Diversity still lacking in public schools

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Posted: 12/1/04

High school isn't what it used to be. With a combination of advances in technology, changes in security and variety in the lunch room, it is likely that many who graduated from secondary school even just a few years ago would likely find themselves befuddled by how different a 10th-grade classroom is today. While things like computer-chip ID cards and hot subs in the lunch line might be new to a returning high school graduate, they are somewhat to be expected. What might actually be surprising to someone examining changes in high schools, though, would be the recent change in ethnic make-up. According to new reports, U.S. high schools on the whole are becoming less diverse.

The idea of the foreign exchange student has become widespread throughout the years. Using characters from Long Duck Dong to Nadia, Hollywood has helped in making it mainstream for students from other countries to be roaming the local high school hallway during the last few decades. According to CNN, during the 1993-1994 school year, 62,005 foreign exchange students visited the United States through programs accredited by the Council on Standards for International Educational Travel. Six years later, the number, though significantly lower, still hovered near 45,000.

But now, in the last year, amidst a cultural climate in which the word "diversity" is thought to be worked for by most, wanted by all, and worn with a sense of social pride, the number of high school students traveling overseas to soak in an education on American soil has dropped to 27, 742. What is going on?

"We don't really have a lot of research into why it is happening, but it is happening," John Hishmeh, executive director of an umbrella group for most of the country's big exchange programs told CNN. Hishmeh admits that some of the change could be attributed to a shift in Visa rules that took place in the late '90s or security and political concerns that have surfaced since the 9/11 attacks. But evidence shows that this trend was beginning before September 2001. In the end, Hishmeh thinks the problem might just be that busy families and cash-strapped school districts aren't equipped or don't want to take the time to cultivate and continue exchange programs. And if this is the case, the apathy could prove dangerous.

Ironically, in the years that have seen a decrease in exchange activism, it is quite arguable that the need for exchange programs and the experiences they offer students has skyrocketed. Rights groups and peace organizations banter and barter for a push in ethnic education and understanding. The news is flooded with stories of strained foreign relations and international misinterpretation. The need for first hand experience and relation of big issues toward young people is blatantly and bitingly obvious, but it is quite arguable that some of the extreme differences between Middle Eastern culture and certain modern American attitudes may not be fully grasped until fully experienced. It is in this climate and at this time of apparent need that suddenly an established program with a simple but effective aim is losing power, funding and function.

It is time to reevaluate how the problem of the lack in diversity is being treated. Might it take greater tax-incentive or a boost in advertising, a way to resurrect the exchange program should be addressed. There are few public service announcements, rock concerts, or after school specials that can push the social change that a simple personal relationship can convey.