[Applause]
hello I’m a junior in high school at the
moment and just like my fellow
classmates earlier this semester I had
to choose my classes for next year here
in Lakes I I take two core class AP s AP
Lang in AP US history and an elective AP
AP European history and the last two
core classes I take are general physics
in general algebra two this is because
I’m extremely bad at math but I’m a bit
of an oddity because of my blended level
of classes what I mean is that the way
that works in my school
you’re either expected to take all
general classes with the exception of
maybe you want accelerate it or you’ll
take a full load of APs and the rest
being gifted now this option looks
pretty and perfectly consistent when run
on a transcript but personally it
doesn’t make any sense to me
people here forced themselves to take AP
and gifted classes even though they will
struggle unnecessarily reading just take
an accelerated or a general class not
all but most of these students are white
and what I’ve asked them why are you
doing this to yourself
you can’t take so many a piece here are
so many answers that I’ve received I
have to is what’s expected of me or I
want to get into a really good college
not too surprising the thinner more
commonly get these answers I don’t hang
with peoples and those types of classes
you know general classes I’ve even heard
I don’t want to be in the ghetto class
as well the black and Mexican kids or
worse I don’t want to be in a retarded
classes that last person was referring
to an accelerated class by the way I’ve
also asked the other side of the
spectrum the students who excel but
remain in general classes even though
they can benefit exponentially from AP
not all but most of these students are
not white minorities when I’ve asked
them why are you staying in these
classes move up the level here are their
expected answers I’ve never been offered
or I want to take the easy a even my
friends are nice classes not too
shocking but then I’m more commonly will
get these answers I don’t take white
classes I don’t fit in the white classes
no that’s a white class students are
placed in classes by random chance we’re
placing our classes by the method of
tracking
trapping is a system in America and in
other countries where the entire schools
populations assign the classes based on
the students overall achievement whether
that being above average below average
or normal students are tested as young
as first grade with expectation of them
remaining in that class level for the
rest of their academic careers and this
and tracking has also been proven to
increase the achievement gap in 2016
nationally only 19% of Hispanic students
took AP course well that number for
black students was 15% but 58% of those
students were white nationally across
the nationally AP classes are
disproportionately full of large numbers
of white students and strikingly small
numbers of Hispanic and black students
the racial achievement gap isn’t
something new this has been an issue
since the 1960s when schools first
became desegregated here in America that
is also around the same time that
tracking began in America this issue
isn’t just nationwide is local – its
heavily prevalent within my own school
back in February during my school’s
Black History Program there was
something that was repeated almost
constantly it was that my school that
open back in 1964 first and allowed any
students of color and now has such great
diversity and yes diversity is great
it’s amazing but is it really all that
great when it feels like we’re
segregated within our own walls I’m
tired of hearing about the diversity but
only seeing it when I walk through the
hallways and not in the classrooms
granted it’s not like teachers are
rounding us up by racing going why can’t
you take it be physics black it you stay
in general math we’re doing this to
ourselves we are segregating ourselves
I’m here to ask you to not only question
an education system but the question
ourselves why is this happening why does
AP and gifted classes automatically
constitute as a white class why have I
never seen an all minority gifted class
or all-white general class when you walk
down the halls of my high school you can
look inside of a classroom and tell what
it was a higher level or lower level
class based on the racial makeup of the
classroom Lea a white junior at my high
school states my higher level classes
are all white people
when maybe two people of color that’s
pretty shocking since the racial
distribution of my high school is pretty
even actually when in over two thousand
student population my school is divided
by 34 percent white 28% Hispanic 29%
black and the rest being 10% that is a
reported total 64% minority enrollment
so why are there only white kids in the
AP and gifted classes 22% of students in
my school are in the gifted program 42%
of those students are white but only
nine percent are black and 5% Hispanic
for example when you’re choosing your
classes for junior year you ought to
choose between the higher level of math
class calculus or the lower level math
class algebra to 10% of students at my
high school are take algebra 2 that
number being 28% of the black and
Hispanic population and only 3% of the
white now let’s compare to the 9 percent
of students to take calculus 10 percent
are white 3% Hispanic and only 1% are
black but let me play devil’s advocate
here why does it matter
my school has a higher level of white
students than minority students so it
makes perfect sense that there’s gonna
be more white kids in AP and gifted
classes I’m making mountains out of mole
hills but am i yes it’s understandable
to have more white students in the class
