Morgan Perkins

How Education Can Be a Tool to Transform Racism

Meta-Reflection: When I first started this class I knew little about all the complexities of
schooling in the United States. My first draft and final draft are similar in that they both
share the idea that the purpose of schooling in the United States is to help children learn
grow, promote tolerance, and pursue their dreams. My final draft went into more detail
about how I believe the current purpose of schooling has gone off course of what is really
important. The main difference between the two papers relates to schooling and the
existing order. In the first paper I did not think about the negative effects of schools
continuing the existing order. My final paper looks much deeper into these ideas, and
then gives solutions to transforming the existing order. I believe that my final paper has a
more critical view of our education system, but this is extremely important for entering
teaching as it will help me be a better teacher and understand the issues around my job
and how I can tackle these issues to better educate my students.













Education is, in my opinion, the most important aspect of our society. In theory it
should allow everyone an equal opportunity to achieve upward mobility and to pursue
whatever it is that they desire. Horace Mann, an education reformist, envisioned public
schools as places where students of all backgrounds come together to share fair and equal
opportunities for success in the education system and, as a consequence, fair and equal
chances in life (Oaks, Rogers, 1). However, this idealistic expectation of schooling in
the United States is far from what we see today. While there are several factors that play
into creating an unequal education system, many of which teachers can do little about, we
can, as teachers, do everything in our power to promote equality, instill proper values in
our students, and help them be successful in life. This paper will explore the purpose of
schooling, how teachers fulfill that purpose, and how schooling not only continues the
existing order but also transforms the existing order.
What is the purpose of schooling in the United States? Depending on whom you
ask, you will surely get differing answers every time. I believe that the purpose of
schooling is all about the development of the student. Students should develop socially,
emotionally, and cognitively. Schools should provide a safe environment where students
feel comfortable to learn and to be themselves. Schools should teach children how to
work with others, how to better themselves, and what their interests are so that they can
pursue whatever it is that will provide them with happiness. Schools should be ground
zero for where children learn about acceptance, diversity, kindness, and gain a general
knowledge of the world they live in. Lastly, schools should promote critical and
divergent thinking in order to prepare students to enter the global marketplace. I believe
that if schools ensured that all of this was not only an important aspect of education, but

also the purpose of education, then we would see a more productive, equal, open-minded
society. As a whole, the purpose of schooling today has a more narrow approach. With
No Child Left Behind and the Race to the Top, schools seem to be narrowly focused on
standardized testing and the math and sciences. There is less emphasis on the humanities,
art, and musicall a critical piece of childrens education. I feel like the current purpose
of schooling in the United States is only concerned with our global competitiveness, and
what we can do to be the number one country economically, technologically,
scientifically, and more. So much is left out when our education system is focused on
this. It ignores the individual and what can be done to give everyone a fair and equal
chance to achieve happiness. It ignores teaching wisdom. John Miller, author of
Education for Wisdom, describes wisdom as, It is not the collection of information but a
deeper knowing that is characterized by insight, humility, and love (Miller, 262). I truly
believe this should be a purpose and needs to be taught in our schools.
As a teacher I will play a significant role I achieving all the purposes mentioned
above. With the current state of our education system being centered on standardized
testing, I will have a duty to ensure that my students perform to the best of their ability,
but I also have a duty in fulfilling the purposes that I find extremely important. I believe
that the best teachers are the ones that are passionate, caring, and relate to their students.
I know that if my students are aware of how much I want them to succeed and care about
their future, then they will respond well and hopefully see that education is the key to
success. It is my duty to be open, kind, and promote acceptance and diversity in the
classroom. These are important qualities that can be best learned and practiced at school.
It is also important that I reach out to every student and their different learning needs in

order to help everyone achieve. Everyone learns differently, and to maximize success in
my classroom it will be important that I cater to every students learning styles. I hope to
inspire my students to yearn for more knowledge and discover their interests so that they
can achieve their goals and be happy in lifebecause I think that is the most important
thing.
Schools are one of the largest institutions in the United States, so it is no surprise
that they are crucial in continuing the existing order. It is where we learn cultural norms,
social behaviors, democratic practices and the basics of our economy. Students can take
this knowledge and apply it to real-world situations, allowing for our society to prosper.
Without learning this it would be hard for our society to maintain order and to continue
evolving. However, this continuation of the existing order is not always a good thing.
Our education system has a long history of deculturalization and promotion of white
Anglo-Saxon superiority. Joel Spring, author of Deculturalization and the Struggle for
Equality, reveals how policies within our educational system targeted African Americans,
Asian Americas, Hispanic/Latino Americans, and Native Americans in an effort to
assimilate these groups into what we saw as the dominant and superior European culture.
Spring describes the methods of deculturalization as, segregation and isolation, forced
change of language, curriculum content that reflects culture of dominant group, textbooks
that reflect culture of dominant group, denial of cultural and religious expression by
dominated groups, use of teachers from dominant group (Spring, 105). Unfortunately,
these methods of deculturalization are still continued today, unintentionally or not.
Schools are still largely segregated by race, immigrants are expected to speak English,
and our curriculum mostly focuses on the experiences of mainstream Americans. This

