Chapter three of Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman’s book NurtureShock titled “Why White Parents Don’t Talk About Race”, I found enlightening and highly interesting. This chapter summarizes and discusses several studies in which elementary students were examined/observed on the topic of race.
It has always been thought that racism is a taught and learned behavior, however this chapter provided evidence otherwise. White parents often try to make their child “color-blind” by not discussing race. They do this in hopes that if it is not made into a big deal, children will not focus on it. However, just because parents do not talk about it does not mean children do not recognize different races. When a parent does not discuss race, the child is left to their own observations to make assumptions about race. Developmentally, children use a single characteristic to categorize things around them into groups. This aids children in understanding and learning about the world around them. For parents who avoid the topic of race, this innate tendency to group people becomes problematic because differences in race are
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A study showed that specific cross racial training made a difference in opinions during 1st grade but made little impact during a 3rd grade period. It is suggested that discussing race early and directly is what considerable decreases racism in children. Bronson and Merryman’s research revealed that white parents were too ambiguous when talking about race with their children. Parents would use phrases like “Everyone is equal” and would not directly discuss racial differences. However, children do not understand the true intention of what the parent is saying because the message is too vague. Therefore, the parent believes they are teaching their child equality when in reality the child is not able to fully comprehend what the parent is
This scholarly article discusses a study done on biracial identity development in children. The article discusses “the similarities and differences between Black and White racial identity development in the United States and address special challenges for the biracial child.” I hope to use it as a source when discussing the struggle to form an specific identity
In this article the author shares his experiences on racism throughout his life. As the author goes in to detail about his first encounter of racism from what he called a “well- taught baby racist” he presents an ugly setting. As children, we tend to imitate what we see and hear around us, evaluating the safe and unsafe places, people, and things. We determine and define our identities based on interactions with others. Dr. Jackson goes on to describe a time when he was in grade school which majority of the students were Caucasian seemed to be highly infatuated with the texture and tone of his skin as well as his hair.
One of Beverly Tatum's major topics of discussion is racial identity. Racial identity is the meaning each of us has constructed or is constructing about what it means to be a white person or a person of color in a race-conscious society. (Tatum, pp Xvii) She talks about how many parents hesitate to talk to their children about racism because of embarrassment and the awkwardness of the subject. I agree with her when she says that parents don't want to talk about racism when they don't see a problem. They don't want to create fear or racism where none may exist. It is touchy subject because if not gone about right, you can perhaps steer someone the wrong way. Another theory she has on racial identity is that other people are the mirror in which we see ourselves. (tatum pp18) 'The parts of our identity that do capture our attention are those that other people notice, and that reflects back to us.'; (Tatum pp21) What she means by this is that what other people tell us we are like is what we believe. If you are told you are stupid enough you might start to question your intelligence. When people are searching for their identity normally the questions 'who am I now?'; 'Who was I before?'; and 'who will I become'; are the first that come to mind. When a person starts to answer these questions their answers will influence their beliefs, type of work, where they may live, partners, as well as morals. She also mentions an experiment where she asked her students to describe themselves in sixty seconds. Most used descriptive words like friendly, shy, intelligent, but students of color usually state there racial or ethnic group, while white students rarely, if ever mention that they are white. Women usually mention that they are female while males usually don't think to say that they are males. The same situation appeared to take place when the topic of religious beliefs came up. The Jewish students mentioned being Je...
Many of the stereotypes we encounter and hold today were formed because of events in the past, which were formed to rationalize and justify past social and political agendas. Many of the stereotypes that we now hold today were learned long ago and have been passed from one generation to the next. This book has forever inspired me to believe in the value of each child and discourage racist attitudes wherever I encounter them. Gregory Howard Williams encountered many hurdles growing up and successfully defeated them all. He could have easily confirmed the expectations of his negative peers and developed into a self-fulfilling prophecy, but instead he chose to shun his stereotypes and triumph over incredible odds.
