All for One and One for All

In relation to Education and Race, I am able to relate a personal story of my own during the time of SAT and college applications. As discussed in lecture as well as the chapter 8 in the textbook, there is large achievement gap from Black and Latino students compared to white students. Though there a numerous stereotypes on why this may be, studies have proven that there are multiple factors that may cause minority students to fall behind compared to white students. What will be specifically analyzed in this response will be the socioeconomic differences between minority families and also the levels of social/cultural capital as I experienced this for myself. In my senior year of high school, it was highly encouraged for our students to properly prepare themselves for college. As I went to college preparatory school, throughout our four years the counselors kept up with our grades and ensured we were taking the proper A-G courses. Due to the high tuition costs of our school in general, my friends and myself pushed ourselves to excel in school as our parents were paying such high prices. When offered SAT courses at our own campus, my parents thought it would make most sense for me to attend and utilize the resources offered. What we didn’t know is that a single class or SAT prep session was nearly $500, not included in your tuition. With such high rates, the only students who were able to attend the classes were the upper middle class white students. Though there were many other courses that were offered to students through private agencies and other high schools, the convenience of taking prep classes during zero period would have benefited many of the students, like myself, who did not have transportation to get around as my parents worked late hours. When I would talk to my counselor about my inability to attend any SAT prep classes because of cost and location, I was put down and felt very discouraged about my acceptance to college. Being told that I wasn’t taking my applications seriously made me feel bad for something that really was not in my control. Now looking at my situation however I am able to realize that even without those courses I was still able to fulfill all the necessary requirements, send in my applications in on time, and ultimately end up attending a UC. Many students in similar positions however are not as lucky as they don’t have the proper encouragement. This lack of proper encouragement ultimately causes the idea of oppositional culture that states Black and Latino students do not have motivation or the right attitudes toward higher education. This theory cannot be proven correct as there are numerous factors holding students of color from pursuing higher education. My example of SAT prep courses perfectly explains how resource such as these are “offered” to everyone but is not accessible to all. Due to the costs and also location, many students who come from working class families don’t have the accessibility. This goes to explain that minority students don’t have a negative attitude towards higher education; they just do not have same resources as white middle class families. My statement can be supported through statistics found from Public Policy Institute of California that in San Francisco alone more than 40% of all students complete their A-G requirements and college applications. Also, 40% of these students end up moving forward to a JC or CSU. It can be found that though not all students are able to utilize the same resources, minority students are still applying themselves and valuing higher education.

In relation to class, it can be found that institutional racism occurs daily and the effects on minority students have a strong permeance. Although racism is no longer as overt and permitted through our laws, this does not go to say that racism is no longer existent. Throughout our time in class through our blog posts, discussions, and numerous cases; it can be seen how racism has been reformed and recreated into a more subtle form that still ultimately benefits whites. This can be seen through my example of overpriced SAT courses that automatically disadvantages students who don't have the proper resources for it. By excluding students from resources such as these, those who are not excluded are able to benefit from that. Those benefits are what we have learned to be white privilege. As seen in Chapter 8 of our text, institutional racism in education reproduces white privilege as white students somehow always get the bigger end of the stick compared to students of color. However, being that racism is less overt, we are told that their is no exclusion when it comes to education for all students. My example though clearly proves that cases such as these happen daily and are disregarded as the minority students' own fault. With the conclusion of this class, we are all able to recognize that is just a case of racism that our society has so strongly tried to cover up with other explanations. 

Sources
Golash-Boza, Tanya. Race and Racism: A Critical Approach. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.