Researched Exploratory Essay

Work (On) It!

Think about your demographics and background. Are you White? Asian? Latinx? Where do your parents come from? Do they speak English? How much time and money can they invest in you? Think about how you were taught in school and who surrounded you. Were most of your teachers White? Did you learn about William Shakespeare or Alice Walker? Were you taught about African American Vernacular English (AAVE)? These are a few listed examples of bringing awareness to what you were taught and who you were taught by. In my case, teachers in elementary schools taught history that revolved around a colonizer perspective. Indigenous folks were referred to as “American Indians” further promoting the misunderstanding when Christopher Columbus thought he had arrived in India. Although I was not directly Indian, my 10-year-old, immigrant self was enthusiastic to learn about “my people” in school.  The effects of the lack of diversity and representation is shown in everyday experiences but ignored. According to the Census, “Non-Hispanic white students now make up 51.9 percent of all people enrolled in school, compared to 59.7 percent in 2007.” The number of non-Hispanic white students is decreasing, we should not be using the same curriculum that has been taught for the past decade. Writers such as Amy Tan and June Jordan wrote pieces of literature to talk about the different forms of English used that are often frowned upon or mocked but have their own set of rules. Education in America lacks diversity, especially in terms of content, which negatively impacts a majority of students that are Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) as the system is not made to benefit them.

A study was conducted with ninety-two eleven year olds coming from four different schools in the North of England to understand the students’ idea of wellbeing and what they believe is important. This was because The Rights of the Child (1989) showed that students should be given a say if the matter involves them. Colette McAuley writes, “As a place, schools featured as important places in the responses by 50% of the children (11/22) in School 1. In contrast, no children (0/22) included schools in School 2, 3/21 children ((%) in School 3 and 7/27 children (%) in School 4. Where noted as important, schools were associated with learning new things, seeing friends and gaining the knowledge to get good jobs in the future.” In their heads, school was equally a place to learn that it was a place to meet friends. To my surprise, the children, for the most part, did not think of school as important. School 1 was in the category of high deprivation, mixed-ethnic area, which means this school was not given many resources AND consisted of families of immigrants, especially South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh). The YouTube video titled, Schools & Social Inequality: Crash Course Sociology #41, gave an example of tracking, “Black students with the same standardized test scores as their White classmates were less likely to be nominated for gifted programs if they had a non-Black teacher.” Even though studies emphasized the importance of education in the mind of a non-White student, they are faced with racial inequalities that work against them in their very own system. The irony.

Amy Tan wrote a personal essay discussing the affects of her mother’s “broken” English had made in her life. Despite her mother being perfectly capable of doing the same tasks and expressing the same creative ideas, she was looked down upon and embarrassed. Tan touches upon the difficulty she faced trying to grasp certain concepts of English at school. In Mother Tongue, Tan writes, “…answers on English tests were always a judgement call, a matter of opinion and personal experience…the correct answer always seemed to be the most bland combination of thoughts.” Tans brain was wired differently then her peers who did not switch between two different types of Englishes. There was a stereotyped placed on Tan to pursue a career in STEM. Instead of aiding her in English, they accepted her weak points and did not work with her in the matter. On the same concept, June Jordan wrote about her students’ reaction to Black English being used in literature. Jordan expressed, “White standards of English persist, supreme and unquestioned…Despite our multi-lingual population…compulsory education in America compels accommodation to exclusively White forms of ‘English.’” The students burst out laughing after reading Alice Walker’s writing in Black English. Jordan took it into her hands to teach her students, both Black and White, how to read and write the widely spoken Black English.

