Introduction
Differences in welfare, treatment, and status mark the state of affairs for all children. Before the 21st century, racial issues were felt by many disparities in schools through close interaction with teachers and students, white school enrollment, and ethnic-minority learners’ performance. (Mintz p. 12). The minority groups have reported an increasing racism experience by 2.5% between 2016 and 2020 (Esquivel and Blume para. 5). The groups impacted include the Indigenous and Black children, where 15% indicated experiencing racial segregation in 2020 (Esquivel and Blume para. 5). There is an evident gap in quality of education for these groups and that means unequal paths that the child takes as they move further with life. Assigning African American students a black teacher in the third, fourth, or fifth grades reduced the probability of dropping out of school by 29% (Strauss para. 5). Systemic racism has affected minority ethnic groups in the US by adversely impacting their education health and the general welfare in the society.
Rampant Racism Affecting Children and Young People
Unfortunately, coming from a low-income family may lead to one’s tribulations due to prejudice. Minority groups in the US comprise primarily African Americans, meaning the effect is felt even in their children, more so in schools. As a result of perceptions, black students may have poor grades, low interest in advancing their education or career, or increased chances of dropping out. The reason why these minority groups have been at the receiving end is that society has continued to subject them to systemic racism that is done indirectly. Strauss (Para. 2), in a Washington Post article, says that black students of both genders from low-income backgrounds are more likely to advance their studies when they have at least one black teacher in college. That is a significant drawback to young people because education and career determine a person’s future. Thus, under the existing challenges, it means these minority groups’ children will continue to languish in poverty if they do not have stable means of getting income.
There is evidence that race affects how teachers perceive students and how that impacts performance and excellence. For instance, a study by the IZA Institute of Labor Economics indicates that black students who white tutors teach are less likely to feature in gifted programs than the same group being led by a black teacher (Strauss para. 3). The same bias exists when it comes to giving grades for assignments in schools where the minority have been categorized in many non-performing criteria. The future of accommodating equality for all students in the US is uncertain due to the statistics of teaching staff in the country. A report by the Education Department in 2016 shows that 82% of teachers in the US are white, 7% are black, and the rest are Hispanics and Asians. There are educational disparities based on race due to the ‘rode model effect’ (Strauss para. 5) refers. Black teachers have high expectations for black learners, meaning they have a growing education engagement and aspirations that make them prosper in the environment. Thus, to fix the problem, it is essential to increase the proportion of minority groups’ teachers.
Systemic racism has been affecting black students, creating achievement gaps in reading. The Education Department’s National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) did a routine assessment of eighth-grade learners to investigate possible student achievement gaps in reading (Strauss para. 2). Based on the criteria for achievement levels which comprised of advanced, proficient, essential. Below basic, excellent, and worrying, minority groups’ learners had a negative outcome due to the reported details. The result shows that Asian/Pacific Islander students analyzed data had a bell curve skewed slightly to the right. That was due to 42% having the proficient mark, 31% basic, and 15% below basic (Strauss para. 6). For Hispanic students, the curve went to the left, where 1% were advanced and 20% proficient. In comparison, 40% and 38% at basic and below basic, respectively (Strauss para. 6). For black learners, the curve skewed heavily to the left, where only 1% were at advanced levels, with 14% proficient, 39% at primary where 47%, almost half were at below basic (Strauss para. 7). All these leaners had grown in the US hence, it indicates racial disparity in student achievement.
Regarding children’s health, racism has created a gap in mental health care. Undertreatment among the non-white population is significantly evident due to cost and stigmatization when the victims seek care (Mintz p. 28). There is a treatment gap regarding ethnic-minority students in the US, where whites have been favored in mental health issues. The undertreatment of the ethnic minority is a critical concern in society due to mistrust of the healthcare system, which is brought about by racism. Most of these students feel the irrelevance of seeking mental health treatment as they will be given low value due to systemic racism that is rampant in many social factions of life (Strauss para. 4). Therefore, clinicians should be aware of distinct cultural heritages and educational capacity which calls for fair treatment.
Racism has made children in the affected groups perceive life differently. Many black learners, Hispanics, and immigrants with Asian heritage fear asking for help because they will be seen as failures (Mintz p. 17). As a result, society is breeding a sensitive generation that lacks self-esteem, more so for ethnic minorities. The essence of assistance is to improve, which means if the students do not consult or seek help, they will face academic struggles, which makes unsustainable risks in the future when they become adults. Students from poor backgrounds have occasionally been associated with dilemmas when seeking help since they frequently get defamed for their racial affiliation, language, or general ethnicity. There is a lack of emotional health concerns for students of color, which means the challenge has sprouted deeply in the context of health interventions (Mintz p. 37). There is a need to have training for people to know how to handle children from different classes and ethnic children because when a child has a negative attitude toward life, it increases the risks of failure hence, poverty in the future.
