Educational Issue
“I just don't understand! Why you have to be so simple? Answer me Elizabeth. “Why would you sit there and pee on yourself?” and you think I am going to clean that mess up, well you thought wrong.” “Roselda, go sit down! I told you before you are not going to get a treat, you don't ever do your homework, so you can just sit there amongst the rest of your “friends” until you act like you want to be in this class.” You can give the cupcakes to all the students, but none of those Mexicans expect Jose, he is the only one who does what he is suppose to do in class, all the rest just work my nerves.” Quoted above, are three verbatim statements from a teacher stated to her Hispanic students in her first grade classroom. The last statement was said from the teacher to another teacher via telephone. This is an inner-city elementary school where 62.4% is African-American, 33.9% is Hispanic, 2.1% is White, and 0.5% are Asian (LocalSchoolDirectory, 2009-2010). The ethnic group you belong to makes a substantial difference in school achievement. Mexican Americans leave school at a higher rate than other Hispanics, and Hispanics drop out at a higher rate than do non-Hispanic Whites . There has been a dramatic increase in the rate of segregation of Black and Latino students from White students in the nation’s public schools. (Campbell, 2010) I believe that if you are a teacher who is Racist towards a race other then the one you were born with, why would you want to teach at a school you are discriminatory? Oh, I know. Is it because you want to have your summer's off, paid, and that is the only reason you became a teacher. (stated by the teacher). I would have never imaged a veteran teacher being racist. It is bad enough that you have students in an inner-city elementary school showing racism towards one-another and teachers. I have heard and witnessed verbal actions such as a first grader stating to a white teacher that: “she and her family were white b**ches.”