Racism in the Classroom

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Racism in the ClassroomApplying racism to Pedagogy, a Teachers Guide

Evelyn, Rachel, Stephen, Jacob, KyleDecember 10, 2012

A Pedagogical Approach

Pedagogy in contemporary America has changeddramatically over the course of history. How teachers understandtheir students has affected the ways in which they engage them. Asclassrooms become more diverse, problems arise of meeting theneeds of more people. Minorities especially, have faced difficulties

in receiving an equal educational experience as their whitecounterparts. Though on the surface, racism seems absent, therhetoric in many modern classrooms creates an atmosphere thatdisservices minorities and privileges the majority. Teachers have toaddress this problem in their classes by re-examining their ownideologies, so that they can adapt to the needs of every student, andsolve any conflict that arises. In this document, two specificconflicts emerge where racial misunderstandings create hostilityamong students. As a teacher one must understand the context ofboth situations, and how even though both are much different fromone another, similar approaches should be taken to address them.We address political, social, and economic aspects of racism aswell as their role in the classroom. We offer our own pedagogy inhopes of fostering racial equality in the classroom.Scenario One [Jacob]

An overview of the first racial conflict is as follows: Consider a confrontation that occurred in a peer-editing session

that Andrea Greenbaum describes in a recent Composition Forum

article. In that session, Brian, a white student, was editing a paper

written by Johnnie, an African American classmate. When Brian


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situations, no matter the previous circumstances, show that thestudents teacher, Andrea Greenbaum, was exceedingly unpreparedfor what happened that day in her classroom. Because she was souninformed within racial situations it caused her to lose control of

her classroom, as well as lose her student for the remaining of theyear. Although Ms. Greenbaum failed to handle the situationproperly, what happened in her classroom proves to be an idealconflict to analyze, and implement a plan that will resolve futureracial situations.

Looking at the first approach, we find that there arenumerous reasons for racial tension to occur between the twopreviously, just as there would be with any two individuals. Brian

and Johnnie may have had previous negative interactions amongsteach other, or have had previous negative interactions with eachothers race which caused them to stereotype one another. Nomatter what their previous experiences are, or what culturaldifferences they may have, what happened between them in theclassroom should have never taken place. The two lacked thenecessary communication skills needed to solve a simple writingdispute, and the teacher lacked the necessary skills to handle thesituation correctly, causing Johnnie to never return back to class.

As for the classes decision to split between black and white,we feel it was almost instinctual for them to follow in suit of thefamiliar color no matter who they thought was right or wrong. Oursocial construction has segregated us into separate cultures inwhich we feel comfortable in. It is for the same reasons that theclass divided in color as you find most of your friends the samecolor you are, the same reason you often find your significant otherto be the same ethnicity as you. We find a level of comfort in

identifying with others who represent us aesthetically. As much asthis is a societal problem, the change for an unbiased society needsto start with the individuals ability to assess disputes and settlethem as equals- not jump straight for the race card.

Continuing to the second scenario we can focus solely on thesituation at hand. Brian, a white student, points out to his black


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classmate, Johnnie, that he was inconsistent in how he spelled

certain words in his rendering of colloquial dialogue. What

seemed to be instantaneous, Johnnie became irate, and accusedBrian of racism. While this racial accusation may sound premature,

we can not hear Brians tone, nor can we see his body languagewhile talking to Johnnie which makes it difficult to fully analyze.If we consider the option of Brian and Johnnie having entirelydifferent cultural upbringings this could provide us with thepossibility of Johnnie using African American Vernacular English,which Brian would be entirely unfamiliar with; causing him toaccuse Johnnie of poor grammar. Brians lack of knowledge withinJohnnies dialect, and Johnnies unappreciation for Brian not

understanding his culture could have been what led to the racialtension. Although this may have been what led to the incident, byno means should it have ever occurred in the manner it did.

In Rochelle Brocks Sista Talk: The Personal and the

Pedagogical, she makes an interesting and reasonable point aboutsituations just like the one above. In her book, Brock interviews ayoung African American women, who like Johnnie, felt mistreatedin a similar situation. She poses the question, Why does it have to

be the fact that if you (Whites) learn more about us (African

Americans), then were OK? Or if you read up your history and

see, oh theyre not so bad (Brock 46). While this may seem like

an over-the-top accusation to some, we feel it could not be moreaccurate. Todays culture is based so much on aesthetic appearancethat the other needs to be researched or understood before it is

accepted. We alsopose a question, but rather than why, we askhow? How has it gotten to this point? How is it that our societyconstructs our youth to jump at the chance to be racist, or

automatically follow our own color even if they might be atfault? Of course all these questions are much more complex than asingle answer or explanation; it is the very reason why we havecreated this manuscript; to compile a broad range of information toshare with teachers alike in order to handle situations like Brianand Johnnies.


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Society and Economics [Stephen]Politics, Society, Economics and their Role in minority education.

To address scenarios like the one presented, teachers mustunderstand racism at its core. To understand the limitededucational opportunities for minorities in America, one must fullycomprehend politic's role in determining the economic disparitybetween the dominant white group and the oppressed minorities.Martin Carnoy examines four key influences that politics have onthe economic standing of minorities in his work,Faded DreamsThe Politics and Economics of Race in America. The first elementrecognizes that America is regionally segregated by race and

because of this different policies affect citizens in a variety of ways(Carnoy 128). This means struggling minority areas may bebenefitted or more likely ignored by government policies. Second,government economic policies regarding employment, wages, andsocial policies all affect economic earnings for minorities. Thethird facet deals with how minorities are helped or ignored byjudicial rulings on employment opportunities. Last is the obviousfact that government policies define the economic boundaries for

minorities (Carnoy 129). Essentially government determineseconomic opportunities for minorities through various legislationand policies.

