Is The Education System Excluding Minorities?

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Is The Education System Excluding Minorities?

Is the education system excluding minorities on the basis of gender and culture? The United States has become one of the most culturally diverse places to live in. The increase in minorities immigrating to the United States has drastically risen. With this in mind, should policies, laws, and institutions, such as education, be restructured and modified to include minorities? Due to their personal experiences, Adrienne Rich, Mike Rose, and Bell Hooks in The Presence of Others, believe education can be seen as the practice of exclusion (93). All three authors argue that in order to prevent the exclusion of minorities in schools, modifications must occur within the system. Mike Rose argues that institutions should be obligated to provide immigrants with the basic stable and common core curriculum. Bell Hooks suggests that individuals must not conform to assimilation of the dominant culture in order to be included in the education system. Adrienne Rich believes women must self-teach themselves the important things in life because universities are not teaching women everything they need to know. Major changes need to be made within the system in order to provide individuals with an exceptional education.

At my current job I met Jessica. Jessica is twelve years old. She was born in Argentina and migrated to the United States one year ago. Due to the economic and political crisis in Argentina, her family traveled to the land of "opportunity" in search of a better life. Upon her arrival and enrollment in middle school, Jessica was placed in "sheltered" classes. These classes are designed for students who have a language barrier, those individuals whose native language is something other...

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...hanges in society. With the tremendous increase in minorities, the curriculum should be changed to not only benefit the dominant race, but minorities as well. The curriculum must accommodate the interests of minorities. Students like Jessica should be given the opportunity to receive a challenging and rewarding education; an education that does not serve to exclude her.

Works Cited

Hooks, Bell. "Keeping Close to Home: Class and Education." The Presence of Others. Andrea A. Lunsford & John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2000, 93-104.

Rich, Adrienne. "What Does a Woman Need to Know?" The Presence of Others. Andrea A. Lunsford & John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2000, 65-70.

Rose, Mike. "Lives on the Boundary." The Presence of Others. Andrea A. Lunsford & John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2000, 105-118.

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