Racism and Education - Essay Example

Racism and Education Introduction Literature depicts and exposes the social evils in the society. In that accord, the writers use numerous forms such as writings of songs, narratives, stories, and tales, among others. The vices contain the vices as the central themes in the piece of literature. However, different authors have varied opinions on the same. For instance, an author may write a book based on a critic or response of a previous work on a similar topic. In such a case, the article may disapprove or support the ideas expressed by the author. Therefore, this essay highlights Hurston and Hooks’ abhorrence Roland’s work in Acting White. Analysis The Acting White Theory appears to have particular cachet among some individuals with special scorn toward the less refined (primarily "ghetto") parts of the group. A large portion of the group, "sellouts," strengthens a key principle of the theory. However, different researchers such as Bell Hooks greatly oppose this hypothesis. Specifically, he argues that discrimination lies in the mind of the students. He claims that the Blacks feel mistreated due to the perception they develop before joining a school. Researchers who seek to discover the proof of this hypothesis translates their information to offer their discoveries. In his article, Zora Hurston states that in some way, African Americans have gulped the misguided judgment about African-American youth being hostile to justify their violent behavior. Surprisingly, this belief system concerning geeks and nerds did not begin in the African-American group, but rather in the working class, rural groups. Notably, this statement is contrary to what Roland believes. Indisputably, he contends that racism is prevalent in America and promoted in the institutions of higher learning. Additionally, Fryer uses the Add Health information to illustrate that the majority of students who were popular among their peers perform better than those facing isolation. In his study, Black students with a GPA of 3.5 had the most companion at all scholarly level. Those with a 4.0 had about the same number of friends as those with a 3.0 and those with a GPA below 2.5 had the least acquaintance. Under these circumstances, the writer cites racial discrimination as the cause of failure among the black students. “The experience of black and white students diverges as GPAs climbabove3.5. As the GPAs of black students increase beyond this level, they tend to have fewer and fewer friends. A black student with a 4.0 has, on average, 1.5 fewer friends of the same ethnicity than a white student with the same GPA. Put differently, a black student with straight A’s is no more popular than a black student with a 2.9 GPA, but high-achieving whites are at the top of the popularity pyramid (p. 3).” Fryers exploration apparently exhibits that the "social cost" for the least favorite students is higher than the supposed value of the White apprentices. Methodologically, the study needs to make an apparent conclusion that the quantity of companions for Black learner is a direct measure and a result of ‘acting White.’ In addition, the concept of the influence of friends from different races as a justification for academic failure is unappealing. On the contrary, Zora believes that racial discrimination is a functional character of the human society. Nonetheless, she disputes that racism should not affect the personal psychology and their performance. “No one on earth ever had a greater chance for glory. The world to be won and nothing to be lost. It is thrilling to think-to know that for any act of mine, I shall get twice as much praise or twice as much blame. It is quite exciting to hold the center of the national stage, with the spectators not knowing whether to laugh or to weep (p. 2).” Hooks’ argument on the impact of the level of thinking to an individual’s performance is coherent. Fundamentally, it is obvious that students have varied performances regardless of the presence of racism. For this reason, Fryer’s argument of racism as the cause of failure is disputable. Specifically, his assertion does not elaborate the impact of the different IQ in the levels as explained by Hooks. In addition, Hurston is living proof that students excel in academics regardless of racism in the schools. In my opinion, Hurston’s argument of the influence of race on academic achievement is profound. He provides weighty evidence by claiming that the minority outperforms the majority of some cases. Alluding to Hooks, the mentality is the primary cause of the differences in individual performances. The study shows that beyond the affirmation predisposition and social tales, numerous studies refute the Acting White Theory. In my particular examination, I perceive a "geek curve" among all races, whereby high - yet not the most astounding - achievers get the most social prizes. Case in point, reduced achievers receive more harassment as tormenting diminishes while evaluations increase. However, an upsurge in the assessments and tests lead to a reduction in the level of racial discrimination. In this way, the most noteworthy achievers experience more harassment than the higher achievers. Consequently, the idea of Acting White is losing its meaning due to the increased interaction of races in the academic field. Notably, this conceptualization supports Hook’s argument that a change in the reasoning creates a change in the racial perceptions of the students. “Most children are taught early on that thinking is dangerous. By the time most students enter college classrooms, they have come to dread thinking (p. 1).” Another idea reflected in the instructive examination writing is the "mentality accomplishment oddity." For over three decades, scientists have observed that Black students reliably display more uplifting state of mind about training than White students do, regardless of their lower levels of scholarly accomplishment. Consequently, I believe that the ideas of Acting White are already getting outdated in the contemporary society. Read More