15 May 2022

401

Racism in the Classroom

Format: APA

Academic level: College

Paper type: Research Paper

Words: 2171

Pages: 9

Downloads: 0

A school system is made up of people from different backgrounds. For instance, the majority of the schools in the United States have students from African -American racial backgrounds, Hispanic students, Asian students, and white students (Kohli, Pizarro & Nevárez, 2017). A school environment requires complete cooperation from students of different races in order to provide a conducive environment for everyone. Racism in school and classroom can result in minority students feeling that they are being discriminated against, and they are not getting similar opportunities as the majority of race students. Consequently, the problem results in school dropout, drug use, bullying, and other problems ( Harbin, Thurber, & Bandy, 2019). Also, the future generation depends on the ideas developed by the students. In most cases, the students feel inferior due to the limited number of literature they are exposed to. Such a problem has been witnessed by African American students. Notably, the majority of education materials do not cover the history of the African American population and instead focus on how they have been suffering as people for a long time (Kohli, Pizarro & Nevárez, 2017). It is important for the teachers to recognize the roles played by African Americans in western civilization, especially those that are from Africa. Empowering students will ensure that they do not experience an inferiority complex ( Lasker-Scott, Gilbert & Goings, 2019). As one of the biggest problems in society today, racism also exists in classrooms, and the teachers have a role to play in eliminating the problem through imposing policies that eliminate racism and integrating African literature in teaching.

From time immemorial, education has remained a competitive environment where people have to do well for them to succeed later on in life. The modern society is made in a way that schools represent the integration that exists within a country. Schools have people from different ethnic backgrounds and races. However, there have been several instances where a season which has been a major issue in schools despite several efforts placed by the government and various opinion leaders against racism (Leonardo, 2013). Similar stereotypes and negative connotations that are geared towards the minority races in the society also reflected in the schools. Such ideas have created concerns with students who experience racism end up dropping out of school or not living up to their potential ( Salazar, 2019). Socializing process requires identification and acceptance of people from different cultural despite their social status or ethnic background. It is, therefore, up to the teachers to recognize the existence of racism in society and contribute towards eliminating into by offering the right to education for the students to avoid racism. In order to address the problem of racism in schools, it is important to engage students in different programs where they recognize the importance of cultural acceptance and how evil racism is in society. 

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The effects of racism in society transcend beyond the physical attributes. Notably, racism has a huge psychological impact on students. There have been cases of racism that have result in students performing below their potential (Wilson, 2011). The existing environment for the students has resulted in students feeling inferior or superior in class. Such psychological ideas result in inferiority and superiority complex (Leonardo, 2013). It is, therefore, up to the teachers to integrate the right teaching for the students that will make them understand that everyone is equal despite the color of the skin. 

Schools that have Asians, African Americans, Hispanics, and whites have, for a long time, face the challenge of racism (Wilson, 2011). Such students are not able to integrate successfully due to their differences in cultural beliefs or religious practices. Racism, therefore, becomes an imminent issue inside schools, and it is the responsibility of the teachers to educate the students on how they can accept people from different racial backgrounds. Hence, the school systems have to recognize that racism is a social problem that can be addressed by integrating the world views of people from different races in all religions ( Harbin et al., 2019). Integrating Christianity and other religions can help minimize the social challenges that come with racism. It is also important for the teachers to encourage students to accept each other and not Force others to avoid their recess or religions in order to avoid them. Such attempts create resistance and hatred, making it difficult for students to live in harmony with each other.

There are numerous ways of making a classroom a place where people from different races experience acceptance and integration. For teachers, taking care of cultural factors such as knowing how to use nonverbal cues goes a long way in improving operation about children from different races (Salazar, 2019). Avoiding racial conflict starts with the teachers who are responsible for dismissing the racial concept and making everyone appreciate the diversity in the classroom. In novelty to this idea, educators have the responsibility to change society because they influence their minds who are not aware of the social structures within society. 

