Another risk factors of discrimination includes group-esteem and self-esteem—low self-esteem is seen in the students that are bullied at school, although social psychology indicates that “if one feels a sense of relatedness to their ethnic group they portray a higher self-esteem as well as better mental health—this is seen in African, Asian, and Hispanic Americans.” American Schools and the Latino Student Experience by Patricia Gandara includes a study by Robert Crosnoe on Mexican immigrants and their developmental experiences going through school. Crosnoe presents that even if Mexican immigrants are intelligent and deserve high placement courses, they are placed at an academic disadvantage due to English being there second language—this is …show more content…
Racial segregation in schools is strongly linked to segregation by class, almost ninety percent of the student body, primarily black and Latino, is at an economic disadvantage (Segregation Today)—this is physically and mentally harming our students. Tozer introduces the concept of Pluralism which means valuing and maintaining cultural and linguistic differences within a society. Where has the respect gone? So what if children misbehave, they are kids they will act up, it is the responsibility of the teacher to discipline her class. As I have mentioned earlier, children, especially those of the black community, need to be respected before they can respect. Respect is a two way street and by implementing Pluralism make the classroom run slightly more …show more content…
I have been going to school with a diverse group of individuals for a long time and I have gotten along with my peers just fine. There was no pulling of the race card and no judging of someone’s religion. I think that the economy has gotten a bit further in having education be more accessible to everybody. Public schools tend to have a majority/ dominant race in particular areas. There are so many schools and so many neighborhoods to choose from that it has become slightly easier to find a school that fits a childs needs. Although, and I cannot stress it enough, it is ultimately up to the adult in the classroom, the teacher, to encourage her students, have them feel welcomed and a part of a whole group. That is how we will break the discrimination
In Subtractive Schooling: US-Mexican Youth and the Politics of Caring, Angela Valenzuela investigates immigrant and Mexican American experiences in education. Valenzuela mentions differences in high schools between U.S born youth and immigrants such as how immigrants she interviewed seemed to achieve in school as they feel privileged to achieve secondary education. However, she found that her study provided evidence of student failure due to schools subtracting resources from these youths. Both are plagued by stereotypes of lacking intellectual and linguistic traits along with the fear of losing their culture. As a Mexican American with many family members who immigrated to the U.S to pursue a higher education, I have experience with Valenzuela’s
Unequal funding and lack of opportunities offering are restricted minority students to compete to white students. The school system is not independently separated from race and racism as people think. Race and racism are social illness that immediately need action in order to bring the best atmosphere and energy for educational system because schools are places for teaching and learning. Schools should not allow race and racism affect their spaces’ neutralization. Withstanding race and racism in education is a long and difficult task, but it is a worthy effort because in the future, all children will able to receive a better and equal
The words may be unspoken, but the message is loud and clear. Racial separatism is stronger now than ever before. According to Johnathan Kozals article "Still separate, still unequal"; segregation still exists in most schools across America. The main reason we know this to be true, is because it’s been recorded percentages of how many white students attending school with others of minority backgrounds, and the averages are extremely low. Even in areas, which are considered to be diverse communities, white parents believe their children’s level of education would decline if sending their kids to schools with others of different cultural characteristics. For instance, Kozal visited a neighborhood in Seattle, Washington, and learned that over half of that community was Caucasian, and was in the same district of Thurgood Marshall elementary school. This elementary school was very diverse with many ethnicities, but instead these Parents bussed their children to schools that were predominantly white. One of the teachers stated to Kozal that she would see clusters of white parent’s, walking their kids to the bus stop, which was only about a block from the school.
As Tienda and Haskins (2011) noted, “Immigrant children are more likely than native children to face circumstances such as low family income, poor parental education, and language barriers that place them at risk for developmental delay and poor academic performance once they enter school” (p. 7). At the school where I teach, the circumstances holding back the immigrant family are clearly visible. A few years ago, I had a student in class whose family had recently immigrated to the United States from Mexico. Language barriers initially set him back followed by poor attendance because he was working nights to help support his family. As his English teacher, I felt ill-equipped to support his success. Many of the issues impacting his academic success were out of both his control and mine. Overall, schools, especially rural schools in Iowa, need to pay closer attention to the diverse lifestyles of their multicultural students and
Students were grouped by IQ, those who had an above average or higher were helped to go to college and those who had a low IQ’s were not given the support or the push needed to get them into college. Educators allowed low education standards and refused to see students as equals. The advisors set students sights low for the future by encouraging how service jobs were a practical choice for us Mexicans. Cleaning houses were the normal thing to do for Mexican-American females. Students were tired of the inadequate staff and the staff's lack of concern for their students. The students sent out a survey among the other students to see if they were satisfied with what they were getting from their education. The result was that the schools and instructors were not meeting the needs of the students’ more so of the Chicano students.
