The Best Out of Students in an Environment Defined by the Elements of Race - Essay Example

Race, and or Gender Issues in the American Education. Education refers to the formal process through which humans teachothers about the world around and it takes place in a school-particularly in a classroom. Just by virtue of the mere context, the personality as well as mental design is a very critical factor in the way education is processed. It is by no surprise therefore that other issues including and not limited to race, class and or gender also come into play to influence the education process. In this paper I will be examining how race, class and gender play out in the American Educational System as well as any measures available to prevent these factors from negatively impacting on the educational experience. Social class defines the manner in which we approach life and as such it persists in every situation or context. The school is a perfect microcosm of society and thus all realities taking place in society will also express in the school environment. A teacher teaching life skills required in a mathematics class for instance and the class is from a neighbourhood that of low economic status will most definitely notice a clear disconnect among students if the examples involves individuals making huge expenditures. Such a scenario will likely have a distractive effect on the manner in which the learners take up the skill that was intended. We are all coming from different economic backgrounds as well as cultures and therefore issues of social class must express when we are placed in one environment as is the case in schools. Race on its part is a particularly obvious marker and as such is likely to have an even marked influence on education. America is one of the most historically rich countries when it comes to matters of racial diversity. While it may be necessary not our future generations to dwell on injustices that occurred in the history of our country on racial lines, it may also be unfair to some. Race is a reality and that is a why it has to be tackled. It is in the spirit of American public policies and laws such as title IX to have every American child accorded equal opportunity to access quality education. Disparities in representation still exist in our schools and are based on racial lines. Available data by Department of Education shows that students of colour are disproportionately suffering suspension as well as the wrath of zero tolerance policies in many schools. This has a direct effect on the drop out levels among the populations as well as crime rates. Students of black and Latino dissents are also more likely to be taught by inexperienced and poorly paid teachers thus affecting their attainment significantly (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). Another has persistently existed in the education system has to do with gender based opportunity differences starting all the way from the kindergarten to higher education. Even with the progress that has been made so far following the legislation of Title IX in the year 1972, there is a lot to be done in order to realize gender equity. Girls have made significant advances especially in STEM subjects but disparities persist in subjects such as physics and mathematics. Disparities can also be seen in programs that lead to certain career pathways. In the year 2009 for instance out of the 1.1 millions prekindergarten enrolments, girls represented only 46%, at the elementary and secondary levels, girls account for 49 percent of total student population and in higher education women account for an impressive 57 percent. At the high school level alone, we see interesting trends especially in science course enrolments. There is an even distribution of girls in biology courses, they have outnumbered their male counterparts in chemistry yet they are severely underrepresented particularly in physics. The questions these figures illicit include what are the factors behind the interesting gender trends observed in educational achievement in America. Title IX has indeed brought about a lot of change in the American educational space since the year 1972. The legislation insisted on the need for equity in education and essentially banned discrimination of any kind. As a result of the Title IX therefore, factors such as race, class and gender can be used to make decisions in our schools and other institutions of education. Every child regardless of their racial, social-economic background or even gender has a right to equal opportunities in education and therefore none should be discriminated. Since its passage therefore Title IX has brought about a lot of goodies for those previously discriminated against in education and other social programs. Since its passage for instance we have seen an enormous growth in girls’ enrolments as well as completion at all education levels. In fact representation of the girl child in education appears to have overtaken that of the boy child. Many girls today are taking science as compared to boys thanks to Title IX. The gaps in gender representation in the education system manifest even in terms of participation games and sporting activities. Girls who were previously to Title IX perceived as inherently weak have now witnessed a lot of growth in opportunities to participate in sports and even threaten to overtake the participation of boys. The number of taking part in sports such as athletics for instance has grown enormously but boys still dominate. The law in the language of Title IX, permits schools and other educational institutions to spend differently on sporting activities but the different spending should not be discriminating. A college for instance might have a men’s sport such as football which is expensive in maintaining as compared to a girls’ and that is okay since sports are reasonably different. The problem comes up when the same college outfits programs for women with equipment that are of low standards. Many institutions have made impressive progress at eliminating gender based discrimination in sports but there are still disparities with boys taking the bigger part of the pie (Fagan and Ciphers, 2012). With the changing demographic in educational participation following the passage of Title IX, it has become a source of considerable amount of debate. Myths exist around the law such as ‘the law is controversial.’ The truth is that it is a good law and in fact should be strengthened if not left to continue with is good work. Another myth is that is forces schools into cutting sports for men. In fact when sporting opportunities for women go up even those for men do so. It is also wrong to think that opportunities are now equal for boys and girls; it is clear boys are still dominant. Thinking that schools should expend equally towards sports for both sexes is wrong; sports differently and football for instance may be expensive to run and outfit as compared to another program which is for women. The law permits different spending but not in a discriminating manner. Another misconception is that programs for men generate money while those for women do not. The truth is that the entire enterprise is struggling to break even. In conclusion therefore, whereas education not be influenced by issues of race, class, gender and others, the expectation might be unreal in some circumstances. It overt the society is defined by such elements and as such in order to avoid challenges, educational processes must factor the elements in policy and plans early enough. Failure to acknowledge the factors misses the point. The passage of Title IX for instance acknowledge the influence of such factors and hence the guidance on discrimination of any kind. The intention is to get the best out of students in an environment defined by the elements of race, class and gender differences. Works Cited. 1. Kate Fagan and Luke Ciphers. “Five Myths about Title IX.” espenW and ESPN The Magazine, 2012. 2. Dawn Penney. “Gender and Physical Education: Contemporary Issues and Future Directions.” Roultledge, 2002. 3. U.S. Department of Education. “Expansive survey of America’s Public Schools Reveals Troubling Racial Disparities.” (2014). Available at: http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/expansive-survey-americas-public-schools-reveals-troubling-racial-disparities Read More