and yes it’s bound to happen but why is
this the norm 33 percent of students at
my school are in the AP program 18
percent of those students are black 15
percent are Hispanic
but 51 percent are white my school
offers one in 23 different AP courses
and a multitude of gifted in accelerated
classes so it makes no sense for the
lack of diversity in these classes so
what’s stopping them I went out and
investigated why I interviewed 50
students twenty-five white 25 minority
what a series of questions to
investigate why this racial divide
happens the answers I received gave me a
closer look at the achievement gap not
just a lakeside but nationally I’m not
gonna go through every question I asked
but just
phew that I found very important I began
each interview with the question
I began each interview of the question
have you ever taken an AP and/or gifted
class to give you perspective on the
data I collected only one out of 25 of
the white students I interviewed had not
taken an AP class but all of them were
enrolled in the gifted program and only
nine out of 25 of the minority students
I interviewed had not taken an AP class
but only four of them in total were in
the gifted program the other question I
want to focus on that I found to be had
very surprising answers one grouped in
another was what would you say the
racial makeup of the classroom is
depending on general 2ap
I am not exaggerating when I said when I
say all 25 of the minority students
categorized the form class levels as AP
classes are mostly white people would
maybe one black person Jeffrey a
biracial sophomore stated Michelle a
Hispanic junior recounts how gifted is
mostly white people like AP and Leslie
another Hispanic junior states that
general and accelerated classes are
always super diverse when maybe two
white people it’s like the opposite of
gifted and accelerated classes all the
minorities answer is aligned with these
four people’s statements according to
the Department of Education the only
students who are taking AP classes and
passing them are either
disproportionally affluent white and/or
Asian
I mean 35 percent of black and Hispanic
students make up high schoolers in
America but only 27% of them are taking
AP classes and only 18 percent of them
are passing them although the minorities
I interviewed to recognize the racial
disparities in the classrooms many of
them have told me what it’s like to walk
into a classroom on the first day of
school and realize that you were the
only person of color in that room
Isabella a black junior in my high
school told me it feels like there is a
sign on your forehead and big red
letters labeling you as the black kid
for me it becomes a fun game of final
minority whenever I walk
to a new classroom you should play it’s
kind of like playing Where’s Waldo
playing this little game actually led me
to get me the idea for this TED talk
like I mentioned earlier I take AP Lang
and there are only two class periods of
this subject I’m in the second period
class and this class is pretty diverse
you know a few minorities a majority
white and one day I left my binder in
this class and I had to go retrieve it
during third period which also happens
to be the second a-peeling class my
schools reported average class size is
18 to 1 I walked into a classroom of 17
white students and one black student to
this day this completely baffles me the
question that answers from the other
half of the white people’s interviews
also baffled me I asked him the racial
makeup question and the and only six out
of 25 of them had agreed with the
minority student statements the people
I’m about to mention asked to remain
anonymous so I will not be using their
names but I will be using their
statements I believe that my class my AP
classes are all very diverse because
there are like four black kids in my AP
world class stated a sophomore I believe
you’re making this a bigger issue than
it actually is
because my microeconomics class has like
six Mexican kids in it recalled a senior
all my classes are very diverse and I
take all gifted in AP especially my AP
classes stated a junior the junior who
answered that last question is in that
third period ap line class all of the
minority students recognized the racial
divide and seemingly the white students
were oblivious to it it makes me wonder
kind of fearfully if students aren’t
recognizing the problem our teachers not
recognizing it either the last question
I want to focus on is one that I find to
be the most important and one that I
believe will lead us to a possible
solution to this issue how does the
teacher respond to the class based on
the class’s level all the students
taking AP and gifts that collectively
agree that their teachers were very
responsive very good eager to help very
understanding they’re all generally
revered as great teachers
but when I asked students no matter what
race but hey you know we’re talking
about minorities here how does a general
to accelerate as class teachers behave
to the class your answers are strikingly
different they’re not as passionate as
teachers who teach higher level classes
they’re more likely to snap on a student
and sent a student out with very little
warning they always seem to come in
defeated they give up on us and make us
believe that we just cannot learn for a
long time I did not like school
the thought of dropping out has crossed
my mind many many times before this all
began when a math teacher gave up gave
up on me so much to the point that they
stopped handing me work and I eventually
failed that class when someone gives up
on you your options feel like they
become limited when someone makes you
feel like you cannot learn you just give
