Racial inequality is a number one topic for essays, research papers, and other assignments that require students to gather and analyze information about socio-cultural, political, and economic aspects. While an essay on racial inequality is assigned every year to students who pursue different careers, it is essential to integrate new ideas into the changing environment of sociological perspectives as they correspond to a current tendency and can be supported by personal experiences.
An essay about racial inequality also enables students to examine history and events that have affected the balance between different groups of a population in a certain country. The United States of America is often used as a prime example to demonstrate that racial inequality is far from being resolved, improved, or diminished in efforts to adapt to globalization and new opportunities for all. In some studies, race is argued to be a product of society. It is constructed and supported by common people in their efforts to find their place in a big world and its rules. Thus, a simple paper on racial inequality can be a description of how to offer a solution that for some reason does not work yet and quote Thomas Jefferson in a comprehensive manner with a positive view on a matter.
A student who has to define racial inequality should focus on social and political factors and refrain from emotional statements because the given topic requires a discussion of an issue based on an understanding of terms. However, while there are several definitions, it is somehow an implication of racial inequality meaning and its personal interpretation and emotions that help understand a problem.
For instance, racial and gender inequality can be defined as a form of attitudes and behaviors based on ideas, stereotypes, and associations with certain groups. This definition falls into a category of a social structure and enables readers to analyze the mentioned terms within this area. Notably, when these notions are presented as a form of oppression that prevents people from getting social privileges and is related to exploitation, an emotional factor helps to understand why such inequality is a problem that needs to be addressed in various fields, including education. Thus, the topic is always relevant for essays and other assignments and can be used by students to provide a paper of meaning and academic value.
Racial inequality in education has at least 2 meanings. First, it revolves around a curriculum and entails requirements on how to write an essay on inequality. Second, racial inequality in education can be regarded as a topic that focuses on students who experience unfair treatment based on their race.
In terms of the first perspective, racial and gender inequality offers a fruitful ground for analysis, and does not create obstacles in searching for sources and formulating thesis statements. To narrow down the matter, students can focus on racial and gender inequality in health, jobs, or US prisons. Notably, inequality is also related to U.S. drug policy and the mass imprisonment of minorities and it can be argued that criminal justice targets minorities using the drug laws. It is easy to find alarming statistics and reinforce a statement. Students can also identify contributing factors to racial inequality in America and discuss how they are causing racial inequality. It is a good idea to discuss what we need to do in order to promote racial equity by identifying key agents and their responsibilities in the given trend.
As to the second perspective, racial inequality in education in America has its deep roots in history, policies, and other factors as they combine to create unfavorable pictures of discrimination, violence, and oppression. Often students need papers with a topic “what is racial inequality in education?” This topic ensures that even a 20-or-something-page essay has valid information and ideas. After all, there are solutions on different levels, only everyone has to start with themselves and there are even too many quotes that can be used to support this idea.
Who is the most quoted person when it comes to racial inequality in education essay? It is quite a list that includes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Angela Davis, Nelson Mandela, President Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Cardi B, and even the Bible. Writers, pop culture figures, political leaders, and others are united in their convictions and ideas about the need to stop inequality. It is a mystery how, with all this support, racism still exists and what enforces its influence on people. This mystery cannot be solved in an essay, but it is surely a good start to tackle a problem on an individual level and have a nice quote to follow.
Importantly, students can add quotes from people who have been called out for being extremely racist as an opposing view. It is essential to prove that such statements do not hold value and are based on a false premise. Students can also use another point of view and mention that there are people among the discriminated groups who think that racism does not exist (for instance, some Afro-American individuals who are even more interesting than Kanye West and his quotes). In fact, they are a part of a problem and passive elements who allow racial inequality to persist in society.
With all the information on the topic, students may get confused about what to put in their papers. To choose a perspective and focus on the right direction, learners can go through a few samples. Samples on racial inequality essays and other assignments help to find the needed format for a discussion, use proper structure, and get ideas about a paper. Such texts are needed to write an amazing essay.
Education has always been one of the central aspects of human society. Since the time when ancient people began joining into first communities it became vital to share the knowledge about the world with others. It was a key to the success of the human species and the factor that allowed them to prosper all over the planet. However, education has been used not only as a medium of disseminating knowledge among large numbers of people, but also as a tool to shape the society in accordance with the values and principles of the ruling class. For much of the human history education was controlled by the church and used to raise new generations in compliance with the religious dogmas. Later the educational systems lost their links with the church, but were still used to strengthen the impact of the dominant ideology. It was not rare that education functioned as a means of promoting racial, gender and economic inequality. Nowadays this approach should not be tolerated and modern education should be based on the principles of equality, respect of all social categories and celebrating cultural diversity.
