Reflection on “House Rules” Talking about race, racism and segregation can get a little uncomfortable and complicated, but it is a significant part of the lives of many people living today in the United States. We tend to compartmentalize racism into this terrible thing from the past, but it's definitely still at work in modern America. This American Life podcast addressed some of the issues that still affect a large portion of the population for no other reason than skin color. Even with the passage of the Fair Housing Act, racial discrimination still exists in housing. This contributes to racial segregation and this in turn affects the quality of schools accessible to different parts of the population. In areas with highly segregated black communities, the school is generally less funded. I can't believe people keep doing this. This class and podcast are definitely expanding my world and making me understand what different people are dealing with based on their race and/or socioeconomic class and for some people it really sucks. One thing that struck me is that segregation is definitely more about race and not just about a group not making enough money to live in the "nicer" parts of town. It was pointed out in the podcast that even if an African American family makes double what the average white family makes in a year, they still live in a poorer neighborhood. You can't look at those statistics and still claim that racial segregation doesn't exist. I have always had an interest in education, not in teaching, but in how a school is run. I'm really happy that we're talking about the inequalities that exist in the school system because understanding what's wrong is the first step to solving the problem and I hope I can be part of the solution in the future