Personal Reflection On Race And Race In A Classroom

I learned some important things from this course that I will allow to stick with me no matter my profession. Diversity is something I will always have to deal with regardless if it is race, gender, or gender orientation. Importantly this course has allowed me to grow as an individual and has shown me that it is okay to learn about other races and their background. Not only has it allowed me to be acceptable of everyone in fact, it has allowed me to be less judgmental amongst others.

Before taking this class I was clearly aware of my multiple social identities, although I never analyzed them in the context of a much larger community. For one of our journal assignments my class was asked to check out the site, Stuff White People Like and reflect on how we relate to the stereotypes listed. It was incredibly amusing to me reading about all the different stereotypes and how accurate they were in terms of my interests and

It appears to be that the discussion of race and class in America has become amplified, especially in the last couple of years. For many, it is a touchy subject that hits close to home. With the presence of social media and news that feeds off of racial tension in America, the issues are polarizing and difficult to productively discuss. America’s handling of race and class relations is generally not something to be proud of, and there exists a long history of issues with race. It is clear that there is a lack of understanding and empathy of what others experience toward those who are oppressed. So often it is too easy to dismiss another human’s experiences as reality if one has had no prior encounter with the same challenges. Race is easy to sweep under the rug, but we must address the problem, and it is not a one size fits all solution. It is a problem that has been years in the making and continues to have an enormous impact on our human capital from an economic standpoint. And most of the time, there is a correlation between race and class.

This is because I felt it was very rushed and I wasn’t as connected to my topic as I was in units one and two. In my opinion “When We Fight We Win” was a lot harder to read because of how long each chapter was and how broad the information tended to be. I felt that each chapter tended to drag and the only think I looked forward to in each chapter was the pictures. Although illustrations are still a type of reading political cartoons tend to have a deeper meaning, which often makes them more confusing. After discussing each chapter for class and homework I decided that Chapter 5, Occupy Wall Street would be the best topic for me for this unit. This topic always intrigued me because business plays such an important role in my life but the information in the book spoke more about food donations and racism then did about the movement itself. For this unit I found myself making a presentation on something I was familiar with, but wouldn’t say knowledgeable about. This is because I didn’t know the background or even the foundation of Occupy Wall Street, which made it harder to relate to as a writer. If I had to change anything about this program it would be this unit. Unit three I feel most people including myself felt uncomfortable presenting about because of the lack of time and research that was done on our selected topics. In my opinion if I had more time and resources I would of been able to give a better presentation about a topic that I am passionate about without feeling

This course has really enlightened my view of being able to learn the value of linguistic and cultural diversity and the influential learning opportunities it gives today’s classrooms and schools. We as teacher educators were allowed to examine our attitudes, beliefs, and preferences regarding linguistically and culturally diverse students, families, and communities and learn methods for working together to confirm high levels of learning for all students. Also, strategies for guaranteeing

What does “race” mean to you? How does your race affect your life? Are races really so different? You might answer these questions differently after visiting the RACE exhibit at the Museum of Natural Sciences. From understanding skin color to examining how systematic racism impacts minorities today, this exhibit is incredibly inclusive and eye-opening. One of our favorite interactive components was an activity in which you listen to a person talking and try to determine his or her race. It was very interesting because it forces you to face any misconceptions you may have about how a person of a certain race “should” sound. We all performed poorly at identifying the speakers, which caused us to inflect on our own stereotypical thoughts. The

I came into this class not so naïve as some students may have been. I’ve grown up going to public schools, living in a diverse small town, and having interracial relationships in my family. Although I was informed on some forms of racism and the fact that racism does in fact still exist, I didn’t realize it was extensive as it really is. All the readings, videos, and lectures have directly related back to the purpose of the course. As a whole, I feel like this class has grown in knowledge not only about how racism affects people, but how to change and make a difference. This class has informed me a lot more about the unfortunately thriving acts of racism in the United States.

