Hispanic schools as more accepting (on average)?

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AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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03 Nov 2011, 4:40 pm

I had a good informal conversation with an anthropology professor yesterday. She told me that she was probably a little on the spectrum herself. Her younger brother was quite a bit more on the spectrum. She thinks in general American culture has an overly constrained view on what 'normal' is. Her mother sent her brother to Hispanic schools which she (the mother) thought were more accepting of people just being different.

Now, I want to emphasize that this is at most on average. I'm sure there are non-Hispanic schools which are quite accepting as well as very good in other regards. And I'm sure there are Hispanic schools which are not so swell.

I wonder if anyone else has heard of this or had experience with this?



CaptainTrips222
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03 Nov 2011, 4:47 pm

Hispanic, as in predominantly latino? Or as in schools in Spain?



AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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03 Nov 2011, 4:54 pm

She meant predominantly Latino schools in the United States.



CaptainTrips222
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03 Nov 2011, 5:07 pm

Possibly. I can see that. It strangely seems latinos aren't as conscious of status and social hierarchy in high schools where everyone's latino. Everyone's just kinda... there. Also, I've met a lot of latino artists and athletes that are bad ass but don't let it go to their heads, so they aren't dicks about it. But at the same time, at least in the places I'm thinking of, they have a low class mentality, and unless you're wearing dickies with slicked back hair, you're nothing to them. My former high school is almost entirely latino now.

Depends on the school I guess.



AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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03 Nov 2011, 5:49 pm

Yes, I agree. I think it very much depends on the particular school.

What I like about what this lady said, is that it kind of opened up another possibility and made the world a bigger place.



techn0teen
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03 Nov 2011, 11:00 pm

In my experience with a mainly Latino schools was awful. Students with disabilities like autism were often made fun of for not being "chill" or "cool". I then went to a mainly white school, and it was slightly better.



AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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04 Nov 2011, 11:49 am

I'm sorry the other kids were mean and stupid and superficial. And I'm sorry the other school was only slightly better.

And, yes, very much so, I want to see people fully accepted.

The part I liked about what this professor said was the idea that a culture can be more accepting of people just being different without feeling the need to engage in some kind of hard diagnosis. And then the idea of a predominantly Latino school, maybe a Catholic school (even though I'm comfortably agnostic!) or maybe a Magnet school, that it might work, that it's one more option. Provided the right school of course.

PS I think there's a good case to be made that Carl Sagan was on the spectrum.