Cycle Of Oppression

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

Everyone should be treated fairly and respected with race or gender having nothing to do with how you approach a human being. Yet, in urban areas across the country there are many teachers who cannot relate with the struggles their students face. Cannot relate with the living environment students from all racial backgrounds are coming from. For example, when I was in the Fourth Grade there was a white teacher, she was genuinely nice and tried her very best with the classroom or generally all minority background. The problem was that she couldn’t relate to us in most aspects of our living outside the school. She gave us a list of things we needed for the classroom in which the parents couldn’t afford. None of the students seemed to connect with her because the

One lesson I learned was definitely about the role of oppression in individuals who are asking for help. I realized that some of the problems I was facing was internalized racism. Many of the issues I was facing was because of not having enough money to take care of myself. I was struggling with being able to find a job in Washington DC and dealing with poverty. I felt that there were a very limited number of opportunities for me. Also, I had internalized a feeling of hopelessness. According to research by Leary, many African-Americans have learned to live with and survive oppression. However, this oppression can cause emotional responses of fear and internalized oppression where many African Americans feel that they are less than other and

The first source I will use is Andrea Ayvazian’s essay “Interrupting the Cycle of Oppression: The Role of Allies as Agents of Change”. She discusses how allies can change in a good way, our society into something better in increasing oppression and the power behind it. The author explain why it is so important to interfere and end the never ending circle of oppression, discrimination, stereotype thinking or prejudice. Oppression can be found in every group and we face it unfortunately every day, for example opportunities for those who are poor get often denied by the wealthier part of society which as we know out of the book are just a small part. Ayvazian defines the word ally and what it is to be one. Furthermore she discusses the importance

This paper examines how white privilege continues to be constructed today within schools and how teachers have a large role in it. In today’s society, many can go through their lives without understanding what it is or how it effects other people. White privilege is how a person’s lighter skin color benefits them directly from birth and that person doesn’t have to do anything in order to gain these privileges. These privileges are good and usually don’t have any negative consequences for the person receiving them. However, those who do not have white privilege face discrimination and end up paying the price in the future. This paper will uncover the hardships that people face when dealing with white privilege in schools, how it continues to be constructed in society, and how we as a society can become more aware to this problem.

Throughout most of the movie, one teacher struggles against a schools administrators and teachers in order to teach her own students the power of education. While the administration has no faith in her students (all considered minorities) or her, she is determined to break the racial barrier the school has so willing put up. With life changing ideas and great motivation, she begins to change the lives of each and every one of her students. However, before she succeeded, she often failed. Administration denied the students more difficult reading material in order to ensure that they wouldn’t progress past a fifth grade reading level; deprived of educational opportunities because of race, deprived of a basic human right because of

What is it that Vonnegut wants the readers to realize? That equality in general is unnatural, because Adaption to the average might mean bringing everyone down to the lowest level and therefore confirm prejudices of stupid, fat and lazy people and lead to a loss of potential, excellence and talent. The immense state control can lead to oppression and torture of citizens if people are too busy with their personal life instead of caring for the greater good. Furthermore that our modern lives can lead to a desensitization if people spend their time in front of a TV lamenting about the chances in the world rather than standing up from the couch and do something about it. That an uncontrolled medium bears the potential of misdirected utilization

During my third year in college, I participated in the Civil Rights and Social Justice Pilgrimage that the ministry department made each year. While on this trip, I was exposed to the good that came off the Civil Rights Movement, but I also witnessed the horrors that so many people endured. One of the events that really troubled was school segregation. One exhibit allowed me to view what a White classroom would look like compared to an African-American classroom. There were extreme differences in these classrooms. As someone who has a passion for teaching and helping children, this deeply upset me that the color of a child’s skin effected their education. At that point, I realized that if I was to become a teacher I would make my classroom

Throughout the past couple of weeks, the readings revolved around oppression. These readings have talked about oppression as being pervasive, restrictive, hierarchical, intentional, unintentional, institutionalized, and so much more. These examples show us how oppression is taking over our society, and it is going to take a lot for it to finally disappear. One way that individuals believe oppression can start to deteriorate is through the process of social justice. The end game of social justice is to make sure there is equality for everyone present in our society today. Yet, we know that having social justice present is a process that will not happen overnight. By breaking down and analyzing oppression, it could help many individuals understand

