Nice White Parents: Educational Wellness or White Supremacy? 

In Nice White Parents, reporter Chana Joffe-Walt of The New York Times captivates the audience with insight into how well-intentioned methods turn into further inequalities and end up hurting the public education system. Focusing on the discrepancies between the White students compared to the students of color, Joffe-Walt tackles deep themes such as microaggressions and shows why this kind of ignorance is attributed to White Supremacy in many schools in five episodes. The prime example she focuses on is a school called the School for International Studies (SIS) located in Brooklyn. 

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What was previously dominantly populated by Black, Latino, and Middle Eastern kids changes when a large number of White students join via the French Immersion program that is created within the institution. However, tensions and bad blood emerge when one of the White parents named Rob launched fundraisers and campaigns dedicated to programs that benefited those White students, neglecting everyone else. 

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One of the main methods that Joffe-Walt uses throughout her investigation is to interview various students, parents, and faculty to gather as many different perspectives as possible. For example, she interviews one of the White students, who says: “I bet they learned very little. And now, this generation, with us, I think we’re doing a lot better, and I think that we’re learning at a much faster pace.” After some of these conversations, she inputs her analysis on what’s happening throughout each comment and thought process. After speaking with that student, she talks about how the White kids and parents alike believe they are doing the right thing when in reality they are continuing to perpetuate this false savior mentality.

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An important term that Joffe-Walt defines is a word called a bliss point. This means “That fall, white families were crowding the school tours at SIS, not because the test scores had improved- the new scores hadn’t even come out yet- but because the other white families made them feel blissfully comfortable.” Going back to the French immersion program as one of the perpetuations, it was shown to have value, especially to the White students and parents versus the other languages that were spoken by the non-White students. Arabic and Spanish didn’t have as much value. There is no attempt at intersectionality within this school based on making the White students more comfortable. The majority of White students and families believe it to be more impressive to learn French from extravagant trips to Paris versus the Hispanic and Latino students being fluent in Spanish from daily conversations with their families. 

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Joffe-Walt also makes sure to put some history for this relationship of Whiteness and being in a state of discomfort when the issues of addressing racism happen. During the 1960s, White stakeholders began to word integration of races as something more tame or easy to swallow. While people of color were given a voice, that voice was very faint, and the voices of other White families easily drowned them out. She continues talking about this important history with the creation of ‘gifted programs’ during the 1980s. This was a clear method of separation by placing the White students in schools that held primarily the higher-ranked classes. Not only did this keep education inequity at an all-time high, but it was the jurisdiction of the White parents that made it happen in the first place. The other children were either not well-informed about this program, or they lacked the services for test preparations and extra aid to do well in these entrance exams that provided the placement. 

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Not only does Joffe-Walt contribute to the conversation and raise more questions, she begins to take direct action toward the solution. Within SIS, she begins to advocate for workshops and programs that highlight being inclusive and fair. Her findings and research have helped with the new implementations that the staff has begun to put in the school. “One of the first things Miss Lanzillatto did as principal was request special permission to reserve 40% of the seats for kids who get free and reduced-price lunch.

The majority of kids who get free and reduced-price lunches are kids of color. And Miss Lanzillatto didn’t want the school to flip. She didn’t want Black and Brown kids to get pushed out. The assistant principal told me they wanted to make sure the school did not become colonized.” Joffe-Walt doesn’t discuss these solutions as much as she's uncovering the problems and explaining them in layman's terms. But, these new few actions she talks about show that although it’s not going to solve everything at the moment, it's a great start. 

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The conclusion of the podcast gives updates on how the public education system is doing better now. Policies within the school districts in New York are changing for the better, and now some White parents are starting to understand their power and actions that are also starting to be used for the right intentions at its core. This overall podcast is a recommended listen to those who are curious and want to become illuminated by a deeper understanding of the issues regarding how race affects children so early into their education and development.