Shades of White: White Kids and Racial Identities in High School
Setting out to examine how white high school students identify themselves in terms of race, Perry (community studies, Univ. of California, Santa Cruz) spent two school years studying and observing two high schools in California: "Clavey," a large, urban, multiethnic public school in a metropolitan area, and "Valley Groves," a large, suburban, predominantly white public school. Not surprisingly, she found that when she asked students to define what it means to be white, they often had trouble doing so. In addition, she found that while students at both schools tended to look past ethnic origin when interacting with peers in classes or organized activities, friends in their immediate circle were usually of the same race. Nevertheless, there were signficant differences between the two schools: race issues were openly acknowledged at Clavey because of the diversity, while at Valley Groves they were more covert. Perry's research provided her with ideas for restructuring education to enhance cultural diversity and compatibility among students, emphasizing that, as this country becomes more racially diverse, we should try to strip away racial identity and think of Americans as one people. These ideas might seem out of reach, but they're worth considering. While the issues addressed here are of interest to the general public, the work itself leans toward the technical, making it more accessible to those in academia. For academic and larger public libraries. Terry Christner, Hutchinson P.L., KSCopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.