Educational Tracking: The Socio-demographic Effect

             Tracking (homogeneous grouping), a practice that dates back to the middle of the nineteenth century, combines students for instruction, based on their ability and achievement potential. The first form of a flexible grading system, the Harris Plan, replaced the age grading in public schools (Pulliam, 1999).  Initially, the plan was to develop an educational system to help nurture individual student differences rather than suppress them. Over time, homogeneous grouping has become a vehicle for sorting and isolating. Researchers have documented the existence of school-level variation in tracking systems, linked variation to students' outcomes, and suggested a relationship between students' socio-demographic characteristics and tracking systems (Lucas & Berends 2007).

            This method of education has been contested for years.  Proponents of tracking believe that it promotes learning by providing an adequate balance between the level of instruction and students' learning needs.  Others, however, have contended that tracking inescapably involves racial, ethnic, and class segregation (Ansalone 2006).

Recreating Segregation

           

            Lack of resources has caused immigrants and poor minorities to remain at a low social economic status.  Most poor minority students are sent to school in buildings of deteriorating condition. The Civil Rights Project at Harvard University (now at UCLA) has documented that more than two million students, including more than a quarter of black students in the Northeast and Midwest, attend schools in which 99 to 100 percent of the students are nonwhite (Sentilles, 2008).  These children are expected to learn in overcrowded classrooms, with limited supplies and unprepared teachers.  As a country, we spend less money to educate them than we do their white counterparts. 

            Tracking has been identified as the greatest second generation threat to equality of American educational resources (Ansalone, 2006).  Homogeneous grouping alone does not enhance the academic success of all children. Tracking may actually be academically disadvantageous to students in average and low tracks because it may deprive them the intellectual stimulation present in heterogeneously grouped classrooms (Ansalone, 2003).

            Minority groups have continued to be stigmatized. Explicit stigmas are easily identified, but the affects of implicit stigmas often go undetected. Tracking, coupled with negative in-group evaluations, stifles learning and motivation.  I propose surveying children and their parents in order to better understand their expectations. A stronger initiative must be made to sustain equal educational resources for all children. Tracking may unfortunately cause self-fulfilling prophecies. If these categorized students are told that they have a threshold for knowledge, their potential for learning could possibly never be discovered...  

Ansalone, G. (2003). Poverty, tracking, and the social construction of failure: International perspectives on tracking. Journal                 of Children & Poverty, 9(1), 3.              

Ansalone, G. (2006). Tracking: A return to jim crow. Race, Gender & Class, 13(1), 144-153. 

Lucas, S. R., & Berends, M. (2007). Race and track location in U.S. public schools. Research in Social Stratification and                   Mobility, 25(3), 169-187.  

Pulliam, J. (1999). History of education in America. New York: Prentice Hall.

Sentilles, S. (2008). Separate and Equal. The Christian Century, 27-30. Retrieved from         

            http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=3484   

How have race relations changed since the Civil Rights Movement and how have things stayed the same?

 Once again, if race relations are going to ever get stronger, perception and changing stereotypes must be a focus. While perusing the Internet, I stumbled upon a few interesting news article that I believe might reveal exactly how far we still have to go.

1.  Reparations:  When is an apology not enough?

Local government officials from the rural southeast Alabama community of Abbeville apologized to relatives of Recy Taylor.  Taylor is a black woman raped by a gang of white men in 1944. Taylor was 24 and living in her native Henry County when she was gang-raped. She was a married woman walking home from church when she was abducted, assaulted and left on the side of the road in an isolated area.  Every man charged escaped prosecution because of what officials described as a ‘mishandling’ by police.  Two all-white, all-male grand juries declined to convict the accused.

Probate judge and commission chairman JoAnn Smith, described the events as a “miscarriage of justice”.  Smith believes that the system failed Recy Taylor so many years ago. "I can pray that things would be handled differently now than in the past," she said. Added Abbeville Mayor Ryan Blalock: "I want to relay to the family and to Miss Recy that the city loves you." Smith and Blalock are white.

Though Taylor, now 91, believes that her attackers are deceased, she would still like an apology from the state of Alabama. Recy Taylor has lived with this psychological ‘yoke’ for 67 years. What reparations could possibly repair or return dignity lost? Danielle L. McGuire tells Taylor’s story in her book, “At the Dark End of the Street.” 

