Impact of Racism in the School Environment - Research Paper Example

Impact of Racism in the School Environment Abstract Racism is an undeniable fact in the school systems. Many students get the shock of racism and bullying because they are not prepared to face the repercussions. The process leaves a student negatively affected. Students suffer both as individuals and in their education. A majority of the students that happen to encounter racism have a shortened school life and live with the tension. It distorts their culture believes and tend to align cultures on superiority. Racism always happens in all the bad ways. Bullying, name-calling, extortion and verbal abuse are the simple examples of racism. It is an act of hostility against another person due to the belief that their culture is inferior to the perpetrators’. We will look into the major causes of racism, who is the most affected in school and how to avoid. With the devastating results, all steps are to be taken to ensure that racism in schools is stopped. Not surprisingly, racism has a negative impact on students’ educational success (Daniels, 2011). Racism in school has devastating impacts on both the victim and his education. When one student perceived himself as superior to the other and decided to use violence to express it, the offended party becomes depressed. The main aim of championing for this agenda is to demean others and make them feel inferior. Individually, their self-esteem and interaction skills are dealt a blow. The acts of racism psychologically communicate the message that all students are not equal. It is a scare that a student may carry for the rest of his life and may even affect his behavior onwards. Acts of abuse and bullying live with a person and may transfer them to other generations. Some persons may end up hating and having weird behaviors; that do not conform to the societies’ expectations. However, school and other bodies have come up with policies to remove the vice. Many associations have seen the need for their professionals to be the agents of change in respect to racism (Brinson& Smith, 2014). Academically, a student that suffers from bullying will have low self-esteem and lack the push he or she requires to perform well in school. They may be shy in presenting themselves in the school and have no morale to continue with learning. It is common to see students that suffer from bullying want transfers to other schools. It means that the victim hates the school and would not concentrate on any activity. Their grades in the class drop as they slow or even stop studying in the fear of attack. As a part of the parents protecting their children, they opt to take them to other schools. If the school does not find a solution to bullying, the parent must protect the child (Burgis, 2012). As a measure to curb the harsh results of racism, schools have launch zero tolerance to racism policies. It ensures that students get the appropriate education as expected and do not suffer from any negative forces. The victims of racism are in three groups; students, teachers, and the schools itself. While we appreciate cultural diversity, racists take these differences and use them to intimidate others. It is not only students that suffer from racism. A teacher whose culture does not conform to that of the environment of operation may face racism and suffer its effects. The schools' atmosphere is equally affected when bullying and racism are in progress. Students that face racism may be afraid to go to school. When they remember the embarrassing moments, they resist any attempts to have them go back to the same place. Humiliations in the school environment can stay long in the mind of a child, and he or she would get confused. Given their low understanding of racism and why it happens, they may tend to think that they are rightfully of low class and origin. While reports show that racism directly affects a child’s general well-being, more research should be done on how to fix the disparity (Oliver, 2010). The main reason that students go to school is to understand what they learn and utilize in life. It is the school environment that facilitates learning and understanding for any student. If racism is prevalent in a school, students will have difficulty reading and concentrating in class. To get better grades, a student ought to study and understand what the teacher delivers in class. A student that never understands what is being taught in school may fail his or her exams, and subsequently fail to do what he intended for in life. In some cases, teachers are the perpetrators of racism against their students. Teenager Dwayne Powe got suspended from class for borrowing a pencil as the teacher termed it disruptive (Bott & Chandler, 2015). Socializing is an important aspect of human beings. People that do not talk or ask questions may be difficult to deal with in society. Employees that do not socialize at work have difficulty in dealing with team assignments. It gives them the lowest favor by their organizations and makes them less valuable employees. In turn, promotions may evade him and life at work becomes a nightmare. Looking behind, we can ascertain that what affected that particular employee was the racism and bullying he faced in school. Racism and all acts associated with it, make individuals have trouble getting friends. Because they have been segregated, they remain alone, and no one to offer advice. They will always be unhappy and anxious about everyone and anything. In the pressure to conform to the expectations of the bullies at school, students may lead lives unfamiliar to them. They may not speak their first language in the fear of being victimized or teased. A more detrimental effect is when a student is forced to abandon his culture and parental values so as to make the bullies happy. The act of changing and abandoning his value of birth, make a student do things will upset the parents. It leaves a child with confused identify and unable to understand the true value of life. Children that have seen racism are very aggressive and disruptive in their life. Racism is something that makes the blood boil with anger, and there is no single reason to be racist (Mitchell, 2014). A painful life makes an individual defensive and ready for self-defense. Therefore, bullying in schools has the potential to influence a person’s future life. Racism on teachers has the most impact in that if they are affected, even the students are affected. Racism in schools makes a teacher’s morale low, and they attend classes with less