Based on the group discussion about ‘social justice, ethnicity and race’ (26.09.17). Our group is Ronja Nordlin, Rebecca Pape, Evelien De Vos and Maike Hohmann.
None of us feels comfortable when called a racist. It is not socially approved to make a clear racial comment on the street or even in formal institutions, at least in most European countries. Yet, racism nowadays is more than just a series of isolated events, as Kohli et al. (2017) observed. Instead, it is rather evasive and subtle, which they call a form of ‘New Racism’ (Kohli, Pizarro & Nevárez, 2017). Furthermore, they point out, that this kind of ‘New Racism’ has also been ‘normalized and even accepted in schools’ (in the U.S.) (Kohli et al. 2017, 185). Other parts of daily racism include microaggressions like starting a conversation with the question ‘Where are you really from?’ because one expects a total stranger to have a foreign background due to her or his appearance.
It became clear in our discussion, that all of us described racism or examples of racist actions differently. For this reason, I would like to identify some main components of racism. To start with, racism is always a judgement based on social hierarchy, on the belief that one’s own race is superior to other races (Kohli et al. 2017; Oxford online dictionary). These categories are ‘socially constructed (…) and constantly recreated through human actions’ (Gillborn 2008, 3). Additionally, racism is based on the ‘belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race’ (Oxford Online Dictionary).
Problems in school caused by ethnicity and race differences are for example grouping pupils by cultural background while ignoring individual skills. Moreover, in her article Dovemark quotes a long-experienced teacher who blames one of her pupils due to her non-Swedish values. In this case, values different to the majority, is considered to be a constraint in the pupil’s intelligence (Dovemark 2013). Above all, language is the key to success and integration in school. Even pupils who are particularly talented in one subject, for example in maths, are sometimes not treated the same way due to their language difficulties.
In our discussion we started to think about factors that could help to change the ‘persistent and central role of racism in our society and in our schools (in the U.S.)’ (Kohli, Pizarro & Nevárez, p. 195). For instance, we suggested that acknowledgement of subtle racism, which some minority groups are also confronted with in school, would be a good start. Teachers should not slur over pupils’ complaints about racial comments, but rather name any kind of racial discrimination in school and not ignore this ‘normalized’ marginalisation (Kohli et al. 2017, 185). Another important aspect we thought about, was to bring up the topic of ethnic plurality in class. Maybe knowledge about similarities as well as differences in culture, as a start of all pupils in class, would decrease the fear of the unknown.
However, we are not automatically all racists just because we are part of this society. Nevertheless, we should not just ignore this ‘hostile racial climates’ and should be aware of the fact that racial prejudices and separation denies academic and economic opportunities to minority groups in our educational system (Kohli et al. 2017).
Dovemark, M. (2013) How private ‘everyday racism’ and public ‘racism denial’ contribute to unequal and discriminatory educational experiences, Ethnography and Education, 8:1, 16-30
Gillborn, D. (2008) Racism and Education: Coincidence or Conspiracy? London: Routledge
Kohli, R., Pizzaro, M. & Névarez, A. (2017) The ‘New Racism’ of K-12 School: Centering Critical Research on Racism. In: Review of Research in Education. March 2017, Vol. 41, pp. 182–202
Oxford Online Dictionary: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/racism (30.09.2017)