Racism and its Effects
Racism is more complex than just black and white. It is more than just two people from different races discriminating against each other because of the shade of their skin. It involves the stereotypical views of someone’s culture based on what people hear and say. Racism is a meter that measures and determines just how much we respect each other’s culture and race, and this can be examined through the observation of how peers interact with each other in a school setting.
Racism is a developed set of attitudes that include antagonism based on the supposed superiority of one group or on the supposed inferiority of another group, based solely on skin color and race. According to Anup Shah, “racism and discrimination have been used as powerful weapons encouraging fear or hatred of others in times of conflict and war, and even during economic downturns.” However, Anup forgot to mention the role racism plays in academic situations. Some people seem to believe that racism and discrimination in schools had faded away a long time ago. However, in the learning environment, racism is more distinct than ever. There are numerous accounts and incidents where students and teachers discriminate against each other, not only because of skin color, but also because of where they are from and how they look. It requires little imagination for a student to insult a classmate because of race. A student may be targeted by fellow classmates due to skin color, hair texture, eye shape, and other distinguishing features.
There are many ways racism can be observed in schools seeing that it has many faces. It can be observed in classrooms in the form of bullying, cyber-bullying, cliques, and even innocent comments bother verbally and written. What students are exposed to in their homes affects how they think as well as how they act. However, it is not just the students who are guilty of racism. Some teachers are just as guilty or sometimes even worse....