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The effect of racism on education
Essays on racism in education
The effect of racism on education
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Ethnical ambiguity is my specialty. Since I was a child, I have always been mistaken for either being Mexican or Indian. At first I enjoyed the puzzled faces, but experience has taught me the dangers of racial profiling. There is an apparent juxtaposition between my high school and my university. I lived in a predominantly Spanish-speaking area and also attended a diverse high school. This was a privilege and at the time, I did not realize how lucky I was to be learn cultural competency without actively seeking it. In college, I am surrounded by people of similar traditions, upbringings, and mentalities. Transitioning from a suburban, diverse high school to a rural, predominantly white institution generated a culture shock. I was accustomed
to meeting people from all parts of the world and not feeling ostracized for not being an American-born citizen. I was accustomed to feeling like an individual and not a representation of my entire Bengali community. For this reason, my goal is to decrease disparity. Public health aligns smoothly with my aspirations of creating policies to eliminate redlining, decrease disparities, and empower minority populations. Currently, I conduct preliminary analysis on Liberian data surrounding issues such as gender-based violence. Their health determinants stream from their psychosocial, physical, and economic environment. As an undergraduate, there are realms of public health yet to be explored. After shadowing at the CDC, I learned most individuals have at minimum a MPH and a great number have a PhD. This drives me to say I will like to further my public health experience into graduate school to continue research interventions. Building on top of my foundational statistical knowledge will only better me as a public health professional. Furthermore, I aspire to work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in their minority health, global health, infectious diseases, noncommunicable diseases, or public health science services centers and offices. With my leadership skills honed through group projects, program planning, and job experience, I will improve the quality of life and prevent disease. Public health provides a platform for me to improve the health of humanity and intertwine my love for learning through research.
After reading Alsultany’s “Los Intersticios: Recasting Moving Selves,” I realized that there are many misconceptions among those who have single or mixed racial background. For individuals who have more than one races, it may seem that they are at an advantage since they have luxury to take side with which ever race they choose. However, it actually results in a constant aggravation when one is constantly questioned about their race. Alsultany was asked by her classmate about her racial background. It was apparent that her classmate confirmed in her mind that Alsultany was different from her since she didn’t supposedly fit the description of a typical American, despite mentioning that she was born and raised in the U.S. This further strengthened
In Schooltalk: Rethinking What We Say About - and to - Students Every Day, Mica Pollock provides readers with fact-based information to “flip the script” of the misrepresentation of students in the education setting. Pollock demonstrates how race, gender, and ethnic labels can be detrimental to student achievement. She, then, dives in to 600 years of myths regarding social race labels and how they continue to affect humans today. By correcting race, gender, and ethnicity label myths in our minds, we can effectively advocate for these students. To conclude the book, Pollock focuses on how to devise a plan to correct our own misconceptions and foster a supportive environment for diverse students. Throughout
One of Beverly Tatum's major topics of discussion is racial identity. Racial identity is the meaning each of us has constructed or is constructing about what it means to be a white person or a person of color in a race-conscious society. (Tatum, pp Xvii) She talks about how many parents hesitate to talk to their children about racism because of embarrassment and the awkwardness of the subject. I agree with her when she says that parents don't want to talk about racism when they don't see a problem. They don't want to create fear or racism where none may exist. It is touchy subject because if not gone about right, you can perhaps steer someone the wrong way. Another theory she has on racial identity is that other people are the mirror in which we see ourselves. (tatum pp18) 'The parts of our identity that do capture our attention are those that other people notice, and that reflects back to us.'; (Tatum pp21) What she means by this is that what other people tell us we are like is what we believe. If you are told you are stupid enough you might start to question your intelligence. When people are searching for their identity normally the questions 'who am I now?'; 'Who was I before?'; and 'who will I become'; are the first that come to mind. When a person starts to answer these questions their answers will influence their beliefs, type of work, where they may live, partners, as well as morals. She also mentions an experiment where she asked her students to describe themselves in sixty seconds. Most used descriptive words like friendly, shy, intelligent, but students of color usually state there racial or ethnic group, while white students rarely, if ever mention that they are white. Women usually mention that they are female while males usually don't think to say that they are males. The same situation appeared to take place when the topic of religious beliefs came up. The Jewish students mentioned being Je...
I agree that non-whites possess little to no ethnic options. If you are half white and half Mexican, you are most likely going to be categorized as Mexican, regardless of which ethnic option you would prefer to identify as, you are always going to be categorized as whatever ethnicity you physically match the most.
In other words, people can be born into identity categories or contexts, but there are people who struggle to balance two identities - “double consciousness” coined by W.E.B. Du Bois. Personally, I have had people say “you don’t look Mexican” because of my skin color and facial features that supposably make me look European. In addition, I have also heard people say to some of my friends who are Mexican-American “you are too mexican,” because of their color or they have a stronger sense in the Mexican tradition/culture. Next, the U.S. has five standard racial categories, but there have been scholars, like Kaplan, and the public who call for the government to have consistency with the racial categories because individuals have their own racial self-identity not defined or recognized through the five standard racial categories; this also ties in with her third argument because the disjuncture/tension between politics identity and individuals will remain; identity is an unending linguistic process of becoming. In conclusion, many Mexican-Americans find it a challenge to try and find a balance between both “identities” and not fail to have one be dominant over the other. Therefore, the questions I would like to pose is “Who are the key players (e.g. government, community/society, etc.) to move forward and resolve this issue of stereotypes and/or perceptions established upon individuals who are experiencing “double
This cognizance really ensued when I first started work as an educational therapist in a residential placement for severely emotionally disturbed teenage girls. Being in such a arbitrary position of power was difficult enough with people who have issues with control and lack of respect from elders but I also happened to be the only male ever in this position at the facility and a "white guy" to boot. Ninety percent of my clients happened to be Latina or African American. This ethnic flash point did not initially bother me because of my lack of awareness of its existence and my naive determination that it was not important for my therapeutic and educational goals. However, of course I had not really considered at that time what being 'white' really entails in this society. Consideration of one's identity is obviously key to successful educational and therapeutic interventions but it took the actual experience of being what I call "white-washed" to make me realize that skin color may actually have something important to do with one's perceived identity.