up but I didn’t give up I began working
harder my parents got me to tutoring
that I desperately needed and now I know
that I will always have a resource for
help if I ever need it so what about the
students whose only resources outside
help is a teacher and not a tutor or or
a parent general classes are
statistically full of large numbers of
students who may come from families who
don’t speak English or broken
dysfunctional or low income homes many
of them don’t have the resources that
many more fortunate students may have so
what do you do when your only resources
help gives up on you you give up on
education there are so many hurdles in
the way of minority students either they
don’t have the resources that they need
or even if they do there was a greater
fear of not fitting in an all-white
class than receiving a better education
and even if they do jump over that last
hurdle prejudice and racism is still an
issue that pushes back the finish line
further and further a Hispanic junior I
interviewed told me they would jokingly
call me a beaner and he thought it was
okay because I was different from the
other ones so what do we do we start
from the beginning we start all the way
back in kindergarten because starting in
high school is trying to help people who
have already been failed by the
education
system the National Education
Association states these strategies are
successful in closing the achievement
gap we make school a place where every
student who received the resources that
they need regardless of their
limitations I know a girl who began the
school year failing until she started to
stay after school every day for almost
two hours just so she could have a quiet
place to do her homework and eventually
she began the pass supports students in
every aspect embrace it consider
students diversity to be an asset and
make teachers know culturally
understanding and it doesn’t just end
with teachers and administration
students can help their own situations
also just because I’ve subjected you to
a TED talk full of statistics and facts
about how black and Hispanic students
don’t take higher level classes doesn’t
mean that has to remain the stereotype
we are the students and these statistics
so we why not we why don’t we just
change the numbers
I implore you to break out of this
stereotype
don’t let discouragement stop you when
you choose your classes ask about every
single option that is available to you
be in the driver’s seat of your own
education and yes I know I’ve said I
know this is all sappy but every single
cheesy poster I have ever seen in any of
my teachers classrooms has always said
children are the future so why aren’t we
investing in our futures can we close
this gap or will this remain to be a
systemic problem that people remain
oblivious to thank you
[Applause]
hello I’m a junior in high school at the
moment and just like my fellow
classmates earlier this semester I had
to choose my classes for next year here
in Lakes I I take two core class AP s AP
Lang in AP US history and an elective AP
AP European history and the last two
core classes I take are general physics
in general algebra two this is because
I’m extremely bad at math but I’m a bit
of an oddity because of my blended level
of classes what I mean is that the way
that works in my school
you’re either expected to take all
general classes with the exception of
maybe you want accelerate it or you’ll
take a full load of APs and the rest
being gifted now this option looks
pretty and perfectly consistent when run
on a transcript but personally it
doesn’t make any sense to me
people here forced themselves to take AP
and gifted classes even though they will
struggle unnecessarily reading just take
an accelerated or a general class not
all but most of these students are white
and what I’ve asked them why are you
doing this to yourself
you can’t take so many a piece here are
so many answers that I’ve received I
have to is what’s expected of me or I
want to get into a really good college
not too surprising the thinner more
commonly get these answers I don’t hang
with peoples and those types of classes
you know general classes I’ve even heard
I don’t want to be in the ghetto class
as well the black and Mexican kids or
worse I don’t want to be in a retarded
classes that last person was referring
to an accelerated class by the way I’ve
also asked the other side of the
spectrum the students who excel but
remain in general classes even though
they can benefit exponentially from AP
not all but most of these students are
not white minorities when I’ve asked
them why are you staying in these
classes move up the level here are their
expected answers I’ve never been offered
or I want to take the easy a even my
friends are nice classes not too
shocking but then I’m more commonly will
get these answers I don’t take white
classes I don’t fit in the white classes
no that’s a white class students are
placed in classes by random chance we’re
placing our classes by the method of
tracking
trapping is a system in America and in
other countries where the entire schools
populations assign the classes based on
the students overall achievement whether
that being above average below average
or normal students are tested as young
as first grade with expectation of them
remaining in that class level for the
rest of their academic careers and this
and tracking has also been proven to
increase the achievement gap in 2016
nationally only 19% of Hispanic students
took AP course well that number for
black students was 15% but 58% of those
students were white nationally across
the nationally AP classes are
disproportionately full of large numbers
