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Ethnic diversity in the classroom
How does racism affect education
Ethnic diversity in the classroom
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Everyone is given an ascribed status. Whether it is race-ethnicity, sex, or social class it is involuntary and determines how people look at the individual. Someone can not change the stereotype that comes along with their ascribed status, but a person can earn an achieved status by not following the norms they associate with. For example, it is common for people to connect a low-income student with failure in education. The targeted child can disprove this propensity by getting honors in school and graduating college. Society has conformed to these learned ideas of a dominant group with specific characteristics holding power over those unlike themselves, from our society’s subculture. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a benchmark for the American nation which prohibited discrimination for any individual whether their race, color, religion, sex, or origin. Unfortunately, to this day our culture has it still imbedded in their minds that people unlike themselves are inferior and therefore is given unequal treatment. One instance of taught prejudice is watching a parent lock the car doors when driving though certain parts of town. Although racism is not always verbally spoken someone who is unlike the majority is likely to be directly scrutinized with subtle actions. This idea of unconsciously judging others follows into schools today. It is a controversial issue that teachers are unintentionally treating their students differently according to how they look. Educators within school districts are unknowingly sharing bias among their students depending on their social class, race, or gender which is leaving some students more advantaged than others.
There are many stereotypes about poor families and education. The top five most commo...
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.... P., Butisingh, S., Tsang, W., & Ouellette, R. (2012). Students' Race and Teachers' Social Support Affect the Positive Feedback Bias in Public Schools. Journal Of Educational Psychology, 104(4), 1149-1161. doi:10.1037/a0028110
Stevens, P. J. (2009). Pupils' perspectives on racism and differential treatment by teachers: on stragglers, the ill and being deviant. British Educational Research Journal, 35(3), 413-430. doi:10.1080/01411920802044420
Brown, J. (2004). Escaping the Circle by Confronting Classroom Stereotyping: A Step toward Equality in the Daily Educational Experience of Children of Color*. Berkeley Women's Law Journal, 19(2), 216-232.
Bowen, N. K., Wegmann, K. M., & Webber, K. C. (2013). Enhancing a Brief Writing Intervention to Combat Stereotype Threat Among Middle-School Students. Journal Of Educational Psychology, 105(2), 427-435. doi:10.1037/a0031177
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
For example, it has been said many times in multiple different ways that academic success is typically associated with certain races and not others. This is a very stereotypical comment and it is sad that these types of judgements are present in the educational system. In Beverly Daniel Tatum’s essay entitled, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” she discusses how self-segregation occurs in the education system today. Tatum touches on that the possible reasons that students tend to socialize with students of the same racial identity as themselves are cultural stereotypes. It is understandable that a student in order to avoid judgements would want to be around others who understand them and know what they are going through at school. A possible and very hurtful example of judgement that may cause students of color to flock together is that “doing well in school becomes identified as trying to be White,” (Tatum). A student in today’s education system undergoes enough stress as it is and they should not have to be worried with racial protocols. Why is being advanced and thriving in school only to be considered a White characteristic? I know plenty of White students who are struggling with passing classes and I also know several overly intelligent latinos, black and Asians. I am sure that I am not the only student to think that this unspoken rule that you
Minorities, African American and Latinos, in America are faced with challenges daily in white society. There are many obstacles minorities experience such as: being judged based on race, stereotyped, or worst being discriminated against by peers. Sadly, minorities can’t seem to escape to harsh realities society created. Citizens in the white society categorize humans by their race to socially construct the achievements and legitimate political goals. Minorities struggles with these goals due to the challenges they experience. The location of these challenges can occur in various places including on the job and/or at school. You may be under the impression that such challenges occurs within the adult minority groups. However, this applies to minority children as well. When the children are face with
Aronson, Joshua. (2004, November). Closing the Achievement Gap: The Threat of Stereotype. Educational Leadership 62 (3).