In the essay "It’s Hard Enough Being Me," Anna Lisa Raya relates her experiences as a multicultural American at Columbia University in New York and the confusion she felt about her identity. She grew up in L.A. and mostly identified with her Mexican background, but occasionally with her Puerto Rican background as well. Upon arriving to New York however, she discovered that to everyone else, she was considered "Latina." She points out that a typical "Latina" must salsa dance, know Mexican history, and most importantly, speak Spanish. Raya argues that she doesn’t know any of these things, so how could this label apply to her? She’s caught between being a "sell-out" to her heritage, and at the same time a "spic" to Americans. She adds that trying to cope with college life and the confusion of searching for an identity is a burden. Anna Raya closes her essay by presenting a piece of advice she was given on how to deal with her identity. She was told that she should try to satisfy herself and not worry about other people’s opinions. Anna Lisa Raya’s essay is an informative account of life for a multicultural American as well as an important insight into how people of multicultural backgrounds handle the labels that are placed upon them, and the confusion it leads to in the attempt to find an identity. Searching for an identity in a society that seeks to place a label on each individual is a difficult task, especially for people of multicultural ancestry.
Living in a world where African Americans are judged because of their skin color, while whites are passed by with no other thought is confusing. What do people think when they see me? I am biracial, and because of this, I’ve faced the struggle of having to explain my races to those who can’t tell, or just make an incorrect assumption. It’s not a bad thing, having two races and two cultures, because I’ve been open to multiple traditions my entire life, but sometimes it’s hard not being considered a whole person because I’m not considered one race or the other. Being biracial has shaped my life experience and the way I see the world in countless ways.
During the sixth grade, I encountered a critical stage in my life where I denied my heritage by saying that I was American. However, I never told my classmates I was a Latino. I didn't lie about my background or denied my race because everyone assumed that I was either Spanish or Portug...
There are many races and ethnicities in the United States. While we are all in the same country we have many differences. These differences are sometimes noticeable just by looking at a person. Other times you can only find out about them only by diving deeper into the person’s background and see their cultural differences. I’m going to give you an example of race and ethnicity by presenting a profile of myself.
D’Angelo, Raymond and Douglas, Herbert. Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Race and Ethnicity (8th Edition). New York: Contemporary Learning Series group within the McGraw-Hill Higher Education division, 2011.
One’s cultural identity consists of their race, gender, socioeconomic status, age, religion, and so on. Being aware of your own cultural identity is just as important as being aware of other’s. People’s cultural identity defines who they are, the privilege (or lack of privilege) they receive, and how society views them. It is important to understand that White individuals have more privileges than individuals of color. White individuals do not experience detriment and difficulties due specifically to their skin color and instead receive advantages. White privilege is defined as benefits that white individuals have that people of color do not (Kendall, 2012). The following walks through my personal cultural background, how it was shaped, defined, and developed, and limitations to my personal competencies.
One factor that has shaped me and influenced my hopes and dreams is being ethnically ambiguous. Being ethnically ambiguous has led me to many awkward situations such as having to explain to an entire classroom that I am not Mexican or Hispanic at all and that I was born in the United States along with the rest of my family. I have always been told that as long as I am smart enough and try hard enough, I have the ability to make it into any field I choose because I am a female and I would broaden the diversity of the field I choose. This has caused me to think more about what it is that I want to do in life. Another thing I am influenced greatly by is my mother having a child before graduating from high school and the results of those actions.
Times are changing and I feel like I am forced to conform to the everyday social norms of America, which makes me feel impuissance. Racial identity, which refers to identifying with a social group with similar phenotypes and racial category, is the only experience that I have with life (Organista, 2010). Racial ethnicity was used to build my self-esteem and to keep me in the dark when it came to how society treats individuals of darker complexion. However, once I left the confines of my family and neighborhood, I was forced to befriend and interact with individuals that had different cultural values and beliefs than me. This experience caused me to learn how to appreciate other racial and ethnic groups and their cultural values and belief. This is an accurate definition, of acculturation because I was able to understand and fit in with individuals different from me, while maintaining my own culture and ethnic identity. Therefore, knowing the importance of my ancestry, while acculturating and developing my own identity was all used
I was at work helping a woman who was Asian, like myself, and she asked what my ethnic background is. I explained to her that my mom is Filipino, and my dad is Mexican, Native American, and Irish. She seemed to be caught off guard when I mentioned my diverse background and said that she didn’t believe me because I am someone who is racially ambiguous. This is something that people always express to me, however, as expressed in the Bill of Rights for Racially Mixed people, I have the right not to be responsible for people’s discomfort with my physical ambiguity. She also said to me, “Wow, you’re so beautiful because you’re light.” I was caught completely off guard and didn’t know what to say because I knew saying thank you would validate the idea of