The U.S. government has perpetuated the economic disparitybetween whites and minorities through its various functions. TimWise illustrates the economic disparity between whites andminorities by analyzing average family incomes in 2012. Wisestates "the median net worth among white families is twenty timesthat of black families and eighteen times greater than that of Latinofamilies-a difference of over $100,000, between the typical whitefamily and the typical family of color" (Wise 27). Systemic racismlimits occupational opportunities and financial earnings forminorities. Clearly politics have a major affect on economic


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standing for minorities in America and this explicitly determineseducational availabilities.

Political influence on economics is so important becauseeconomic standing is racialized and has a massive influence on the

availability and quality of education. One young student in inner-city St. Louis explicitly affirms the link between race andeducation. "the two things, race and money, go so close together-what's the difference? I live here, they live there, and they don'twant me in their school (Wieder 15). Already the young studentrealizes that whites do not want equality in education, but insteadprefer to keep inner-city students in their marginalizedcommunity.These inner-city schools that many other students feel

trapped in provide all sorts of obstacles to learning.Even the teaching staff is a major issue at inner-city schools.

One teacher from a St. Louis inner city school describes thechallenges they must face in the pursuit of educating the youth.The teacher explains that inner-city schools lack funding and thevast majority of teaching materials have to procured and financedby the teachers (Wieder 14). This would not be a debilitatingproblem if it were not for a cancerous belief that riddles the inner-city school system and stunts teacher motivation. The students arefrequently labeled as inferior, troublesome, or simply a waste oftime. Even teachers lack faith in the oppressed youth. One teacherdescribes the problem by proclaiming that some teachers care solittle that they skip their own classes or routinely show up late(Wieder 16). A Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement ofTeaching explains the trickle down effect of the teachers' dismissalof their students. "The failure to educate adequately urban childrenis a shortcoming of such magnitude that many people have simply

written off city schools as little more than human storehouses tokeep young people off the streets (Boaz 7). How can anyoneexpect these victimized students to rise up and conquer theirpredetermined label as uneducatable and inferior? Because of theirrace, minority students are Defined as less in American society.


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White students consistently score better than those inminority racial groups across America. Different levels ofeducation are obtained by the dominant and oppressed group.Many social and economic aspects affect learning possibilities in a

negative way for minorities. Because systemic racism is currentlyalive and well in America, the minority group does not have astrong economic background. Often, minority students are facedwith economic obstacles that interfere with their education. Ayoung boy or girl may have to be around at home because theiryounger siblings require attention, or possibly the parents, or evenjust a single parent, need to work and can't watch the kids. TheSnnie E. Casey Foundation conducted studies in 2005 and 2006

that affirm these claims. Teen birth rates for African-Americanswere 62% while the national average was 40% and 65% ofAfrican-Americans were raised in single-parent families while thenational average was only 32% (Annie E. Casey Foundation 33).Any of these scenarios divert the students attention away fromschool and could hurt attendance. They may need to leave schoolearly because they need to support themselves or possibly theirown children. The best schools available require money, and lotsof it. The best resources and teachers all go to the top payingschool and a trickle down effect occurs. In economically oppressedareas the schools are not nearly as good and are sometimes noteven safe. Systemic racism ensures it is minorities who most oftenattend these struggling schools. All of these economic struggles,which are influenced by race, takes away from a youth'sopportunity to learn and are accurately described in the chillingbook There Are No Children Here, an account of life in inner-cityChicago. Alex Kotlowitz, a journalist, followed two African-

American boys, Lafeyette and Pharoah Rivers, who lived in theChicago projects in 1985. The boys describe their hopeless attemptto escape the projects. The boys routinely have to hit the floor asbullets spray through their project, which smells of decayinganimals and even decaying aborted fetuses. Reading this book inhigh school changed the way I perceive poverty and its influences


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on children. We believe including these texts in a curriculum willenhance minority education and foster a greater understanding ofobstacles faced by inner-city minorities.

The quality of education that any student receives is

influenced by their social and economic standing. What types ofschools and the level of education a student receives is limited ifthey are not socially or economically fit for a specific school. Theupper and upper middle class families, who are typically from thedominant racial group, have the wealth to send their children to thebest schools in the country. These schools provide the studentswith an education and a reputation that ensures they can hold ontotheir position as a wealthy citizen. Other requirements of these

schools is often extracurricular activities that are not available orrealistic for oppressed minorities. These schools are too expensivefor people not already wealthy and serve to protect white privilege.Cedric Jennings, an African-American student in WashingtonD.C., describes the struggle to overcome race and class boundariesin the pursuit of education inA Hope in the Unforseen.Cedric hasdreams of attending MIT and had outstanding grades in highschool, but he is informed to not even apply because of his lowSAT score (Suskind 96). As a minority student, Cedric frequentlymust overcome obstacles that his fellow students, who are white,do not have to deal with.

