The Effects of Racism in Education

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It is my hypothesis that diverse backgrounds have a great effect on the ability for a student to learn. I am not suggesting that a student from one background is less likely to learn than the student from a completely different background. I do predict that if educators do not take to heart the diverse backgrounds of their students at both the lower and upper levels of education than the student will suffer in one degree or another.

My focus group will be highschool and college students with an emphasis on those who are in the junior class of both institutions. I will take a small sample of each student group and the educators who are responsible for them. I intially planned on studying only highschool students but in my collection of information I found that diversity issues are rising in numbers at institutes of higher education on a profoundly widespread basis.

Some issues that I will explore will be:

1. What role has racism as well as sexism and classism played in the American educational system?

2. Are educators receiving more education concerning diversity issues now than in the last 10 years and if so why?

3. Is this training consistent and widespread?

4. How does diversity affect the students learning abiltity from both the student and teachers perspective?

5. Is it possible that a teacher who has nothing in common with their students to effectively teach and nurture the student?

6. What can be done to bridge the gap between students and teachers.

After exploring the above-mentioned items in great depth, I will then look at ways to either improve or implement the way that diversity issues are currently being handled.

I have chosen this topic because as a person enrolled in an institute of higher learning and the mother of children who are currently enrolled in a public school system I am concerned that for to long we have turned a deaf ear as well as a blind eye to issues that could potentially affect us as a society in the long run.

Introduction

Racism, which is defined by the Webster School Dictionary as “A claim unfounded in scientific fact, that any race is superior to another”(p 586). For many years, people have tried to understand what is at the heart of racism. To understand racism entirely would be an educational experience in itself. Racism has been engrained into our social fabric for a ...

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...nd of time, but educators as well as others in society have a duty to ensure that no one person feels less because they are different. It should not be a choice for school districts but it should be a requirement for both educators and their students from kindergarten until they are seniors in highschool. I admonish all school systems as well as individual educators to not take the attitude that you can not affect change alone because you can. I clearly remember the one teacher that influenced my life alone and I remember those who had a negative impact on me. How do you want to be remembered?

Works Cited

Blum, John (1995). Beyond Prescriptive Pedogogy. Journal Of Teacher Education. 46, 3, 28.

Brown, Benjamin, (1958). Desegragation and the Supreme Court. Boston: Heath and Company.

Ramos, Mary. Personal Interview. Conducted on March 7, 2010.

Character Counts. www.charactercounts.org. Retrieved on May 5, 2010.

Collins, William (1974). The Pocket Webster School and Office Dictionary. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Statistical Information. www.usd475.k12.ks.us. Retrived on March, 15 2010.

Renolds, Charles. Personal Inteview. Conducted on April 3, 2010.

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