The wealthy and privileged receiving preferential treatment in the education system was supposed to end long ago in the 1950’s. Prudence Carter, in her book Keepin’ It Real: School Success Beyond Black and White shows that the great inequality still exists. She observes the relationships between gender, ethnicity, and culture as it applies to a group of low income students in Yonkers, New York. Carter’s research reveals that the work of reaching equality in education is far from finished.
One issue Carter tackles is the term “acting white.” “Acting white” is a phrase that is understood to reject standard educational values, but in reality it refers to a cultural barrier that exists in schools. The term “acting white” has been used for years, its roots stretching back to the times of segregation and intense racism in …show more content…
As the general sentiment moves away from that notion a new connotation has taken shape. “Feminization of achievement” is the recent idea that the standard definition of achievement is contradictory to the view on masculinity in nondominant cultures. Gender roles placed on individuals from childhood cause them to be steered in different directions when it comes to what they have learnt. Girls are steered in a direction that may lead them to perform better in school while boys are not given the sames essential skills. Carter argues that they are taught skills that will help them survive. Skills like when to fight and when to flee, and how to talk on the streets. She shows that these lead them to “dangerous activities” that cause conflicts with the traditional school setting. Since the skills they learn do not apply to education as much as the skills girls learn do, a gap has formed for minority students with girls outperforming boys. Even the career expectations for boys are much lower than those of girls and lower percentages of males wish to pursue a professional
One issue Carter tackles is the term “acting white.” “Acting white” is a phrase that is understood to reject standard educational values, but in reality it refers to a cultural barrier that exists in schools. The term “acting white” has been used for years, its roots stretching back to the times of segregation and intense racism in …show more content…
As the general sentiment moves away from that notion a new connotation has taken shape. “Feminization of achievement” is the recent idea that the standard definition of achievement is contradictory to the view on masculinity in nondominant cultures. Gender roles placed on individuals from childhood cause them to be steered in different directions when it comes to what they have learnt. Girls are steered in a direction that may lead them to perform better in school while boys are not given the sames essential skills. Carter argues that they are taught skills that will help them survive. Skills like when to fight and when to flee, and how to talk on the streets. She shows that these lead them to “dangerous activities” that cause conflicts with the traditional school setting. Since the skills they learn do not apply to education as much as the skills girls learn do, a gap has formed for minority students with girls outperforming boys. Even the career expectations for boys are much lower than those of girls and lower percentages of males wish to pursue a professional