The education of our youth is, by far, the most important thing that the older generations must do to ensure their future. Fundamentals are taught based upon the desired and acceptable standards of today's society. Those standards, however, fall severely short in cultural understanding and acceptance as cultural differences were not designed into the education system. Though schools are diversified that does not mean a student will find acceptance within. Sherman Alexie stated, “Sharing dark skin doesn’t necessarily make two men brothers.” Alexie’s statement was written to show the commonality of racial/ethnic division among social groups and between similar minorities. Alexie’s description of his educational experience in reference to his ethnicity mirrors similar aspects in my own experience as well.
Growing up as the child of an average African American father and a typical southern caucasian mother finding the balance between the two proved to be more influential in my education than ever expected. My parents made sure that I was always aware of both cultures gave me the freedom to live life identifying with both. However, once I reached mid-elementary grades it became more prevalent that I needed to choose a side in which to identify. I would slowly begin to understand that my election could have such major influence on the education I would receive.
In middle and high school children would question my actions, such as the way I spoke proper english would invoke the
The topic of Race and education stems from our country being divided for a long time among class and race. There is no doubt that if you have a better social standing in society chances are your education will be better. This is not to say people haven’t broken down barriers because they have in order to receive quality education for themselves without the use of much funding. People are motivated to have their children learn as much as can and acquire academic scholarships so they can provide a quality life for their children, but the cycle of being born into that quality life does give a child a head start. In this paper, I will illustrate all of this by showing the history of Race and education, conflict theory
One’s identity has the ability to play a central role in one’s schooling experience and in return, affect the way they perceive the world around them. Growing up in an Asian household located in a predominately Asian American neighborhood located in the San Gabriel Valley, I always identified myself strongly to my race and took pride in being a first generation Asian American child. Race has definitely affected my schooling experience in many different ways, both positively and negatively. In addition, there were a variety of other aspects such as stereotypical gender roles and socioeconomic class status which factored into the way I learned in the U.S. education system. In this paper, I will examine how race, class, and gender played a big role throughout my schooling experience.
As a teacher, it is important to know and understand the racial and cultural identities of both yourself, and your students. Knowing about your students’ backgrounds is a great way to make the classroom a safe and welcoming environment. Not all educational settings emit a feeling of safety to its students, and that needs to be changed. In this paper, I will discuss how my racial and cultural identity may be the same and may differ from my students, as well as some ways in which the institution of education can be changed to be more racially and culturally inclusive.
Schools systematically subjugate minority and black students when a school’s enrollment contains a huge racial majority. If students have no exposure to persons of different ethnicities, cultures, races, and religions, then these students will experience culture shock when they confront “other” people. Even in our class, we talk about black and minority students as another group, one that differs from “us.” We think about the inequalities in school systems as problems we need to fix, not as problems that have influenced our thinking and affect us as prospective teachers. For example, a white graduate student with
African American students account for the larger majority of minorities in public schools in the United States. Most areas in the northern part of the United states and coastal areas are ethnically diverse. However, down south this is not the case. Students of color will experience a harder time in the education system. African American students meet the obstacle of educators who will not want them to succeed based on a preconceived thought. In fact, Caucasian teachers make up for 85% of all
Education is a necessity across the globe, from America to Africa to China. Some education systems, however, are more successful than others and hold differing views and approaches to education. Culture greatly impacts education, which in turn impacts further opportunity. As unfair as it may be, a child’s cultural background largely determines their level of success. The American education system is lacking when compared to various other world cultures, and this is causing the socioeconomic gap to grow. Because of this inadequate education, more and more families are dipping beneath the poverty line. This could be due to poor discipline as well as the diversity of students. The diversity of the students results in a wide array of needs that are not being met by the public education system. This issue could be minimized by working to create a more inclusive academic environment to ensure equality and success.
The story provided an excellent discussion of the many issues that surround race in schools, it centered on the topic about whether integrated schools were more beneficial than segregated schools. This book focuses on young children in the early grades, listening to parents and racial integration. The author wanted to find the truth that is surrounding multicultural classrooms from those that are involved in it. This book includes many side stories, which serve to explore the concepts, and displays them in a clear way; it also added depth to the book. This book was well written and shows all sides of multicultural education. It does not take one side in particular and it encourages people to explore multicultural education in a new light.
