Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Diversity?

"Rate your school online" is the head on a syndicated article in the Times Free Press, Monday, 6 June 2005, page D-1.
First, to the eye, the second-person style of the head grates, and has always grated, on me, but I suppose that could be written off as personal. (Of course I don't; I find second-person writing in "news" papers to be very amateurish, for one thing.)
Second, the apparently intendedly breezy style of the article, by Theresa Walker of what used to be a much better paper, the Orange County Register, begins this way: "NGA wants teens to check out its Web site.
"No, that's not a new hip-hop group. That's the National Governors Association."
That group is "asking high school students to participate in an online survey that will give them firsthand (sic) information about the high school experience."
In the Times Free Press, the beginning of the article is accompanied by a photo with this cutline, or caption to civilians: "Angeline Grimsley, 18, and Nicole Weiner, 17, give their California school high marks for diversity."
Beside the jump, or continued, portion is another photo, this one of a young man.
Inexplicably, all three pictured are leaping into the air in the photos from Knight Ridder Newspapers.
Perhaps explicably, but not explained, all three are very white, blonde and blond, even.
So where is the "diversity" in the "news" story and photos?

1 comment:

  1. ``Diversity`` is a country club liberal value; most of those who espouse it have little experience with it.

    School is, by necessity, a disciplinary institution since children have to be taught how to think and learn, and this task is frequently unpleasant.(College level is, of course, a whole different matter.) Children rating their schools is silly; good marks by the students probably means the school isn`t doing it`s job properly!

    Next we`ll have prisoners being peer-reviewed for parole!

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