Children are not being taught about things like colonialism for instance, and when it is, it is through a biased, “white lense.” This is ultimately because it is being told from a privileged, “outsider” point of view. American universities still lack the diversity needed to include people of colour throughout the curriculum. Although there is a lot of diversity among students as time goes on, there are voices and perspectives that continue to go unheard. (Frances 2010, 5) According to Racism in the Canadian University: Demanding Social Justice, Inclusion, and Equity, education creates a “free, independent, and thoughtful learner.” (Frances 2010, 6) But of course the curriculum does not create this if they are only teaching ideas through an ethnocentric, colonized lense. As well as only including examples of white people; white historians, scientists, mathematicians, and philosophers. When a university has predominately white instructors, and then teaches predominantly biased material that attempt to make white people look good, this creates a white privileged university. A person of colour who steps foot in that university will recognize this, as it is a form of othering. People who are not white may feel ostracized as there are no people of colour to be a

• The term “interlocking systems of oppression” has been used to describe situations in which oppression in one institution is connected with and can create oppression in other institutions. Do you see any evidence of these systems in this case? Yes, there were three areas that we saw evidence of interlocking systems of oppression in the case of Jess and her children.

This research paper will outline the causes and traits of oppression in America. Dynamics such as the social, historical, and psychological systems that serve as vessels of oppression will be addressed. Using academic research, the goal for this essay will be to discuss the characteristics of oppression and how those characteristics are connected to its origin. The research will develop major themes that will serve to define agents, including classism, discrimination, and the intersectionality of different types of oppression. Discussions on strategies for addressing and ending the current oppression in America and recommendations for the future will be highlighted as well.

I believe I am oppressed, while at the same time, I believe I am given equal opportunity. In terms of my heritage, I am Mexican, and my entire family line comes from a small town in Mexico, as far as I know. Most members in my family believe that we are oppressed because no matter how hard we work to achieve higher status in America, we will continue to be unheard and unseen as equals. I, personally, believe that I have the potential to become someone greater and ultimately leave my mark in this world, one way or another. However, the long-felt, heavily implemented, overshadowing thought that I will not be able to succeed because of my origins continues to haunt me. I’ve experienced both sides of the axis, but I believe it’s a matter of perspective

I am stating the Five Faces of Oppression based on my understand after reading Shaw & Lee. The first face is Exploitation. Exploitation is, “A process that transfer the results of labor of one social group to benefit another.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) An example of exploitation is sweat shops. Children in many parts of the world are making clothing items such as Nike for pennies a day. While these children are underpaid people who aren’t sweat shop workers’ pay multiple dollars for the items made. Marginalization is the next face, Margination is described as, “The expulsion of an entire group from useful participation in social life.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) A group that fits this category are the homeless. Homeless people were unable to pay their bills therefore, they’re without a home. Powerlessness comes next and is described as, “lack of respectability.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) An example of this would be minority groups. In the media you see many videos of white people disrespecting minorities for being “different.” Cultural Imperialism is the fourth face. Cultural Imperialism is, “Recognizing the dominant group experience and culture as the norm.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) An example of this is white culture in America. In America it’s the norm for mothers to be stay at home moms while the husband is the sole bread winner for the family. The last face of oppression is violence. Violence is described as, “Members of a subordinate group who live with the threat of violence.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) Transgender individuals live with a lot of fear and violence. Many people don’t understand or support the trans community and tend to thing in order to solve the “problem” they must hurt and kill trans individuals. Iris Young said described the acts as “Using people’s labors to produce profit while not compensating them fairly.”

Speaking out about the mistreatment of racialized students in education can be complicated when there is a strong influence in the culture of power, as Delpit discusses in her essay. The people in the culture of power are generally white, middle-class people and they experience irrepressible privilege within the education system. The power Delpit refers to is unintentionally sanctioned in classrooms today; however, people have not attempted to change this unequal power structure. Delpit discusses that there is “the power of the teacher over the students; the power of the publishers of textbooks and of the developers of the curriculum to determine the view of the world presented” (Delpit 283). Students of color recognize throughout time; the privileged white people are consistently in control of the way everyone else is educated. It is already engraved in their minds that white people have control over the culture of power; therefore, it is extremely hard to change the current structure. When students of color recognize this strong hierarchy of white people and underrepresentation of colored people in power, they turn away from wanting to receive an education.