The importance of education is
emphasized by most parents to their children, and is something that
people from all races, cultures, and socioeconomic backgrounds can
relate to. If this is a widely believed phenomenon, then why is it that
there is such a large education gap based on race, culture, and
socioeconomic status? Education, though the importance is acknowledged
and emphasized is not equal for all students; school is not a safe
environment for all children to learn (though it should be).
The education gap is not a new issue,
the concept began with the end of slavery. Though African Americans
were no longer slaves physically, in the minds of white men and women,
they were, and continued to treat African Americans as inferior. Black
men and women could not vote, did not have rights, and were denied
education. This did not stop African Americans from learning how to read
and write.
Skip ahead to today, and black
students, as well as other minority groups, are still being treated as
inferior to whites. Though African American students are no longer
denied education, there is still a gap in education between white and
minority students.
Stigmas follow children belonging to
minority groups to school. For example, black female students are loud
and aggressive. Due to stereotyping like this, teachers treat African
American students more harshly than they would a white student. The U.S.
Department of Education Office for Civil rights issued data snapshots
of suspension and expulsion rates of minority students, “while
boys receive more than two out of three suspensions, black girls are
suspended at higher rates (12%) than girls of any other race or
ethnicity and most boys,” (Civil Right Data Collection, 2014). In
addition to widely believe stigmas of African American girls, black
male students are considered to be disrespectful and criminals. “Black
students are suspended and expelled at a rate three times greater than
white students,” (Civil Rights Data Collection, 2014). This results increased suspensions and expulsions of black students, and puts those students further behind in academics.
When a person thinks of suspension or
expulsion, one usually considers these in relation to middle school or
high school. This is not accurate. African American children are being
suspended and expelled from school as young as preschool, with African
American students composing 18% of the students; of this 18%, 48% of
preschool children that collect more than one out of school suspension
is African American. Compared to this, 43% of the preschool population
is white, but account for 26% of children receiving more than one out of
school suspension.
Students learn at a very young age
that there is a difference between whites and blacks (as well as other
minority groups).They begin to internalize the dominant/inferior beliefs
associated with these races, thus continuing the cycle and widening the
achievement gap in education.
More Statistics can be found on this link:
When I read this blog, I could not help but think about the American Dream. The American Dream: the aspirations to start from nothing, and hoping that equal opportunity of all people, will allow for you to rise to the top, socially and financially-- but it's a skewed vision. This vision does not exist. One might ask, "why?" I would argue because the education gap has become overwhelmingly evident and it is a serious issue in our country. On a small scale, I have seen this issue first hand in the Memphis community. As a student in high school, I volunteered at places like Lester Community Center and would experience kids who were illiterate. In case you did not get it the first time, these kids were Illiterate. It's the 21st century and we have kids in a city in the United States who can hardly read. How is the American Dream suppose to be upheld when our education system is not even fair, and does not offer equal opportunity? It is because the American Dream and equal opportunity can not coexist simultaneously -- and it is directly related to the educational gap that exists in this country.
ReplyDeleteThe expulsions and suspensions are directly related to no tolerance policies. The school administrations say they have a no tolerance policy and then use it to subjectively punish minority students. White students are punished for objective situations, like bringing a weapon to school. Black students are punished for subjective situations like dress code and "attitude." No tolerance policies and subjective punishments only further the stereotypes that many students, unfortunately, start to believe about themselves.
ReplyDelete