For centuries, racial discrimination has been a major social issue in America. It has been around for so long that many Americans are convinced that racism is an inescapable part of life that is both never-ending and impossible to eliminate. However, I firmly believe that the end of racism begins with childhood education; if we instill and encourage anti-racism in children, they will grow up with an understanding of how to live in and effectively benefit from a diverse society. But how should we educate elementary students to “un-learn” racial stereotypes and understand the negative effects of prejudice and discrimination? Childhood educators should be trained to incorporate powerful—but appropriate—methods of teaching about race and racism …show more content…
Lessons about racial discrimination are necessary because most teachers will inevitably follow social studies curriculums using textbooks which lack critical content on race and racism in the U.S. Many teachers feel uncomfortable teaching about race because they do not have much sociocultural knowledge about race, racism, and social justice. Others assume that race and racism are controversial topics that are inappropriate to teach young learners. But by using textbooks with limited content about race and racism, teachers deprive students of an full education on the history and reality of the major social issues that continue to affect our communities. African American students in particular have to deal with a curriculum that describes …show more content…
Firstly, elementary and middle school students who learn about the causes of racial bias and prejudice will interpret racial differences and inequalities differently than their less knowledgeable peers. For example, children who know about discrimination may attribute more positive and less negative traits to another race. They will have an openminded opinion about racism and may assert that although we all look different, we are all human and should be judged by our integrity rather than our race or ethnicity. Another benefit to teaching young learners about race and racism is that both privileged and minority children are more likely to recognize and challenge prejudice and discrimination, as well as their opposites, privilege and favoritism. The evidence of this comes from experimental studies which establish the correlation between knowledge of racial biases and detection of discrimination. The studies concluded that children who were exposed to lessons that included information on prejudice or practiced retorts to biased comments had greater awareness of and increased desire to confront discrimination. Lastly, learning about stereotyping and prejudice may boost stigmatized children’s self and group esteem. Stigmatized children who understand what biases are may be led to “attribute negative evaluations from others to intergroup biases and reject essentialist explanations of
Many of the stereotypes we encounter and hold today were formed because of events in the past, which were formed to rationalize and justify past social and political agendas. Many of the stereotypes that we now hold today were learned long ago and have been passed from one generation to the next. This book has forever inspired me to believe in the value of each child and discourage racist attitudes wherever I encounter them. Gregory Howard Williams encountered many hurdles growing up and successfully defeated them all. He could have easily confirmed the expectations of his negative peers and developed into a self-fulfilling prophecy, but instead he chose to shun his stereotypes and triumph over incredible odds.
Racism is more than just blatant comments and police brutality. It is also found in the subtle things, like the lack of opportunities in education. Graduation by Maya Angelou and I Just Wanna Be Average by Mike Rose both address this issue of opportunities and race. In St. Louis, Missouri, Maya Angelou went to an all-black school during the 1930s and 40s, while Mike Rose is a second generation Italian immigrant in Los Angeles in the 1950s. Both wrote about their experiences with systemic racism in education. Both authors are given low expectations and have no power over their futures, which shows how systemic racism sets up a self-fulfilling prophecy of underachievement.
However, this general knowledge is not apparent to White people. Similar to microaggressions, John F. Dovidio discusses the concept of aversion racism, “a subtle, often unintentional form of bias that characterizes many White Americans who possess strong egalitarian values and who believe that they are nonprejudiced” (90). 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 are not fully recognized and acknowledged. I will elaborate on a variety of examples, specifically the influence of the peers, and
Racism has been a huge problem throughout the United States and every individual struggles with the unproductive messages of racism that is being passed on through from larger societies. Many people suffered from this in silence and it is what hits the hardest on children and youth who lack the life experience to understa...
