How Racial Inequalities Affect Students

  I was raised in the city of Modesto where Latinos are 35% of the population. Of those 35%, 21% are livingin poverty. The area I grew up in is predominantly Latino and is one of the worst areas in the city. Although there were many Latino students in my high school, the majority had regular classes instead of college prep courses. When I first entered high school many of my Latina friends and I were placed in an English learning class, which I did not understand why considering I had no trouble with the English language and never signed up to be in that class. The school just assumed that I needed to be in that class and I was not told I was going to be enrolled in it and I had to ask to be taken out of that class. I know of many students who stayed in that class, which I think, was a waste a time because it didn’t allow students to take another course that could have prepared them for college. It allowed whites availability to courses while minorities were not given that opportunity. I did notice that my AVID teacher, although not deliberately, did show some favoritism towards students who were white because it seemed he felt they were determined to go to college even though we were all in the same classes with the intent of attending a 4-year university. I think teachers without thinking it underestimate minorities who they think may not be motivated or lack the intelligence to obtain higher education.

It was common for Latinos to be placed in home economics electives as opposed to whites who were in technology and other classes. Many Latinos who were placed in regular classes did not value their education and didn’t take it seriously. As stated in the book Race and Racism:A Critical Approach, only 13% of Hispanics obtained a bachelors degree or higher. Also, the average high school GPA of Hispanic students is 2.84 while for whites it is 3.09. If minorities are made to believe that they are not very smart and don’t deserve to go to college then it can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy where students will act as if it were true. When students are made to feel this way it will discourage them from achieving their goals because they will think they won’t be able to.

            My story shows that there is white privilege since white students are given more opportunities when it comes to the classes they can take and how those classes help prepare them for college. Showing this type of favoritism for a race discourages other students to achieve the same education and success later in life. This also causes institutional racism because the lack of opportunity in high school will make it harder for a student to get into college and not be prepared as other students who took all the necessary courses. How are students going to be able to attend college if they are not being pushed as other students? This early educational opportunity is crucial for students to have successful careers as they get older because without having the same opportunities as other students, Latinos will not be able to go to college. When you see all the statistics we see that the educational system is not fair, if it was there would be an equal amount of minorities as whites going to college.

         Racism still happens today even though it’s not allowed because it’s been a part of history for years and it’s hard to change that. Just because there is a law against it does not mean that people will automatically change their racist beliefs. Older generations will tell their children about their beliefs and they will continue believing in that way. We know from early on that we are all grouped based on how we look and this influences how people treat others. As long as people know about racism it will continue to happen. I think that people see others as competition and will use racism as a way to get ahead. Since whites are dominant in our country, they may see themselves as better than other races, which leads to discrimination. People are more likely to choose or prefer someone who is of the same race than someone who is not, especially knowing that there are stereotypes that make minorities look bad.