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Race diversity in a classroom
Role of education towards diversity
Race diversity in a classroom
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From the data they collected, they acknowledged two intergroup dialectical tension categories and three intra-individual dialectical tension categories that highlighted Black and White cultural identities. The three main dialectics within the individual emerged from the data are: Blackness-Whiteness, Talking-Silence, and Past-Future. The Blackness-Whiteness dialectic specifies that some African-American students struggle to sustain pride in their Blackness, while at the same time, adopting and learning the White culture. Therefore, this tension may force students to question their own abilities in trying to adapt to a culture they do not understand. Talking-Silence explains that African-American Students because frustrated when they became
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...
Everyone is raised within a culture with a set of customs and morals handed down by those generations before them. Most individual’s view and experience identity in different ways. During history, different ethnic groups have struggled with finding their place within society. In the mid-nineteen hundreds, African Americans faced a great deal of political and social discrimination based on the tone of their skin. After the Civil Rights Movement, many African Americans no longer wanted to be identified by their African American lifestyle, so they began to practice African culture by taking on African hairdos, African-influenced clothing, and adopting African names. By turning away from their roots, many African Americans embraced a culture that was not inherited, thus putting behind the unique and significant characteristics of their own inherited culture. Therefore, in an African American society, a search for self identity is a pervasive theme.
Eduardo Bonilla-Silva and Sue both demonstrate from their research that Whites do not comprehend the impact of their unconscious biases. These biases towards students of colour in a white-based post-secondary school environment can result in stress and weak interracial relationships. This is an issue since the significance of these everyday actions is not fully recognized and acknowledged. I will elaborate on a variety of examples, specifically the influence of the peers, and faculty.
I was late for school, and my father had to walk me in to class so that my teacher would know the reason for my tardiness. My dad opened the door to my classroom, and there was a hush of silence. Everyone's eyes were fixed on my father and me. He told the teacher why I was late, gave me a kiss goodbye and left for work. As I sat down at my seat, all of my so-called friends called me names and teased me. The students teased me not because I was late, but because my father was black. They were too young to understand. All of this time, they thought that I was white, because I had fare skin like them, therefore I had to be white. Growing up having a white mother and a black father was tough. To some people, being black and white is a contradiction in itself. People thought that I had to be one or the other, but not both. I thought that I was fine the way I was. But like myself, Shelby Steele was stuck in between two opposite forces of his double bind. He was black and middle class, both having significant roles in his life. "Race, he insisted, blurred class distinctions among blacks. If you were black, you were just black and that was that" (Steele 211).
Racism, stereotypes, and white privilege are all concepts that affect all of us whether we believe it or not. If an adolescent of a minority can distinguish these concepts in his society then we all should be aware of them. These concepts are all clearly demonstrated in “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”. Anyone and everyone could clearly understand this novel but the intended audience is middle school to college level students. The novel’s goal is to help white students understand the effects of white privilege in an easier, more understandable way. Concepts are easier to understand when someone feels like they are connecting to someone they have things in common with, which is exactly what this novel does. I, for one, was always
“An array of knowledges, skills, abilities and contacts possessed and used by Communities of Color to survive and resist racism and other forms of oppression” encompasses the main idea of Community Cultural Wealth. It is vital to understand that students will step foot into the classroom with a variety of cultures zipped up in their backpacks, and it is our job as educators to make sure that equality is instilled/taught in our classrooms. The second a student feels a sense of discrimination, whether from ourselves or their fellow classmate(s), is when the safe and comforting environment of the classroom begins to diminish. Here I will discuss just how important it is to see the differences amongst students as an advantage
Each voicing outlooks, opinions and beliefs on a myriad of concepts related to the racial divide between blacks and whites. At times wrestling with conflicting views on racism and racial issues; occasionally drawing a fine line between the two. The contrasting standpoints are a result of elements encapsulating their cultural identities. Components such as race, education, upbringing, socialization, and social economic status. These same elements cause a racial divide among blacks, whites and other multicultural groups. For some blacks the emotional scars of slavery have not healed over time. Instead, it is a gaping wound as fresh today as it was almost 150 years ago. The emotional fallout from this era of American history has caused bitterness, mistrust and inequality for blacks. David and Brent's conversations probe delicate issues ranging from; "Why are blacks so angry?"and "Racial reconciliation." Topics many might hesitate mentioning in mixed company, much less to engage in a personal exchange. The primary assertion of the book; racial reconciliation, affirmed interaction and relationships with diverse individuals is the way to support reconciliation (Anderson & Zuercher,