Minority students often face a social pressure that isnonexistent for dominant white group members. Rebelling againstschool and teachers is a common response to the systemicoppression for oppressed youth. They do not want to perpetuate asystem that has othered them and placed them below the dominantgroup. In reality, when they rebel they actually help perpetuate

white privilege. It is nearly impossible for anyone to gaineconomic and social success without some form of education. Byrebelling, the oppressed students ensure that they will remainoppressed. Social pressures limit the educational advancement ofthe oppressed minority group.Rochelle Brock describes theseunique pressures minorities face in her book Sista Talk The


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Personal and the Pedagogical.Brock describes how herexperiences as an African-American woman influenced her ownteaching pedagogy and we utilized her specific knowledge.

The effects of the political, economic, and social aspects of racismneed to be understood by teachers in order to fully understand theirclassroom dynamics. Without a comprehensive understand ofmajor aspects of racism, it is not possible to create a classroomenvironment that fosters racial equality.

Curriculum and Instruction: A Teachers Perspective

[Evelyn]

There is no doubt that cultural perspectives affect thecurriculum writers and teachers and as result the currentpedagogies in the majority of school districts reflect the needs ofAnglo-American English natives. Its crucial that teachers reflecton some of the cultural differences between themselves and theirstudents. In doing so they can be better prepared for constructingcurriculums that cater to the needs of all students, they can beprepared to address racist issues that may arise in the classroomand they can be aware of their own actions and rhetoric that maybe racist as well.

Its vital to identify the cultural differences that may affect

the classroom construct and learning environment. An example ofhow a teachers cultural perspective may affect the students theyteach is in the sense that the if the teacher is an Anglo-AmericanEnglish native speaker then he or she may not understand thestruggles English Language Learners (ELL) face. For example, thedifference between learning to read and reading to learn. Although

it varies from student to student, many ELLs are at the stage oflearning to read while other students may be reading to learn. Sothe ELLs fall behind.

Another prominent issue that teachers face with theconstruction of their curriculum and assigned readings is theirrelevance of the subjects or readings or writings to the students


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immediate life. Many of the ELLs or minorities, or even Anglo

students may not find relevance in some of the readings if they arenot applicable to their lives. Glynda Hull and Elizabeth Mojehighlight some of the issues stating; To learn literacy well,

students need meaningful purposes for engaging in literate practiceand opportunities to use literacy for a broad range of life activitiesrelated to goals and desires beyond the moment ofinstruction(Hull). Many first generation students experience

working in the fields or some other form of difficult labor at ayoung age to help their families. Their experiences will more thanlikely differ from their Anglo teacher, therefor a common bookreading likeFahrenheit 451may be difficult to read because the

students have their own idea of dystopian society based on theircurrent struggles. The point here is that the struggles and obstaclesthat students face often set them apart from the rest, and if theirstudies do not relate to their personal lives and experiences theywill likely lose interest in education.

Another example of how cultural perspective may affect thestudents are the different forms of teaching and learning that occuroutside of classroom. For example in some cultures talking back orarguing with your elders is a sign of disrespect. However in manyclassrooms not speaking up is interpreted as lack of interest,opinion, or an indicator of not having done the work. So it isimportant that the teacher learn to recognize the different forms ofengagement and what is due to culture differences. These are justsome of the examples of how a teachers personal culturalperspective may affect the students from diverse backgrounds orraces that differ from the teachers.

We believe critical pedagogy is the first step to constructing a

pedagogy that caters to the needs of all students. To name, reflect,and act would be the first step to devising a learning environment

for all students. The major difference when constructing thispedagogy is to tailor the particular pedagogy to the new group ofstudents. We would not make a standard one fits all curriculumbefore getting to know the students. It is important that all the


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teachers in the district are on board with the pedagogy, it would bemost effective if the teachers constructed their pedagogies togetherto make all the classes relevant to each other and so they areprogressive. Also, in order to embrace the diversity in the

classroom I think its is critical to have a bi-cultural theme. CVLCCChula Vista Learning Community Charter Elementary, Middle andHigh school has an effective system. They are at the forefront ofdevising a learning environment that tailors to everyones needs.Our Core Beliefs

Our community of learners is committed to academic, social,civic, and character development

Integration of world class curriculum standards with the

highest achievement goals Celebrate of diversity and challenge learning opportunities

utilizing critical thinking for all students Establish a learning community where: learning needs are

met, resources are provided, questions are answered, andevery learners potential are unlocked

Value the acquisition of other languages to be competitive inworld markets

Children demonstrate confidence, empowerment, self-discipline, ethical responsibility, and resiliency bycommitting to academic excellence

Children involve themselves in the community and establishawareness of global perspectives

(http://www.cvlcc.org/)The teachers and staff all work together to develop a internationaltheme. This year they turned every classroom into an individualcountry and city. In doing so the classroom reflects that country so

the students are consistently surrounded with images, colors andculturally relevant information in the classrooms. This is only oneexample of how they embrace and celebrate international races andcultures. It is possible to celebrate national races and cultures aswell through similar methods. This may serve as a gatewaycreating to a multi-racial environment.
http://www.cvlcc.org/http://www.cvlcc.org/