of white students and strikingly small
numbers of Hispanic and black students
the racial achievement gap isn’t
something new this has been an issue
since the 1960s when schools first
became desegregated here in America that
is also around the same time that
tracking began in America this issue
isn’t just nationwide is local – its
heavily prevalent within my own school
back in February during my school’s
Black History Program there was
something that was repeated almost
constantly it was that my school that
open back in 1964 first and allowed any
students of color and now has such great
diversity and yes diversity is great
it’s amazing but is it really all that
great when it feels like we’re
segregated within our own walls I’m
tired of hearing about the diversity but
only seeing it when I walk through the
hallways and not in the classrooms
granted it’s not like teachers are
rounding us up by racing going why can’t
you take it be physics black it you stay
in general math we’re doing this to
ourselves we are segregating ourselves
I’m here to ask you to not only question
an education system but the question
ourselves why is this happening why does
AP and gifted classes automatically
constitute as a white class why have I
never seen an all minority gifted class
or all-white general class when you walk
down the halls of my high school you can
look inside of a classroom and tell what
it was a higher level or lower level
class based on the racial makeup of the
classroom Lea a white junior at my high
school states my higher level classes
are all white people
when maybe two people of color that’s
pretty shocking since the racial
distribution of my high school is pretty
even actually when in over two thousand
student population my school is divided
by 34 percent white 28% Hispanic 29%
black and the rest being 10% that is a
reported total 64% minority enrollment
so why are there only white kids in the
AP and gifted classes 22% of students in
my school are in the gifted program 42%
of those students are white but only
nine percent are black and 5% Hispanic
for example when you’re choosing your
classes for junior year you ought to
choose between the higher level of math
class calculus or the lower level math
class algebra to 10% of students at my
high school are take algebra 2 that
number being 28% of the black and
Hispanic population and only 3% of the
white now let’s compare to the 9 percent
of students to take calculus 10 percent
are white 3% Hispanic and only 1% are
black but let me play devil’s advocate
here why does it matter
my school has a higher level of white
students than minority students so it
makes perfect sense that there’s gonna
be more white kids in AP and gifted
classes I’m making mountains out of mole
hills but am i yes it’s understandable
to have more white students in the class
and yes it’s bound to happen but why is
this the norm 33 percent of students at
my school are in the AP program 18
percent of those students are black 15
percent are Hispanic
but 51 percent are white my school
offers one in 23 different AP courses
and a multitude of gifted in accelerated
classes so it makes no sense for the
lack of diversity in these classes so
what’s stopping them I went out and
investigated why I interviewed 50
students twenty-five white 25 minority
what a series of questions to
investigate why this racial divide
happens the answers I received gave me a
closer look at the achievement gap not
just a lakeside but nationally I’m not
gonna go through every question I asked
but just
phew that I found very important I began
each interview with the question
I began each interview of the question
have you ever taken an AP and/or gifted
class to give you perspective on the
data I collected only one out of 25 of
the white students I interviewed had not
taken an AP class but all of them were
enrolled in the gifted program and only
nine out of 25 of the minority students
I interviewed had not taken an AP class
but only four of them in total were in
the gifted program the other question I
want to focus on that I found to be had
very surprising answers one grouped in
another was what would you say the
racial makeup of the classroom is
depending on general 2ap
I am not exaggerating when I said when I
say all 25 of the minority students
categorized the form class levels as AP
classes are mostly white people would
maybe one black person Jeffrey a
biracial sophomore stated Michelle a
Hispanic junior recounts how gifted is
mostly white people like AP and Leslie
another Hispanic junior states that
general and accelerated classes are
always super diverse when maybe two
white people it’s like the opposite of
gifted and accelerated classes all the
minorities answer is aligned with these
four people’s statements according to
the Department of Education the only
students who are taking AP classes and
passing them are either
disproportionally affluent white and/or
Asian
I mean 35 percent of black and Hispanic
students make up high schoolers in
America but only 27% of them are taking
AP classes and only 18 percent of them
are passing them although the minorities
I interviewed to recognize the racial
disparities in the classrooms many of
them have told me what it’s like to walk
into a classroom on the first day of
school and realize that you were the
only person of color in that room
Isabella a black junior in my high
school told me it feels like there is a
sign on your forehead and big red
letters labeling you as the black kid
for me it becomes a fun game of final
minority whenever I walk
to a new classroom you should play it’s
kind of like playing Where’s Waldo
playing this little game actually led me
to get me the idea for this TED talk