A lot of people migrate from different countries to the United States each year. Most of them are looking for education especially for college students. In order to adapt easily to the new surroundings, many parents think their children should come here as soon as possible. However, in order to not forget their origin, the parents decide to send their children to the United States when they are 14-17 years old. Thus, most of them are high school students when they come to the United States. Due to that, there are many students of other races in high school. I think American high school students need to discuss racism. Because racism can cause students to discriminate against students of other races, understanding what causes racism is very important for the high school students, especially the 11th and 12th grade students. Why is it more serious for the junior and senior? According to official statistics, the school bullying statistics shows us that cases are often conflict between the students of different races. Because of rebellion, those students are junior or senior. For instance, one of my friends was treated badly in high school. My friend was a typical Asian boy as same as the others. However, he did not get on well with the other students. The other students always called him a nerd because he was an Asian. They not only called him a nerd, but they also made fun of his name. Due to the unkind nickname, my friend started to cut class. Finally, his parents had to find another school for him. Generally, most of the students think the Asian students are not diplomats, and they only know how to deal with the computers. Racism doesn’t only cause physical bullying, but it is also a severe hurt to one’s pride. Reading “The Unwanted” can make students see clearly how racism put the screws on a kid. In order to prevent the same thing, that’s why I think
Tatum’s book “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” (1997) analyses the development of racial identity and the influence of racism in American’s culture. She emphasizes the Black-White interactions by comparing the terminology in which racism perceived based on David Wellman’s definition of racism. Tatum also believes racism is not one person in particular but is a cultural situation in which ethnicity assigns some groups significantly privileged compared to others. She illustrates how engaging children in terms of interracial understanding will empower them to respond to racial stereotypes and systems of discrimination.
However, this general knowledge is not apparent to White people. Similar to microaggressions, John F. Dovidio discusses the concept of aversion racism, “a subtle, often unintentional form of bias that characterizes many White Americans who possess strong egalitarian values and who believe that they are nonprejudiced” (90). Eduardo Bonilla-Silva and Sue both demonstrate from their research that Whites do not comprehend the impact of their unconscious biases. These biases towards students of colour in a white-based post-secondary school environment can result in stress and weak interracial relationships. This is an issue since the significance of these everyday actions are not fully recognized and acknowledged. I will elaborate on a variety of examples, specifically the influence of the peers, and
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 time goes on, racism is becoming more and more unexceptable. This is most likely due to the fact that parents are teaching their children about equality among different races other than their own at a very young age. Some parents are going as far as to taking their children to local Ku Klux Klan rallies to show them that being ignorant and racist is not the right way think an...
In 1995, the Carnegie Corporation commissioned a number of papers to summarize research that could be used to improve race relations in schools and youth organizations. One way to fight against racism is to “start teaching the importance of and strategies for positive intergroup relations when children are young”(Teaching Tolerance,). Bias is learned at an early age, often at home, so schools should offer lessons of tolerance and
Introduction We live in a society where race is seen as a vital part of our personalities, the lack of racial identity is very often an important factor which prevents people from not having their own identity (Omi & Winant, 1993). Racism is extremely ingrained in our society and it seems ordinary (Delgado & Stefanic, 2000). However, many people denounce the expression of any racist belief as immoral (Miles & Brown, 2003) highlighting the complicated nature of racism. Critical Race Theory tries to shed light on the issue of racism, claiming that racism is ingrained in our society both in legal, cultural, and psychological aspects of social life (Tate, 1997). This essay provides us with the opportunity to explore this theory and its influence in the field of education.
Race relations are always a scary or uncomfortable topic for people to discuss amongst groups of different ethnicities and racial identities. It is a long standing tradition in the United States to walk a fine line and use politically correct terms in the above mentioned setting but to feel perfectly comfortable to speak freely when in a setting surrounded by likeminded people who share similar political affiliations and race. This is the main reason discussions surrounding the idea of race are too often avoided in today’s school systems and in society in general. If we are to encourage our students and children to be free thinking future citizens of our global society, we must first become one ourselves. The only way to accomplish this
This intervention is a collaborative project, similar to Aronson’s Jigsaw classroom (et a.l, 1979). We study if this intervention can be used to improve interactions between children of different races
In addition, race – whether we like it not – dictates our lives. Failure to acknowledge its impact leads people to use colorblindness as a justification to avoid being uncomfortable. Tatum provides the initial cause of colorblindness – children silenced for mentioning race. It is crucial for people to see the connection between race and racism through the term “colorblindness.” Moreover, colorblindness, invalidates a person’s identity, which undeniably contributes to racism. Furthermore, there is a relationship between race and racism, which must be
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.