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Breaking Down the CurriculumBreaking down the points above are critical to full understand

what is needed to create a learning environment that embraces thediverse needs of bilingual and bi-cultural students. The students

need to be as committed to their academic role as studentsinorder for the teachers to do their job. This can be accomplishedthrough a variety of methods, however, the teachers at CVLCC areable to boost their students enthusiasm and ambition by cateringthe curriculum context to the students surroundings andexperiences. Additionally involving the students parents ensurethat the students are being encouraged at home as well. This can bedone through a variety of methods not limited to parent teacher

conferences, but rather through expanding to the community.Parents can be invited to help host cultural fairs, or to be teamleaders during field trips etc. Furthermore, Embracing the ideologythat students are always learning and therefor their surroundingsare always learning experiences is imperative if students are toembrace their role as learners, along with their teachers and parentsas instructors. Integration of world class curriculumstandards with the highest achievement goals. Children tend tobe competitive so when they are given the opportunity to be thebest they will take it, this includes scoring the highest in their testscores. The students understand at an early age, with the teachersguidance, that they are always striving to compete at a world levelacademically. Celebrate of diversity and challenge learningopportunities utilizing critical thinking for all students.Thestructure of the classrooms and school at CVLCC as a wholepromote the embracing of diversity every day. The students aresurrounded with this notion since the start of their academic career

and it becomes, in a sense, a norm. They are constantly beingchallenged in the classrooms because they realize the magnitude ofresponsibility it takes to understand the diverse world we live in; itgoes beyond celebrating others cultures foods. Other schools needto take this as an example and adopt the ideology that the districtas a whole needs to be on board with celebrating diversity not just


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a select few teachers. This will allow for teachers to structure theircurriculums in a manner that also celebrates diversity daily in theclassroom. Establish a learning community where: learning

needs are met, resources are provided, questions are answered,

and every learners potential are unlocked. It is the schooldistricts responsibility to set their standards for meeting eachstudents needs. If the previous three points have been met then it

is possible to provide a learning environment relevant to eachstudents needs. Value the acquisition of other languages to becompetitive in world markets. Embracing a bi-literacy andbilingual pedagogy is critical in demonstrating that the districtvalues other languages for a variety of reasons. To be competitive

in the world markets is important, but also to embrace othercultures. Language is key in understanding the customs of anotherculture. Children demonstrate confidence, empowerment, self-

discipline, ethical responsibility, and resiliency by committing

to academic excellence. Children are curious. We need tomaintain that curiosity lit, and not extinguish it with closedcurriculums. Teachers need to critically analyze their curriculumsto ensure that they are empowering the students creativity, ethics,responsibility and confidence. There are also opportunities outsideof the classroom to boost confidence; music clubs, sports, dramaetc. Children involve themselves in the community andestablish awareness of global perspectives. Classrooms canpromote the importance of being involved in the community andgiving back. The two can build a strong correlation, and givestudents the opportunity to apply classroom knowledge to real lifeexperiences; i.e. recycling, and the importance of it. Students canvisit the dump sites so they can apply their in-class knowledge to

real life situations and the realities.We believe the main reason why racism issues occur in

classrooms in forms such as the two issues we presented (refer toscenario 2 on pg. 10) is due to the fact that racism is not addressedin classrooms. Being proactive would be beneficial and may proveto help students embrace diversity instead of only addressing race


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in negative forms like the two issues presented. We believe thiscould be in a sense prevented if the students experience andcelebrated the differences of each student. Therefor we believe theteachers should address race and incorporate it into their

curriculums. This has to be beyond celebrating the different foodsand flags, but giving the students the opportunity to speak freelyabout their cultural differences. If the teacher creates a safeenvironment and openly speaks of different races in a positivemanner this may make it easier for students to address racism andrecognize that it exists. We dont believe this can be achieved with

one main method. It is the teachers and school districtsresponsibility to incorporate this mindset of allowing racism as a

topic in the school. Having established this, then the teachers canbe creative in incorporating it into their curriculums. Following Dr.Eddys pedagogy, it may be effective to begin the class with askingwhat racism is and its definition and how it is prominent in oursociety. Questions to ask are; what is racism? How does thedefinition differ from ethnic groups? What is colorblindness? Etc.Considering that we are dealing with children we would need torestructure these questions, but the idea should be maintained;racism is prominent and it will continue to be until we reinvent the

politics of racism. Celebrating everyones culture is one of the first

steps. As Dr. Eddy stated; No minority can feel appreciated iftheir [ethnic] group is not publicly accepted or viewed positively.

We believe it is critical to structure a curriculum in a mannerthat allows for exploring other races. We suggest starting with thereadings, we would suggest choosing something that speaks ofother races and some issues faced. For example the book When Iwas Puerto Ricantells a personal story of Esmeralda Santiago and

the obstacles she faces as a young female immigrant in the UnitedStates, including her identity. The readings would serve variouspurposes including the opportunity to openly discuss other races,racism, and differences in cultures.

