Racism, Discrimination & Expectations of Students' Achievement

Racism, Discrimination & Expectations of Students' Achievement
Summary of the Essay
In chapter 5, "Racism, Discrimination & Expectations of Students' Achievement," the author Sonia Niteo states that racism has power, but people can resist it with determination. Racism issues are experienced at both individual and institutional levels. Institutional prejudice is highly experienced in institutions such as schools and health care centers where a particular group, particularly people of color, are discriminated against. Prejudice, discrimination, and racism are discussions that focus on negative perceptions and biasness toward a specific group of people based on their natural traits such as color, race, ethnicity, and gender (Nieto, 2004, p. 43). Racism in American society has led to the white culture dominating the Africans, where the Africans have to learn English and other white-related practices to be considered part of the society. Though racism, prejudice, and discrimination are considered stereotypes, they have led to the American population believing that whites are superior to Africans. The issues have led to the establishment of discriminative policies in the schools, indicating that racism is a manifestation of political, social, and economic power where the whites enjoy various opportunities while the blacks are oppressed.
Due to silence, racial discrimination has prevailed in education, as teachers and administrators do not openly point out cases of prejudice. The white teachers attribute the African students' poor performance to parental negligence and poverty rather than to the negative impacts of institutional bias. Books containing racism issues have been rejected in schools, indicating efforts to deny the children an opportunity to learn the bitter realities of their society. Teachers contribute to students' poor performance due to categorization based on their status quo and performance. For instance, research conducted by Jervis indicated that learners categor...