Essay Example on Racial and Ethnic Diversity

Paulo Freire way of thinking suggests that the mantle is in the oppressed hands. The oppressed has the task to liberate himself and the oppressor. Here one is left to wonder how the oppressed are going to extricate themselves. They are the ones being raped and exploited by the dominant oppressors. According to (Freire, 44) its only the power the oppressed yield is strong enough to liberate both of them. The oppressor due to guilt or pride doesnt have the ability in him to free himself or the oppressed. If the oppressor delivers them, it will seem like he is doing a favor for them. The oppressed should fight for their liberation to restore their humanity. By fighting they will earn true generosity (Freire, 45). It is the oppressed who know the adversities of an oppressive society first hand.

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W.E. B. Du Bois, on the other hand, wants the oppressor to offer generosity to the oppressed. This way the oppressed will be able to empower himself economically, and forget the historical injustices. He wants wealth to be equitable as poverty is a mode of oppression. Racism is the centerpiece of oppression in a race dominant-society and neither of the scenarios will work. After the oppressed fighting to restore their humanity, they become the oppressors. They have these notion for you to be a real man you have to be the oppressor. Thus after liberating themselves, they strive for policies to change so that they can be oppressors. This action is not going to achieve humanism. The only way humanism can be achieved is if the oppressed do not turn to oppressors which is difficult. Is human nature if you have quenched a single thirst, you seek for another thirst to quench.

Freire banking-knowledge concept entails a student as a container and the teacher as a depositor. Students are forced to memorize things without internalizing and finding the true meaning of what they are learning. There is no communication between the teacher and the student. The teachers work is to issue instructions and the students work is to repeat and memorize (Freire, 72). The same sentiments are echoed in the article How public education cripples our kids, and why? by John Taylor. According to (Gatto, 136-140) both students and teachers are bored of the same routine of banking-knowledge concept. The oppressor who deems himself knowledgeable will want to pass knowledge to the oppressed. The banking-knowledge concept perpetuates the cycle of oppression. The oppressor sees it like his gifting the oppressed. Thus for the ethnic minority to free themselves they have to do away with the notion that they are inferior. They are not second-class citizens. The thoughts that the ethnic minority have to do things like the majority should be shunned. The minority should critically think about how they want to approach lives in their unique way.

Integration of the oppressed into an oppressed society will not change anything. The structures need to be changed so that they dont feel marginalized. The notion that the oppressors deem the oppressed as lazy and the one who should change should be done away with. For true pluralism to be achieved structure should be put in place to make the ethnic minority to feel more at home. The ethnic minority dont have to change anything to fit in.

Works cited

Gatto, John Taylor. "How Public Education Cripples Our Kids And Why." Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education 107.2 (2008): 136-140. Web.

Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum Books, 1993. Print.