Teachers should have a pre-planned procedure. They shouldhave a plan of action for various situations including racism in the


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classroom. We do not agree with the approach the teacher used inresponding to the issue task 2. In not addressing the issue she is ina sense reaffirming Johnnies accusation of racism. The incidentitself may not appear to be blatant racism. We believe Brian

intended to help Johnnie with his writing. However, Brian didntstop to think about Johnnies background, nor the standardsor thedifferences in the language they both speak. The problem here isthat there is only one standard fits all; the white standard.Additionally, the fact that the classroom became divided screams abigger issue. First of all Johnnie feels angry, this makes usquestion if it has been building, perhaps other incident have ledhim to this point. What the teacher should have done was openly

ask Johnnie why he was angry, ask him if other similar incidentshave occurred and then have Brian openly state his perspective.We do believe she should have questioned both of them in front ofthe classroom, because to pull them aside and address itindividually would not have effectively addressed the bigger issue;the division of the classroom. Also she would be supporting theidea that openly speaking about racism is not acceptable. Thereforewe would suggest that she open up a classroom discussion to allowother potential similar incident to be brought up while having amediator. In addition to the incident and the following discussionwe would have assigned the students to write how they felt aboutthe situation and what they think could have been done to preventit and what we could do collectively as a classroom to resolve theissue.

Scenario 2In a small rural town on the outskirts of a large city, groups

of students would make the walk from the parking lot off campusto the local high school. This extra parking lot was put in place dueto a rising population in the growing area. Every morning a groupof (white) students would drive their trucks (with the confederate


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flag hoisted on the back) with the windows down screamingderogatory remarks or generally mean things to students that werepeople of color. The number of non-white students at the schoolwas very small and having rude comments yelled just made things

worse. While no one agreed with what the group of studentsyelling were doing, no one really did anything either. This becamea huge issue at the school. Administration said they did notcondone the behavior at all, and would talk to the group ofantagonistic students however, no real punishment could be givenbecause the remarks were technically not made on school groundsbut off in the additional parking lot and on the short walk to theschool. This issue had even students and teachers taking sides and

discussing the issue but was never outwardly addressed.

Analysis of Scenario 2 (Rachel)Racism has many definitions. This is because the way we

define racism has much to do with our personal experience andbackground knowledge on the issue. While personal experience is

a valuable asset to be aware of when defining race, generally,white people think of racism as a personal attitude or action carriedout by a group or individual. This definition is not wrong, howeverit is not a correct description of what racism means. Racism is theproduct of accepted but flawed ideology that is perpetuated by thedominant group (white people) (Wise, 16). Generally, people ofcolor would define racism as the systematic discrimination of awhole race(s). From the perspective of a future teacher it isimperative that we understand these differences in definition andthe way that systematic racism takes place and do our best aseducators in order to combat the catering to teaching mainly whiteculture so that we may inspire new definitions and perspectives

on race. This goal is what the analysis of scenario two is centeredaround, by breaking down the situation we can pin point issues and


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relate use the scenario as a metaphor related to the greaterunderlying issue, systematic racism in America.

There are many issues with the second scenario, but there area specific few that I think are worth focusing on. The first issue is

obvious, the fact that a group of white students is publicly makingremarks toward people of color who attend the same school. Whatis more upsetting is that the other students who witnessed this verypublic disrespect toward the people of color did absolutely nothingabout it. This is a very important point because it is a primeexample of how even an observer who is witness injustice can betaking part in the situation. By saying or doing nothing, thestudents who witnessed these events made the actions of the

antagonistic students acceptable not by encouraging them but bysimply accepting the situation and doing nothing. A more historicalexample of this would be the way that the KKK would announcelynching in the local papers (Eddy,Fall 12). People knew theselynching would take place and yet still did nothing to try and stopthem. By accepting the information in the paper, civilians gave thegroup power to do whatever they pleased. This is a greater issuethan simply just schoolyard taunting; it is something that occurs onevery level of society. Perhaps witnesses think that by adding asocial sanction or getting involved will just add fuel to the fire,however this is not the case. Calling attention to the any situationsuch as the example in scenario two will show that others disagreewith the actions of the antagonistic group, while obvious, it doesmake the antagonists understand that not everyone agrees withthem. While standing up as an observer may not change theopinions or actions of the group it does accomplish an opportunityfor conversation to be had between the groups of people involved.

Communication especially about unjust situations specificallypertaining to racism is crucial for progress (Eddy, Fall 12). Thoughthis can be a very tricky thing to balance especially in a system rifewith bias, and conflicting opinions.

The second important issue that scenario two makes obviousis the difficulty in the right type of communication about the


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events taking place in and around the school. While theadministration was fully aware of the issue with the extra parkinglot, they never outwardly addressed the issue with the wholeschool. While the administration did privately speak with the group

of students who were doing the name-calling, this proved to not bevery effective because it was still an issue. Perhaps theadministration did not address the whole school as to not call out aspecific group of students in front of the whole school for their offcampus behavior, but then what about the students who werepeople of color who were being called out as a specific group ofstudents due to their race in front of most of the school? This lackof communication can also be expanded to the larger issues of

systematic racism.If we take the school system as a metaphor for the

combination of government, media, and stereotypes that create thesystem, which perpetuates racism in our country. I think that thereare a few parallels that we need to consider. First is that oftechnicality, while the administration knew the actions werewrong, they did not work harder to do more about the issue. Bydoing this, they as powerful people in the school system set anexample of acceptance for this behavior based on the technicalitythat they could not actually enforce anything outside of campus. Itseems to me that technicalities happen in the real world toperpetuate racism as well, such as in the justice system.Technicalities are used to ones advantage or disadvantage based onrace, like how a white man and a black man who did the samecrime do not have the same chance of being put in jail vs. anothertype of sanction (Wise). Another parallel between the schoolsystem in the scenario and systematic racism would be how

everyone at the school was aware of the issue and had their ownopinions about it but no formal conversations were had in order toreally communicate about the meaning of the situation as far asracism is concerned. This parallels the way that everyone in ourcountry understands that racism is an issue yet no realcommunication in a formal way has been made for years. While


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everyone may have his or her own opinion, it is a concept that isnot foreign to any of us. Despite a general awareness it seems likeeveryone is afraid to have real truthful conversations about racism.Tim Wise points out that fear is major driving force behind this

phenomena. One example would be how we have a president whois a person of color and yet white people say racism is no longer

an issue because we elected a black president when in reality,

Obama has not brought up race in a large scale way due to the factthat it would push a hot button topic (Wise, 34). As a country wemust get over our fears about addressing the conflicts thatdiscussing racism will have and ultimately attempt to educateourselves on the topic as much as possible.

