Imagine the feeling of living in a Jim Crow south after the Civil War. In Richard Wright’s autobiography “Black Boy”, he illustrates his life as he tries to understand the segregated and white dictated world he lives in. Throughout the story he asks questions to others and himself to attempt at understanding the world. Since the book is an autobiography it allows the reader to take a front row seat with the story. “Black Boy” is one of the many books that were challenged for a myriad of reasons. Those reasons ranging from political to religious. Although the book was accused for multiple offenses some teachers and students think the book still holds value.…
Susan Eaton, the author of The Children in Room E4: American Education on Trial, writes narrative brilliantly. She starts the book by introducing a Puerto Rican boy, Jeremy Otero, who lives in the inner city of Hartford. Over the course of the book, Eaton follows him and his classmates’ third, fourth and fifth grade trajectories at the racially segregated Simpson-Waverly Elementary School. Every so often, she switches to following the Sheff v. O’Neill case from the 1990’s. Initially, this book is engaging; Eaton’s writing style contains a subtle touch of humor alongside her clear messages. I especially enjoyed the way she carefully crafted the images in Jeremy’s world. The first time Eaton meets Jeremy, she describes him as a “chubby, grinning third grader waddling up the corridor toward us [who was] too wide for little boy clothes [but] too short for bigger sizes” (7). The image of the child Eaton immediately brought to my mind stayed with me for the rest of the book, and made me feel connected to the children on a more personal level. By the end of the book, I really cared about the children in room E4. I wanted them to succeed in their lives, despite the heavily stacked odds against them. My favorite parts of the book were the parts that included the kids and their vivacious teacher, Ms. Lois Luddy, who won Hartford’s Teacher of the Year Award in 2002. She really pushed Jeremy’s class to succeed, battling the expectations set in place for the children entering these very racially segregated schools.…
As the reader reads they will see that the author talks about people not wanting to face reality. Also teens speaking out on how they feel about their situation and how the education value from one race to another is extremely different. In the text the author lets the reader know that most people are not open to talk about segregation and some just do not want to. "…
The readings this week all fell under the category of education and society. The first essay, Frederick Douglass’s “Learning to Read and Write”, illustrated his efforts to become literate while being a slave. The following essay, Richard Rodriguez’s “The Lonely, Good Company of Books”, told of his unlikely passion for reading and how he overcame the loneliness he associated with it. Susan Jacoby’s, “When Bright Girls Decide That Math is ‘a Waste of Time’”, addresses the phenomenon of young girls giving up on their math studies. Finally, Clayborne Carson’s, “Two Cheers for Brown V. Board of Education” weighs the benefits and drawbacks of integration resulting from Brown V. Board of Education. This essay is going to discuss the intended audience of these writings, along with dissecting the tones and techniques of the authors.…
because it is published by the source, the url is not personal, and it includes several authors…
When studying the history of American education, it is established that minorities have faced immense difficulties around the same time period. While reviewing the Latino and African American experience, it appears that both races encountered major complications around 1950. In the reading American Me by Beatrice Griffith, it is evident that in 1948 Mexican Americans struggled with a great amount of racism in schools. Around the same time in the 1950s, Septima Clark wrote Ready From Within, which illustrated Clark’s experience as a teacher in America’s segregated society. Both pieces were written by people who witnessed extreme racism yet share completely different stories that give insight of intolerance…
Within this essay, there are many uses of rhetorical appeals including logos, pathos, and ethos. Jonathan Kozol uses reasoning, or logos, to prove that the education systems of today are still as separated and unequal for students based on the color of their skin or their race, as they were 50 years ago. An example of this is when Kozol informs us of the exact percentages of students by race in schools across the country, “In Chicago 87% of public-school enrolment was black or Hispanic; less than 10% was white. In Washington D.C., 94% black or Hispanic; to less than 5% white. In New York City, nearly three quarters of the students were black or Hispanic.” (Kozol 202) Using statistics and facts really make this issue apparent, and show us just how real this problem in America is. Another…
The Columbine High School Shooting allowed for advanced security among schools all over the United States. As claimed by a 2007 report from the National Center for Education Statistics and the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “there have been about half as many deaths per year since Columbine as in the seven school years before the tragedy…school homicides dropped from 33 in the 1998-1999 school year to 13 in the 1999-2000 year” (CITE). We have improved security and stricter rules to blame for this. National statistics also show an increase in public schools closely monitoring or locking their doors (CITE). After the violent massacre, most schools put in common security upgrades, such as “metal detectors, security cameras, required ID badges,…
Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. a teacher in Riceville Iowa, Jane Elliot wanted to show her students what it means to discriminate against someone. They had just named Martin Luther King Jr. as their “Hero of the month” and no one could understand what would compel someone to assassinate someone so good. She wanted to let her students understand what it’s like to be discriminated against and what it was like to discriminate against people, letting the students experience both sides of these situations. Truly showing the evils that exist in everyone.…
Aronson, Wilson and Akert define modern racism as outwardly acting unprejudiced while maintaining prejudiced attitudes. They see it as a softened expression rather than reality. For example, no longer are the risks inherent in the public exhibition of racism promulgated by bigots. They are often veiled in rationalized responses that promote their underlying bias without calling attention to or exposing the real root of their motivations. School desegregation in Raleigh, NC right now has become a battle over a busing issue that many…
America’s history is wrought with slavery and racism. This issue of racial discrimination and bias, as well as the treatment of others of different backgrounds, has led to countless debates and even the Civil War. Of course, history shows that this “civil” war was not actually civil. This war succeeded in resolving and banning slavery, yet it brought into dispute the issue of equality. Twenty years later, Mark Twain’s book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was published, showcasing the treatment of slaves in the past and illuminating the hypocrisy present in society. However, this book is one of the most controversial in America. When first published, it was banned by many. In fact, The Philadelphia Board of Education in 1957 replaced the…
Los Angeles is a busy city that has a lot of great places to visit. For example, restaurants, little places to shop and most important educational places like the Museum of Tolerance. I chose the museum of tolerance to write my new assignment for my class because the name fascinated me and it is a place where I can go with my family. This museum gives examples of tolerance to its visitors by the setups it has inside. The museum is located on the west side of Los Angeles on Pico Boulevard. To enter this museum is not easy, they have checked by security two times before you go inside the building. They check you at the entrance of the parking lot and again after you pay for your tickets…
Mansfield, E., & Kehoe, J. (1994). A critical examination of anti-racist education. Canadian Journal of Education, 19(4), 418-430.…
For centuries, racism has been defined by the face of man and the skin color that coats it. Derogatory terms, such as the N-word, dehumanize minority races, maintaining a mental acceptance and continuing segregation throughout society. As most can concur, the N-word holds a unique title within the English vocabulary. In such order, it is extremely taboo to the extent where it is not even whispered in a conservative atmosphere. On the other hand, younger generations exploit the N-word so frequently in various expressions that it has taken on a new life beyond its origins of insult. Nonetheless, Dr. Emily Bernard, a black American professor, wanted to leave a lasting impression on her students as she expressed in her article “Teaching the N-Word.” Was teaching the N-word to her all-white lectures viewed as admirable or arrogant in regard to her initial purpose? In fact, her intentions of “teaching and transforming” her students were extremely admirable in this case because she allowed her students to learn and relate beyond the use of the N-word through receptivity, defense, and advocacy tactics throughout the semester.…
In today’s modernized world, it is crucial to be able to comprehend and recognize conflicts dealing with racial tensions due to the increased growth of diversity in nations all over the world. Countries like North America are inhabited by people of different backgrounds, cultures, and colors. Since there is intermingling among everyone, the differences between the diverse ethnic backgrounds could stir up trouble which can lead to serious skirmishes like Watts Rebellion in 1965. To prevent and weaken the strength of racial tension, the citizens of the United States must be educated about racial problems before being released into the real world. The best approach towards racial equity begins in the classroom and through literature which is where the book Beloved comes into the picture. Beloved fits ideally into the UCLA principles of community one being “We acknowledge that modern societies carry historical and divisive biases based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation and religion, and we seek to promote awareness and understanding through education and research and to mediate and resolve conflicts that arise from these biases in our communities.”…