In the reading, Culture and Power in the Classroom: A Critical Foundation for Bicultural Education, Antonia Darder argues that education is a critical tool and necessity for the advancement of people of color. She highlights that education is tied to status, which in turn, then gives you power in society. She helps us see many of the flaws in the school system that prevents students of color from excelling in the academic world. She points to us, that although there are many things within the school institution itself that fail students of color over and over again, the blame is always placed on the individual. She also highlights that there are many myths about students of color that say that their failure is tied to coming from cultures and backgrounds that do not value education. Finally, Darder argues that conservative educators hurt bicultural student’s education, and liberal educators, although may seem the better option, still fail to attack the institutions that help foster failure in the education setting. They also end up alluding to student failure to individual failure.
Teaching in racially diverse classrooms often leaves educators feeling uncertain about how to proceed and how to respond to historically marginalized students. There is pressure to acknowledge and accept students of color with different perspectives, to diversify the syllabi, be more aware of classroom dynamics, and pay attention to how students of color experience the learning process.
Multiculturalism in education is an essential element in shaping America’s increasingly diverse society by reducing racism. This research takes a look at the relationship between multiculturalism and how educating the youth would cure racism. Multiculturalism is the view that cultural differences should be respected or even encouraged. The concept of multiculturalism reduces racism in our society because it forces people to communicate and understand individuals’ cultures that are different from theirs. Multiculturalism is very important in our Society. It helps us look at other cultures
The argument Tyrone C. Howard tries to make in his article, Powerful Pedagogy for African American Students A Case of Four Teachers, is that effective learning occurs when different cultural background and experiences are incorporated in teaching. He shares that the rate at which African-American students learn is fifty fifty on part of the teachers as well as the students. While Howard believes that there are many quandaries to be addressed in the schooling system, only a part of it is reflected in the academic underachievement of African-American students. Howard states, “socially and emotionally, African American students struggle to adjust in US schools” (page 180, paragraph 2). This is not to say that African-American students have learning disabilities, but more so the teachers. The problems faced by African-Americans, too often are identified, but not addressed. Perhaps, the reason for this lies in the cultural and racial disparities in the US education system. A lot of African American children are sent to elite white schools because parents believe this is a better way for their children to obtain a good chance of moving up the social ladder. However, often times, these schools fail to supply such need and the children struggle because of the difference in ethnicity. People typically tend to believe that their way of life is better than others. What is worse is when children are taught that their culture is inferior in comparison to others. Being submerged in one 's
Like race, gender can be used by a sexist society to throw up a barrier to women's development and negatively affect their learning experiences. In a culture where the default human is seen as a White male, the model for individual human development has been structured around White, male life experiences. As a result, when compared to these androcentric models of development, women are often seen as lacking. Race, gender, and class, in addition to other characteristics such as geographical location, ability/disability status, and religious backgrounds affect everyone not only in our development, but also in how we experience educational environments and our learning process. Because of racism and sexism, certain learners may feel that they
Yellow, Black and White. These colors along with countless others are what make up the student population of America’s schools in the 21st century. Each and every color is a student filled with boundless potential to succeed and flourish in the world beyond school. Yet, why is it that some students seem stand out above the rest despite having the seemingly same education? This is the problem of the achievement gap in America in our education system today. There has been an influx of various ethnic groups into the education system resulting
The United States of America is known for being a country filled with people of many different ethnic backgrounds. Likewise, the student population in schools is just as diverse as it continues to grow. Lynch (2015) notes that schools are expected to teach their students “how to synthesize cultural differences into their knowledge base” as this will help “facilitate students’ personal and professional success in a diverse world” (para. 8). Educators must be able to provide for the diverse needs of students and are expected to equip students with skills that can lead to healthy development as it can affect higher levels of student achievement and students have more opportunities of success in their future. Providing students with tools and skills requires an awareness and acceptance of their ethnic identity. Once students have developed self-acceptance about their ethnic identity, they can begin to feel empowered and motivated to do well. Through cultural empowerment, students of color can develop intrinsic motivation and achieve academic success.
During the late 1960’s, America had entered into a period of cultural definition especially with the emergence of the Civil Rights Movement. Although the term “multicultural education” had not come into play yet, the idea that the U.S needed to reexamine their efforts of educating diverse groups was emerging. During this time inequality especially among minority groups in comparison to the white dominant culture became a social issue (Banks 1999). Before the arrival of this reform multicultural education was displayed in the classroom as having minorities adapt to the predominant culture. Teachers during this time felt it would be more beneficial for minorities to adapt. However, many parents of these minorities begin to argue that the