Racisms Against African American and Its Impacts on Academic Performance Essay Example
Planning the Policy Brief
Americas believes and values are that education is the key to a successful and comfortable life. This belief has inspired American to strive for academic excellence. The right to education is meant to be fully enjoyed by all American children. However, many question whether racial discrimination in public schools affects the academic performance of African American students’ and whether African students strain academically in comparison to the white. The United States policy to eliminate separate public schools for blacks and white was enacted with the aim of ending segregation in public school (Anderson and Byrne, 2004).
Despite such ruling, there is still lack of equality in education .All races are born equal in dignity and enjoys equal rights and opportunities in all aspects of life be it socially, intellectually, economically or politically
.... The government enactment of “No child Left Behind” Act does not prevent the African American from underperforming and thus the reason as to why it calls for a change. The government needs to fully recognize its duties to protect the rights of the racially discriminated Americans and integrate universal human rights standards into the domestic legal system. Education equality should focus on elevating the performance as well as the achievements of all the students to reduce the difference between the lowest and highest achieving students.
Who Can Take the Action
As much as a lot has been done to end inequality, accurate teaching measures that reduces the achievement difference between the blacks and the white has not been attained. Students tend to perform well if the kind of relationship they have with their teachers is positive, a phenomenon that often reveals that th
students’ performance is influenced by the manner in which teachers socialize with them. It is thus important for teachers to involve themselves in learning more about their students and eliminating certain assumptions that makes some students smarter than others (Baldwin, 1985). School Administrators should for instance implement effective plans that emphasize on offering student what they need to prosper academically through recognizing diversity and putting in place learning and teaching methods mechanism that eliminates the differences. Parents will also be involved as they will be required to offer support by ensuring stronger family communication and involvement in students’ academic success. Community members also need to be involved as they provide students with a link to their community. This helps students see their worth and usefulness to the community, thus empowering them and building relationships with other adults. This will cause the students to feel much appreciated.
Why This Action Should be Taken - What Issue is it Addressing
According to researchers, African American students experiences racial difficulties throughout their life. This significantly contributes to low self esteem. The impacts of low self are what have actually triggered poor academic performance among African American students. Altschul, Oyserman & Bybee (2006) reveals that the abilities and attitudes assumptions about the black students strengthen racial discrimination in school. It must thus be eradicated owing to the fact that all students differ in learning. This can be achieved by academic institutions implementing effective plans that emphasize on offering student what they need to prosper academically by recognizing the diversity and putting in place learning and teaching methods mechanism that eliminates the differences. Diversity programs to educational involving black students must also
be implemented in all to enhance positive relationships within the schools thereby creating good interaction between the teachers and students ultimately embracing a conducive learning environment for all. Putting such programs into place will also help embrace and respect diverse cultural heritages of the students.
Why is the Problem Important to Your Audience
White people should care about racism because it only increases division in schools rather than creating a better environment for learning. By stopping racism, people will be able to work together and create a better world. Diversity in schools must be embraced while cultural teachings such as racial background and ethnicity must be incorporated in schools to compensate and appreciate the differences thus maximizing on the strengths. Contribution of the blacks in America should be made known to not only the blacks but also the white. Researchers argue that racism contributes to low self esteem which affects the manner in which people evaluate and cope with events. So if an African American person resides in an environment where there is racism, not only will his/her self esteem be affected but also the desire to put forth their best. In order to change this, diversity programs should be implemented in schools to bridge the gap between the blacks and white students. The problem is important as all the staffs in schools ought to be trained to acknowledge and comprehend the change for the black students by embracing their hardships and specific needs in education. The program will incorporate the white students thus enhancing strong relationship between different races as it will be carried through socialization and conversation.
What do you know about the audience, for instance
,understanding of the academic literature/background related to the issue
The audience is the federal government. Racial inequalities and lack of opportunities in education has contributed to suspension of boys from the school. For instance, statistics have revealed that an African American student is suspended every 7 seconds of a school day and in every 49 seconds of a school day, black male student drops out of school. Additionally, African Americans are about four years behind other young students by the time they reach grade 12 (NAEP, 2009). College enrollment rates for African-American high-school students remain below than those of white. For the black young adults who enroll in college, only half of them are likely to graduate with a college degree as opposed to white students. The government thus needs to fully recognize its duties to protect the rights of the racially discriminated Americans and integrate universal human rights standards into the domestic legal system.
References
- Anderson, J. and Byrne, D. (Eds.) (2004) The unfinished agenda of Brown v. Board of Education. New York: John Wiley.
- Altschul, I., Oyserman, D., & Bybee, D. (2006). Racial-Ethnic Identity in Mid-Adolescence: Content and Change as Predictors of Academic Achievement. Child Development, 77(5), 1155-1169. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00926.x
- Baldwin, A. Y. (1985). Programs for the gifted and talented: Issues concerning minority National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) (2009). Washington, DC: US Department of Education.