Race is always a difficult subject to discuss in an interracialgroup setting because the way each person defines racism isdifferent, also it is difficult to for individuals to not be defensiveand to be open enough to be honest, personal and humble. Forthese reasons many people (especially white people) avoid talkingabout race or even acknowledging the issue. This is known asbeing colorblind. To be colorblind by definition of a white personis thought to be that everyone is treated equally and respectfully nomatter the color of his or her skin. Somehow it seems that if whitepeople ignore race all together they could not possibly be racistbecause the issue of race never crosses their mind. However this istricky because colorblindness leads to simply ignoring the cultureof a race (in a general historical sense and also modern perspectiveon culture assigned to that race in our country also known asstereotypes) and more importantly acknowledging how race affectsevery aspect of life for the person (Bronson, 2009). When whitepeople ignore race all together they are not resisting racism in our

country but actually perpetuating it by closing off communicationand the opportunities to learn about racial perspectives other thantheir own. It seems the only way to change the large scale issuessuch as color blindness or the bystanders who do nothing are toeducate people about the reasons why what we are doing as a


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society to deal with racism is not currently working and what to doinstead.

The third issue is the most simple and also the most complexthat this scenario exemplifies. We know that the concept of racism

is based on the social construction our society perpetuates. Due tothis fact we can understand that the concept of racism is one that islearned. This is a horrifying reality. We are conditioned tounderstand our place in society based on our race (among otherfactors such as gender, sexual orientation, and class) starting assoon as we enter in to the public school system. If scenarios suchas this are happening in our school systems, whether it is in anoutward act of racial slurs or a more subtle discrimination, the

youth of our country is learning about racism in a way that onlywill perpetuate the current problems our society has with thesubject. It seems that a possible solution would be to change theway we learn about racism in our country. School systems shouldhave classes or sections of classes that are devoted to learningabout how to talk about racism in a productive dialogue and tolearn new perspectives so that mutual understanding on the subjectcan be reached. Public schools should acknowledge racism andways to combat it because it is a public problem.

Some may see this second scenario as a singular event thatwas due to some hicks in a rural area messing around and beingignorant, however after closer inspection of the event it is obviousthat there is much to learn from this scenario. First we understandthat bystanders can add to a situation simply by accepting what isgoing on. That non action in turn gives power to the antagonisticgroup. We also can understand that we communicate not onlythrough words but also through action in the way that the

administration did nothing to combat the off campus issue. It alsobecomes obvious that the most primary system we are introducedto (school system) parallels the real world on large-scale complexissues. In this way, we learn about how to react and deal withissues such as racism from the time we enter kindergarten. If weare learning racism, the only way to combat this is to change our


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their jurisdiction, although it is every schoolsduty to raiseawareness of racial issues.

As is proven in scenario 1 by the outcomes of the curriculum

of CVLCC, bicultural and multicultural students can succeedacademically if the proper initiatives are taken to raise culturalawareness and to meet specific needs of students in the confines ofthe educational institution. Like scenario 1, Specific schoolcurriculum designed to teach students and teachers about equalitycould be a simple answer to solve scenario 2, however how to goabout teaching racism is not as cut and dry as one might think.

An example comes from Britain. There, teachers felt

inadequate to instruct equality classes because they were white andmiddle class and were taught teaching methods by others whowere white and middle class. They didnt have the background, orknowledge of different ethnic peoples, thus didnt know how to

teach the subject to any of their students. What happened in theseequality classes was that the important issues surrounding racewere muted, or hidden altogether. Even though there was anattempt made to teach about race and racism, it really promoted

white color-blindness, and failed to solve the problems ofinstitutional and systemic racism. On one hand, Tim Wise mightsay that any talk about race and racism is good, because it is takinga step forward and raises awareness. This concept may be true,because the Britain model is trying to make more positive changesand learn from its mistakes. Their solution is to hire teachers ofdifferent ethnic backgrounds, so that the faculty represents theentire student body more accurately. Even if American schoolsystems successfully hire in teachers of color, still it is hard to sayif the problem or racism in scenario 2 will be resolved. Either way,steps could be taken to quell the acts of overt racism, whiledecreasing the effect these acts have upon the victims.

