Racial Discrimination in Education Essay

Introduction

In America, 16% of the schools' population consists of black students, and only 31% of the total figure acquire referrals to organizations such as the law enforcement in America. These statistics reveal that the learning institutions in America are yet to eliminate discrimination regarding racial affiliation, especially in the black community (Thompson, 2010). Hence, racism involves the discrimination or prejudice directed against individuals of a different racial background, where the oppressor believes that his/her race is more powerful. Additionally, racists tend to associate certain characteristics, qualities, and abilities to a specific race, which they use to determine the superiority and inferiority of such races. This menace has crept into the nation's education system and caused significant effects on the performance of the students affected by racial discrimination. Hence, the essay will express how racial discrimination has affected the students' grades, pride, and characteristics in American urban high schools.

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Discussion

Racism in the society has been transferred to schools, and several arms of the federal government and independent organizations have tried to reduce such a menace in schools so that the students will have equal chances of success regardless of their background and color. School racism occurs in various forms such as segregation, such that black students access low quality or reduced amount of funding, discrimination, where white students do not want to be associated with the black population and demeaning them especially by their intelligence quotient (Thompson, 2010). Such occurrences have resulted in negative impacts on the perceived inferior race, where they tend to avoid going to school, lack concentration during lessons, pose low socializing skills and also reject their primary culture and try to fit in the perceived superior race culture. In the long run, such students tend to drop their performance levels and exhibit instances of low self-esteem.

Arguments on the Negative Effects of Racism in Schools

Racism in schools renders a particular race inferior, thus making the students afraid of attending school. The students emerging from the perceived inferior society are usually discriminated in schools, where they develop a hatred altitude against such institution. In reaction to such tendencies, some of the students opt to drop out of the curriculum and engage in other activities where they will face reduced rates of discrimination. According to the NCES (2017) statistics, the rate of school dropouts on the black students was rated at 6.5%, while the Hispanic population posted the highest dropout rate at 9.2%. These results were contrasted with the whites' dropout rate which was rated at 2.6%. Such statistics indicate how racism has significantly reduced the success rate of the discriminates communities in pursuing their academic dreams and performance in the urban schools.

Additionally, the discriminated races have indicated troubles in studying such as attaining a full concentration in class. Discrimination leads to stigmatization, where the affected cluster feel like they are inferior and are not worth to contribute or participate in activities controlled by their oppressors. In some instances, the students originating from the perceived inferior race are not fluent in the English lingual as compared to the native speakers, which reduces their participation in class since they are afraid that their counterparts would laugh or mock their accent (The Conversation, 2015). This tendency is common in urban schools, where the native speaker tends to despise the blacks or the Hispanic population due to their lack of fluency in English. Hence, such situations cause them to reduce their participation in class, which in turn reduces their academic performance since they cannot seek clarification on areas they have not understood.

The despised communities find it difficult to make a new friend and hence pose reduced levels of socializing skills. One of the primary benefits of attending the public schools in the US is to allow the students, especially during their early ages to be able to interact with their peers through the access to individuals from all walks of life. However, racism has resulted in discrimination, where the inferior communities are discriminated, such that the perceived superior population despise them and reject their approaches (Resmovits, 2018). Hence, this deters the primary objective of attending the public schools, which then leads to the emergence of a group that exhibits anti-social characteristics and inferior self-esteem. Such features emerge due to the remorseful environment that such students are exposed to and their degree of despise that they experience. Hence it forces them to believe that they are inferior in the society.

Notably, racial discrimination has also caused the despised races to reject their culture, parental values, and language. The level of discrimination in the urban schools has forced some of the black occupants to reject their culture and adopt the white lifestyle which is perceived as more powerful and dominant in the United States (Neblett & Roberts, 2013). Such students go out of their way to even despise their parents and engage in harmful behaviors such as drug abuse as they try to blend in and be accepted to the white society. Others due to lack of confidence result to bleaching their skin so that they can look like the whites and get recognized and also feel powerful and superior to them. According to Cooper (2016), the skin-whitening has been on the rise in the recent past. This indicates that the back residents have resulted in adopting the whitening procedure, which they believe that it will make them as superior as the whites and also escape the discrimination menace. Additionally, the article prescribes the growing perception that white means beauty. Therefore, such instances indicate the lack of pride by the black population on their culture, color, and beliefs, which originates from racial discrimination instances.

