their role underestimated. Schools too often reflect our society and show clear evidence of segregation. Most of the students with migration background are gathered in schools in their neighbourhoods, which especially in big cities means that there is hardly any diversity in the student body. Thus town planning and student allocation should be rethought since it sets the vicious circle in motion: students face problems at school, are then stigmatised, which leads to frustration and a likely reproduction of these inequalities. Should the EU tackle the problem at one of its roots and try to co-ordinate student allocation mechanisms despite having no competence in this policy field? Deborah Orr from the Guardian suggested that “offering the greatest opportunity to the least advantaged” would be a solution. This could be very simple, as Nicolas Précas, the director of the Departmental Direction of Social Cohesion, points out. He believes that Europe could play a major role in the integration of youth with migration background by offering them the possibility to take part in exchange programmes. This would be a way to better understand the country they live in by sharing their way of life with somebody else. Is the real problem the image that we have of migrants? It seems that they are not always welcome. Indeed, a survey among citizens in 23 countries by Ipsos showed that 52% think that there are too many immigrants in their countries – in Belgium, the United Kingdom and Italy these figures even reached 70%. Despite our economies’ dependence on immigration due to recent
demographic trends, especially with the total fertility rate being at 1.5 children per woman, many citizens are excepting immigrants to take on jobs no one wants while not being afraid to accuse them of stealing their jobs. This negative image of immigrants often leads to their stigmatisation. Nicolas Précas elaborated on this further by pointing out that allowing for more diversity of the student body often has the effect that parents from more fortunate socio-economic backgrounds are trying to send their children to other schools, afraid that this diversification will affect the quality of their children’s education. Shouldn’t we rather try to benefit from this wealth in order to grow as a continent? Our societies are characterised by the need to succeed. Nevertheless, this often proves to be particularly difficult for immigrants despite them not lacking the will to do so. Children with migration background are often expected to improve their family’s social status, implying that they should go further in their studies than their parents or grand-parents did. However, often they cannot live up to theses expectation since schools pass on a Manichean vision to their students: either one succeeds or one does not. Thus, the marks obtained define a person and receiving a bad mark means one is ‘bad’. Should we not also interpret this as an encouragement to work harder? Does failure to not meet the standards in the beginning mean no success at all? Let’s work on a real dream for Europe and give a fair chance to every citizen, regardless of their origin, to make a career based on their talents and dedication. 27 The Alpha