James Bogenschutz
Eng 102
Dr. Parker
16 June 2015
School Discrimination
For many
years we have been fighting for equality and correct treatment and it is
saddening to see how people are being discriminated on a day to day basis and
some do not even report it. Discrimination varies anywhere from gender to race
and it can have long lasting effects to those who experience it. “Perceptions
of racial discrimination have been shown to negatively influence developmental outcomes
for Black youth, such as diminished mental health, increased risky behaviors,
and diminished academic achievement among African-American adolescents” (Seaton
and Douglas 156). This quote focuses on educational school discrimination
towards African American youth and I can only imagine how difficult it is to go
through discrimination. Especially in school, when one does not feel
comfortable with our surroundings we tend to fall into depression and seek to
stay away from that place. This is where this kind of discrimination could
affect the future of the person because they might not want to finish their
school simply to get out of there. According to the article American Schools
are Still Racist, Government Report Finds by Joy Resmovits, “Students of color get less access to
high level courses. Black students in particular get less instructional time
because they're far more likely to receive out of school suspensions or
expulsions” (Resmovits). It is embarrassing to hear about these things
because we as Americans consider ourselves as superior in many things and this
includes equality, even though we are somewhat far from it. We have to find a
way to fix the way we are treating other people especially in school because
things like these can lead to mental issues such as depression, low
self-esteem, and aggression towards others. The overall issue is that we should
be paying more attention to our education system because education is extremely
important.
Works Cited
Resmovits, Joy. “American Schools are Still Racist,
Government Report Finds.” The Huffington
Post. n.p. 21 March 2014. Web. 17 June 2015.
Seaton, Eleanor K., and Sara Douglass. "School
Diversity And Racial Discrimination Among African-American Adolescents." Cultural
Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology 20.2 (2014): 156-165. Academic
Search Premier. Web. 17 June 2015.
Discrimination is something that has plagued this country, and the world, since the beginning of time. It's sad that as we have advanced in society this issue still persists. As you mentioned this can take a toll on an individual who is a victim of discrimination especially during the developmental years. This is something that should easily be eliminated in controlled environments such as schools. But, as your posts says, this is a place where it's happening frequently. A school should be a place where kids can feel safe and free from persecution.
ReplyDeleteAdam Hamilton