This essay seeks to examine modern day manifestations of both racism and classism within a school setting. As investigation has shown, racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic discrimination may lead to negative mental health effects. This is alarming as such discrimination continues to linger among school systems ranging from elementary aged students all the way to college aged students. This essay also evaluates several methods of diminishing racial injustices outlined by various authors. It is in the hands of our current school administrators, teachers, and lastly students, to enact real change in hopes of achieving true racial equality. Racism and classism management in schools today What if you were not offered the same opportunities based merely off of the color of your skin? What if your peers thought lesser of you because of how much your parents made? It may seem like something of the past, but these manifestations of racism and classism continue to lurk among the depths of schools across the globe. These forms of discrimination are still common within school systems, and continue to affect the lives of many students(Expereiences of racism). We will attempt to critically examine the forms of racism and classism experienced in the classrooms today, and seek out a solution to lessening these forms of injustices in school communities. Firstly, this is related to education in that the act of treating someone differently, usually in a negative manner, is still
In addition, the Government Accountability Office [GAO] (2016) reported: “from school years 2000-2001 to 2013-2014, the percentage of all K-12 public schools that had high percentages of poor and black or Hispanic students grew from 9 to 16 percent” (p. 2). These findings suggest that practices of racially and economically segregating students of color continue unresolved. Sadly, poverty and race are automatic disqualifiers for children of color to have equal access to quality
Our Distorted Reflection Growing up, I dreaded going to school. People shouting at me, people pointing at me, snickering at me. Never being ordinary. I would get home and go to the bathroom, staring at myself in the mirror, tasting salt water on the tip of my lips.
Sarah Garland’s article titled, “When Class Became More Important To A Child’s Education Than Race” (2013) discusses the education gap between low income families and wealthy families. Garland begins her article with a statistic, stating, “In 1963, kids in the 10th percentile of income fell behind children in the upper echelon of wealth by about a year or so. Today, that gap is closer to four years” (1). She continues her article by describing a relatively wealthy family living in Brooklyn, New York. The amount of classes the family has the children signed up for, along with the hefty costs of each class, seems excessive to Garland.
Although the United States had made education for all citizens a major goal in the 1940s there was still large amounts of prejudice and discrimination in the school system. The report states that “We have failed to provide Negroes and, to a lesser extent, other minority group members with equality of educational opportunities in our public school institutions”(Truman). This quote shows another civil rights issue of certain Americans getting treated unfairly based on race because every American deserves the same amount of education. Discrimination in public schools is more prominent in the South where there are lower funds for public schools. The souths segregated school system directly discriminates against blacks.
These students don’t get equal opportunities as those students attending elite schools. Authors Toni Cade Bambara and Jonathon Kozol have written vivid examples on how working class students have been impacted by segregation in school. Working class schools
Explaining Racial Variations in Education Introduction Racism still exists within educational institutions, and the socioeconomic gap between social classes is a key factor for the ongoing racial divide for students. In this essay I will demonstrate the reasons for the racial educational inequalities and variations that exist within school systems. The article “Explaining racial variations in Education” gives a persuasive argument as to why there are still racial variations that concern a student’s education. For example, the author, Caroline Hodges Persell, claims that race is not an individual attribute, rather it is a socially constructed system that involves individuals who have advantages over another group of individuals.
Americans, when they think of Civil Rights probably think of the Civil Rights Movement. During the civil rights era African Americans fought to be treated as equals by fighting segregated schools, for their voting rights, and for their basic right that every American has today. To say that education is our civil rights movement of today is inaccurate. Antonio Alvarez’s narrative “Out Of My Hands” focuses on a financially struggling family, but proving that they can succeed. David L. Kirp’s article “The Secret to Fixing Bad Schools” reinforces the idea that even though a community might be poor, that doesn’t have to reflect the quality of education students receive.
We as humans tend to categorize everything, it can be a good thing or a bad thing. We just don’t categorize things but humans as well and sometimes that is a bad thing. There are many people that are affected by classism and racism, these are two ways we categorize each other. The life style of people in Mexico, is determined by social status and at time racial makeups. Classism means to be prejudice against or in favor of one’s social class.
Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together In The Cafeteria? The book became a classic in modern high school and college classroom settings. It is one of the most popular books that Beverly Daniel Tatum has written.
Racism in Eastside High School There are many discriminated schools in the world to this day, most of them having to take place in the lower income areas. While in Eastside High School, in the movie Lean On Me didn’t seem like one of those trashy High Schools with a poor foundation of people. Yes, there were many students in their that weren’t the richest, but that doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that before Mr. Clark had left the school, Eastside High was very mature and clean. Students aren’t taught bad things on their own.
Racial inequality in education is predominant in black students and is perpetuated further by educators. A theory that explains this could be the “hidden curriculum” theory which conditions students to believe that their cultural backgrounds must be silenced to resemble the model white student. Studies show that training educators in cultural sensitivity and establishing trust between students and teachers allows students from varying cultural backgrounds to improve in classroom settings. RACE INEQUALITY IN U.S. EDUCATION Considered the “melting pot” of the world due to its high diversity, the United States has been renowned for the varying cultures and races populating the country.
INTRODUCTION “We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place.” -Chief Justice Earl Warren Separate But Equal, directed by George Stevens Jr, is an American made-for-television movie that is based on the landmark Brown v. Board of Directors case of the U.S. Supreme court which established that segregation of primary schools based on race, as dictated by the ‘Separate but Equal’ doctrine, was unconstitutional based on the reinterpretation of the 14th amendment and thus, put an end to state-sponsored segregation in the US. Aims and Objectives:
thesis: 1) proper education can inspire a positive attitude to racism 2) education helps racial students to move from intolerance to acceptance and understanding of cultural difference 3) education provides cognitive skills, which increases people’s captivity people’s capacity to detect prejudice and to reject it. Is Education the Best Inversion Against Racism? The ex Prime minister of Britain Tony Blair has always insisted the importance of education in preventing racism. According to Tony Blair some people are born to be bad, you can’t stop people from being bad (Blair, T. Education backs Lessons Against racism 1999.) proper education can help get rid of prejudice and changes in the national curriculum of the British educative system whereby
“Racism distorts our sense of danger and safety. We are taught to live in fear of people of color. We are exploited economically by the upper class and unable to fight or even see this exploitation because we are taught to scapegoat people of color (Kivel, P).” This quote from the article, The Cost of Racism to White People, barely digs at one of the reasons why racism still occurs in today’s world. There are many motives out there for why racism still occurs.
Respecting and Understanding Reduce Discrimination The story about Freedom Writers happens in Woodrow Wilson School, which locates in Long Beach, California . The government takes measures like integration program in order to reduce discrimination and help the young teenager to get a better education, moreover, to lower the crime rate. It’s a good intention, but the actual situation is different. They don’t know that the school is like the city. The problem those colored students have in Long Beach also is meet in the school.