The vital issues in this case are; the existence and manifestation of racism in the classroom, its effect on the students, as well as their teachers. Another crucial issue is the general behavior of the students, with regard to their rude disposition.
The students are rude and discriminative. Their language, while addressing each other, is abusive and degrading. This language is used without any evidence of a justified confrontation and with lack of remorse. Words used such as ‘slow’, ‘comically stupid’ and ‘moron’ imply that the students think of themselves as more superior and use such shunning and degrading words to set themselves apart from the group they look down upon. They also shun the new boy, Roland and segregate him by not only ignoring his existence, but by also moving his desks away from their group simply because he is a black. They are also uncooperative and disunited.
This is evidenced by the length of time taken by the students to group themselves, and the reasons they cite for not wanting to belong to a certain group. When confronted about this issue, they turn on the offensive saying that the whole exercise was pointless. This is a clear indication of disrespect towards authority. They state that this is how they act with one another, implying that this was routine behavior, and they saw nothing wrong with insulting one another.
They are unhelpful and disrespectful. The students were unwilling to clean up after themselves. They felt that it was not their responsibility to clean the space they used and that it was that of a maid or a janitor. They were also extremely disrespectful to their teacher and rendered all his efforts futile.
This behavior is most likely caused by the upbringing of the students. Taking into consideration that the ages of the students are between 10 and 11 years, the most influence in their lives is from their parents.
The behavior of their parents and the language they use with their children and other people influences their speech and behavior. The reasons the students gave for not wanting to clean after themselves was that they did not do it at home. This clearly demonstrates that the home environment significantly contributes to the character of the child. The comments made by the principal indicate that the children in question are spoilt, and their actions are never questioned.
This could be a contributing factor because it creates a situation where the parents have the last word, and this discourages the disciplining of their children. The fact that parents can come to school and pick their children without being questioned creates an air of impunity.
The persistence of this behavior is due to the inaction taken by the teachers. Their role in disciplining the children should be assertive. The administration should not condone the actions of the parents. This encourages disregard of authority by both parents and students. This behavior should also be curbed at an early age, while the child’s behavior can still be molded.
The teachers should engage in activities that encourage interaction between students. This could be done through engaging activities that will allow the different students to show case their different cultures. This will encourage appreciation of different cultures. Such behavior should be highlighted and seriously punished. Any language that was discriminatory or offensive ought to be discouraged. Teachers should have a clear policy on equality and non-discrimination.
Work Cited
“RelativeResourceManager.”webct.sfu.ca. N.p., n.d. 2011.