Argument: Using Personal Experiences as Evidence

The following essay is one AP student’s response to the following prompt.

James Baldwin delivered “A Talk to Teachers” to a group of educators in New York City in 1963—over forty years ago. Do the problems and prejudices he discussed still exist, or are they history?

As you read, consider how the student explains and supports his viewpoint.

A Talk to High School Teachers

Tyler Wilchek

In James Baldwin’s “A Talk to Teachers,” he writes a social criticism of public schools and describes how the problems are reflected in the larger society. Forty-two years later, some of the problems Baldwin mentions still exist in public schools. If I were to give a talk to teachers today, I would be sure to talk about segregation in different parts of a typical school such as class level, athletics, and social situations. Regular, honors, and Advanced Placement classes definitely have trends linking race to the difficulty of the class. Also, sports are often dominated by particular races, so teams end up with predominantly one race. Last, social situations during lunch prove race is still a factor.

In my school a link can be made between the race of students and the level of classes enrolled in. Often in AP and honors classes, the students are predominantly white. In regular classes, the students are predominantly African American and Hispanic. This trend reflects the experiences Baldwin discusses in his essay. Used to the more “undesirable” part of the city that he grew up in, he knows that downtown Park Avenue is not really meant for him. Baldwin writes, “You know—you know instinctively—that none of this is for you. You know this before you are told.” He points out that he feels unwelcome and shunned from this part of Park Avenue. I feel as if this is how African American students feel today towards advanced-level classes. The low enrollment of African American students in upper-level classes can perhaps be explained by the premise that Baldwin brings up. Minority students believe that they cannot be accepted in the society of advanced-level classes. Although expectations can sometime define how much a person can push himself, if students believe that they are not meant for honors classes, they will not attempt to try them. African American students often do not have people raising their expectations. Therefore, when they look at honors courses, their perception is already denying any chance for success. They assume, rightly or wrongly, that these classes are not for them.

Another problem in high schools today is segregation in athletics. As an active member of two varsity sports at my high school for three years, I have noticed the “white sports” and the “black sports.” Participating in two almost exclusively white sports (swimming and lacrosse) has shown me that sports teams are just as segregated as classes. In the sports that I play, involvement and encouragement from parents is essential for success. Swimming requires parents to volunteer at meets and pay for membership to pools, while lacrosse is just not as popular a sport as basketball or football. It is much harder for black people to succeed in swimming and lacrosse because of the lack of opportunities. Baldwin agrees that black children are not given a fair opportunity to succeed in life. Baldwin states that “the Negro child has had, effectively, almost all the doors of opportunity slammed in his face, and there are very few things he can do about it.” African American children do not have these doors of opportunity in sports such as swimming and lacrosse. Many black students do not have the thousand dollars a year to swim or hundreds of dollars to purchase lacrosse equipment. These doors of opportunity are just not available for minority students in high school. At my school, basketball and football are dominated by African American students because the equipment is more readily available and there are more opportunities to play.

Last, public high schools are segregated in social situations, such as where students choose to eat lunch in the cafeteria. Each and every student has his own group of friends, his own place to sit, his home sweet home, during every lunch period. There are very distinct areas for each group of students. But usually these students are linked by more than common interests; they are also linked by race. The most distinct areas in my school are probably the Asian math-and-science magnet section, the Gothic (white) students near the trophy cases, the African American students near the lunch line, and the Hispanic students in the hallway. Students today feel a sense of security when they are with people of their own race, and so they choose to isolate themselves with people of their own race.

Segregation is the core problem that exists in public high schools today. Although Baldwin wrote his essay many years ago, the issue of race still plays a large part in public education. The lack of African American enrollment in advanced classes, segregation in sports teams, and racial isolation in the cafeteria illustrate that this is still very much a problem today. Although there have been improvements over the past forty years, segregation is still a concern for public schools.