There IS Racism in Education

I argue that there is racism in education in America. Racism in education to me means that people who aren't necessarily white get an education in this country, sort of by tradition, that isn't as good as people who are white. For example, in the ghettos of the Bronx and Manhattan, you can go around and see that the schools are in bad shape, they need to be repaired, they need to be fixed and brought up to code, and the kids in those schools may really want to learn. But society views them as some kind of burden, kids who will turn out as a part of the ghetto with no goals, no hopes, no dreams. But the kids in those schools are viewed as a part of their environment, and no one really feels that they have a chance to succeed or make it. People often become what society believes they will become. If that's the case, the kids in the neighborhood my family's from in the Bronx have no hope what so ever. They will believe that they are doomed in this weird way to fail because they can have no expectations if society has no expectations for them. Racism is in education isn't just the obvious, like people using racial slurs against those who can't defend themselves. It's about expectations and only about that. If we expect someone will not do well because they are Latino, Black, or even white and poor, they won't do well. And society has made it so that we have little other choice. Society has taught us that in the end, only those with money and power will succeed and that others will work for them. Education is the solution to that problem. An educated kid from the ghetto has the chance to challenge that believe in society, an educated kid from the ghetto has the chance to rise to the top of the corporate ladder, or become a teacher or a principal and give back to those who can't succeed without a lot of help, guidance, and effort. But if education is the way forward for the poor and the oppressed, then that means that those with money and power have an interest in making sure the poor don't become educated, because if they do, the poor may rise up and be able to basically compete with wealthy white kids and maybe even over take them in their goals, beating them out for jobs. If we believe that people can succeed despite the challenges in front of them, regardless of their color or ethnic background, then they have a better chance at success. It really is that simple. If we believe that they will stay where they are because they are a certain color or ethnicity, then they will stay in whatever position in life they are. Again, it's really that simple. Teachers who aren't in tune with the culture of the students they teach, who may be from the outside of that culture, may not believe that people who don't look like them can succeed. In a way, that's tragic. As a Latino, I had teachers who believed in me and many who didn't, but the teachers who did believe in me made all the difference. They didn't really look like me, but they got the challenges I was facing because they looked beyond ethnicity and race and believed in me. I'm not saying that white teachers are all racist, I'm saying that for the poor and those who aren't white to succeed, they have to have teachers and administrators in front of them who believe that they can succeed despite the many obstacles in front of them. I've definitely had Latino teachers who looked like me and understood the cultural background I come from, but who thought I didn't really have a chance at success not because I was Latino but because I fit the stereotype of what they thought was failure. I had white teachers who got my culture and also got the challenges I was facing, and it was those teachers who understood where I was coming from who helped me succeed. So there is racism in education, because people think "those kids" won't make it. "Those kids" won't make it if they don't have someone around them who believes in them for who and what they are.