In this case, it is the teachers job to first reach out to the

students of color, so that they can hear the students problems. Too


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often in school systems black students feel like they have no one toreach out to, because no one understands their problems.Administrators have tried to solve problems in ways that are theeasiest for them. Racial issues in schools in the past have been

dealt with unsuccessfully because of this. If a student of color, forexample was having a tough time in a specific class because ofdifficulties adapting to a white based school system, theadministration would take action on behalf of the needs of thewhite majority and not the minority. Students of color would beshuffled around, moved to another class, or their problems wouldbe ignored altogether. It is systemic racism, and its roots trace farback in the American education system. It is a phenomenon that

affects pedagogy today, and if teachers successfully apply thisscience to their student-teacher relationships, then situations suchas in scenario 2 can be genuinely solved. Student faculty-relationships are of utmost importance. Especially, if the blackstudents have no peers to turn to. The availability of support frompeople of authority, can assure them that they are a legitimate partof the student body, and that their problems are not being ignored.Other white students also, need a welcome place to express theirconcerns, so that the issue can be revealed and teachers can see thereality of the situation. Reaching out to students who are affectedby the incidents occurring in scenario 2 is surely the first step, butit can become very difficult introducing teaching practices thateffectively tackle racism.

The hardest part when introducing equality practices in theclassroom, is what material should be introduced to students, andhow it can solve issues of racism. A teachers rhetoric is certainly

one way to influence students, but of course literature hashistorically been the way to spread ideas. This has already beendone in elementary and high schools. Books like HuckleberryFinn, To Kill a Mockingbird, and the Scarlet Letter have been usedin many classroom settings to bring up the discussion of race.Sometimes it works successfully, and sometimes it doesn't.


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Whatever the case any talk about race and racism is good, andthese books have served their purpose in at least some minute waysin the classrooms across America. Other authors such as NanceyShneidewind and Ellen Davidson have produced books specifically

for teaching equality in the classroom, and these types of bookscould be the key to promoting equality in the school curriculum.

Open Minds to Equality, is a good example of how a book

can be used to raise awareness in the classroom to make a changesin students lives before they get into higher level classes. Withtheir book, they wish to make classrooms more inclusive andeducational by these steps:

Step A. Create an Inclusive, Trusting Community WhereStudents Appreciate Diversity in the Classroom

Step B. Enable Students to Empathize with Others' LifeExperiences and Explore Why and How Inequality Based onDifference Exists

Step C. Help Students Examine Discrimination in theInstitutions in Their Lives and See How It Has Affected Them

Step D. Empower Students to Envision and Create Changesto Foster Greater Equality

(Schniedewind and Davidson, 2006)This book is aimed at upper elementary school and middle

school students, but can be used in high school settings as well.Another important aspect of the book is its ability to teachinstructors. To solve the problem that Britain had, with this tool

teachers dont have to feel insufficiently adapted to teach equalityin the class if they are white middle class, or of a non white ethnicbackground. They can use this book, or books like it as a safeteaching aide that will help not only the students appreciatediversity, but the teachers as well. The importance of theintroduction of this type of book as the authors put it, is that


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making changes in your classroom will increase your involvement

in efforts to make changes in your school, your community, andthe broader society. This in effectcould stop acts of overt racismthat exist beyond school boundaries, and the fact that students can

take advantage of this book at a young age means that the spreadof racist ideas can be minimized before students become more setin their beliefs.

Even with new teaching tools and better teacher education,covert and overt racism will continue to exist in American society.People have been raised in an environment that teaches themcertain core beliefs. In equality classes, many of these core beliefsare challenged, and that may in fact create animosity towards

people of color by the dominant group. Also, the loss of privilegecan make the privileged group feel threatened, which may in factbe what's happening in scenario 2. Should people have the right toexpress themselves even if their expressions appear to be racist onthe surface? Of course they should. The same democracy that gaveway to civil rights is the same democracy that allows neo-nazigroups to march on Washington. To address the students who flytheir confederate flags first means addressing the society whichproduced these behaviors.

White folks who fly their confederate flags off of theirpickup trucks are either doing it because they think its funny, orbecause they wish the south would have won the war. They alsocould be using it as a symbol of power that sends the message thatpeople of color are not welcome. Whatever the case, these actsoccur because the dominant group fails to recognize the situation.Either they embrace inequality, they dont care, or they feel likeracism is a thing of the past. They put on blinders, and pretend like

nothing is wrong therefore they can ignore the problems andshutout any voice they choose. The children of the privilegedgroup as a result, come to accept or ignore racism at their schoolsas they do in scenario 2. It is not just students who produce andperpetuate this phenomenon however.


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Professional teachers arent always above this. They too can

construct the rhetoric in their classroom to fit the needs of thewhite students above the rest. It can be anything from the way thatseating is arranged, what material is discussed in class, how he/she

speaks to their students, and who they let be the dominant voices.It is the teachers job to destroy hierarchy, and create cohesion inthe classroom. The teacher has the responsibility because of his/herposition to make inclusion a top priority. Racism exists because thedominant group has failed to seek a resolve and it is in theeducation system where culturally experienced people can teachhow racism affects not only people of color, but white people aswell. Teaching equality in the classroom not only contributes to

democracy in the classroom, but it ensures that democracy willimprove, and continue to be the driving force behind the systemthat is America.

Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, the schooladministration must also be onboard with the goal to battlesystemic racism in the classroom. As seen from the example of theCVLCC school district; the principle, along with the rest of theschool board have the same goal and that is why the school canfunction as a unit. You can have all the teachers believe in fightingsystemic racism and shape their curriculums in such a way thatallows for equality. However, if the school board does not agreewith this notion, then the teachers can do nothing, they risk losingtheir jobs if they oppose the school district. The Tucson SchoolDistrict is a prime example of teachers battling against the district.The Mexican American Studies course was banned and with it so

were books that shed a different light on history in the UnitedStates; The Tempest, Rethinking Columbus: the Next 500 years,

A different Mirror: A History of Multicultural Americans, APeoples History of the United States: 1492 to Present, House onMango Street, Disobedience, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (TheEducation Cause). The teachers were fired. Freedom of Speechneeds to stop encompassing only the freedom of the oppressors,and allow the oppressed to be heard. Orwhere is the line drawn


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for freedom of speech? If a school district can ban books that speakon behalf of people of color?

Conclusion:People have the right to express their views on race. As good

or bad as it may seem, in America people have certain freedomsafforded to them that can either perpetuate, or destroy racistattitudes. They have the freedom to hold Neo-Nazi rallies, to saynigger and to fly confederate flags off the back of their pickup

trucks. They also have the right to speak up against a schoolsystem that lacks in addressing sociological issues. Americanpeople have assembled the educational system and for better or

worse, it has been an ever-changing entity. Even writing whichmight seem to a teacher a simple task for his/her students to engagein, can and has posed problems to students who dont fit the

standard definition of an American. There is a standard Englishwhich is considered to be grammatically correct, thus correctingsomeone when misusing or speaking incorrectly is not out of thenorm. What needs to be realized in these situations, is that noteveryone in the school system is a native english speaker, and their

ethnicity needs to be taken into account so that they are not onlyequally included in the educational process, but also respected andappreciated by their teachers and peers.

America was founded on racism, and its hard to deny that

racism made this country great for white people. They would nevergive up their dominance just to appease an unprivileged groupbecause history has worked out quite well for them. To agree togrant equal rights to people of color would mean giving up whiteprivilege and the power that comes with it. On the other hand,Americas history is also full of great triumph, where people havecome together to help one another no matter their differences. In awriting class its all about the diversity of rhetorical arguments

intermingling. Its not about one voice being dominant, or onebeing left out because its different. Schools should have students


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write about how white privilege has affected them, and let othersreflect on the negative ways racism has hindered them. Introducethem to new material that can help students better interact witheach other and understand their differences. This in turn will

spread across classrooms, and into areas outside of school.As a teacher, your students are your colleagues and they

should all be treated as humans with equal worth. Students willfight amongst each other and that is inevitable. They will disagree,misunderstand, and seek different causes. As a teacher one must bethe observer, engager, interpreter, includer, and peacemaker. Racerelations and talk about racism can cause a lot of turmoil, but asLincoln said to the American people in 1861, We are not enemies,

but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may havestrained we must not break our bonds of affection. The mysticchords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely theywill be, by the better angels of our nature.

The creation of a future which embraces and promotesequality among all, begins early in a childs education. Childrenwill continue to learn from all of their surroundings, previously ithas been thought that educators we can only help shape the mindsin the classroom. However, it is apparent that in-classroominstruction and pedagogy can impact the shaping of ideologies andidentification which in turn are reflected outside of the classroom.Students are already being influenced to identify with certaingroups as seen in the division of the classroom between black andwhites in scenario one through systemic racism. This often causesstudents to not be conscious of their groups of identification.However it is our responsibility to ensure that students areeducated on the matter of identification and are informed and

conscious about their identification and division. The assisting increating identification early in a childs educational career is key in

tackling systemic racism. It is our responsibility as educators togrant the students tools with which they can make their owndecisions on what group to identify with; colorblindness, whitesupremacy, racism, anti-racism activism etc. In order to do so we


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must address racism in the classroom, and recognize its existence.We must grant equal opportunity to all; practicing what we preach.

Works Cited

"The Annie E. Casey Foundation - Home." The Annie E. CaseyFoundation - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2012.Boaz, David.Liberating Schools: Education in the Inner City.

Washington, D.C.: Cato Institute, 1991. Print.Brock, Rochelle. Sista Talk: The Personal and the Pedagogical.

Peter Lang Publishing, Inc. New York. (2005). Web. Bronson, Po, and Ashley Merriman. "Is Your Baby Racist?

Exploring the Roots of Discrimination."Newsweek(2009):53-60. Print.

Carnoy, Martin.Faded Dreams: The Politics and Economics ofRace in America. Cambridge England: Cambridge UP,1994. Print.

Eddy, Robert. "Rhetorics of Racism." Class. Brian Hall, Pullman.Fall 2012. Lecture.Furness, Hannah Middle class, white teachers struggle to tackleracism" The Telegraph (2012)Hull, G.A., Moje, E.B, (2012)What is the Development of

Literacy the Development Of?

Understanding Language: Language, Literacy and Learningin the Content Areas, pg.3.Kotlowitz, Alex. There Are No Children Here. New York:

Doubleday, 1991. Print.Lincoln, Abraham. Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861."Mission & Vision." Cvlcc. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.Shneidewind, Nancey and Davidson, Ellen Open Minds toEquality Rethinking Schools (2006)


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"The Education Cause." 6 Books Banned Thanks To Arizona's Ban

of Ethnic Studies. N.p., n.d.Web. 5 Dec. 2012.Weider, Alan.Race and Education : Narrative Essays, Oral

Histories, and Documentary Photography. New York:Counterpoints, 1997. Print.

Wise, Time.Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority. CityLights Books, SF. 2012. Print.

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Racism in the Classroom