Discrimination

Like the government, today’s schools have a major job to do – to develop the power of human individuals without respect to race, sex, class or economic status. Within the school systems and the government, these are some of the most debated topics and discrimination is always an issue in some capacity.

Unfortunately, prejudices are so ingrained in American society that it is almost impossible to avoid them. However, another aspect of society is law, integrity, liability, responsibility, and possibility. As a teacher, it is important to learn how to make the law work for oneself and one’s classroom. Deciding to fight a school's discriminatory practice or a single teacher's obvious prejudice is not an easy choice. Fighting any battle within today’s public school systems requires commitment, moral conviction and courage.

Woodford states something to the effect that the education we give our students should foster “freedom of mind.” Our students should feel empowered to apply some sort of intelligent or conscious control to their experiences. Through experiences with discrimination, students can learn how to change their classroom community. This could eventually lead to further education on this topic world-wide.

As a whole, the teacher of a classroom must be aware of what is being said in the world and who is being discriminated against. Through contributing to wider intellectual and political conversations with a class, one is able to foster a more well-rounded learning community that is aware of the issues at hand.

Addressing these issues while still staying true to the emotions and experiences of those in your class can be a tough challenge, but sheltering our students is not the answer. One must work to create an equal balance between diversity and equality. Without this balance, individuals just are not aware of what is going on around them. It is through this aspect that fostering a good learning community and developing power within individuals exists.