Before I began this class I thought I was well versed in terms, of race, ethnicity, and nationality. However, I may have been partially wrong. I always considered my race to be Mexican and my ethnicity to be Hispanic while my nationality is American. However, according to the definitions I don’t have a race. On forms, I usually check the block for other and identify by ethnicity. I consider myself of Hispanic ethnicity from Mexican descent. However, to Mexicans from Mexico, I am not considered Mexican. I am a white Mexican, Mexican American or Chicana; both of my parents are born in Mexico of Mexican parents. I am most certainly proud of my roots as well as being an American. In the world we live in today it’s difficult to neglect the fact that I stand out for obvious reasons. That at times I am treated differently. That because of my roots I am told to go back to my country. That I shed a tear as I write this because I live with an inner struggle of who I am.

According to Heath (2014), African American racial socialization is comprised of providing an environment rich in culture as well as a proud attitude toward their culture. This is extremely important to understand as a teacher. African American students should be proud of the struggles their culture has overcome. In a classroom, I feel that racial socialization should also be just as important. As a teacher, I will make sure that I have books in my library area that tell of the amazing works African American people have provided for our country. I also plan to do a lesson on just how resilient this culture is. Being a future educator, it is important to be aware of racial socialization and have materials around the classroom that include this culture as well and other

In conclusion, this was my favorite observation because I took more away from it than my previous ones. Speaking with Ms. Tomlin made me realize that there may be an equal population in one place, but not in another. I know she must of felt uncomfortable at times. It was really nice to have to step outside of my comfort zone. This observation will help me as an educator if I have minority students. It will better help me understand how they may be feeling so that I may reach out to them. In the future, I want to include more people of different races or religions into my daily

Oh, to be a Black woman in America. When I entered college my interest consistently gravitated into the African American courses, since I wanted to learn more about my ancestors and my cultural history. The course name alone completely captured my attention and I could not pass up the option for this to be one of my elective classes this semester. Prior to this course, I had not taken a class that was centered around my gender or race. Therefore, I had hoped to learn more about the internal and external challenges of being a Black woman in America. Throughout weeks of captivating classroom lectures, intense readings, and additional coursework this class has surpassed my expectations, and I am not the same young woman that I was when this

So far in the course, the material that has sparked my interest the most were the concepts of privilege and oppression. Actually, I would not even say that it sparked my interest; I would say that I could compare my life with these two terms. I grew up on the East side of Detroit, in a neighborhood that looked down on people who did not attend schools in which they have. For example, I went to a predominantly all black private school not too far from my house. But my friends in my neighborhood honestly did not care whether it was a black or white school. They would make fun of me because I attended a private school. I believed that their interpretation of a private school was that the school was preparing us to into formal black Americans.

Humans have come a long way in terms of racism. We want to live in an era where discrimination and racism was a very common thing. The big question I will however pose is, is it not still a big and common thing? Racism a great amount of violence. Romberg the holocaust? The group that wiped out nearly 6 million people? All of this chaos created by one single racist mind. Racism is not always about violence. Racism is discriminating against someone because of either their religion, skin color, or their features. But out of all this hatred, came some inspiration, from Martin Luther King jr., Barack Obama to Collin Kaepernick.

Ethnic patterns are changing every year. It seems that the minority groups are rising and are getting stronger as every new school year starts. There are many minority groups in the school setting now. " Nearly half (46 percent) of school-age youths in the United States will be people of color by 2020 (Pallas, Natriello, and McDill 1989)". A minority group is "a group typically numerically inferior to the rest of the population state... (A.J. Jongman and A.P. Schmid)". There used to be two major groups in the school setting, the blacks and the whites. Now there are whites, blacks, Asians, Hispanics, etc. And even to go along with that (they are not truly minority groups), there are the "freaks",

I took the time today to read the article titled “What is Race” by Victor M. Fernandez, RN, BSN and found myself agreeably intrigued and in admiration of his thoughts regarding race. Victor touched on an extremely insightful and significant topic; one that most people have sturdy opinions about. Race – what is it? What does this mean to you? What does it mean to our upcoming careers in the nursing field? I trust that how we characterize and assess our awareness of race is due exclusively to how we were raised. I do not mean merely what we were taught from our family or culture about race, but to a certain extent how we have lived it, and how it has lived around us. “Race is a modern idea. Ancient societies, like the Greeks, did not divide