like I mentioned earlier I take AP Lang
and there are only two class periods of
this subject I’m in the second period
class and this class is pretty diverse
you know a few minorities a majority
white and one day I left my binder in
this class and I had to go retrieve it
during third period which also happens
to be the second a-peeling class my
schools reported average class size is
18 to 1 I walked into a classroom of 17
white students and one black student to
this day this completely baffles me the
question that answers from the other
half of the white people’s interviews
also baffled me I asked him the racial
makeup question and the and only six out
of 25 of them had agreed with the
minority student statements the people
I’m about to mention asked to remain
anonymous so I will not be using their
names but I will be using their
statements I believe that my class my AP
classes are all very diverse because
there are like four black kids in my AP
world class stated a sophomore I believe
you’re making this a bigger issue than
it actually is
because my microeconomics class has like
six Mexican kids in it recalled a senior
all my classes are very diverse and I
take all gifted in AP especially my AP
classes stated a junior the junior who
answered that last question is in that
third period ap line class all of the
minority students recognized the racial
divide and seemingly the white students
were oblivious to it it makes me wonder
kind of fearfully if students aren’t
recognizing the problem our teachers not
recognizing it either the last question
I want to focus on is one that I find to
be the most important and one that I
believe will lead us to a possible
solution to this issue how does the
teacher respond to the class based on
the class’s level all the students
taking AP and gifts that collectively
agree that their teachers were very
responsive very good eager to help very
understanding they’re all generally
revered as great teachers
but when I asked students no matter what
race but hey you know we’re talking
about minorities here how does a general
to accelerate as class teachers behave
to the class your answers are strikingly
different they’re not as passionate as
teachers who teach higher level classes
they’re more likely to snap on a student
and sent a student out with very little
warning they always seem to come in
defeated they give up on us and make us
believe that we just cannot learn for a
long time I did not like school
the thought of dropping out has crossed
my mind many many times before this all
began when a math teacher gave up gave
up on me so much to the point that they
stopped handing me work and I eventually
failed that class when someone gives up
on you your options feel like they
become limited when someone makes you
feel like you cannot learn you just give
up but I didn’t give up I began working
harder my parents got me to tutoring
that I desperately needed and now I know
that I will always have a resource for
help if I ever need it so what about the
students whose only resources outside
help is a teacher and not a tutor or or
a parent general classes are
statistically full of large numbers of
students who may come from families who
don’t speak English or broken
dysfunctional or low income homes many
of them don’t have the resources that
many more fortunate students may have so
what do you do when your only resources
help gives up on you you give up on
education there are so many hurdles in
the way of minority students either they
don’t have the resources that they need
or even if they do there was a greater
fear of not fitting in an all-white
class than receiving a better education
and even if they do jump over that last
hurdle prejudice and racism is still an
issue that pushes back the finish line
further and further a Hispanic junior I
interviewed told me they would jokingly
call me a beaner and he thought it was
okay because I was different from the
other ones so what do we do we start
from the beginning we start all the way
back in kindergarten because starting in
high school is trying to help people who
have already been failed by the
education
system the National Education
Association states these strategies are
successful in closing the achievement
gap we make school a place where every
student who received the resources that
they need regardless of their
limitations I know a girl who began the
school year failing until she started to
stay after school every day for almost
two hours just so she could have a quiet
place to do her homework and eventually
she began the pass supports students in
every aspect embrace it consider
students diversity to be an asset and
make teachers know culturally
understanding and it doesn’t just end
with teachers and administration
students can help their own situations
also just because I’ve subjected you to
a TED talk full of statistics and facts
about how black and Hispanic students
don’t take higher level classes doesn’t
mean that has to remain the stereotype
we are the students and these statistics
so we why not we why don’t we just
change the numbers
I implore you to break out of this
stereotype
don’t let discouragement stop you when
you choose your classes ask about every
single option that is available to you
be in the driver’s seat of your own
education and yes I know I’ve said I
know this is all sappy but every single
cheesy poster I have ever seen in any of
my teachers classrooms has always said
children are the future so why aren’t we
investing in our futures can we close
this gap or will this remain to be a
systemic problem that people remain
oblivious to thank you
[Applause]
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