Essay Sample on Racism in Schools

Blatant racial superiority is a root cause of several issues which relate to oppression. The roots of this complex idea have been a part of humankind for centuries, and despite the progression within our society it remains to be a problem. School systems are some of the most affected parts of society when it comes to these issues. This is best represented within Chana Joffe-Walt’s podcast “Nice White Parents” where she uncovers the truth behind the struggles that non-white members of society must face within the education system. White people within the education system continue to oppress people of colour, leading to harsh school conditions, unjust treatment of students, and segregation. Despite the efforts being made to fight against racial problems, schools continue to favour white students, strict systems create further disadvantages, and white people hesitate to send their children to diverse schools. As society moves forward, these issues need to be acknowledged, so that awareness can result in change.

A large amount of ethically wrong incidents are happening within many schools today, yet they are not brought to light. There is an imbalance when it comes to convenience and accessibility for people of colour. Notably, a significant amount of non-white students are treated in very a disrespectful manner within schools that are considered to have high standards. Specifically, children with coloured skin are punished more severely than, suppose, white children. This harmful treatment is presented within the podcast when speaking of the reformation of a school’s system, “They analyzed achievement data, discipline data, where they could see that the school punished Black boys more harshly than other students”(“Here’s Another Fun Thing You Can Do” 38:09-24). The oppression that these children face at school due to racist ideals is extremely evident, as demonstrated by this instance, schools can track the imbalance of punishments. This further relates to white oppression through means such as underlying racist ideals that are present within school systems today. Adding on, people of colour are often at a high disadvantage when it comes to education in general. Due to implications and racial stereotypes, as well as biases. These leave minority groups with a significantly smaller amount of resources than white people, causing them to become inconvenienced a majority of the time. These disadvantages are demonstrated when discussing stricter schooling systems. In an attempt to stop segregation, Success Academy designed a system that ended up accommodating and appealing to only white people. Once again, indirectly segregating BIPOC (“Here’s Another Fun Thing You Can Do” 13:02-13:20). To implement a strict system which parents had to follow to send their children to school is unreasonable. Being aware of the fact that people of colour are already at a disadvantage, whether it be socially, or economically, these expectations are difficult for parents to meet, thus leading to fewer children of colour attending Success Academy. Although not directly, these factors play a large role in the opportunities given to people of colour, demonstrating the oppression that they must face even in a school setting.

The stigma around BIPOC is a very prominent issue within humankind. White people are deemed to be more desirable and placed on thrones so high that they begin to accept their superiority. Namely, schools that are known to be more prestigious than others prefer white people students. A majority of well-known schools are more concerned about the loss of their white students as opposed to their students of colour. This creates an extremely harmful environment and pushes children of colour away from potential opportunities. “They equated that with school quality. If you lost white students, your achievement levels would go down, right? Your schools would be less attractive places for teachers to come into because when they thought teachers, they thought white teachers and a whole bunch of spillover effects would happen — what the graduation rates would look like” (“This Is Our School, How Dare you?” 12:06-35). It is concerning to know that schools have such a high preference for white children, but the other side of this idea demonstrates the low regard and care they have for BIPOC. This idea further expresses the power white people hold, as it is strong enough to rip the attention away from those who require it the most. Furthermore, due to the power held by them, white people continue to remain hesitant while sending their children to schools that may be filled by BIPOC as the majority. This further creates an incentive for these schools to either shut down or not receive enough funding to maintain a proper education system for their students. Within the podcast, a white parent states; “I’m not — I’m not sure how well educated they were, or — you know, I don’t know. (“I Still Believe In It” 38:12-24)” This statement is about children of colour at a school and presents the hesitation that white parents feel while having to send their child to this school. The white parent is aware of the power that they have, and they base their assumptions regarding children of colour on stereotypes and racial justice. In all, there is a clear link between the power and superiority complex that white people have. The lead cause of this is society’s tendency to create a racial hierarchy, as well as centuries of racism.

Moreover, the severe difference in quality and conditions of primarily white schools and schools that provide education to most students of colour is dangerous. This is the most impactful result of irregular school systems. It is regularly made clear that segregation within schools is an extremely sensitive topic, and stems mostly from the defunding and lack of attention toward children of colour and their education. Segregation is something that white parents often complain about, yet as mentioned earlier, they hesitate to help develop change when they are not being benefited. “Imee feared that each year, more and more white families come into SIS until it just became like the other segregated middle schools, where all the white parents fought to enroll their kids” (“Here’s Another Fun Thing You Can Do” 32:05-19). Although white parents fear segregation within their schools, there is little accommodation for BIPOC, as well as little attention or funding towards primary BIPOC schools. This in turn leads to the opposite of what they desire, and small segregated school communities develop naturally. Segregation itself is able to create division and hierarchy, leading to the many inconveniences that students of colour must face today. Consequently, the inconveniences mentioned are detrimental to the quality of education, and quality of life that students of colour are forced to deal with. Several schools that are ignored, potentially due to demographics have dangerous conditions that are oftentimes overlooked. “The toilet was a thing that looked like horse stalls. And then it had one long board with holes cut in it. And then you’d have to go and use the toilet, but you couldn’t flush it. The water would come down periodically and flush, you know, whatever’s there. Now imagine what this is like, you know, dumping waste on top of waste that’s sitting there waiting, you know, accumulating till the water comes. This was why this place smelled so bad.” (“The Book Of Statuses” 42:38-59). The sheer severity of the health code violations along with the lack of care for these schools was extremely dangerous. These quality issues would become further reasoning for white parents to keep their children away from these schools, despite them having the power to help create change and push towards progression. Given these points, it's essential to understand the potential available for change to occur that is being wasted. Specifically, the fact that white parents are very much able to help these less developed schools become equally equipped to provide all children with a well-rounded education.

Racial hierarchy is blamed for many of the prevalent issues faced within school systems today. The inconveniencing towards people of colour puts them at a further disadvantage and leads to isolated and dangerous conditions, white innocence and supremacy, and unfair race-based inconveniences. Racism at its core has, once again, been a part of human history for an unpleasant amount of time. The sense of supremacy and superiority that has been developed as a product of this discrimination must be eradicated. The only method to end segregation and unjust treatment of BIPOC is equity and acknowledgment. Only then, is it possible for one to live in a society that is truthful to itself and those within it.