Closing the Racial Achievement Gap in the US Schools - Case Study Example

Closing the Racial Achievement Gap in our Schools Jean Yonemura Wing and Pedro A. Noguera’s 2006 work entitled as Unfinished Business: Closing the Racial Achievement Gap in Our Schools created a huge hue and cry throughout the United States of America proving the book’s potentiality to bring a blow on the so called going on trends that cannot be supported from a humanitarian ground. Although focusing on a certain area and the problems related to a particular sector, this book has easily transcended its way to universality upholding the long time American problem regarding racialism in a truthful way. Apart from putting up the still to be done problems in USA, Noguera and Wing make it a point to show where the so called much respected administration of the country has not been successful to come out of the national scars made by the predecessors. They have shown how bias based on racialism is still shamefully active in the country and leaving bleak mark on the face of the world’s most powerful democracy. Education is one of the main sectors which should be entirely free from biases of any kind. But, according the authors of Unfinished Business, USA’s educational system has still many things to be changed in order to come out of hypocrisy. Berkeley High School Diversity Project is the work in which Noguera and Wing got the chance to work. This is where they learnt about the true American dream of making arrangements for students from every corner of the society beyond the biases of races and religions. Berkeley High School plays a symbolic role in the United States of America as this is school is said to have the most integrated student population in the whole country. Noguera and Wing made their attempt to go deep into the secret of this huge success. Their research went on for six years and came out with some of the most vital things that are important for the whole nation to know. From this point of view, Noguera and Wing’s book has done a great service to this nation. It has shown the true identity of the country and the elements, which are important for retaining the reputation and image of theirs. Apart from their focus on how the students from different are treated in the institutions in America and especially in Berkeley High School, their research also showed how to cope with the disparity in academic results among the pupils. Class and culture from which the students come to this school are important role players in the academic life of the students. Integrity among them is never possible without establishing the harmony among them and this has to be done in the academic results, too. This is why taking care of the students varying from one individual to another is an important task for the faculties associated with the institution. Academic achievement is the reason why the students come to Berkeley High School from all the nooks and crannies of the world, and a background of hard and patient work is obviously related to the unparalleled success of this institution. The most important thing about this research work is that Noguera and Wing have talked to everyone connected with the business. Apart from the members of the school authority and its staffs, the editors have worked with guardians of the students, too. This operation has made them successful in portraying a wholesome picture in the book. Identifying the main factors that differentiate from one student from another has been successfully deduced by Noguera and Wing in their edited work. The work shows that history has played a vital role in the formation of ideas regarding racism in USA: “…the cause of such pronounced differences in academic outcomes is not some form of inherent racial difference or racism.” (Page 5) The biological differences have been prominent through the traditional processes of education that are active in different academic establishments throughout the country. Apart from the Afro-American students Noguera and Wing have also taken the Asian students into consideration. Maintaining a perfect harmony among the students from almost the opposite sides of the world is a real challenge for any institution. They have pointed out the fault lying with the historical way of distinguishing the students coming to the organizations: “…grades and test scores has historically followed a distinct pattern.” (Page 3) There are even some institutions in USA that are entirely based on racial discrimination. Howard and Morehouse – these are the institutions, which have always been known for their black heritage. But these elements go against the constitution written tradition of the United States of America. A country where people from every cast and religion have been given equal rights, no discrimination in the field of education should exist. Berkeley High School is one of the very few institutions that have succeeded in breaking the ever followed rules and establishing the long cherished American harmony. There are examples of different cases cited in Unfinished Business to support the findings of Noguera and Wing in the schools. This is something that has reinforced the idea represented by the book. They present the story of Kevin; a student faced the discrimination while trying to get a scholarship: “Kevin’s story of the discrimination he faced when he went to the only college adviser available to him for advice on a crucial UC scholarship…” (Page 116) A term of ‘systematic segregation’ has been used by the editors to represent the things that are going on in the United States. This segregation is not compatible with the ideas that are represented by the US constitution. This is, in fact, a matter of shame for this country in this age. The Berkeley High School authority has been able to avoid the tendency towards systematic segregation. They have always focused on the ‘achievement gap’ among the students. Success and failure – these two are the main parameters by which the students are segregated. No matter which cast, race or religion they represent. This system has been successful in making the atmosphere of this school truly democratic in nature. Berkeley High School has showed the example of how this democratic culture can bring dynamism in the school’s way to progress. This is also healthy for the students coming here to study. They can concentrate in their studies and do not have to think about the trivial problems from which the students’ life in other universities or schools gets disturbed. In a way, Berkeley High School has been able to wipe out the common segregation of black, white and brown in the United States. The editors have commented on the idea of achievement gap saying that: “The achievement gap at Berkeley High is, in some sense, a source of puzzlement.” (Page 30) This is where they present an antithesis. According to Noguera and Wing, despite a huge attempt by the school authority and the staffs associated with this organization, there are still some apparently unseen racial gaps in the institution. The theory clearly comes up when they interview a black and a white studying at the ninth grade. Chantelle, the black student is taking up prealgebra whereas the white Jennifer is taking up geometry in her mathematics course. This example shows that there is somewhere a difference in understanding