Understand
West City School has many tensions due to the racial composition of its students and staff (Lewis, 2003). Students and teachers of color are put at a disadvantage by a white majority, who do not recognize racial issues. The school discourages discussions of racism, subsequently perpetuating the cycle of white dominance to the detriment of racial minorities.
Apply
The idea that students of color underperform due to inadequate learning conditions is the one I was able to personally observe in my school. Those students that were not white were treated as incapable of handling the program. The reality is that their living conditions did not allow for concentration on studies, thus hinging their performance.
Connect
The chapter showcases white parents who are ignorant of racial tension. In contrast, black parents immediately pointed out how the question of race influences their lives. Rattansi (2007) points out that the decreasing number of Westerners acknowledge being racist. This also happens because of them not seeing the differences in living compared to people of color.
Analyze
The problem of ignoring racial tensions also stems from the geography of races in cities. As mentioned above, Rattansi (2007) observed the deficit of confessions to having a racist attitude. Partially it can be explained by the way parts of cities and towns are populated. West City also has students of color that live in the suburbs, while white students reside in proximity to the school with its white stuff. This is why white parents claim that their lives are not influenced by racism – their immediate surroundings do not have non-white people accentuating the issue. As a result, the problem perseveres and exacerbates because white people do not talk about it.
Evaluate
The correlation between racial geography and willingness to discuss racial issues compels me to question the rationality of segregating people based on race. It makes the problem worse because it means that only white people can enjoy adequate living conditions. Maybe separation would not be such a burning issue if areas, where people of color live, were equally accommodated.
Create
- I would like to see a discussion on how white people perceive themselves. Do they think that the discontent of minorities is unreasonable?
- I would like to explore what compels the city’s authorities to populate their towns based on the racial attribute. Do they believe it would prevent conflict because they do not see each other in proximity?
References
Lewis, A.E. (2003). Race in the schoolyard: Negotiating the color line in classrooms and communities [eBook edition]. Rutgers University Press.
Rattansi, A. (2007). Racism: A Very Short Introduction [eBook edition]. Oxford University Press.