Schools of Color 1

Running head: SCHOOLS OF COLOR

Shannon Griswold
Research PaperSchools of Color
May 5, 2014
ETHS 2410
Professor LaShawn WIlliams












Schools of Color 2
Research PaperSchools of Color
Introduction
In a world full of beautiful colors, we often take for granted the collaboration of hues
that make the overall picture so extravagant. Sometimes we try to be colorblind and simply
appreciate the overall picture for what it is, meshing the colors together into one unified
theme. However, when we do this, the individual colors are not acknowledged as important or
significant. They are different. And they are alone.
Oftentimes, society completes this phenomenon with the colors of our skin. The goal is
to ignore skin pigments and passively accept others under all circumstances. Despite our good
intentions, we still tend to offend other people of race, consciously or unconsciously. Whether
or not we are aware of it, there is a prolonging issue of racial discrimination embedded in our
society. I have come to the realization that there is a social issue of racial discrimination in
schools. After completing a media journal of 20 current events, I found that most media
coverage of African American people is derogatory. Upon completing this ETHS 2410 course, I
have discovered that many young African American students do not have the self-esteem that
most students have because of discrimination. As a future teacher, my heart breaks for the
injustice and maltreatment that many students of color experience every day. It is my goal to
discover a way to make a difference within my sphere of influence.
Literature Review
In an effort to learn more about racial discrimination in education, I reviewed three
scholarly articles for information about discrimination in schools. The goal of this research was
to discover the effects of discrimination (mental, emotional, and physical), the roles of school
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personnel, and any other pertinent information. Overall, this information helped me to
develop an intervention to prevent racial discrimination in schools.
In an article titled Perceived Racial/Ethnic Discrimination Among Fifth-Grade Students
and Its Association With Mental Health, I learned that there is a very high rate of perceived
racial discrimination among 5th grade U.S. students and that there are damaging effects of
discrimination on students mental health (Coker, Elliott, Kanouse, Grunbaum, Schwebel,
Gilliland, & Schuster, 2009). Students who experience discrimination are more likely to
experience depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder,
and conduct disorder. This article encouraged me to educate future teachers about this
information, as these mental disorders can ultimately affect students academic success.
Secondly, I read an article about the physical health problems that can arise from racial
discrimination. In Racial Discrimination & Cardiovascular Disease Risk: My Body My Story Study
of 1005 US-Born Black and White Community Health Center Participants, I learned that
discrimination can increase a persons risk of physical health problems, particularly
cardiovascular disease (Krieger, Waterman, Kosheleva, Chen, Smith, Carney, & Freeman, 2013).
Another concept that I learned is that socioeconomic status is not related to discrimination, so
experiences of discrimination can happen in any city or school. Both of these facts are
important to know because people should know that racial discrimination increases the risk of
physical health problems and that racial discrimination can happen anywhere.
Lastly, in the article Racial Imbalance Feeds School-to-Prison Pipeline, it is clear that
school personnel can affect the cycle of racial discrimination in a positive or negative way
(Ward, 2014). This article states that there is a relational disconnect between parents and
teachers/staff, which could be a reason for African American students academic failure. In
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addition, I learned that Black students are 3.5 times more likely to be expelled from school than
White students are. I believe that teachers and school administration must make a conscious
effort to develop relationships with these students and their families. Firstly, it is important for
teachers to understand what racial discrimination is, what it feels like, and how it can influence
an individual.
Documentary Review
Teachers are in a powerful position in which they can easily control the classroom
environment. In her documentary, A Class Divided, Jane Elliot demonstrated the damaging
effects of discrimination as well as the influence of a single powerful individual (Peters, 1985).
Jane wanted to educate her third grade students about discrimination and prejudice. Her
experiment was this: she divided the class by their eye color, blue eyes and brown eyes. She
told her blue eyed students that they were significantly superior to the brown eyed students,
while the brown eyed students were to wear blue collars that marked their insignificance.
Within one day, brown eyed students were notably hurt and their self-worth had been
remarkably destroyed. This film also features a scene with Jane Elliot doing the same eye color
activity with corrections department employees at a workshop. This was enlightening to me
because I saw the immediate effects of discrimination, even with adults. I then decided to
organize a workshop that incorporated similar themes and activities.
The Purpose
Research has proven that racial discrimination is still well alive today, along with the
damaging effects of it. Both the first and second article that I reviewed state that racial
discrimination is associated with mental and physical ailments. The third article also states that
school personnel can help prevent racial discrimination and ultimately ensure students
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academic success. As demonstrated in A Class Divided, one person in a position of superiority,
especially in a classroom setting, has the ability to transform the environment through power of
persuasion. As a prospective teacher, I would like to educate other future teachers about their
important roles as educators. By raising awareness of racial discrimination in my local area,
teachers and schools can be a part of eliminating the institutionalized racism that is so subtly
rooted in our U.S. educational system.
Methods
Procedures
To address my social issue, I would like to collaborate with Frankie Condon, an activist in
a variety of community antiracist organizations, to organize a workshop for education majors.