The preconceived notions we tend to burden can have a snowball effect, ingraining the same potentially damaging ideas into our children, grandchildren, and so on, especially because there is likely no recognition of an issue present in the first place. The white guy habit we carry in our mind, generally unbeknownst to us, impairs the learning environment and too easily discredits qualified professionals that are women or of color. The bias we have towards white men in the classroom only contributes to the structural gender disparity that is apparent in the world, and particularly in the United States. Messner points out that nonwhite male professors are not only judged by students comparatively worse, but that judgements of white male professors are simultaneously boosted up in the student’s mind without their awareness.
Race as a factor in inequity. Ladson-Billings and Tate (1995) posit that race continues to be a significant factor in determining inequity in the United States. Race matters in society. If we look at high school drop out, suspension, and incarceration rates of men of color in America we see a disproportionate amount of men of color marginalized and profiled by society. This is further compounded by the perception that male faculty of color cannot be educators or at least are not often conceptually visualized in that capacity (Bryan and Browder, 2013).
Society is filled with outcasts. Everywhere one looks, there is someone who is different and has been labeled as an outcast by the others around them. People fear disturbance of their regular lives, so they do their best to keep them free of people who could do just that. An example of this in our society is shown in people of color. Whites label people who do not look the same as them as and treat them as if they are less important as they are. The white people in our society, many times unconsciously, degrade people of color because they fear the intuition that they could cause in their everyday lives. Society creates outcasts when people are different from the “norm.”
In public schools, students are subjected to acts of institutional racism that may change how they interact with other students. In the short story “Drinking Coffee Elsewhere” by Packer, readers are allowed to view firsthand how institutionalized racism affects Dina, who is the main character in the story. Packer states “As a person of color, you shouldn’t have to fit in any white, patriarchal system” (Drinking Coffee Elsewhere 117). The article “Disguised Racism in Public Schools” by Brodbelt states “first, the attitudes of teachers toward minority group pupils” (Brodbelt 699). Like the ideas in the article “Disguised Racism in Public Schools” Dina encounters institutionalized oppression on orientation day at Yale.
Many thoughts come into the mind when hearing the word stereotype. The society has been exposed to too many stereotypes. These stereotypes result in controversial issues, which in turn, affect adults and children. The TV shows, internet, and social media are sources that expose children, as well as the adults, to stereotypes. Examples of those stereotypes are religion, sexism, and race. As children grow up by, the age of four they are able to pick up many stereotypes through those sources and without the perception and knowledge these children carry these stereotypes along with them in their long term memory. Moreover, children are not able to know or distinguish whether those thoughts are negative or positive stereotypes, which in turn, cause
Rowley, Stephanie J. "Development of Stereotypes 1 The Development of Race, Gender, and Social Class Stereotypes in Black and White Adolescents Ste." Thesis. N.d. Development of Stereotypes 1 The Development of Race, Gender, and Social Class Stereotypes in Black and White Adolescents Ste. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. .
In this world we are constantly being categorized by our race and ethnicity, and for many people it’s hard to look beyond that. Even though in the past many stood up for equality and to stop racism and discrimination, it still occurs. In this nation of freedom and equality, there are still many people who believe that their race is superior to others. These beliefs are the ones that destroy our nation and affect the lives of many. The people affected are not limited by their age group, sex, social status, or by their education level.
As an educator, I think it is my role to counter institutionalized racism and classism. No student should ever be treated differently because of their race. I believe that as a teacher, I need to recognize the backgrounds of all my students and help to teach their beliefs so that the other students understand. I also believe without a complete understanding of a student’s background, it can lead to bullying and fighting.
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
As I was walking my way through my first day of Georgian Forest Elementary School, I, like my peers believed that I was there to receive an education. I could do what everyone else could and treated like everyone the same. At least that’s what I thought. And, then, I saw stares. Thinking that I was the one everyone looked at. However I was wrong. I turned around to see a beautiful little girl child in a wheelchair with her head down. There were whispers, giggles and looks of concern at that time I realized discrimination within children is real.
Wright, C. (1992)Early Education: Multiracial Primary School Classrooms. In Gill, D. Mayor, B. and Blair, M. (Eds) Racism and Education: Structures and Strategies. London: Sage.