Essay, Research Paper: Society And Schooling

Kari Copp
September 23,1999
Discrimination in the Schools
Discrimination has many different meanings, but the most specific meaning is the exclusion from membership in any group. This results in unfair treatment or judgements. Any type of person can be discriminated against from women to minorities. Also, there are many different areas where one can run into discrimination such as public facilities or even just trying to get onto the bus. One of the first places that one learns about discrimination is in the school systems.
Children do not usually know what discrimination is, and a lot of adults do not even realize that they are discriminating against others. I believe that discrimination is one of the major problems in the schools today, because no one realizes that it is a problem.
Children in schools have their own clicks or groups that they like to be around. When a student is not involved with this group a lot of times they will be made fun of. Kids can be really harsh with one another, and they just continue to be rude and mean. A lot of kids get made fun of if they are not considered as "cool" as the other kids. There are so many different kinds of groups from the "preps", and "nerds", to the "jocks". Also, children can be made fun of for being overweight or just not pretty enough.
Most of the time, students discriminate against other races or origins. They do this because the outside looks different, and most of the times they do not get to know the real person. Discrimination against different races has been a problem for a very long time. I think that since it has been a problem for such a long period of time that a lot of kids just learn to act that way.
Handicapped are also discriminated a lot because they are different. These students can be physically, mentally, or just emotionally handicapped, but still students will not give them the time of day.
The teachers themselves can also discriminate against their students with out even knowing it. Students are discriminated against for their gender or their grades. Teachers will put students in groups with the same types of people, so that the children who have difficulty learning do not have the opportunity.
When I get my own classroom, I will try my hardest to not have discrimination in it. When I assign them group projects, I will pick their groups to give them the opportunity to get to know their fellow classmates. Also, I will make sure that there are no friends in the same group. The groups will remain the same for a couple of weeks, and then they will get new groups. Another option I would try is teaching them about the other nationalities, races, and religions. I would do this by devoting one day a week to the students to tell something about their origins, race, religion, etc..
Discrimination is a major problem in today's society, but we can do something about it by beginning in the schools. We need to educate these children about the different cultures in society so they will give people a chance.



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