Yesterday, our high school class interviewed a 30-year veteran teacher
at their school, mainly about racial issues. He saidamong other
thingsthat people in his home county (Montgomery, MD) read, whereas
young people in Prince George’s do not. They just watch television, he
said; and if they read, it’s "trash." Montgomery is predominantly
White; Prince George’s is majority Black. After he left, I asked the students
what they thought about this particular comment. Some were evidently offended
and suspected that the teacher was relying on racial stereotypes. Others
thought that he was factually correct. We held a debate on the question:
"Do people read more in Montgomery?" I said that I honestly
didn’t know, but that I wouldn’t jump to conclusions just because Montgomery
is whiter and richer than Prince George’s. One male student who was offended
by the comparison said that girls read in Prince George’salthough
boys don’t. This comment received a lot of assent.