Arc Seminar | Bonastia—Illusory Mosaic: Fumbling to Desegregate Liberal NYC

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, New York and other cities envisioned an expansive solution to the persistent problems of racial and economic segregation in education. Rather than fighting against the difficulties presented by the city’s enormous school population and huge bureaucracy, New York could leverage its vastness by creating educational parks that would bring together children from neighborhoods throughout the city. There, they would benefit not just from racial and economic integration, but from state-of-the art facilities, unparalleled resources and a greatly expanded array of course offerings made possible by the concentrations of students and faculty. The city opened an educational park in Co-Op City (the Bronx) in the early 1970s, but the bold vision for this project was undermined by increasing racial and economic segregation among the student body, building flaws and rising levels of school violence. Were New York City educational parks simply too big to succeed, or did they flounder as a result of correctable problems such as poor planning, flawed student recruitment methods and inadequate funding? In this presentation I seek answers to these questions.











When: Thu., Mar. 30, 2017 at 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Where: Graduate Center, CUNY
365 Fifth Ave.
212-817-7000
Price: Free
Buy tickets/get more info now
See other events in these categories:

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, New York and other cities envisioned an expansive solution to the persistent problems of racial and economic segregation in education. Rather than fighting against the difficulties presented by the city’s enormous school population and huge bureaucracy, New York could leverage its vastness by creating educational parks that would bring together children from neighborhoods throughout the city. There, they would benefit not just from racial and economic integration, but from state-of-the art facilities, unparalleled resources and a greatly expanded array of course offerings made possible by the concentrations of students and faculty. The city opened an educational park in Co-Op City (the Bronx) in the early 1970s, but the bold vision for this project was undermined by increasing racial and economic segregation among the student body, building flaws and rising levels of school violence. Were New York City educational parks simply too big to succeed, or did they flounder as a result of correctable problems such as poor planning, flawed student recruitment methods and inadequate funding? In this presentation I seek answers to these questions.

Buy tickets/get more info now