Black schools are schools that are mainly attended by immigrant students. These mainly occur in large cities and in neighborhoods where the percentage of immigrants is very high. This is very bad for integration.
Black schools
As long as there have been schools, children from different backgrounds have gone to school separately. An important division is that between social classes, where the education of parents is the most determining factor for the development opportunities of children. Because most immigrant students have parents who are poorly educated, the current ‘black-white’ segregation problem in education seems to be an old problem in a new guise. All this leads to the formation of black schools. Immigrant children from different social backgrounds also go to school separately and many ‘hidden talents’ can also be found among immigrant students.
The problem of black schools
Ethnic segregation is mainly rejected because it would hinder or at least not promote the integration of the different ethnic population groups. In addition, the argument is that black schools are not conducive to the language development of immigrant children. Few people consider the fact that children hear little Dutch among themselves on the schoolyard between lessons and in the canteen as a good starting point for the language development of immigrant children. Nor should we assume that having native and immigrant children attend school separately will promote integration. Due to the bad reputation of black schools, for example due to language deficiencies, few parents decide to send their children to such a school.
In addition to the possible negative consequences of ethnic segregation in education for students, there is also a possible negative consequence for teachers. It appears to be more or less attractive for teachers to teach at a black school. When a teacher can choose between teaching at a white or mixed school or a black school, the teacher will usually choose the white or mixed school . As a result, black schools often have a problem finding teaching staff. This results in more and/or earlier lesson cancellations, which does not benefit the quality and reputation of the school. In addition to a flight of students, there also seems to be a flight of teachers to the less black or white schools.
The cause: White and black flight
Frequently used terms on this subject are “white and black flights”. With white flight, white students leave for schools in the suburbs of large schools. In the event of a black flight, black students leave for schools in the suburbs of large municipalities. Recently, the media has paid attention to white and black flight. A brief explanation: With the arrival of immigrants, many neighborhoods changed color. The white parents sent their children to a white school in another white neighborhood. That’s called white flight. As immigrants get to know the Dutch education system better, the more ambitious immigrant parents will also send their children to schools outside their own neighborhood. The white flight is followed by a black flight. Almost everyone flees from a (too) black school. As a result, the school around the corner is becoming increasingly black and is mainly attended by students whose parents base their choice on the proximity of the school. Schools also play a role in this process. For example, a school in Utrecht is turning into a school with a wide range of culture: artistic subjects, museum visits. The impression is created that such a school focuses on white parents and their children. Another cause for the decline of certain schools is that natives often enroll their children in time at the school of their choice. Immigrants are unfamiliar with this state of affairs and later give up their child. If there are too many registrations, this means that the students who registered last cannot be placed. Often the immigrant students.
Solutions
A good solution is to spread immigrants across the rest of the country. Immigrants are now far too concentrated in the Randstad, which is why black schools are automatically created. Another possible solution is double waiting lists. There is then 1 waiting list for immigrant students and 1 waiting list for native students. Then someone from a waiting list can be admitted one by one. It is a problem that this is discriminatory.