I remember when I was in high school; I encountered a gruesome experience. A young girl was being beat and thrown into a trashcan by two boys and one girl. I hysterically ran to her aid and told the group of people to stop. Minutes later, security arrived and the victim was picked up and driven away. Two days later, our high school principle scheduled a mandatory auditorium student meeting. He said, that the young girl was beaten and bullied because she identified as a homosexual. I couldn’t believe it! I was embarrassed and ashamed that these students did not have any sense of morality. Is our educational system lacking the knowledge that students are constantly being abused and bullied due to sexual orientations, ethnicity and culture? Perhaps …show more content…
For this purpose, I strongly believe our educational system should mandate ethnic studies classes into all high school curriculums prior to graduation. Ethnic studies are interdisciplinary courses that train students to be able to understand ethnicity, gender and sexual differences, different from our societal view. These courses also teach the suppressed and distorted histories, but most importantly it’s an academic freedom to social justice. High school students from all over the United States are constantly being harassed and abused because they don’t look, act or talk accordingly to the idolized America identity frame. A regional source reported, “A total of 15.8% of students reported cyber bullying and 25.5% reported bullying in the past 12 months” (Schneider and others 2012) .1 Do students have to commit suicide or hurt themselves to prove that others are tormenting them? Perhaps our school system wants innocent teenagers to …show more content…
An ethnic studies program will help students identify with themselves and most importantly help them learn about others. A resource states, “Stanford university researchers looked at an ethnic studies pilot started in 2012 for ninth graders. In a report released in January, the researchers concluded such classes helped increase grades and attendance amongst struggling high school students” (Bryson, Donna 2016). 5 Ethnic studies programs help students appreciate their ethnic identity. A source states, “the NEA review of research cites multiple university studies showing that, for students of color, the more they know about race, racism and cultural identity, the higher their grades and graduation rates, and the more likely they are to go on to college” (Remnick). 6 Now check this out, “Interestingly, the positive impact of such studies is even higher on white students, who gain a much more sophisticated ethnic consciousness as they confront issues of race already familiar to minority students”(Remnick). 7 Isn’t this incredible? The future lies in front of us and in order to live in peace, people need to work together, learn, interact and respect each
I personally believe that if we taught African American history, and integrated a more inclusive curriculum, that children would learn the equal importance of colored people at an early age, and therefore be less likely to discriminate against them when they grow older. Another potential solution could be, creating interracial relationships, or developing a learning environment that forces students to mingle and cooperate with previously discriminated students so as to prevent the development of a false idea of who colored people really are. I believe that through these extra lengths America can become a more unified
"It is better to die standing up than to live kneeling down.” Emiliana Zapata. It is easy to live life kneeling down, and it is frightening to take the initiative to act against many and to fight for the rights of our community. This quote constantly reminds me of why I need to go to graduate school and further my education in learning about oppressions.
The subject that I was interested in my schooling the most was my ethnic studies course. Whether ethnic studies should be implemented into schools or not has been widely debated. I 'm in favor of having ethnic studies in all schools. Ethnic studies courses being put into school systems will be very beneficial in regards to the student, and will promote unity amongst students.
Reading Chapter four of Ethnic Studies Issues and Approaches, by Philip Q. Yang, one receives a profound understanding of ethnic stratification. First of all, Yang describes ethnic stratification as a “institutionalized ethnic inequality” (61). This definition means the system of ethnic/social rules allowing certain ethnic groups to have access to more wealth and resources, which is unfair to the minority groups. There is a division between majority and minority groups, this is based on who is given more power, wealth and resources not because of a larger number of an ethnicity group. According to Yang, White people are the majority in the United States, but they are called majority for their share of wealth/power unlike the minority group.
According to Omi and Winant, the term race can be defined as “a concept which signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by referring to different types of human bodies.” From their framework of racial formation and concept of racial projects, Omi and Winant asserts that race is a matter of social structure and cultural representation that has been intertwined to shape the nature of racism. Racism has been seen since the events of early English colonization of the indigenous people and the racialization of African Americans through slavery, all in which the United States is molded upon as a nation. Thus, this social structure of domination has caused European colonials and American revolutionists to create racialized representations, policies, and structures in order to oppress indigenous and black populations in their respective eras.
