Introduction
There are multiple definitions of racism as well as different perspectives. According to the oxford dictionary, racism is an advanced set of attitude that involves resentment based on the superiority of a particular group or an individual towards other supposed inferior groups or persons. Racism is solely premised on either the skin color or racial affiliation. In that sense, racism is relatively high in numerous educational institutional and is a real issue that consistently hits numerous social networks. Racist attitudes are critical issues as they can appear in any ethnic group and negatively implicate the current potential custom of multi-cultural education. Racism creeps in educational institutions mainly due to cultural differences, which affect the academic performance of the minority groups being subjected to the prejudice. In the past few years, there have been recorded multiple cases of racism in numerous educational institutions, particularly high schools. Against that background, this essay provides a discussion on the various race related issues faced by minority groups in high schools and the strategic measures that should be adopted in curbing this problem.
Most of the Minority groups attend isolated and different schools from other groups. For instance, the African-American and Latino students in the United States attend high-poverty institutions compared to Asian Americans and Caucasians. In that light, this factor marks the first steps towards racial inequality and low socioeconomic status. In 2011, The National Centre for Education Statistics released a report that asserted that high school dropouts of Latinos were the highest, followed by that of African Americans and American Indians (Kahlenberg, 2012). However, the core issue of these high rates of minority students’ dropouts can be traced back to race-related challenges and as well racial disparities. In addition to the racist challenges faced by these minority groups in high school, they experience the reality of low socioeconomic status, where the various schools they attend lack essential resources necessary for elevating their performance. In that sense, it introduces another critical difficulty faced by these students; inequity, which is widely depicted and present in these institutions. For that reason, the American society, and its education systems have become comfortable with the unfair systems of unequal benefits in these schools (Howard, 2015). Furthermore, African American students with great academic performance are forced to attend high schools with limited resources and less extracurricular activities. In that sense, they achieve low academic performance with their teachers expecting less from them and are okay with it.
There should be further strategic measures employed by high school teachers in the instance a parent or a student raises concerns over unfair treatment based on race or ethnicity. There have been numerous cases of a false alarm on racism, and for that reason, teachers should find a better definition of it that fully covers what racism pertains (Cox, 2012). Through forming model policies that broadly describe prejudice and racism; they would directly enlighten students and their parents on social injustices, further meeting racial needs. With such policies in place, it would increase discipline not only among students but also among their parents, thus reducing racial conflicts in high school institutions. High school teachers should adopt another strategic measure through establishing a general language to be adopted in high school institutions. With such a policy in place, it would provide every student with the opportunity to express their concerns freely as well as influencing positive interaction among them (Cox, 2012). On the same note, the various minority groups in high school would feel appreciated and respected, thus creating a serene learning environment.
Conclusion
As revealed in the above discussion, racism and prejudice is a major challenge among high school institutions. As mentioned, racism has for a long time been discussed in various social networks, thus making it a common issue. Many minority groups come from poor ethnic backgrounds. Therefore, they have been forced to attend high-poverty institutions with limited resources thus affecting their academic performance. This paper has identified other race-related challenges faced by these minority students and offered strategic measures to be adopted by high school teachers in curbing these issues.
References
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Cox, N. L. (2013). School Integration Reform-a Call for Desegregation Policies That Are More than Skin Deep. UALR L. Rev., 36, 123.
Howard, T. C. (2015). Why race and culture matter in schools: Closing the achievement gap in America's classrooms. Teachers College Press.
Kahlenberg, R. D. (2012). The Future of School Integration: Socioeconomic Diversity as an Education Reform Strategy. Century Foundation. 41 East 70th Street, New York, NY 10021.
Snyder, T. D., & Dillow, S. A. (2012). Digest of education statistics 2011. National Center for Education Statistics.
Tukachinsky, R., Mastro, D., & Yarchi, M. (2015). Documenting Portrayals of Race/Ethnicity on Primetime Television over a 20‐Year Span and Their Association with National‐Level Racial/Ethnic Attitudes. Journal of Social Issues, 71(1), 17-38.