willingness. It shows rejection and lack of appreciation from the people they struggle to assist. When a teacher suffers racism, he loses his enthusiasm to teach, and the quality of delivery in class is affected. Offering low-quality work will affect how students learn and their final results. In some cases, teachers naturally lose their confident to deliver in class. Also, the victims would not wish to attend school each day, and even if they did, it would be to comply with administrative needs. Just like students, the teachers will be anxious and unhappy both in school and in their daily life. Acts of racism will have effects on the school in that students may begin to associate with those of their background only. Others would be allowed to make friends with only a chosen group. It is common to see fights on the playground, and building of grudges that may have long-term effects on the students. Teaching may become a problem when there is a conflict between a teacher and a group of students from a different background. The repercussions may befall on either the teacher or students or even both. The school environment will become unfriendly to both parties and thus undesirable for learning. For the students affected, their parents will have no confidence in the school and its system. In the Southern States, many schools continue to have different events for different races (Brinson & Smith, 2014). Efforts are in place to guarantee that schools move from the effects of racism. The curriculum in schools should be modified to allow students understand their differences, move towards tolerance to accepting their cultural and racial differences. To counter racism and racial inequalities, educators need to keep track of everyday activities (Pollock, 2013). There are moments when talking about the issues of racism becomes difficult. One may present himself as a racist. However, associations have set out to make sure that racism is an issue of the past. The US government supports the drive so that every student and teacher enjoys the right of association. Organizations like the Centre for Equal Opportunity, Coaction, and Cross Point Antiracism have been in the forefront to educate and teach people about the benefits of embracing diversity. A survey undertaken by Rasmussen Reports indicates that 37% of Americans think blacks are most racist. While 18% indicate it is the Hispanic, 15% say it is the Whites. Conservative Americans view 49% of blacks as racists compared to 12% for the whites (Rasmussen Survey, 2013). Illustrated as below; Diagram 1: Americans' response to who they think is racist. Race Population White 15% Blacks 37% Hispanic 18% Fig.1: Americans' response to who they think is racist. Source:http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/july_2013/more_americans_view_blacks_as_racist_than_whites_hispanics It is important to understand why the blacks in the US have suffered the greatest portion of racism. It is among the reason black children in schools suffer segregation. The perpetrators have a reason to peg their arguments on. The poor children and less fortunate experience the highest rate of racist acts. Their well-off fellows see this as opportunity to discriminate against them. In America, today, the blacks and Hispanic live in the poorer neighborhood than their white counterparts. Residential segregation aside, lack of resources in the neighborhoods plays a role in attracting racism (Goyette, 2015). The diagram below illustrates the average neighborhood poverty among blacks, whites, Hispanic and Asians. Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/02/civil-rights-act-anniversary-racism-charts_n_5521104.html In the US, discrimination is a major factor both in the education sector, employment and prisons. The blacks are seen to be the largest population in the poor neighborhoods, and this affects their children in schools. The children become subject to racist attacks that discriminate them for their color and poverty. The high prison rates, low education, and unemployment make other kids make fun of them. It is illustrated diagrammatically as below; Fig.1 Racial discrimination against blacks in America Source: https://abagond.wordpress.com/2010/06/12/some-facts-about-racism/ Racial discrimination has been a hot topic in the America and many parts of the world. The case worsens when it gets to schools. Young minds that do not understand why and how to deals with racism become subjects of the unfortunate acts. It has long-term effects on their personal behavior and way of thinking. When these students grow, they tend to be aggressive and abusive. It is due to the unfair instances they came across as kid and how they perceived them. Subsequently, teachers are subjected to the vice, and it adversely affects their morale to teach. However, organizations and the US government have come forward to champion and fight the war against racism in school. Therefore, more research ought to be undertaken so as to understand how best to tackle the vice. To date, positive strides have been made towards the eradication of racism in schools. However, the improvement is coupled with the victims of racism changing. Over time, the number of black people in the US that engage in racism has increased substantially. We have made great strides against racism, but unfortunately it still exists (Crenshaw, 2012). References Daniels, J. (2011, July 12). Racism in K-12 Public Schools: Education Series - racismreview.com. Retrieved June 14, 2015. Burgis, P. (2012, June 12). Beating the bullies: When to take flight. Retrieved June 13, 2015. Brinson, J., & Smith, S. (2014). Racialized schools: Understanding and addressing racism in schools. New York: Routledge. Pollock, M. (2013). Everyday Antiracism: Getting real about race in school. New York: New Press. Goyette, B. (2015, May 19). 15 Charts That Prove We're Far From Post-Racial. Retrieved June 14, 2015. Rasmussen reports. (2013, July 2). More Americans View Blacks As Racist Than Whites, Hispanics. Retrieved June 14, 2015. Screnshaw, S. (2012, October 12). YWCA CEO hopes Race Against Racism can continue strides made in Birmingham. Retrieved June 14, 2015. Bott, M., & Chandler, T. (2015, February 20). California's school suspensions show the racial disparity. Retrieved June 14, 2015. Mitchell, M. (2014, July 25). Generation Next 2014: The Impact of Racism on Young People’s Well-Being. Retrieved June 14, 2015. Oliver, R. (2010, May 2). Minority Children Feel Psychological Stress of Racism. 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