It's 2022, why are schools still segregated?
I realized through this module content that there is a much greater problem at hand than just racial segregation. I see now that there is now segregation between male and female, whites, and blacks, religious and unreligious, and poor and wealthy. There are many more categories that have an extreme divide, and this realization is tragic but not surprising. I have seen this divide in high school and now in college. So why is it that black students are being marginalized and set at a much slower and unsuccessful pace compared to white students? This unaddressed school segregation has created a bigger performance gap and squashed hopes of equal opportunity.
Most schools nowadays are divided primarily on race and socioeconomic status. Many schools have a population of predominantly white students that come from wealthy backgrounds. Most of these students are in gated communities with higher money and manpower for their schools. Other schools, on the other hand, are more varied in terms of ethnicity and culture. Their schools aren't as fortunate, and they don't have the resources they need to completely acquire the education they want and need. Even when laws prohibiting segregation were enacted, the norm was already established during the period in which segregation was implemented. While we as teachers can't do enough to fix this all, we can influence the amount of knowledge these students receive in order to deliver the same curriculum as those in high-income wealthier school districts. It may be difficult, but it is worth a try to combat racial segregation in schools.
Hello Avery!
ReplyDeleteWhen you said "we as teachers can't do enough," it really spoke to me. It makes me consider what the role of a teacher has evolved into. Schools have become so much more than just education centers, they are now a cog in the machine of social welfare and justice. Our children depend on our schools to provide them with equity, and as teachers our job can no longer end at making sure our students know the curriculum. Teachers now have to take on the role of social justice warriors. This term has accumulated some negative connotation, but it's the best way to put it. We must fight for social justice for our kids, not only while we are within the four walls of the school, but every where we walk in life. We must fight for equity for the adults in their lives too. Redlining and the aftermath of unequally distributed generational wealth is a pure example of how institutionalized racism will bleed over and impact our students if we don't do anything to stop it. As teachers we cannot do much, but once we realize ourselves in the role of social justice warriors the work has only just begun. There is so much more that we can do.
Hi Tori, thank you for your feedback! I agree, it's so true that a big burden is put on teachers to fill every role that a kid needs in their life. This isn't attainable but we can do our best to help solutions be brought to light in these areas.
DeleteHey Avery!
ReplyDeleteI agree that there really is nothing we can do to fix the whole system and that is why I like your blogs because you focus on helping the children that you can reach. When you take a look at the entire system and see how broken it really is, it is easy to feel discouraged and feel like giving up. There have been many times even this year that I have wondered if it is even worth it to be a teacher anymore because I feel so helpless. While we can't fix the entire system, we can make sure that each child in our classes get the same resources and opportunities. We can also be allies for other children in our schools to be able to fix little injustices that they face everyday. Thank you for your blog post!
Hi Priya, I also am discouraged when looking at the entire system and seeing how corrupt it all is. I think that this intimidation comes from a place of knowing we as teachers wouldn't be able to do enough to fix it.
DeleteHi Avery! I agree with you there is now segregation seen in a lot of things other than racial segregation. Schools that are primarily of white students with wealthy backgrounds are able to afford better resources for their students and hire better teachers for the students. While the schools with middle and lower class students can not afford those things they are sometimes given the minimum, which is what they can afford. I agree with you, we as teachers can not fix all these problems but we can make the most with the resources and material we are given. We can make our best efforts to give the students a similar education to what the wealthier districts are giving to their kids so our students are not missing out. We are the voices for our students! I enjoyed reading your blog this week, thank you for sharing your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteHi Emily, thank you for replying! I agree that we can all make our best efforts in our own ways to help fix this problem but at the end of the day this rests in the hands of people in higher positions than us.
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