While the world is facing issues like COVID19, a new scenario in America came forward. This recent issue draws our attention to another critical issue. As the news of the death of George Floyd, a black man based in Minnesota is wide-spread across the world, the matter of racism has come up again. Since the black lives matter movement came years after the abolitionist movement, fight against racism isn’t a new one. American history shows various instances where racism ruled the system. But how about racism in schools? The racism based on color is deforming the educational structure to a great extend. It not only lowers the confidence of the child but also affects his academic performance.
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It is not clear that when public schools in the nation will restart. But systematic racism in schools is like COVID 19. Since it spreads fast, it can be quite damaging to students’ growth. It is clear that despite the various laws against racism, racist policies never ended.
So you might be thinking— what racism is? Is it bullying or something related to moral psychology? Let’s know what do we mean by racism in schools.
What is Racism and Race-based Discrimination?
Racism is unequal practice, behavior, belief, and prejudice. It is the unavoidable and unequal practice within groups based on race, or culture. Thus, race-based discrimination occurs when these social behaviors and practices become inevitable. Likewise, we have recently seen in Minneapolis: How a policeman killed a black man. The adversity racism causes evident from several other incidents as well. Like in 1954, before Brown v. Board Education decision, black children were not allowed to study with white children.
So how does this racism incorporates? There are many forms of racism, like racial violence, race-based exclusion, and so on. Also, racism can occur at any level like community, individual, educational level, e.t.c.
There are two types of racism:
Direct Racism — It is an unequal distribution of power, resources, and opportunities. This type of racism is common in schools.
Indirect Racism — It is indirect rule and regulation to offend people from other races.
Now let’s see how students are still dealing with racism within the center of literacy itself.
Students’ Experiences of Racism in Schools
Even though all children are the same, people continue to look for differences based on skin or color. As mentioned above, racism is like COVID 19 – it can lead to chronic stress for children. Thus schools are vital sites where students must not face racial discrimination. Some schooling staff ensures that well, let’s see how:
- 6% of students have a firm agreement that school staff get along well with them
- 8% of students never reported racism in schools
- 3 % of students sometimes got unfair treatment based on their culture, race or religion
But still, some students are facing racism in schools.
Types of racism in schools that students are experiencing monthly:
- Black boys receive an out-of-school suspension three times more than whites.
- Around 18% of black students enrolled in preschools. But 48% of the preschool children receive an out-of-school suspension.
- Around 16.4 % of students reported that other students don’t want to play with them because of their skin color.
- Primary school experience more direct racism than secondary school students
Source: U.S. Department of Education Civil Rights Data Collection (2016)
So when these young minds receive such racism in schools, their academic performance gets disturbed. Let us discuss it further.
How Racism in Schools Affects Performance of Young Minds?
Racism in schools affects students’ capability to study. When students receive a biased response from their classmates or teachers, they feel unfair. Racial discrimination affects not only curricular but also extra-curricular activities of students. Thus they lose interest in coming to school and getting involved in any social activity.
Neuro-cognitive Ability
When students face racism in schools, it affects their neuro-cognitive ability. Neuro-cognitive ability means a person’s ability to perform any task. While experiencing such situations, students’ brain loses the ability to think, plan, or respond. Thus it disrupts their learning power.
Suppose you are on your way to enter the classroom, in the next moment someone slights you. So, will you able to concentrate on your studies? No, your mind will have a difficult time altogether.
Impact Individual’s Self-Image
The stereotypes that students are facing in schools have adverse impacts on self-growth. Due to these reasons, they might face unemployment in the future. Bias behavior from teachers made them lose self-confidence and the ability to self-improve. As a result, they have long-lasting impacts on their minds. Also, some students can never develop essential skills like teamwork or communication.
Social Isolation
Remember the movie Castaway? In that movie, Tom Hanks started to talk to his volleyball out of loneliness. Likewise, these students become a subject of social isolation. Due to this reason, some of them develop anxiety and depression. When these students develop such mental pressure, it pushes their minds away from learning. Thus racism in schools has massive effects on students’ academic performance.
Under Serve Policies of Schools
As schools’ funding and sources relate to states, there are instances when some low-income students face biasness. The lack of resources and underfunding impacts the academic achievements of students. Black students who go to less funded schools receive fewer learning opportunities.
How Can We Help to End Racism in Schools
We can perform the following steps to ensure the elimination of racism in schools:
- We need to talk to our friends more if they ever encounter such discrimination.
- No matter what, we must pledge not to endorse racism ever.
- We must empower our laws for protecting all people in real, not some particular people.
Reducing acts of discrimination on the interpersonal level can improve students’ mental health. So these were some essential points that as a student, you must be aware of. If you need more homework help, get instant online assignment help from our experts. We provide equal opportunities for students to secure A+ grade through professional guidance.