After reading a chapter from my course's textbook regarding ethnicity and race, my assignment was to observe the practices in my school that could be perceived as racist by minority groups. As I watched hallway procedures, classroom practices, interactions in the main office, I was surprised at how certain procedures could be considered racist. Before I began my observations, I thought I was only going to have positive things to say about the procedures of my school, but I quickly found out that certain practices should be changed to create a learning environment. Throughout this activity, I found myself taking on a new role as a team leader. I felt that it was my responsibility to share my knowledge and suggestions for changing certain practices. I informed my administrator of my observations, so that he could observe them himself. By recognizing that there is an issue, this was our first step in correcting the problem. I learned so much on how education is impacted by ethnicity and race, and educators need to adjust teaching styles and curriculum to meet the needs of their students.
My Project:
Chapter 2:
Ethnicity & Race
As the United States is becoming an
increasingly ethnically and racially diverse nation, schools across the nation
are faced with challenges to eliminate racism in school’s policies and daily
practices. Confronting racism in schools is the first step in moving towards
anti racism practices and policies in the classroom and school. With a growing,
diverse society, schools need to provide a multicultural education that
integrates culturally enriched activities and interactions for all learners.
For the past week, I observed my
schools’ environment and classroom procedures to identify any practices that
may be perceived as racist by a person in a minority group. In my school,
roughly 20% of the students are from minority groups. With diverse students in
my school, I have the preconceived notion that my school policies and
procedures reflect the different groups to avoid any feelings of racism. Walking
through the halls, I noticed that a person from a minority group might feel out
of place and have a sense of racial discrimination. One routine in classrooms is saying the Pledge of Allegiance.
When looking into classrooms in the mornings, I noticed that the majority of the
students were standing saying the pledge, but one student was sitting in his
desk. For religious purposes, the student is not allowed to say the pledge.
This practice has been a topic of a lot of educational conversations, and is a
practice that I do not know how to change.
I feel as an educator if one or more of my students are not allowed to
say the pledge, that it only segregates them from other students. However, as an American citizen, I want to
teach our students about the importance of our freedom and government. As our
country is becoming more diverse, maybe a new pledge to represent our founders
and current citizens should be written.
Another issue that I noted is the
number of non-diverse posters hanging on the walls throughout the school. The
majority of the posters are pictures of white children expressing the core
character values. The only diverse posters are by the English Language Learners
classroom. This is an issue that is easily fixed. In my collection of posters,
I found posters of children from many cultures. With permission from the
principal, I put those posters around the school.
Next, I noticed a teacher had her
students create pictures of themselves to hang above their lockers. This is a
fabulous idea to show and celebrate diverse students in the class.
Unfortunately, all of the pictures of the students were glued the same, had
white faces, and appeared to be boys. The students in the class are a mix of
boys and girls from different regions of the world. It was disheartening to me
that a teacher would have a project be so concrete and similar for all
students. To change this, I was able to have a conversation with the teacher. I
approached the conversation with a positive spin complimenting her project and
inquiry more about it. She informed me that the students were able to choose
from a variety of paper for skin, hair, and eyes, but all of the students
followed her example.
Finally, when certain classrooms are
walking down the hall, the students are separated into two lines, boys and
girls. I felt as though this was a poor practice to teaching children tolerance
with the opposite gender. The teachers of those classes informed me that
students are more likely to show respectful behavior in the hall when they are
split into the two groups.
Overall, after reviewing my schools
policies and procedures, I strongly believe that the teachers and
administrators are doing a wonderful job of creating an anti racism community.
The issues that I noticed were all easily fixed, with the exception of the pledge.
My school district offers student and parent handbooks and newsletters in
native languages. I have taught a number of diverse students within my district
and each student appears to be comfortable with the learning environment. Being
aware of and confronting racism within the classroom is the first step in
creating an anti racism community. As a slightly more educated teacher on this
topic, I feel more comfortable making a difference within my school and
district.
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