Educators whose responsibility is to practice the philosophy of reconstruction have to believe in their duty of becoming social activists. Remarkably, the teachers have to search for various ways and means of improving society by attempting to end the degradation and the existing harm caused by racism ( Lasker-Scott, Gilbert & Goings, 2019). One tactic that the teachers can responsibly use is to remove bias against the people of color from the classroom. Such acts can be possible through taking a critical look at the materials that the students are exposed to or ideas that the students learn (Leonardo, 2013). Despite the multicultural trends and literature, text in schools has remained monocultural, especially when presenting the knowledge to the students. Such texts present a serious message to the students, especially when it comes to inferiority complex and superiority complex. The students in the class are affected differently because the texts impact the inferiority complex on the children of color while the majority white race continues to feel superior as compared to their black counterparts. 

Uncovering important information is an important issue while integrating biblical views into the teachings to help the students develop a culture of acceptance and equality. The images that the children have exposed to plays a huge role in their development as adults in society. (Lasker-Scott, Gilbert & Goings, 2019). Texts that are failing to identify or address the multiculturalism issue display pictures where there are examples of predominantly white males who contribute to the problem of racism in society and prejudice (Kohli, Pizarro & Nevárez, 2017). The use of predominantly white male pictures in class has continued to give a wrong message to the society that it is the white people who are continuously responsible for the operations in society. The minority dark-skinned children feel that they are neglected, and they do not belong to society, which contributes to their inferiority complex (Harbin et al., 2019). Teachers have the responsibility to correct such ideas by selecting texts that also represent the non-mainstream of the minority race. The text should also be selected in a way that there is a balance in description four different colors and how they have also contributed to Western civilization in an effort to eliminate racism ( Salazar, 2019). Other researchers have suggested that the information given should give a true contribution to African societies, which have also been active members of the word of civilization. The majority of the texts that talk about civilization or western education have failed to recognize the contribution of the black population of African countries. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the teachers to correct this misinformation in the classroom to impart the idea of equality among every student.

Racial diversity has created boundaries between different communities, and efforts have been made to create equality, including companies such as black lives matter that is geared towards creating awareness in society (Wilson, 2011). Nonetheless, people and teachers have failed to recognize the problem of racism in society despite various forms of awareness that have been created. Therefore, the teachers have a duty and an obligation to eliminate racism in the classroom. The role of the teachers is to produce quality education and to make a better society for the future generation ( Harbin, Thurber & Bandy, 2019). Hence, the teachers have to accept their responsibilities and the onus calling to have a similar undertaking. It, therefore, requires the teachers to impart the knowledge of acceptance and an understanding that people have different cultures.

Racism is constructed socially, and it also depends on the experiences that children or individuals are going through. A child understands what their parents experience at the attitude that their parents have towards other groups of people (Kohli, Pizarro & Nevárez, 2017). As a social construct, there are techniques that can be used to reduce prejudice towards minority students. The ideas may involve integrating the biblical reviews and teaching the students that it is bad to get involved in racism because religion does not support it. Integrating the biblical views within the education system can be an important point in addressing the problem of racism ( Lasker-Scott, Gilbert & Goings, 2019). By telling the students that everyone is equal before God, they get to understand that they should treat their fellow students equally. The other method is employed teachers from different ethnic backgrounds food help in teaching students from different ethnic groups about other cultures. Such strategies would also help the students identify teachers as their role models despite their ethnic backgrounds.

Representing African civilization in a more positive light is better than the ongoing situation where they are constantly dwelling on their problems and failures. The existing bias is promoted by the constant emphasis on African problems that perpetuate the existing inferiority. Classroom texts should promote children's equality and bring equity to people with physical handicaps, the elderly, and both of the genders. Just like the campaigns for achieving gender equality have portrayed roles that were traditionally held by the opposite sex, the students could also benefit by representing the minority races in the roles that had been traditionally associated by the White supremacists. 