If Tan had a teacher like Jordan, how differently would things have turned out? Perhaps with the support from her teachers, Tan would have had a pleasant outlook of non-Standard English much earlier on. Maybe Tan would’ve expanded Jordan’s lessons to beyond just Black and White English. Maybe if they met in real life they could’ve shared their takes and concepts of English. There are students like Amy Tan who don’t feel comfortable in this environment created for a specific type of people and teachers like June Jordan who want to break that barrier. Furthermore, The Century Foundation critiqued College Board’s decision to eliminate over 9,000 years of history and focusing on Eurocentric history showcasing white people. To support the bias in testing, CrashCourse said, “Critics of standardized testing often cite cultural bias as part of the reason we see gaps in test scores across race and class lines.” Diversity in both students and teachings have shown numerous benefits including higher self-confidence, lower drop out rates, and higher grade point averages. After receiving backlash from students and teachers from 50 states alike, College Board put out a statement but have not taken any action. This shows how biased the American School system is, disproportionately affecting less privileged students. Individuals from around the world come in search of a better life, following the American Dream. We fail to co-exist with each other, without trying to pull each other down. The government defunds education but reinvests the money in military or police. Which one is the priority, can you tell? By not seeing similar figures taught in their classes, we cannot visualize us reaching that far. Reading about queer people, such as Marsha P. Johnson, sends all the right messages of, “we can do it too.” But they continue to be erased from our books, as they are in deemed “not as important.” Is it because they do not want to villainize America for all it has done? Is it because they do not want to own up to their actions?

Looking back, there is a commonality of stereotypes placed on students of color, they are expected to act a certain way or work toward a certain career. CrashCourse on YouTube stated, “Black students are suspended at rates three times higher than their white classmates…this ultimately affects their job prospects and therefore their class standing.” The labels school give each student is in turn to benefit the school, but not the student. Black students are faced with adultification, they are held at higher expectations to act mature. As a result, misbehavior can get them a stricter punishment causing them to be called out for every action. They realize the unfairness early on as it is implemented by their parent(s) who have gone through the same experiences rooted in racism. It is difficult to escape this cycle if you are told to accept this from a young age. In the cases they do speak out, demanding equal rights, others look at them as “another angry Black folk.” Schools shy away from getting political, even though it’s a matter of right and wrong. If they remain silent, they support judgements passed onto themselves and others. It’s a dead end. 

Among the many issues in America, a step in the right direction is rooted in the children, the future. In order to decrease discrimination in general, we must start with teaching the younger audience about more. They shouldn’t be forced to learn inside a box that only teaches about White people in history, students should have an accurate learning experience by including a diverse range of individuals and content in the curriculum. Studies observed inside the minds of younger, less privileged, ethnic children who placed a greater importance of school compared to their peers. Education is usually seen as an outlet to escape financial instability or to level up a class or simply to live a better, comfortable life than your parents. However, the school system is not worked in the favor of everyone equally. Tan developed into an individual who grew to appreciate her mothers English, wanting to write in a way her mother understands. Diversity in curriculum will help improve students’ overall learning and introduce them to a wider variety of mindsets, cultures, etc. Additionally, it is also beneficial for one’s self esteem.

Work Cited:

1. McAuley, Colette. “Exploring Eleven Year Old Children’s Understanding of Well-Being Using Well-Being Maps: Commonalities and Divergences Across Areas of Varying Levels of Deprivation and Ethnic Diversity in an English Qualitative Study.” Children and youth services review 97 (2019): 22–29. Web
2. Tan, Amy. “Mother Tongue.” Dreams and Inward Journeys: A Rhetoric and Reader for Writers, edited by Marjorie Ford and Jon Ford, 7th ed., Pearson, 2010
3. Jordan, June. “Nobody Mean More to Me Than You and the Future Life of Willie Jordan.” Reading Culture: Contexts for Critical Reading and Writing, 2007.
4. WashingtonContributor, Samantha, et al. “Diversity in Schools Must Include Curriculum.” The Century Foundation, 17 Sept. 2018, tcf.org/content/commentary/diversity-schools-must-include-curriculum/.
5. Bureau, US Census. “More Than 76 Million Students Enrolled in U.S. Schools.” The United States Census Bureau, 4 June 2019, www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2018/school-enrollment.html.
6. “Schools & Social Inequality: Crash Course Sociology #41.” CrashCourse. YouTube, 22 Jan. 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYMk3Bk08NA