Race and Faith; The Deafening Silence

[quasimodo]

This is a very thought provoking report by Trevor Philips about issues upon which there appears to be a conspiracy of silence but which impact upon our society.
http://www.civitas.org.uk/content/files ... -Faith.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Below is how aspects of the report were reported in the local news.I must say as a child who was bused by my local authority for my infant and junior schooling so that immigrant children were spread across the local authorities schools I am dead set against any ideas of quotas in any shape or form in any sphere.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/mi ... c-11311817" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Stroller]

I must say as a child who was bused by my local authority for my infant and junior schooling so that immigrant children were spread across the local authorities schools I am dead set against any ideas of quotas in any shape or form in any sphere.

I have only skimmed through the beginning of the report. There's only so much you can do on a phone. I'm replying because I had never heard of a deliberate policy of spreading immigrant children around. I think the challenge of quotas, or the fear thereof, can have a useful impact where progress failed to happen no matter what else was tried. But choosing to spread the demographic of schools by putting immigrants on a bus doesn't seem defensible.

I'd have a different bone to pick with the article though (and with the report if the conclusions are represented accurately). If all a school needs to be highly-sought after is an Asian demographic (or whatever the specific claim was), how come so many kids from that background work their socks off to get into a grammar school instead of just clustering in their local schools and making them excellent. It's not the ethnic origin / race / religion that makes the difference, there's something about those who are ambitious or desperate enough to emigrate being more likely to value education and try to help their children towards an easier life. I think I've read elsewhere that the effect declines over time and subsequent generations behave more and more like whichever economic cohort they belong to at that stage.

[quasimodo]

I must say as a child who was bused by my local authority for my infant and junior schooling so that immigrant children were spread across the local authorities schools I am dead set against any ideas of quotas in any shape or form in any sphere.

I'm replying because I had never heard of a deliberate policy of spreading immigrant children around. I think the challenge of quotas, or the fear thereof, can have a useful impact where progress failed to happen no matter what else was tried. But choosing to spread the demographic of schools by putting immigrants on a bus doesn't seem defensible.

In 1965 The Department of Education and Science recommended in Circular 7/65 that no school have more than 30 per cent immigrant children. Several LEAs adopted the
dispersal policy by busing. These included areas like Bradford,Halifax,Huddersfield and Rotherham.The policy was later ruled unlawful and illegal.

Having said that I had a happy childhood and cannot criticise the schools my objections are on principle.