This conflict can take form in a common belief, or way of thinking, that makes others want to ignore the difference and conflict that occurs when white people and people of color interact with each other. Hawley and Nieto suggest a solution to this problem by saying, “changing a culture requires changing more than just attitudes and beliefs—it requires changing behaviors” (Hawley and Nieto 5). One solution to this problem could be to stop this negative behavior in the younger generation. A way to implement this solution is to get teachers to understand how to discover these behaviors and how to form the proper behavior, to those of different race and ethnic backgrounds (Hawley and Nieto 1). This solution will at least bring awareness of the wrong behaviors, if not cure the conflict.…
Everyday when a kid walk down the hall their peers are judging them. Before a student does any work for class the teacher already has a prejudice against them because of societal stereotypes that have been imprinted on us. It is not to say that there aren’t exceptions to this claim but, there have been plenty of stories that have experienced it firsthand or witnessed it. Racism is prevalent in schools and therefore, it is prevalent in our every aspect of our lives. People can say they are colorblind but, being colorblind doesn’t help against the problem of racism.…
The book, Inequality in the Promised Land: Race, Resources, and Suburban Schooling by R. L’Heureux Lewis-McCoy uses an ethnography to examine everyday interactions between parents, students, teachers and school administration in order to understand why resources seldom trickle down to a district’s racial and economic minorities (2). Lewis-McCoy observed fourth-grade classrooms in two public elementary schools within the Rolling Acres Public Schools (RAPS) – River Elementary and Cherry Elementary. The study used in-depth interviews with parents, children, teachers, community members, and school administrators (14). In this paper, I will focus on three major concepts: concerted cultivation, parental engagement and the colorblind ideology.…
Colorblind For years, African Americans have gathered to create a colorless society. Historical groups have tried to gain racial equality through riots, marches and often sacrificing their own lives. New generations have forgotten the true meaning of what it is to be colorblind. Alex Kotlowitz an award winning author on urban affairs appeared on New York Times for his article “Colorblind,” in which he addresses an issue that society is said to be colorblind, even though people still chose to believe their own myths which leads to division of race.…
The documentary White Teachers/Diverse Classrooms was an informational video about how white teachers can become better at connecting with their students that come from other cultures. Based off of the book White Teachers/Diverse Classrooms, edited by Julie Landsman and Chance W. Lewis, this documentary shares the voices of parents, teachers, students, and administrators. As well as hearing from different perspectives, the documentary also provides important numbers and information regarding racism and diversity in public schools and classrooms. The editors speak in the documentary about how they hope teacher viewing it will take the advice given in the video and build a stronger classroom. There is a lot that need improvement within schools…
The promotion of cultural diversity and individual difference can increase students’ self-concepts whilst developing respect and understanding for all people. By placing a value and acknowledging mutual respect for all individuals, avoidance of racial stereotyping begins, it also enables racist comments and misconceptions to be replaced with factual information (Craven, 2011). By providing educators with greater understandings based on fact and truth empowers…
After reading the article, The Trouble with Colour Blindness by Paulker & Apfelbaum, my overall opinion is that racism still exists in this day and age. This article mentions where in several instances, white police officers have shot unarmed black teenagers; in my opinion, I find that most of these police officers are trigger happy individuals, they tend to shoot first and ask questions later. Moreover, as mentioned in the article, grade school children rarely talk about race, because kids at an early age are learning that even acknowledging race is frowned upon (Paulker & Apfelbaum, 2015). Similarly, I find that most individuals tend to stay away from the topics of talking about different cultures, races and ethnicities at schools, child-care…
In American society today, the colorblind ideology has changed the way we view and discuss race. In fact, Americans believe that the problems faced during the Civil Rights Movement such as segregation and racism have been resolved; ultimately, believing that it only takes the achievement of the individual to fully reach the American Dream. Colorblindness is viewed as the most logical path to stopping discrimination, through the equal treatment of individuals regardless of race, ethnicity, and culture. Furthermore, the colorblind ideology suggests that racial harmony can be achieved by overlooking or ignoring ones ethnic and racial appearances. The idea that “racism does not exist or matter” is believed to be beneficial to people of color.…
As a future teacher, I want to install that all ethnicities will feel safe in my classroom. I don’t want my students to feel oppressed or be oppressed by myself or other students. I would also point out the different privileges that some students may have and that others may not. I would also try my best in diminishing these privileges in my classroom as best as I can. Finally, I want to make multiculturalism a whole new meaning in my students’ lives.…
The weeks where we learned about whiteness and the property value of whiteness helped me learn about myself and learn from myself. One thing I learned about myself, which was the toughest thing to learn about myself, but it is getting easier to accept is that I fit into the category of a closet racist like Paul Gorski talks about in his article “Language of Closet Racism: An Illustration”. It was hard to accept at first because I always believed that I was a person who never discriminate against a person based on their skin colour, but I have never really learned about closet racism before this class and now with the information from this class I can see that some of my action fit into category of closet racism. Being able to see that I fit…
the research process and discovery, once again I had to examine my own Whiteness and how this has led me to operate in areas similarly to what the White female teachers described. For example, colorblindness, whether intentional or unintentional this is something that came up during the interviews and as I was listening to each of the participants share their stories, I realized that I had been guilty of practicing colorblindness with Black students. Additionally, the whole White privilege concept of feeling like you are there to save these Black students from themselves is something I have found that I have done with my Black students. There have been times while writing this thesis that I have felt uncomfortable with the content and really had to go beyond my scope of my own beliefs and perceptions and accept the fact that Whiteness truly exists and is causing issues of mistrust in classrooms between White female teachers and Black students. The term Whiteness was not new to me, I had heard it before, and however, I was never forced to examine this within myself.…
The reading by Kluth (2010) about the role of the teacher highlights the importance of an inclusive and non-discriminatory learning environment, which are contributing factors to a supportive and positive learning environment. The reading discusses the importance of recognising diversity. “Recognising, however, and doing our best to really understand how differences affect students ' lives and educational experiences, helps us to better know and serve each individual learner.” (Kluth, 2010, p.44). If the students in the classroom community are able to understand each other and how everyone comes from a different background and recognise diversity then it will help to preserve student dignity, which is another factor which Kluth (2010) states as important.…
1. A society where people are not aware of each other color differences, and/or don't allow others' skin color to effect their opinions of them. 2. I believe it is not feasible for the United State to be color blind because color is too entrenched into USA society. Color is too intertwined with our subconsciousness.…
In addition, it is important for teachers to understand the existence of structural racism in a school setting and the difficulties it creates for them to interact freely with their students. With this said, maintaining an atmosphere of high expectations, surrounded by policies and procedures that are constant will help students strive for excellence, while everyday distracts may get in the way of learning. Boston is a modern city with people from different ethnic backgrounds. At times it many become difficult to deal with a multicultural student body, but the objective is to teach all students with the students’ needs first. Ideally, this can be done by creating a school cultural that focuses on equality and a rigorous work ethic.…
ADDRESSING DIVERSITY OF LEARNING IN CLASSROOM In today’s school, many different elements of diversity present themselves. These include race, learning styles, gender, ethnicity, religious beliefs. e.t.c In order to ensure that each student in the classroom is gaining the maximum benefit, teachers have to understand and treat each student as a unique individual.…