Black people, especially those who have to merge into predominately white spaces such as schools and work environments, have to develop their identity with not only the need to satisfy themselves, but with the need to satisfy other people’s expectations of themselves. In “Dyaspora”, Hyppolite delineates her experience of being a Haitian while growing up in America. Referring to her experience involving people within her high school and community questioning her identity, Hyppolite states, “They do not see you” (Hyppolite 99). When black people create their identity based upon their racial interactions with any race group, or as seen in the previously mentioned text, culture group, black people lose their sense of true self. Black people, then, either assimilate into the prevailing culture of the society and become “one of them” or become a stereotype-fulfilling the prevalent society’s want for comfort while coexisting with black people, due to their own ignorant and racist claims of what a black person should be. Overall, racism has a negative effect on the identities formed by black people within their respective culture and
Black and Female: The Challenge of weaving an identity.? Journal of Adolescents July 1995 19. 466.
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.
The oppression that African American individuals endured for years, is still being practice with racial discrimination and prejudice. One strength of identifying as African American is the increase of belongingness that gave me the ability to share and live amongst individuals with the same physical appearance and in some cases, the same obstacles. However, this was not always the case. Growing into an adult gave me the advantage to travel and meet other African Americans that I believed shared some of the same historical and ethnic background. In this time period I was introduced to what is called within-group differences, which is the differences among the members of a group (Organista, 2010). Wanting to be around individuals that I believed to have a common core with was one of my flaws, but while traveling with individuals that I thought was like me I experienced that I had nothing in common with some of my travel friends. One of my friends stated that we had nothing in common with each other, because of our different social economic status, education and employment. At first I was offended, however, after taking psychology of ethnic groups in the United States there was a sense of understanding that not all individuals that look alike, are alike. This assumption that all groups function
(2014). In this article, Umana Taylor et al. (2014) discussed the development of the ethnic identity. They suggest that during adolescence as the child reaches cognitive maturity the ethnic or racial identity becomes more salient. I thought this was interesting because I tried to think back to the first time I thought about my own race. As the article suggested the only reason I noticed my race was due to the fact that people were starting to segregate themselves. Many of the people I went to school with were white and so many of my friends were white. As I progressed I noticed that I was the only one that looked like me in my "group". In turn, I noticed that the other black children at my school were in their own group and weren’t treated like everyone else. The article states that most studies on ethnic identity are conducted in college, while I think it’s important to look at ethnic identity in this context the formation of ethnic identity happens in a variety of environments. I think it would be beneficial to look at ethnic identity at predominantly white schools with very few minority students. The children that don’t have peers from the same background may have unique experiences and struggles that need to be researched in order to better serve the emotional well-being of all
Before, I had a sense of how I identified in terms of many different factors. With this class, I was able to realize that my racial and overall identity is composed of a mixture of the factors not considering these factors independently from one another. I believe that my strong sense of self has always remained the same, the great difference is that I now know why I think the way I do and I am now also able to see why people think the way they do. My story tells a lot about me; it says that I have always had a strong sense of self and have always tried to live according to that sense of self. It also says that I have not always known how to interpret myself or make sense of why I am the way I am. It has definitely shown that I struggled with understanding other people’s perspectives, especially when they conflicted with mine but I am now working on maintaining an open mind instead of becoming immediately defensive. My story also shows that although I have always been well aware of racism and have always felt against it, I have not done what is necessary of me to stand up against racism. The resources I can rely on within me to fight against racism are the coping skills I have internalized for so long. Some resources I have outside myself include the skills I am learning in my Master’s program at Simmons as well as some local community outreach programs that strive to advocate and end racism and other oppressive