and achievement of the students coming from different backgrounds. Is the academic curriculum not working out properly for all of them? – This is the main question that comes up in this regard. Jennifer expresses clearly that her experience in Berkeley High School has been smoother than that of Chantelle: “Much easier. I’m in geometry, and it’s like “Oh, okay. I know how to do that.” I have a [private] tutor now, and she’s planning to be a math teacher at Berkeley High…” (Page 29) This is where the readers come across the example of privileges present in the school. Jennifer can afford a private tutor whereas Chantelle cannot. So, poverty or financial background is something, which the school authority has not been able to ponder over. Interviews reveal that there are segregations basing on English being the first language or not leading another way of racial discrimination. So, in any case, Noguera and Wing rightly call the business of integrating the student population in Berkeley an ‘unfinished’ one. Financial background still plays a role of great importance for the students in the United States. Chantelle is the representative of the society that cannot provide its people with the affordability for better educational prospects. She is a student who hardly gets the right kind of encouragement from her parents to take up algebra as her subject. Remaining with the study of preliminary mathematics cannot be a solution for her. She needs help but for the unseen reasons she is a prey of financial discrimination. We can remember Richard Rothstein’s article called “Whose Problem is Poverty?” in this regard. Rothstein rightly portrays the problem by saying that complex language and vocabularies that are incomprehensible are not meant for the students who come from low financial background. This is why in many cases; they end up in getting a lower average than the pupils who get more exposure as they are financially affluent. As for example, he writes: “They have fewer cross-country trips, visits to museums and zoos, music or dance lessons, and organized sports leagues to develop their ambition, cultural awareness, and self confidence.” He shows that it is indeed a matter of pity that some of the educationalists believe that the students from lower social classes suffer from a genetic disability to achievement good average in the tests. This is really a threatening situation when the educationalists themselves are biased about racism. The excuses made by them can call upon danger on the struggling parts of society. On the other hand, the idea of “no excuses” is also a dangerous element for the students coming from different ethnic origins. The educationalists should understand the problems that are commonly faced by the pupils coming from lower class of society. Pressurizing them will never lead to any positive conclusion. Rothstein says, “Presenting a deliberately flawed version of reality, fearing that the truth will lead to excuses, is not only corrupt but also self-defeating.” Language, according to Noguera and Wing, is also one of the main medium of discrimination. This is a prime element, which came into notice during their session in the school. The languages which the students in Berkeley High School are offered to choose are: Spanish, French, German, Latin, and Kiswahili. It can be well understood by the names that most of the languages are European and the students, unknowingly, have to make their choices among them. The survey shows that placement of the foreign languages has been mingled in such a way with the choice of the science subjects that students in Berkeley High face problems very often. So this shows the problems lying with the pattern of educational course in the American schools. Ninth Grade has been called by Noguera and Wing as an ‘uneven start’ for the students. The beginning of the course looks somewhat similar for all the students across the institution, but the picture is, in fact, an apparent one. But a closer look at the English and history course reveals the racial treatment for the students. Mathematics is the subject, on the other hand, which completes the discrimination ultimately. It is, as seen in the cases of Chantelle and Jennifer, a common phenomenon for the financially affluent students to get good marks in mathematics in all the schools. This is why it becomes almost impossible for the students from lower class to achieve good grade in higher studies: “The Diversity Project’s class of 2000 research team found that 83 percent of the ninth graders who were placed in Math A, the low-track prealgebra class, were African-American.” (Page 35) This clearly shows how the system hinders the blacks and browns from going for higher studies. With no choice left, they have to remain contented with the preliminary studies with which they are provided. Going in this way, the infamous bleak mark of racialism will never be obliterated from American society. Another essay of Richard Rothstein entitled as “A Wider Lens on the Black-White Achievement Gap” shows how the school policies and structures in these institutions go for the racial discrimination among the students in the United States. Some of the large portions of the US society are entirely ignored in the educational system. The essay shows that the time to avoid the discussions regarding the racial achievement gap has not yet come to America. Diminishing the achievement gap is far from in the state of completion, therefore in the state of an ‘unfinished business’. This is why the works of Rothstein and that of Noguera and Wing are unanimous to each other as far as their opinions about the educational scenario in USA are concerned. Therefore a direct comparison among the works is quite possible. Finally there are differences among the teachers in all the institutions too. Many of the teachers have biases among them regarding the social class and other elements. This leads them to treat students according to their social and racial origins – an act that can never lead to an effective pattern of educational system. There are many teachers who believe in the mediocrity of the non-white students in American institutions. Now, it is impossible for the teachers to do something positive for the students with such notions existing in their minds. Hence, the very first step should be changing the mentality of the staffs in the schools and also of the educationalists. The case of Natay in Unfinished Business is an example how a teacher can discourage a student from taking up higher studies only from the wrong notion that she will not be able to do well because of her racial background. Natay did not get a proper placement in the school as the counselor did not give the deserved importance to her academic results. In most of the cases, like Natay, the students from lower classes accept the treatment not challenging their superiors. Noguera and Wing edited Unfinished Business draws attention of all responsible Americans who believe that time for the required change has come. References 1. Noguera, P & J Wing. Unfinished Business: Closing the Racial Gap in Our Schools. San Francisco. Jossey-Bass. 2006 2. Rothstein, Richard. “A Wider Lens on the Black-White Achievement Gap”. Phi Delta Kappan. October 2004. 3. Rothstein, Richard. “Whose Problem is Poverty?”. Educational Leadership. April 2008. Read More