Essay On Whiteness In Schools

It is apparent that socialization of culture is prevalent in all schools, but how is this done? We have to examine the multiple ways authority figures in schools socialize whiteness to Black students. This starts with racializing behaviors. Teachers and authority figures are equating certain behaviors with Blackness, even if all students, regardless of race, preform these behaviors. Teachers would connect Ebonics or “talking Black” to the student’s poor performance in school. These behaviors are seen as “deviant” behaviors, which are just behaviors that are outside of the social norm (Judson) Black behavior and the practicing of Black culture has always been seen as deviant, through everyday actions. This can been seen in the media of today

Blackness has always been seen as deviant, as a way to further oppress Blacks within all of society. Through racializing these behaviors, the assignment of Blackness to deviant behaviors is what ultimately shapes our views of what Blackness is and how it equates to life success. With the racializing of these behaviors, authority figures in schools begin to adultify these children based on these behaviors. Adultifying is when authority figures, particularly the ones in schools, begin to interpret children’s behaviors as if they were adults (Golash Boza 228). This is done disproportionately to students of color. For discipline, it is no longer, “boys will be boys” but now it’s “you are going to live a life in and out of jail”. This adultifying has a direct effect on the severity of the punishment these students are receiving. Black students are being punished in schools for Black culture or “Black actions”, or deviant behaviors that are far from the Eurocentric norm. This is apparent in the numbers behind the punishment. Black students are four times more likely to receive an out of school suspension than white students, and twice as likely to receive and an in school suspension