Affirmative Action Under Fire Analysis

Affirmative action, especially in schools, is a controversial issue that continues to affect individuals and societies today. The video, Affirmative Action under Fire: When Is It Reverse Discrimination?, is an old news report regarding “reverse discrimination” in a New Jersey high school in 1989. The school board of Piscataway, New Jersey had to choose between one of two teachers, one African American and one Caucasian, to be fired. The dilemma was that the two teachers, Debra Williams and Sharon Taxman, were both equally qualified and have worked for the same amount of time. In the end, the school board decided to fire Sharon Taxman, the white teacher. According to the news report, this decision was made because if Debra Williams were …show more content…
Similar to Comte, Durkheim, as a functionalist, would state that the social order in the case of the two teachers is a part of society that maintains society’s stability. Although inequality in this example seems to be a dysfunctional aspect of society, it has the latent function of progressing society towards the greater good. He believes that this case is just another step that reinforces equilibrium in social order, because individuals of this case cooperate to find a set of values they can agree on. Furthermore, the Durkheim would notice how the Piscataway school board’s decision would affect Taxman specifically. A majority of his studies focus on how social integration shapes individual action. Durkheim would observe this case and conclude that Taxman’s weakened social integration means that society no longer has a great influence on her; she would be at risk of anomie. Because Taxman no longer holds the ascribed status of a teacher, she no longer feels a sense of belonging in the in-group of the staff at the high school. As a result, her lack of social integration in the society of teachers influences her to communicate with her lawyer Steven Klausner to file a complaint against the school board. Durkheim would view this action as Taxman finding an opportunity to regain a social role that would allow her to continue contributing to …show more content…
There was a tension about who would have more power or control over resources, (in this case who would keep her job). Although the situation regards “reverse discrimination”, it is still an example of inequality in the educational institution. This video displays the role of race in social order, specifically in schools, and how skin color can put some individuals in better positions in society than others while it simultaneously puts others in subordinate positions. At the same time, the video is an example of how social conflicts and tensions will continue to exist and shape social order. It proves that society is built and constantly developed by conflict over key