The role of education in the society is primarily described by two main sociological theories. One of these two theories is more traditional and is largely based on the functionalist principles. It argues that education is a tool that grants social mobility between classes. The education is treated as a means of progressing to a higher social class and the success of this process is only limited by the individual’s motivation and persistence. According to this theory, education is also able to help and intensify the social development as it offers qualified workforce for the employers. However, recent studies in sociology brought to light a different theory that interpreted the role of education in the society in a new way. The proponents of this theory argued that education does not facilitate the transition to a higher social class, but in fact is used to strengthen inequalities and “cement” people in their social classes. The scholars who support this theory claim that in fact the modern educational system does not often allow the transitions between classes, but rather grant children the means of getting the same social status as their parents had. According to Jencks, “If society wants to move in the direction of social equality, the way to do it is not to “educate” everyone, but rather to pursue changes in the economic system that would bring about the equalization of income”. Despite the fact that these theories explore education from different perspectives, in many cases they could be applied simultaneously to get a deeper understanding of this notion.
These two theories are closely connected with the concepts of cultural deprivation (favored by functionalists) and cultural bias (preferred by the proponents of conflict theory). According to cultural deprivation lower social classes have the norms and values that are inferior to those of higher social classes. For example, they do not value “book education” as much as representative of the well-to-do families and thus do not aim at inspiring their children to show good academic performance. This approach is quite outdated and the proponents of the conflict theory also claim that it reflects the stereotypes of the white privileged class. The cultural bias explains that the problem is not “hidden” in the children and their families, but in schools that tend to treat minority students in a biased manner.
If the second theory is true, education intensifies social and racial inequality in the society not only via its content and methods, but also through the differences in funding of educational establishments. “Historically, schools in which many of the students are black, Hispanic, or American Indian have been underfunded in comparison to schools in which most of the students are white”. It can be explained by a number of different factors. First of all, it should be taken into account that the funding of the schools is received through two main channels – the state aid and the local property tax. Therefore, if the school is located in a prestigious area where the houses are very expensive and their owners pay high taxes, the school receives good funding. In most cases the areas where the property tax is high is populated by the white Americans and the poor areas are the place where black, Hispanic, or American Indian social groups live. Another factor that contributes to this inequality is the state matching formulas that prevent schools from “breaking the circle” and get more funding than they had earlier. Despite the reforms that are made in the educational sphere, the difference in school funding can be still seen in the majority of American states. However, it would be a mistake to believe that the increase of funding for minority students would be a prerequisite for eliminating inequalities. It would certainly improve the situation, but it will not grant substantial improvement if not combined with other methods and tools.
It is very important to understand that racial inequality in education is not the only case of such discrimination that can be found in the American society. The minority culture get insufficient coverage in school textbooks and this situation is repeated in mass media where there is an obvious lack of non-white protagonists of TV shows, hosts, etc. It has a considerable destructive impact on the self-image of the minority children. They tend to get distorted interpretation of their role in the society and it may also affect their academic performance. Thus, the levels of self-esteem are much lower for the minority students, but it should be also mentioned that in the recent decades there is a certain tendency for improvement in this sphere.
Under these circumstances it is crucial to find ways to inspire the children who face the social inequality that prevent them from getting good education and improving their social status. There are many effective ways to do it, but the choice of the methods should be done only taking into account the peculiarities of each class and school. Nevertheless, it is possible to offer some techniques that would work in most cases. First of all, it is necessary to secure the equal coverage of all ethnic groups in the class materials. It is one of the biggest forms of discrimination when non-white students have to read works created exclusively by white authors. The equality should be extended to all levels of school materials – texts, case studies, books, etc. Another important factor that is likely to inspire students is the faith of the teachers into the children’s abilities. Although this element cannot be measured with exact quantitative frames, it remains one of the most effective. There are many studies that show that teachers, consciously or subconsciously, tend to discriminate non-white students supposing that they would show poorer academic performance than white students (especially from wealthy families). Therefore, it is crucial to show faith and support to every student regardless his or her ethnicity, economic status, etc. It may seem too simple, but in fact it is not as stereotypes are quite strong in the modern American society. It is necessary to constantly work to improve the teacher’s perception and learn how to celebrate cultural diversity in a class. It is also important to understand that the child in school is not only an “academic” entity, but a much more complex individual. If the teacher learns to see the “whole” child, it would certainly make a great positive contribution to eliminating inequalities in the classroom.
There are many anti-racist tools that could be implemented in a classroom, but one of the most effective, in my opinion, is the usage of online blogs and videos that address the problems of inequality and promote cultural diversity in all its forms. When students have their own online blogs where they could reflect upon the issues of racial or any other form of inequality and discuss these posts in a class, it creates an atmosphere that could boost positive attitude towards cultural diversity and help to better understand the differences and similarities between different ethnic groups. Videos can also be of great help in educating students about these problems and showing them the way to reach harmony and mutual respect.
All things considered, racial inequality in education is one of the most problematic issues that prevent non-white students from getting the same opportunities as white ones. This form of discrimination is closely linked with the economic inequality and other forms of oppression. It is vital to employ a variety of tools and methods in a classroom that would contribute to eliminating this discrimination. Despite the fact that sociologists have not formed the single approach to this problem, it is necessary to treat the notion of racial inequality in education from different perspective as this multidimensional analysis increases the chances of understanding its causes and eliminating them.
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