Racial Identity and Education
My understanding of identity and education has been shaped by Mr. Josh Anderson. Most of his lessons have majored on race in education, and factors that play a role in education such as income levels and location. I appreciate Mr. Josh Anderson for making me understand that children of different races and from different social classes acquire education from either public or private schools. Today, my perception about racial identity and education is advanced by the ideas taught in the class by Mr. Josh. In this essay, ideas about racial identity and education will be discussed.
[place-order-2]
Racial identity and the level of income affect the type of education children acquire. In neighborhoods where low income and heavily black people leave, children attend public schools (H. J. Nikole 2). In locations where people are poor and largely populated with the blacks, children undergo public education. Largely, all nearby public educational institutions get named after the people who are focused to uplift social status of the blacks. In these locations, public schools offer a disturbing reflection of how racial prejudice and socioeconomic divisions create a rift amongst the New York City’s people (Nikole 4). In Mr. Josh Anderson’s teachings, children who learn in public schools are Latino and black, and come from very humble backgrounds. Surprisingly, public schools reflect marginalization of children in the states.
Also, Mr. Josh Anderson transformed my view about private education and schools positively. Prior to his lesson, I did not understand that middle class people, whether white or black, sent their children to schools based on racial prejudice and social level. Middle class people and the wealth secure seats for their children in private schools which are more diverse and economically strong magnet institutions (Nikole 6). Private schools offer talented-and-gifted programs to children. White private schools charge hefty tuition fees that the poor black parents cannot afford. Before the lesson, I felt that all parents can afford education for their children in any institution of their choice. While this proposition is true, Mr. Josh Anderson helped me understand that the whites come up with other strategies of making it unreachable by some black parents.
Racial identity and education segregate children from public and private schools. Parents find it difficult to make a choice of whether to send their children to private or public schools (H. J. Nikole 12). Past experience reveals that there are even public schools that serve only Americans and other whites. As such, children who undergo such education have unusual experiences and interactions with black American children. Due to racial bias, the white children and Americans never attend segregated institutions in their entire life (Nikole 10). Division of the blacks from the whites in education has been real, and Mr. Josh Anderson firmly affirms to that proposition. Public schools and education are characterized of distressingly chaotic and mainly preserved for the blacks and other low-income earners.
[place-order]
In most cases, very few white children study in segregated public schools with the blacks. However, Mr. John Anderson has helped me understand that there is certain voluntary desegregation programs organized to allow black children join white associated schools. As a matter of fact, establishing separate schools for white and black kids is unconstitutional, and close to the height of desegregation in the world. Before the lesson, I thought that exposure to whiter education puts children in a better position when it comes to job opportunities (Nikole 3). This is because most well-up families even the blacks chose to take their kids in the richest and whitest schools thinking that this offers the best opportunities for them. However, I changed my perception by understanding that it is through determination, focus, and hard work that success comes.
Surprisingly, there is lack of racial diversity in white schools that allow admission of black kids. White private schools allow only a small number of black children to be integrated in their education system (Nikole 15). Mr. John Anderson has helped me understand that these “transformative and integrative” schools and disproportionately white and serve the upper and middle social class people, with discrimination and bias against the poor Latino and black kids hence lack of diversity. However, some white parents prefer to take their kids in schools that integrate racial diversity in their education system (Nikole 11). Aside from academics, such parents’ value experience of children of color, for this helps their children to understand the value of race.
A good example is the New York City public-school that features 16 percent Asian, 41 percent Latino, and 27 percent black (Nikole 7). Approximately 75 percent of the children come from poor families. This example depicts that most public schools are the most segregated in the U.S. More isolation is centered to Latino and Black who attend the intensively segregated education system. Recent research shows that segregated schools have less experienced teachers, facilities, instructional materials, and advanced courses (Nikole 10). As a result of this, academic achievement gap between the whites and the blacks continues to widen.
In conclusion, I can thank Mr. Josh Anderson for my current understanding about racial identity and education, both private and public. Today, I understand that most Latino and black kids are segregated by both social class and race, an integration that wreaks havoc in the current education systems and learning environments. As such, racial prejudice and aspects of social class need to be alleviated given its unconstitutional nature and the dangers it poses to socioeconomic growth of the world at large.
Work Cited
Nikole, Hannah J. “The Resegregation of Jefferson County.” Devin Yalkin for The New York Times (2017): 2-12. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/06/magazine/the-resegregation-of-jefferson-county.html
Nikole, Hannah-Jones. “Choosing a School for My Daughter in a Segregated City.” The New York Times Magazine (2016): 1-21. Document. <https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/magazine/choosing-a-school-for-my-daughter-in-a-segregated-city.html?rref%EF%BC%9Dcollection%2Fbyline%2Fnikole-hannah-jones&action%EF%BC%9Dclick&contentCollection%EF%BC%9Dundefined®ion%EF%BC%9Dstream&module%EF%BC%9Dst>.
[place-order-2]