Racial Segregation in Schools

Professor’s Requirements:
● Make sure your paper is organized around a central
argument or thesis, based on your chosen question (chosen in individual
conference). This argument must be stated clearly in the first paragraph.
● Cite the four chosen texts from the syllabus. It’s not
required that you use direct quotes, but I recommend that you use at least a
few. When they are used well, direct quotes can make the paper much stronger.
Using quotes well means keeping the context in mind, using specific and
relevant examples, and not over-quoting.
● Cite at least one news story (min. 800 words) that
connects your argument to current event(s).
● Referring to yourself in the first person is normal in
sociology, and you can also refer to your own experience if it is relevant.
Keep in mind that experience alone is not evidence, but it can offer valuable
insights and examples. (Not required.)

Works cited: You may use your preferred citation style if
you have one (e.g., MLA, APA, Chicago). If you do not have a preferred style, I
suggest ASA (see style guide here). Newspaper / magazine articles should be
treated as journal articles; in other words, include author, title, date,
publication, and page numbers. URL is not necessary unless there is no other
way to identify it.

Question chosen:
·
What role does race play in educational
experience and outcomes?

4 In-class Texts Chosen that go with the topic:
·
Why Segregation Matters: Poverty and Educational
Inequality
·
Who’s Segregated Now? Latinos, Language, and the
Future of Integrated Schools
·
Inequality by Design
·
School Disciple Reform

Outside source chosen that goes with the topic:
·

Required to use 4 terms, Choose from Below:
Concentrated poverty (and relationship to race)
· Segregation (de jure/ de facto)
·
Stereotype threat
·
Theories of Intelligence
·
immigration policy
·
“acting white” theory
·
model minority stereotype
·
perspectives on history
·
ethnic studies
·
tracking and race

If this helps, my experience with Racial segregation in
schools is:
I found that getting accepted into high schools known to be
“challenging” was almost impossible, it appeared as if nothing I did was good
enough. I had to take exams that would determine my eligibility to attend those
schools, and I would somehow fail every exam despite having studied for months.
Meanwhile, individuals of specific races flooded the halls of those schools,
and I realized that it was likely not due to my lack of talents or
“intelligence”, but to the fact that I did not fit the picture that the school
wanted to illustrate. I find this like affirmative action in some colleges who
only allow individuals from certain backgrounds to make it seem as if their
schools aren’t segregated. I attended a school of mostly Hispanic, Black, and
middle eastern people, and I found that my school was rated one of the lowest
despite the many talents held within it. Many of the students faced family
circumstances that intervened with their studies, and I find that those things
are often not considered for students. One could be emotionally drained from
having faced a drastic familial battle, but still be expected to attend classes
and perform the best we could. In addition, due to stereotypes, many teachers
would treat students, particularly Black and Hispanic students, as if they had
no future, so they would not seek ways to help them improve their grades because,
in their opinions, they wouldn’t even make it into college and would likely end
up imprisoned. I was one of the lucky ones to have been surrounded by a
supportive group of educators and friends.

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