does work push them through. This is
notably true in the United States.

Discussion

The podcast is successful in a variety of other important respects as well. Joffe-Walt

exceptional multiple interviews that was conducted with school administrators, parents,
and students are evidence of her access to the information she seeks. Field reporting
may be made extremely interesting by attending community activities such as PTA
meetings and gala fundraisers. Excellent interviews with students who provide
interesting analysis on the processes that equate to gentrification at their school. In
addition, Joffe-Walt, who hosts the series and acts as its guide, does an excellent job of
elaborating and clarifying what is being demonstrated and discussed.

The aspect of the show that stands out the most and is also its greatest point is the fact
that it focuses on the people whose lives are being made better as a result of the
current scenario. Nice White Parents takes us on tours of the school, to parent-teacher
conferences, and into the hearts of the parents who made the decision to send their
children to this institution because they believe it will give their children with a better
education. In this regard, it is an intriguing new method to writing about racial disparities
in the media, and it is one that I hope other journalists will consider adopting in the
future. Chana Joffe- Walt has done an outstanding job of outlining the current condition
of school segregation, its historical roots, and the steps that may be taken to repair the
situation and establish a more fair education system. He has also done an amazing job
of explaining why school segregation exists.

This piece of reporting, despite its shortcomings, brings to light an important truth about
the educational system in the United States of America, which can be utilised to make
future advancements in the field of education. Without it, school districts and well-
intentioned parents may be at a loss when confronted with ethical dilemmas such as
whether or not to place all white students in the gifted programme or whether or not to
allow white parents to enrol their children in the "noisier" school (Berkel et al, 2010; Byrd
and Chavous, 2009; Fuligni and Fuligni, 2007; Aronson, 2002). It is of the utmost
importance, and the tale is told in a way that is both elegant and logical, with sound and
editing that are of the highest calibre.

Online Source

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nice-white-parents/id1524080195

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