Diversity

BRINGING OUTSIDE MUSIC INSIDE MICHIGAN’S K-12 CLASSROOMS

The classrooms of schools in the State of Michigan are segregated.  There is a  lack of diversity throughout the schools themselves, grades kindergarten through twelve (K-12), and the districts that serve as a conglomeration of the students, teachers, and  administrations.  As a state, Michigan has been historically segregated in several respects, be it geographically or socially.  The education system is simply another contributing  force to the preexisting segregated condition of Michigan.

It is no mystery that Michigan is racially divided.  This year provides the citizens  of the state with a stark reminder of the history its of racial divide, as it is the fortieth anniversary of the 1967 Detroit riot.  No matter how many anniversaries come and go,  the reminders only serve as remembrances and rarely procure an improvement in the situation.  If a social-change group takes a stimulating spark like the riot’s anniversary  and uses it to move forward with race relations, that group rarely does so successfully targeting Michigan’s schools.

The continuing problem of segregation in Michigan’s schools has yet to be solved.  The first issue is that the schools are a direct reflection of the cities in which they stand.   “In the early 1990s, 95 percent of the African American students attending segregated schools in Michigan were enrolled in central city public school districts.” (LandauerMenchik, 2006, pp. 2-3).  To address that, the Michigan Department of Education developed a system of charter schools.  This did not solve the problem, however.  “In  2004-05 there were 87 segregated charter schools in Michigan, none of which had existed in 1992-93.

This is part of a research paper by OMIA Musician, John Girdwood.  You can view the entire paper “BRINGING OUTSIDE MUSIC INSIDE MICHIGAN’S K-12 CLASSROOMS” here.