has major consequences for majority and minority groups and perpetuates racism. James
A. Banks writes that, A mainstream-centric curriculum is one major way in which
racism and ethnocentrism are reinforced and perpetuated in the schools, in colleges and
universities, and in society at large (Banks, 225). Here we see how schools continue the
existing order and contribute to the current social, political, and cultural order of racism
in our society. Fortunately, schools have the ability to transform this.
As our society evolves so will our education system, and through this system we
can transform the existing order to make our society better. The aforementioned issue of
racism in our society, which is perpetuated in our education system, can be addressed and
transformed through a series of actions. Doing so will have a lasting effect on our
existing order by helping to eradicate racism at all levelsindividual, societal,
institutional, and civilizational. The problem with racism in our society is that we no
longer understand the definition of it. We are taught that racism is an act of overt
discrimination. Issues like slavery, legal discrimination, violence against minorities;
these are the things we associate racism with. We dont learn about covert racism, or
how it is embedded at all levels of our society due to our history. The good news is
schools can change this. One way is through culturally responsive teaching. Our
population is becoming more diverse every year, so it is important that we understand
and respect how all cultures contribute to the uniqueness of our society. A pedagogy that
responds to, respects, and celebrates all cultures provides an equitable education to
students of all backgrounds (Lab at Brown, 1). We must develop cultural sensitivity,
which in turn will promote acceptance (Huerta, 235). If we do this in our schools, then it
will spread out into our communities, and help to promote acceptance, diversity, and an

overall respect of all culturesnot just the normal cultures. Teachers must also do
their part to bring cultures together and to be culturally responsive. The Lab at Brown
reading suggests that characteristics of culturally responsive teachers are: positive
perspectives on parents and families, communication of high expectations, learning
within the context of culture, student-centered instruction, culturally mediated instruction,
reshaping the curriculum, and the teacher as a facilitator. Another way schools can
transform racism is through critical multicultural education. Race and the idea of
colorblindness in our schools deprive our students from learning about the diverse
world that they will soon be a part of. Some may use the term colorblindness to mean
they are nondiscriminatory, but it may also be seen as refusing to accept differences and
therefore accepting the dominant culture as the norm, as Nieto and Bode put it in
Culture, Identity, and Learning. Students will not get the whole picture, or truly
understand the world live in, if race is edited out. For students to thrive in our
multicultural world then they must be taught to understand, accept, and celebrate all
cultures. By doing so, I believe that racism will slowly begin to break down at all the
levels. These are just a few ways in which our education has the power to transform the
existing order and create a more equal, prosperous society for all.
Schooling in the United States was created to produce a productive society and
allow everyone an equal chance to learn and provide a better life for him or herself.
While I sometimes think we have lost what was core to education at the beginning, it is
still the most important aspect of society. As a future teacher I will take all that I have
learned to help every student and use my job as a way to transform the existing order to
create a better society for us.

Works Cited:
Banks, James, and Cherry Banks. Approaches to Multicultural Curriculum Reform.
Reprint.
Bode, Sonia, and Patty Bode. "Culture, Identity, and Learning." Affirming Diversity: The
Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education. : Print.
"Culturally Relevant Teaching." Lab at Brown: Print.
Huerta, Grace. Educational foundations: diverse histories, diverse perspectives.
Instructor's ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2009. Print.
Miller, John. "Educating for Wisdom." Spirituality, Religion, and Peace Education. Print.
Oaks, Jeannie, and John Rogers. "Unjust Schools." From Learning Power: Organizing
for Education and Justice. Reprint. New York: Teachers College Press. Print.
Spring, Joel H. Deculturalization and the struggle for equality: a brief history of the
education of dominated cultures in the United States. 7th ed. New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill, 2013. Print.