Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. ghetto (n.) [get-oh] a
section of the city where people of the same ethnicity are forced to live
together for economic or social reasons
Example: Immigrants living in
ghettos are usually unemployed.
2. apartheid (n.) [uh-pahrt-heyt, -hahyt]–
a former social system in South Africa in which black people and people from
other racial groups did not have the same political and economic rights as
white people and were forced to live separately from white people
Example: The apartheid era
began in 1948 and ended in 1994.
3. segregation (n.) [seg-ri-gey-shuhn]– separation of people according to race or any other category
Example: In some
countries, segregation by skin color is prohibited.
4. socialize (v.) [soh-shuh-lahyz]–
to interact with other people
Example: Employees can socialize with each other during company
parties.
5. exaggeration (n.) [ig-zaj-uh-rey-shuhn] – something that is said to be more than the reality
Example: The athlete
runs fast, but to say he can run as fast as a bullet is an exaggeration.
Article
Read the text below.
Read the text below.
Primary
schools in some parts of London might turn into ghettos as pupils
become divided by race, according to David Levin, head of City of London
School.
During
the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (HMC), Levin compared London
schools to South Africa during the apartheid era—a period
wherein black and white people were separated from each other. Levin cites
Stepney Green Maths and Computing and Science College where 97% of the students
have Bangladeshi roots.
Levin
feared that this segregation may impair how students’ socialize with
people of different cultures. It may also lead to social unrest, as what
happened to the riots in Oldham in 2001. According to a 2009 Bristol University
report, schools in Oldham remain segregated. Eighty percent of Bangladeshi or
Pakistani students attend schools with only about 20% white students. In
contrast, 70% of white pupils attend school where about 80% are also white.
Surprisingly,
private schools with the most students of the same ethnicity are outperforming
public schools. For this reason, Levin suggested that both schools should all
the more work together.
However,
councilors from East London considered Levin’s comparison of the situation at London
schools to South African apartheid an exaggeration. They argued
that students’ success does not depend on the ethnicity of their classmates but
on the quality of the education they receive.
Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
Do you think it is good for people
of different races to interact with one another? Why or why not?
·
Do you want to socialize with other
races?
Discussion B
·
Why do you think discrimination is
still rampant?
·
Can you think of simple ways to
prevent discrimination?