Cooperative groups have also been proposed as one of the ways of improving or avoiding racism in classes. Cooperative learning is a tool that has proven to be effective because it stimulates academic participation and Growth while also acting as successful vehicles of eliminating racism (Leonardo, 2013). Creating a united team in class requires educators to attempt and breakdown superficial barriers that students see when they are part of society. Educators can also break the barriers by creating a collective effort and allowing the children to operate as a group. Group work should incorporate children from all races to show them that it is beneficial to work together as a society without necessarily looking at an individual's skin color. Group work help skin making the students have a better understanding of the tasks that they have at hand ( Salazar, 2019). The Dynamics of a team can be valuable at the later stages of life when there are an open discussion and communication between different members of the group despite belonging to different religious groups, sexist or racist. This way, the students learn to know that racism is unfortunate and attempts to eliminate it, and school is a step that has to be taken in the right direction. Realizing that racism exists despite the creation of various movements shows that racism cannot be eliminated in the classroom overnight, and teachers have to be prepared for the harsh realities presented in the world ( Harbin, Thurber & Bandy, 2019). Schools are attempting to correct an idea that has existed for several generations and is accrual to a certain population in the world. Nonetheless, it should not discourage people from exploring what they believe can be right and helping move society in the right direction.

Many schools have children from different backgrounds, including black societies, Asians, Hispanics, and white children. For a long time, such institutions practiced separation, where students from a certain race could not mix with others from different races. Such forms of separation encourage people to see other races is different, thereby encouraging diversity and racism within society (Wilson, 2011). Modern schools have identified methods of incorporating people from different societies. It is, therefore, up to the teachers to prevent actions of the past by identifying different methods that can be used to embrace different cultures. Past research has addressed racism from a biblical perspective has advocated for people to embrace others from different classes and diversity. Such efforts have also seen people implement programs in higher learning education while incorporating teachings that promote collectivity and togetherness.

In brief, racism has continued to remain a major problem and a threat to the unity of society. Many countries are currently involved in revolutionary movements, including black lives matter, to help solve the problem of racism and discrimination in their societies. It is, therefore, important to recognize the role that schools play in nurturing the students for the future generation. Ideas that the students learn in school will determine their understanding of different concepts, including societal problems like racism. One way of eliminating racism in schools and classrooms is by implementing policies where racism is classified as an offense and can result in a student being expelled from school. Such standards and strategies will act as warning signs for students who have normalized racism in classrooms. Additionally, teachers have a huge role to play in eliminating racism. They can involve themselves in integrating students from different backgrounds into groups so that they can learn to work and operate together as a society. Moreover, educators can involve literature where the minority of society also contributes to the building and economic success of society. Such ideas would incorporate literature of the African-Americans having succeeded in life and contributing towards nation-building. If such strategies are implemented, it would be easy to eliminate racism in classes, and the society would be more tolerant of every individual.

References

Harbin, M. B., Thurber, A., & Bandy, J. (2019). Teaching Race, Racism, and Racial Justice: Pedagogical Principles and Classroom Strategies for Course Instructors.  Race and Pedagogy Journal: Teaching and Learning for Justice 4 (1), 1.

Kohli, R., Pizarro, M., & Nevárez, A. (2017). The "new racism" of K–12 schools: Centering critical research on racism. Review of research in education, 41(1) .

Lasker-Scott, T., Gilbert, C., & Goings, R. B. (2019). Brookfield, SD & Associates. (2019). Teaching Race: How to Help Students Unmask and Challenge Racism.  Adult Learning 30 (3), 138. 

Leonardo, Z. (2013). Race frameworks: A multidimensional theory of racism and education . Teachers College Press.

Salazar, S. (2019, February). Locally disrupting institutional racism by enacting mathematics in a US laboratory classroom. In the Eleventh Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education  (No. 24). Freudenthal Group; Freudenthal Institute; ERME.

Wilson, D. (2011). People's Bible: The Remarkable History of the King James Version. Lion Books.

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