Forced to Fail: The Paradox of School Desegregation

Forced to Fail traces the long legal history of first racial segregation, and then racial desegregation in America. The authors explain how rapidly changing demographics and family structure in the United States have greatly complicated the project of top-down government efforts to achieve an "ideal" racial balance in schools. It describes how social capital-a positive outcome of social interaction between and among parents, children, and teachers-creates strong bonds that lead to high academic achievement. The authors show how coercive desegregation weakens bonds and hurts not only students and schools, but also entire communities. Examples from all parts of the United States show how parents undermined desegregation plans by seeking better educational alternatives for their children rather than supporting the public schools to which their children were assigned. Most important, this book offers an alternative, more realistic viewpoint on class, race, and education in America.

Table of Contents:
1 School Desegregation: A Policy in Crisis 2 How Did We Get Here? 3 The Demographic Transformation of America 4 It Takes "A Certain Kind" of Village to Raise a Child 5 The Political Economy of Education and Equality of Educational Opportunity 6 Rational Self-Interest vs. Irrational Government Policy 7 School Desegregation and the Racial Achievement Gap 8 A New Perspective of Race and Schooling: Attaining the Dream

About the Author :
Stephen J. Caldas is professor of educational foundations and leadership at Hofstra University (NY). He has authored or co-authored more than 45 publications, including (with Carl Bankston) A Troubled Dream: The Promise and Failure of School Desegregation in Louisiana, which was awarded the Louisiana Library Association Literary Award for 2002. Carl L. Bankston is professor of sociology at Tulane University, New Orleans. He has been author or coauthor of several previous books, including Growing Up American: How Vietnamese Children Adapt to Life in the United States (winner of the 1999 Thomas and Znaniecki Award and the Mid-South Sociological Association's 2000 Distinguished Book Award).

Review :
According to Caldas and Bankston, efforts to enhance racial mixing in schools have been self-defeating. They contend that the premise of desegregation was that schools could redesign American society; however, they believe this clashed with the goals of parents who were concerned only with benefiting their own children....In their new book, the authors look at a wide range of secondary sources to conclude that school people in the U.S. face a paradox. While minority youth might profit from attending middle-class schools, middle-class parents abandon schools that must desegregate. Since the authors believe that racial desegregation exacerbates the problems schools and communities face, they favor strengthening neighborhood schools....Recommended. The wealth of data on achievement differences between race and ethnic groups and school desegregation over the past century and around the country make this a must-read for anyone interested in the problems and needs of African American students. The recommendations of Caldas and Bankston will provoke controversy because they are honest and realistic. Caldas and Bankston are hopeful authors. They comprehend the issue that schools should no longer be used as the places to reform and redesign society. They believe, however, that schools can bring families together and help build strong communities. They are convinced the best way to do this is to return to the social institution-the neighborhood school. This timely book offers a critical look at school desegregation, guiding readers toward a better understanding of how race, class, and social networks influence educational outcomes. Caldas and Bankston envision an alternative, more realistic, approach to providing equal access to educational opportunities.