Washington – Black and Latino students see school as a more rowdy, disrespectful and dangerous place than their Anglo classmates do, a poll says.
The findings suggest that many minority kids are struggling in the equivalent of a hostile work environment, according to Public Agenda, a nonpartisan opinion research group that tracks education trends.
Minorities in public middle and high schools are more likely than Anglo children to describe profanity, truancy, fighting, weapons and drug abuse as “very serious” problems.
The black and Latino children – under pressure to close their test-score gaps with Anglos – also see more pervasive academic woes, such as lower standards, higher dropout rates and kids who advance even if they don’t learn.
Thirty percent of black students – three in every 10 – said teachers spend more time trying to keep order in class than teaching; 14 percent of Anglo students said the same.
More than half of black students said kids who lack respect for teachers and use bad language are a very serious problem, compared with less than one-third of white students.
Latino students also reported worse social and academic conditions in school than Anglo children, although the gaps were not as large as they were between blacks and whites.
On the plus side, the poll found positive results that cut across race and ethnicity.
Majorities of children said they are learning a lot in reading, writing and math classes. Most students said at least one teacher has gotten them interested in a subject they usually hate.
