ECS 110 Critical Autobiography: Racialization and Racism in Education

Racialization and Racism in EducationNameInstitutional AffiliationDate
Racialization and Racism in Education
Racialization is the process by which a certain group of people are singled out from the rest and given a special and unique treatment due to real or perceived physical characteristics CITATION Shi15 \l 1033 (Shirley & Kenneth, 2015). Racialization not only encompasses the physical attributes of various groups but also the expectations of behavior that are attached to such a group. Racialization later results to the creation of racial lines between the ones who are considered to be superior and the ones who are stigmatized causing conflicts CITATION RPS05 \l 1033 (Solomon, Portelli, Daniel, & CampBell, 2005). Racialism exists in teacher educational programs in many ways.
One of the common challenges that face education in the urban areas is lack of preparation by the teachers to handle students from different races by gaining an understanding of their culture and race. In the modern society, the teachers enter the classroom with good planning skills ,classroom management and differentiated learning technology but they only lack one major item; the tools that they can use to address the issue of race and racism CITATION Shi15 \l 1033 (Shirley & Kenneth, 2015). There is need for the urban educators to be trained on how they need to understand the inequalities that arise as a results of the existing racial lines.
In her list of the white privilege, Peggy McIntosh gives one of the privileges as finding an academic institution which gives attention to the people of her race CITATION McI88 \l 1033 (McIntosh, 1988). I conquer with the views of McIntosh since it is what most of the learners go through in their lives. In my interaction with one of my best friends, he informed me how he had struggled hard to complete a research project that they has been given by the teacher. After spending a lot of time to complete the research project, the teacher questioned him if he is the one who had attempted the assignment. The rest of the students would burst out into a laughter and he felt humiliated. This is just an example of the various instances in the education system that arise as a result of racialization. After such an embarrassment, he started he thought of relocating to a different educational institution where he would meet the people of his race and there would be no other embarrassment since he would be doing his academic work without the fear of victimization by the rest of the students and teachers.
In their qualitative analysis, Solomon, Portelli, Daniel & Campbell give an example of three male white preservice teachers tried to interpret the experiences that they had of racial privilege by creating a sociological imaginationCITATION RPS05 \l 1033 (Solomon, Portelli, Daniel, & CampBell, 2005). The research showed that the white teachers are very reluctant on talking about the workings of racialism and the white privilege in educational institutions simply because most of the teachers are victims.
However as an educationist, I view the responsibility of changing racialism in the society to be on the hands of the educator. A teacher can achieve this by beginning to have looking at the multicult...