Reflective Essay On Racial Experience
I am from St. Louis Missouri. My experience with racism has always been between black and white. From fifth grade age 10 to my senior year age 18 I attended predominantly white schools with only one or two black people in each class. Not any Asians or Hispanics. I am very aware of African American being treated unfairly due to race. What I learned from this chapter is that other races of color also feel the intimidation of White people. It is not just African American that feels racial prejudice. I agree with the statement “racial issues are not about physical skin color but rather stem from the meaning and value people assign to skin color”. I learned that people of color (not just African American) are publically labeled with descriptions
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At the beginning of the year I had 17 students all African American. I remember when a Hispanic mother and her daughter were looking for her child’s classroom right outside my door. I went to the door to offer assistance. I immediately told her that her class was down the hall directing her to the bilingual class. The mother looked at me and showed me her papers that said room 124 which was me. I apologized and told her that she was at the right place. I was so nervous for her being the only Hispanic in the room. I was also nervous for myself. I never taught any other race. Am I going to be able to develop a relationship with this child? I was comfortable with black kids; I just treated them like my own. Can that philosophy work with the Hispanic girl? Two weeks later another Hispanic girl came. Great I thought they can be together. I had them sit at the same table and always made them partners. One day one of them asks if she could be someone else partner. I said sure. Later a Hispanic boy joined our class. I soon learned that they needed what all the other kids wanted love and made to feel special. They gave me a thousand hugs just like the blacks students. What changes would I make at my school based on this information and timeline? I know that teachers are prepared to teach students. Many times we may not know teachers background or experiences with other races. Perhaps this should
At the beginning of the year I had 17 students all African American. I remember when a Hispanic mother and her daughter were looking for her child’s classroom right outside my door. I went to the door to offer assistance. I immediately told her that her class was down the hall directing her to the bilingual class. The mother looked at me and showed me her papers that said room 124 which was me. I apologized and told her that she was at the right place. I was so nervous for her being the only Hispanic in the room. I was also nervous for myself. I never taught any other race. Am I going to be able to develop a relationship with this child? I was comfortable with black kids; I just treated them like my own. Can that philosophy work with the Hispanic girl? Two weeks later another Hispanic girl came. Great I thought they can be together. I had them sit at the same table and always made them partners. One day one of them asks if she could be someone else partner. I said sure. Later a Hispanic boy joined our class. I soon learned that they needed what all the other kids wanted love and made to feel special. They gave me a thousand hugs just like the blacks students. What changes would I make at my school based on this information and timeline? I know that teachers are prepared to teach students. Many times we may not know teachers background or experiences with other races. Perhaps this should