Even in our preschool years, we are exposed to misinformation about people different from ourselves.” From an early age, we start to pick up certain stereotypes of different races other than our own. We over hear these stereotypes from everywhere. Being in such a diverse environment and having attended very diverse school’s I am aware of all the different stereotypes but I learned to not judge anyone based on what is said about them. People who do not live in a culturally diverse area may be ethnocentric. Tatum also suggests that “the unexamined prejudices of the parents are passed on to the children. It is not our fault, but it Is our responsibility to interrupt this cycle.” Prejudices of other races based on what your family believes is something that should not be carried on because it is ignorant to assume certain things about someone’s race that you may in reality know nothing about. I agree with this quote because every race in some way will almost always feel superior to another race. Instead of feeling this sense of ethnocentrism and agreeing with the prejudices that were told from our generations we should be more open to learning about other races. What drew my attention reading Tatum’s first chapter was the fact that she addressed stereotype and
Even though extraordinary changes have been made in the past to achieve racial equality, America is still racist, especially in schools. In the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” written by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch is criticized for defending a black man accused of raping a white woman. During the 1930s, the time this novel took place, America was a very segregated country. At the time when Harper Lee wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird," America was fighting a civil rights movement. The events of racism in “To Kill a Mockingbird” reflect the time period.
Critical Race Theory in education recognizes that Race and racism are prevalent and significant in the American school system. This particular theory has been used to understand the oppressive aspects of society based on race, culture and language in order to generate transformation in schools as well as in society (Sólorzano & Yosso, 2001).
“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
Derman-Sparks, L., & Edwards, J. (2010). Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves (pp. 20-25). Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children
In 1995, the Carnegie Corporation commissioned a number of papers to summarize research that could be used to improve race relations in schools and youth organizations. One way to fight against racism is to “start teaching the importance of and strategies for positive intergroup relations when children are young”(Teaching Tolerance,). Bias is learned at an early age, often at home, so schools should offer lessons of tolerance and
For my research project I chose the topic of Racism in Children's Literature. I chose this area of study because it is something that bothers me and I know as a child in school I was very uncomfortable with assignments that dealt with racism. One day I would like to make a difference to all the people who are affected by racism. My hypothesis states that if educators are better trained to deal with the delicate subject of racism in children's literature, books would not be banned, yet actually teach the lesson the authors of these books intended for all of us to learn.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2004) reported that Black students continue to trail White students with respect to educational access, achievement and attainment. Research on the effectiveness of teachers of Black students emphasizes that the teachers’ belief about the Black students’ potential greatly impacts their learning. Teachers tend to teach black students from a deficit perspective (King, 1994; Ladson-Billings, 1994; Mitchell, 1998). White teachers often aim at compensating for what they assume is missing from a Black student’s background (Foorman, Francis & Fletcher, 1998). The deficit model of instruction attempts to force students into the existing system of teaching and learning and doesn’t build on strengths of cultural characteristics or preferences in learning (Lewis, Hancock...
Showing that based on skin color children are judged even from the age of four. This teaches prejudice to children from young ages and makes it harder to get rid of. It also keeps children that need to be in school, out of school. Not to mention, “Implicit biases show up as subtle, sometimes subconscious stereotypes held by white teachers. They were shown to expect less from black students because of unfair and untrue beliefs about all students of color.
Racism and ethnicity continue to affect the sector of education in most parts of the world. More often, it influences adults and children’s experiences in education at all levels and in various ways. These include professional employment, academic performance, parental involvement, social interactions, assessment issues, and curriculum development. Certainly, the terms racism and ethnicity identify as problematic and arise socially. Therefore, many people fail to recognize that racism is a perception about the color of the skin and traditions of a particular group of people. Racism and ethnicity exist in quite blatant and subtle forms. As such, racism and ethnicity usually lead to negative consequences for the group that does not belong to the dominant culture. The contemporary racism originated from various avenues, one of it being the society norms and upbringing. Indeed, as children grow, they exclusively rely on their parents or guardians to learn new things. Moreover, part of the upbringing involves teaching the children things about the society and the
Racism is and will always remain a central issue in most places around the world. It is wrong and should be stopped. The way to further progress in stopping racism is by teaching students about it, for they are the next generation and can make the most