In a school setting, is it usually tweens and teens who engage in prejudicial bullying towards those of different nationality, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. Although, we should keep in mind that it is not only limited to the school setting and can be carried on into adulthood. This type of bullying borders with cyber bullying, verbal bullying, relational bullying, physical bullying, sexual bullying and many other types of bullying. (6 Types, n.d) Though with the younger generation it is less common to find someone judge another person because of something liker their race or sexual orientation, there are still people in the world who are prejudice against a group of people and there are people who will take their prejudicial thoughts and turn them into extreme actions. There have been multiple cases where a teen or even a child has been put in a bad situation because of reasons mentioned before such as their race, religion, or sexual orientation. This is why if a someone is being targeted, it should be reported to someone with authority immediately. People who are bullied because of prejudice are often targets for being called names, being excluded from groups, being taunted by their peers, and even become targets of sexual, physical, and cyber bullies. Because prejudicial bullying can lead to things as extreme as terrorism and hate crimes, the person targeted should not sit back and hope that it will blow over with time because it leaves room to expand into such extreme acts. Instead the person should address it right away as I have mentioned earlier in the
Race has no biological meaning. There is only one human race; there are no subspecies, no single defining characteristic, traits, or even gene, separates one “race” from another. Instead of being a biological concept, race is a social construct, and a relatively modern one at that. It was created to give light-skinned Europeans an advantage by making the white race superior and all others inferior. Throughout its history, the concept of race has served this purpose well.
Racial identity is a topic that many of us try to avoid. When brought up in discussion, we tend to brush it off, ignore it, or deny it. This issue has been a problem that the United States academic system has been facing since the development of this country. The more we dismiss this as a problem, the more it will have an effect on us. In the educational system, the government does what it can to provide a safe, comfortable environment for us as students to learn in. In order for it to be fully comfortable and to have the ideal learning space, the issue of racial identity must be addressed. When this issue is acknowledged, most times it is in relation to minorities, but there is always to sides to every story. Yes, it is important to recognize that the problems or issues will not be the same in comparison to the majority group but it is important to note that there is a story for each racial group. Racial identity will help each group gain a deeper, fuller understanding of each other. Having a deeper understanding of each other’s racial identity will allow us truly have the ideal learning space that we all need.
The essays written by Tan, Hariston and Rose all address an issue within our educational system that demands immediate attention. In the land of the free with so many various freedoms for citizens, every student should be proud of their own ethnic background. Never should students be steered away from their goals or looked down upon because of their grammatical abilities. Overall students should be proud of their ethnic background and proud at the same time to be an American.
2004). As the United States become a more racially and ethnically diverse nation. Schools are becoming more diverse, and students need to learn how to interact in a diverse environment. Discussion between the different perspectives of minority and the majority opinions can enhance integrative complexity among the majority opinion (Antonio et al. 2004). Students having experiences with people of different racial/ethnic background are very important it enhances their experience on campus. Students who attend schools with a diverse population can develop an understanding of different perspectives in a multi-ethnic and multiracial environment. Racial and ethnic diversity can create a rich social environment which can be used as educational tools for students’ learning and development (Antonio et al. 2004; Milem et al. 2005). Students who attend college with other races and ethnicity increase the likelihood of socializing with people of another race and more likely have a conversation about racial matters (Chang
According to Shirley & Levy (2013), “The term ethnicity is a cultural heritage shared by people with a common ancestral origin, language, traditions and often religion” (p.3). In other words, the person that I am today has been shaped by my past; I have become an heir of a culture, language, religion and tradition that makes up who I am and from what ethnic group I belong. As a result, my shared cultural background determines the type of foods, family relations, patterns of communication, values and beliefs that I hold. Furthermore, I was told that my descendants shared their rich heritage from the African and Indian descent. At first, this information made me believe that I had to be in Africa or India to be a partaker of their culture. However, growing up in Grenada gave me the opportunity of
“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
The movie “It’s Elementary” does a great job showing the positivity reaction kids have to presenting LGBT issues in the school system. The documentary showed that all age groups can benefit from these lessons. For example, a heterosexual, 8th grade social studies teacher felt it was very important to teach his students to be respectful and not afraid of their sexuality. This teacher started his lesson by asking students to share stereotypes. He then related these stereotypes to LGBT issues. One student shared with the class that he uses slurs “out of ignorance”. This
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
I believe this is a very relevant topic today since prejudice and discrimination has become the leading issue of violence. The goal of this type of education is to teach the students that they have worth and can learn. It is a very positive subject matter when considering the benefits of implementing this type of education into a school system. This type of education encourages students of a diverse background to have a positive self-identity, pride in their heritage, accept others with diverse backgrounds, and promote social justice against prejudice and discrimination. Teachers can change the conversation in their classrooms by adding spontaneous and relevant content to their curriculum that both promotes multiculturalism and connects with the students. I believe a big part of making a change in our society today is by ‘changing the conversation’ whether that is about discrimination or another important issue. Teachers can step in at a very early age and promote feelings of self-worth and encourage the students to accept each other aside from cultural