We would collaborate to create a one-day workshop for college students who are going into
education. The workshop date would most likely be in the fall of 2014, so I could contact
professors at SLCC and the University of Utah about the workshop and they could help
advertise the event. It would be held in the student center of SLCC, as I have support from the
faculty and staff there. Frankie and I would discuss Jane Elliots approach to teaching adults
about discrimination, as she would be an excellent proctor for the workshop.
The eye color activity would be an efficient way to begin our workshop for prospective
teachers. Frankie and I will replicate the eye color activity with a twist. Upon arrival, students
would indicate whether or not they have attached or unattached earlobes (if they have
unattached earlobes, I would give them a silly hat to wear and give them instructions to wait
outside; if they have brown eyes, they would be permitted to enter the classroom and take a
front seat). The silly hatted students would have to stand outside of the class for twenty
minutes, while the attached earlobe students would meet with Frankie and get informed of the
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upcoming activity. They would be told to act better and more superior to the students with silly
hats. When the blue eyed students come in, Frankie would demean them and make degrading
comments about them while pretending to lecture about racial discrimination in schools.
Eventually, the students with hats would become frustrated and tired of the exercisethe
ultimate goal of the lesson.
After a break for lunch, the students would debrief about their experience. Frankie
would then candidly discuss race and racism and address the importance of the responsibility of
a teacher to eliminate discrimination in their classrooms. We would conclude the workshop
with an open discussion about what they learned and how teachers can prevent discrimination
from happening in their classrooms.
The Cost
I have estimated that the cost of this intervention would be around $1,500. I reserved
about $1,000 for the hiring and transportation for Frankie Condon to come to SLCC and
participate. $400 would go towards catering to provide lunch at the workshop. The remaining
$100 would be for advertisement of the workshop (making copies of flyers).
Discussion
Areas of Resistance
People that might resist this intervention would be individuals who do not believe that
there is a problem of discrimination in our schools today. Especially in Utah, many teachers and
students might believe that discrimination is not an issue they need to think about; because
they live in Utah, they do not think that racism is an issue because the state does not have
much racial diversity. Simple unawareness of the event might also be a challenge for me to
make this intervention successful. In addition, I might have a difficult time getting approval for
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reserving one of the rooms in the Student Center of SLCC to use for this event. The school
board might not like my intervention idea, as it might seem too controversial to some people.
Areas of Support
My family and friends, SLCC Education and Ethnic Studies professors, and many African
American families are all types of people who have experience with or are knowledgeable
about racial discrimination. They all understand that there is a prolonging issue of racial
discrimination within our communities and schools, so they are just as devoted to making a
change as I am.
Particularly, there are two individuals whom I have interviewed and with them I have
shared my intervention. Dr. Marlin Clark, the Assistant Vice President for Student Life and Dean
of Students at SLCC, is one of the individuals I spoke with. He is an African American man who
has experienced racism and discrimination throughout his whole life, so he is an authoritative
figure that is very supportive of my intervention. In addition, I interviewed a retired teacher
that was originally from Los Angeles, California. She told me that my idea was excellent and the
need for this workshop is dire. She noted that this is especially important due to the
homogenous population in the state of Utah.
Both of these individuals are supportive of my intervention, but they also gave me
feedback to improve the success of the workshop. I inherited one suggestion, which was to
alter the activity by changing the discriminatory factor to attached and unattached earlobes.
Both individuals displayed a concern about the challenge of fundraising for the workshop. Dr.
Clark even suggested collaborating with a SLCC education professor, to simplify the event and
lower the cost. He noted that whatever I end up doing will make a lasting impact on education
students.
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Implications
By raising awareness of this social issue to prospective teachers, perhaps future
generations of students will be able to flourish in their classrooms. As a lasting impact of my
intervention, I would like to see African American students succeeding more than ever in
school. My vision is to see them thriving emotionally, mentally, and academically in a school
environment. This is important to the African American community because this would mean
that White students are no longer benefiting from systems of advantage; equality of treatment
and opportunity would reign and improve the overall lifestyle of Black families. With quality
and effective education, almost anything can happen. Education is the key to success and
financial stability. Therefore, I will strive to create an educational system that acknowledges
and addresses race, discrimination, and the value of color in the classroom. It is my goal to
acknowledge race, celebrate it, and reveal to my community the inspiring beauty of schools of
color.










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Bibliography
Coker, T. R., Elliott, M. N., Kanouse, D. E., Grunbaum, J., Schwebel, D. C., Gilliland, M., & ... Schuster, M.
A. (2009). Perceived Racial/Ethnic Discrimination Among Fifth-Grade Students and Its
Association With Mental Health. American Journal Of Public Health, 99(5), 878-884.
Krieger, N., Waterman, P. D., Kosheleva, A., Chen, J. T., Smith, K. W., Carney, D. R., & ... Freeman, E. R.
(2013). Racial Discrimination & Cardiovascular Disease Risk: My Body My Story Study of 1005
US-Born Black and White Community Health Center Participants (US). Plos ONE, 8(10), 1-15.
Peters, W. (Director). (1985). A Class Divided [Motion Picture].
Ward, S. (2014). Racial imbalance feeds school-to-prison pipeline. ABA Journal, 100(4), 1.