Racism has affected children’s well-being due to poverty levels in ethnic-minority groups. As a result, many young learners have experienced disparities in school activities such as online studies during the eve of the Coronavirus. Esquivel and Blume (Para. 1), in their Los Angels Times article, say that Latino and black students were affected deeply by the online learning disparities. “Nearly every category of sAngeles Times article, say that Latino and black students were deeply affectedtudents — sorted by race, income, and learning needs — included large numbers who did not regularly participate in distance learning. But low-income students and Black and Latino students showed participation rates between 10 and 20 percentage points lower than white and Asian peers” (Esquivel and Blume para. 3). From that perspective, it is clear that children have been affected academically due to the incapacities brought by the income of their parents an indicator that these groups face poverty issues.
Based on Figure 1 above, the looming disparities are due to the parents’ income levels. The food for thought, in this case, concerns the probability of a white and black parent being poor in that their children will feel the effect. To explore the matter further, Esquivel and Blume (para. 7) say that members of these ethnic-minority groups disproportionately work as essential front-line employees who are often given low-paying work, exposing their family members to risks that are transferable in schoolwork at home. There has been an issue with employment equality because most black and Latinos do not benefit from high-paying jobs compared to whites. Similarly, the unemployment rate of these groups is higher than whites, which brings disparities that affect schooling (Esquivel and Blume para. 8). Thus, the US has been striving to combat racism. Still, the efforts are limited by structural discrimination in opportunities, making young people suffer due to the uncertain phenomenon. The continued racial disparities may make educational barriers that determine success of an individual in the future.
Racial segregation in the US has led to many black children making suicidal decisions. Many black students are dying by suicide, and the effect is due to health problems such as autism. There is a disproportionate number of young black people who commit suicide when compared to white children. Many of these suicidal thoughts culminate from mental health issues, such as when the students find they have chronic ailments that will affect their growth, schooling, and social interaction with others (Caron and James para. 10). In most cases, these victims cite lack of support at their schools where other pupils and even teachers disregard their special requests when they are affected by unavoidable occasions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2019 report shows that suicide rates and attempts have increased for black learners in the US (Caron and James para. 4). There is an alarming rate in this matter due to structural racism where social stigma has been honest. As discussed previously in this paper, mental health is considered to have affected ethnic-minority groups. Racial injustices such as delayed treatment for black American children in hospitals have contributed to this issue.
Due to racism, ethnic-minority groups are at risk of dying from common diseases, which means health problem disparities are experienced for this group. For example, black children have 3.43 times the odds of losing lives and almost 20% odds of having postoperative issues (Mintz p. 47). The impact is due to race and bias in healthcare. The level of inequity has been evident when it comes to delivering care for black Americans. Structural racism, predominantly about primitive prejudices and assumptions about race, is the core factor that has played a crucial role in worsening this situation (Mintz p. 17). Racism has deeply affected the physical and mental health of non-whites, and many conditions and illnesses disproportionally affect the victims, such as heart disease, cancer, and even Coronavirus. Healthcare workers treat black patients differently from the way they do white, where lifesaving procedures are often recommended for the ethnic majority. Thus, black children, Latinos, Hispanics, and others find it difficult to combat their health problems due to existing systemic discrimination.
Conclusion
Structural racism has affected children and young people in the US. Due to that, most learners have been perceived as failures in schools, while others face disparities in accessing studies and frequent school dropouts. Additionally, the rate of racism has led to many ethnic-minority groups facing mental and physical health problems, making them vulnerable, hence making decisions such as suicide. Children who learn about racially-affiliated school environments may have low interest in following their career paths. Due to inequality in employment sectors, many American and Indigenous parents have not been able to sponsor their children’s school life, which impacts the well-being of a child.
Student achievement in schools often disregards non-whites’ capability, for instance, in gifted programs where they are left out more so when taught by a white teacher. These ethnic-minority groups lack self-esteem due to the systemic racism evident in schools, hospitals, and other social amenities. There is a need to train society on avoiding primitive ideologies that may lead to racial and ethical discrimination against children in America and globally. Based on the extent of structural racism that is evident in the current society, it might be a risk to ethnic-minority groups who interact with other majority groups in day-to-day activities such as schools, workplaces and family settings.
Works Cited
Caron, Christina, and Julien James. “Why Are More Black Kids Suicidal? A Search for Answers.” The New York Times, Web.
Esquivel, Paloma, and Howard Blume. “L.A. Latino, Black Students Suffered Deep Disparities in Online Learning, Records Show.” Los Angeles Times, Web.
Mintz, Steven. Huck’s Raft: A History of American Childhood. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2006.
Strauss, Valerie. “Analysis | Study: Black Students from Poor Families Are More Likely to Graduate from High School If They Have At Least One Black Teacher.” The Washington Post, Web.
Strauss, Valerie. “Perspective | No Systemic Racism? Look at Student Achievement Gaps in Reading.” The Washington Post, Web.
Vohra, Sweta. “The Fight to Desegregate New York Schools.” The New York Times, Web.