Counterarguments on the Effects of Racism in Schools

The subject of racism has contributed to harmful advances on the perceived inferior societies. However, the reaction by the government and the members of such societies indicates instances of empowerment and reduced levels of school dropout by such communities. According to the data generated by NCES (2017), the dropout levels of the Hispanics dropped by 18.6%, while those of the black reduced by 6.6%, as compared to the whites' dropout rate which was slotted at 1.3% between 2015 and 2016. Such statistics indicate that the racial discrimination stunt has caused positive impacts such that the perceived inferior societies have been empowered throw awareness creation and positive mobilization, which has resulted in positive reaction and improved academic performance by such communities. However, these improvements do not indicate the elimination of the discrimination in schools. Instead, it acts as a positive reaction toward the anti-racism campaigns running across the country.

Additionally, racism claims and instances in schools have facilitated the establishment of independent and government-sponsored initiatives aimed at empowering the discriminated communities. For instance, the Southern Civil Rights Movement has been enacted in most of the colleges and public schools, which aims at promoting equality in schools. Moreover, the government has adopted full employment policies that are aimed at ensuring that graduates from public schools will have access to equal rights and privileges in the job market and other public works programs (Neblett & Roberts, 2013). The government and private organizations have also established intervention programs such as the Adolescent intervention programs, home visitation, and counseling services offered by trained personnel. Such programs are aimed at reducing the stigma and initiating a recovery process to ensure that those affected by racial abuse and discrimination can recover and build new confidence. Un the end, these moves instill confidence and rejuvenate the pride of the black and Hispanic culture across the country. Despite such developments, these cannot be considered as permanent solutions to the racism menace in schools, but they are the short-term measures which have not been proven to yield permanent solutions.

Conclusion

The essay has expressed how racial discrimination has affected the students' grades, pride, and characteristics in American urban high schools. School racism occurs in various forms such as segregation, such that black students access low quality or reduced amount of funding, discrimination, where white students do not want to be associated with the black population and demeaning them primarily by their intelligence quotient. Hence such instances render a particular race inferior, thus making the students afraid of attending school. Additionally, the discriminated races have indicated troubles in studying such as attaining a full concentration in class thus reducing their academic performance as they cannot seek for clarification on areas they have not understood. The despised communities also find it difficult to make a new friend and hence pose reduced levels of socializing skills forcing them to believe that they are inferior in the society. Finally, racial discrimination has caused the despised races to reject their culture, parental values, and language evidenced by rising cases of drug abuse and skin whitening industry. Despite the reaction by the government and the members of such societies and establishment of independent and government-sponsored initiatives aimed at empowering such communities, racism cannot be said to have contributed positively to the society.

References

Cooper, H. (2016). Where Beauty Means Bleached Skin. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 16 April 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/26/fashion/skin-bleaching-south-Africa-women.html.

NCES. (2017). The Condition of Education - Elementary and Secondary Education - Student Effort, Persistence, and Progress - Status Dropout Rates - Indicator April (2017). Nces.ed.gov. Retrieved 16 April 2018, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_coj.asp.

Neblett, E., & Roberts, S. (2013). Racial identity and autonomic responses to racial discrimination. Psychophysiology, n/a. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12087.

Resmovits, J. (2018). American Schools Are STILL Racist, Government Report Finds. HuffPost UK. Retrieved 16 April 2018, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/21/schools-discrimination_n_5002954.html.

The Conversation. (2015). Racism hits Indigenous students' attendance and grades. The Conversation. Retrieved 16 April 2018, from http://theconversation.com/racism-hits-indigenous-students-attendance-and-grades-48233.

Thompson, N. (2010). Review: Todd D. Nelson (ed.) Handbook of Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination New York: Psychology Press, 2009, 604 pp. incl. Index, PS49.95, ISBN 9780805859522. Journal of Social Work, 10(1), 128-129. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14680173100100010806.