5 Ways Racism Is Still Embedded in American School Curricula
A much-needed flow of attention has been diverted in recent years to the racist practices in our schools, including the ways in which American schools overly suspend and expel black and Latino students. Certainly the practice of school discipline, by ignoring culturally responsive methods of teaching and redirecting student behavior, embodies much of the racism that is still normalized, practiced and even encouraged in some school districts. But in too many cases, even the curriculum itself is embedded with racist and reprehensible, outdated beliefs.
1. “Critical thinking” exercises ask 5th graders to practice radical empathy with the Ku Klux Klan.
The New York Times recently reported that a South Carolina teacher recently asked a class of 10-year-olds the following question on a homework assignment: “You are a member of the K.K.K. Why do you think your treatment of African-Americans is justified?”
Students went home crying to their parents, and the teacher has since been placed on administrative leave. This comes only a month after our own president endorsed empathy for white supremacists in Charlottesville by claiming that “both sides” had validity.
2. The brutality of American slavery is diminished.
Credit: NPREd
As recently as 2015, textbook publishers were still softening the violence of racial history by referring to black slaves as “workers.” McGraw-Hill later apologized and corrected the gaffe. A quarter of Texas students used the book, though, and copies are undoubtedly still being used today.
3. Colonial-era maps still used in classrooms distort the importance of Europe.
The most widely used, standard map in social studies and history classes is several centuries old, and actually portrays Northern Europe as much larger than it really is, while it diminishes the scale of Africa. Advocates for newer maps say that the old maps push a Eurocentric point of view that is steeped in colonialism.
4. States forbid non-white students from learning their own history.
The state government shut down an ethnic studies course on Mexican-American history and culture in Tucson in 2011. This August, a federal judge condemned the move and said the racially motivated ban violated students’ constitutional rights.
5. Standardized tests put people of color into predictable boxes.
Credit: DailyKos
This offensive AP Government multiple-choice question created by a Pearson study guide underlies how multiple choice tests actually narrow students’ thinking methodology into “right” or “wrong” options. When applied to questions of race and politics, the result can only be damaging. Surely, a better lesson to teach children is that these questions are always complex and multilayered.
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