Why do some groups not succeed in academic settings? One theory brought up in “Understanding inequality” suggests that the gap in the socioeconomic status drives the inequalities in the school system. The low and working class have less time and income to intervene with schooling. This means they have less time to meet with teachers, hire tutors, and provide continuous transportation. Therefore the lower class can’t possibly compete with the middle and upper classes. Angela Valenzuela gives the accounts of some Hispanic students’ experiences in school. These students feel that it is the inferior nature of the schools in the US that contribute to the low success levels. The schools in Mexico have “teachers [that] value and nurture in their students an ability to communicate and express themselves with confidence” (Valenzuela). This is what leads to success in schooling, which the United States does not provide them. Another explanation to this is a theory of cultural deprivation. This is the idea that certain cognitive styles connect to different ethnic groups. It just so happens that what school demands from students is a characteristic of the White and Asian races, which is abstraction , while other less successful groups like African Americans and Latinos possess more concrete thinking. Current manifestations of this can be seen from Samuel Huntington’s article “The Hispanic Challenge.”
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. Their beliefs can cause them to attack other groups verbally or in silence and even reaching to the point of violence. All of this occurs because we can’t be seen as a “people”, but rather like “species” that need to be classified. An example of racism due to race and ethnicity as categories of identity is seen in the article written by Daphne Eviatar entitled “Report Finds Widespread Discrimination against Latino Immigrants in the South.” In this particular case white supremacy groups discriminate Hispanics that are both legal and illegal in the southern states of America, portraying several theoretical concepts.
She describes it as “subtractive schooling,” a process in which students are left vulnerable to academic failure due to structural forces that impose on their ethnic identities and cultural backgrounds. The author explains that immigrants go through a dis-identification process, which seeks to Americanize them inadvertently forces minority status upon them. The division comes when their own ethnic identity of what it means to be Mexican to them is compromised. A prime example of this the use of linguistics and cultural practices. In the subtractive schooling process, all things Mexican or tied to the students’ identity is purposely diluted as is the use of the Spanish language. The concept of Mexicanidad becomes blurry as many Mexican/Mexican-American’s consider speaking Spanish as synonymous to what being Mexican is. In the subtractive schooling process, students are expected to know and speak English fluency, on the other hand in order to be considered truly Mexican they must also speak Spanish fluently. Many 2nd generational immigrants don’t fair as well as 1st generation because of the lack of bilingualism and biculturalism, skills that make the 1st generation more successful than the
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.
Segregation has been a major issue for hundreds of years, it wasn’t until 1964 when the Civil Rights Act was passed that African Americans and other races were to be treated as equals the sad truth, however is that it’s not over. When people think of segregation they think of separate water fountains, schools, bathrooms, busses, and even churches. Segregation is not something of the past like many of us would like to believe. In fact it’s an ongoing problem still today. In Little Rock Arkansas we see “one of the longest-running and most notorious school desegregation cases in the country” (Elliott). To understand continued segregation one must understand the history and the key people who played their part in it.
Today we can look back and oversee the changes and development in Education. Segregation throughout the education system has shaped the system to what it is today. Discrimination is the practice of preferential treatment, or denying equal treatment to someone due to his or her demographic characteristics. Racial discrimination and segregation has impacted the education system since 1865 up until present day. Not only did schools face racial segregation, but also sex segregation and social class status segregation. Education was a privilege to have and something that had to be earned by the people. By looking back, history has shown how far we have overcame regarding segregation in the education system. Due to people showing a consistent fight
America’s school system and student population remains segregated, by race and class. The inequalities that exist in schools today result from more than just poorly managed schools; they reflect the racial and socioeconomic inequities of society as a whole. Most of the problems of schools boil down to either racism in and outside the school or financial disparity between wealthy and poor school districts. Because schools receive funding through local property taxes, low-income communities start at an economic disadvantage. Less funding means fewer resources, lower quality instruction and curricula, and little to no community involvement. Even when low-income schools manage to find adequate funding, the money doesn’t solve all the school’s problems. Most important, money cannot influence student, parent, teacher, and administrator perceptions of class and race. Nor can money improve test scores and make education relevant and practical in the lives of minority students.
Even though there are financial reasons that men and women drop out from school, there are other reason as well to why they do it. Sometimes, they hang out with the wrong crowd of friends and make poor choices. They decide to join gangs and leave school because they decide that being in a gang is more important. They begin to act, dress, and do different things. They start stealing because they find it a lot easier to d and they get things
Ethnicity is a rising factor in all schools today and it can alter how students learn. Races are divided up into their own groups sort of like a prison. These students of different race are all put into the same classroom whether they like it or not. Life is an everyday struggle for these students. They have a different perspective on life, for instance, they ask themselves why they should even care about getting an education. Everyone is fighting their own war and trying to conquer their own demons. Gang violence is distracting these students in and out of the classrooms making it nearly impossible for them to learn. How these students are suppose to obtain an education when even the school board has given up on the majority of them? In general,
Segregation within our education is nothing new and is still prevalent today. Segregation was supposedly abolished but to end something like segregation, something that has been practiced in the educational system for as long as there have been different races, will take time. Legally, segregation has ended but the impact is still being felt today. But to understand the damage that has been done today, the history needs to be understood.