Article: Johnson, Bob. "Town Leaders Sorry for Handling of 1944 Rape Case - US News - Crime & Courts - Msnbc.com." Msnbc.com - Breaking News, Science and Tech News, World News, US News, Local News- Msnbc.com. Web. 17 Apr. 2011. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42198706/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/>.

2.  Racial Perception:  Seriously !?! 

A set of two nearly identical AP pictures first appeared in Yahoo news on August 30, 2005: The photo on the left shows a white couple wading through water after “finding bread and soda from a local grocery store,” while the photo on the shows a young black man “after looting a grocery store.” Unfortunately, the Katrina disaster served as a hotbed for racist journalism – stereotyping at its finest.

3. The Stereotype –  “The Perpetuator”

There is proof that our government has the ability to make ethical decisions.  Such was true when the US Trademark Act denied a Portland rock band a trademark for their name.  The application has been rejected, twice; on the grounds the name is racist. The name is The Slants and they are an Asian-American band with a large Asian-American fan base. “We deserve the right to protect our name,” claims the band.

The US Trademark Act says the feds can refuse a trademark if it "consists of or comprises immoral, deceptive, or scandalous matter; or matter which may disparage," officials cited. The band got supporting statements from leaders in the Asian-American community. “This does not disparage Asian identity; it celebrates it,” noted one. The band is preparing another appeal. They ask why the Washington Redskins can keep their name while theirs continues to be denied.

Stereotypes are the catalysts for racial tension. How can a minority group gain respect amongst the majority if they insist on perpetuating stereotypes? 

Article:  Cantor,, Matt. "The Slants: US Won't Trademark Band's 'Racist' Name." Newser | Headline News Summaries, World News, Breaking News, and Local News. Web. 20 Apr. 2011. <http://www.newser.com/story/114952/the-slants-us-wont-trademark-bands-racist-name.html>.

4.  Advertising – Think again before you reach for that aspirin.

The other night, as I sat watching a basketball game, I observed one of the most blatantly racist commercials that I have seen in a long time. The commercial was for Bayer aspirin.  The commercial takes place aboard an airplane, where an English-speaker complains of back pain and a Korean stewardess recommends Bayer.  When the stewardess gives the passenger Bayer, He states that he is having back pain not a heart attack. Not only does he assume she doesn’t know the difference, he also points to his back and speaks louder as if it would help her understand him.

After more research, I discovered a bit more about Bayer:[1]

Bayer became part of IG Farben, a conglomerate of German chemical industries which formed the financial core of the Nazi regime. IG Farben was the main supplier of Zyklon B, a chemical used in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. When the Allies split IG Farben after World War II for involvement in several Nazi war crimes, Bayer reappeared as an individual business.

Bayer has discovered, among others:

* Aspirin — a pain reliever, arguably the most successful drug ever

* Heroin (diacetylmorphine) — an addictive drug, originally sold as a cough treatment, and arguably the most successful illegal drug ever. Heroin was a Bayer trademark.

* Methadone

* Mustard gas — a blister-causing chemical weapon

* Tabun — a nerve agent

Well, now that makes more sense …….

[1] Smith, Marshall. "Sell Out Of America?" 12 June 2006. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. <http://americaisindanger.blogspot.com/2011/03/bayer-became-part-of-ig-farben.html>.

5. Defamation – So …. A picture is worth a 1000 words?

In New Jersey, Tricia Frasier is suing Life Always after they used her daughter’s likeness on a photo of a 4-year-old black child and the accompanying slogan, “The most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb.”  Frasier called the use of her daughter's image and its ad company "defamatory, unauthorized, and offensive," notes Courthouse News Service.

The billboard was quickly removed.  The stock photo was purchased bought from Getty Images with a standard clause forbidding its use "in connection with a subject that would be unflattering or unduly controversial to a reasonable person." Tricia Fraser says those terms were violated.

What does this slogan mean, anyway? As if using a child’s photo for an abortion ad without consent wasn’t enough, racism spews without explanation. I have read many comments left with this article. To my amazement, most concern the mother or child; not the message.

Article:  Johnson,, John. "Mother Sues Over Use of Daughter's Image on Anti-Abortion Billboard in New York City." Newser | Headline News Summaries, World News, Breaking News, and Local News. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. <http://www.newser.com/story/117335/mother-sues-over-use-of-daughters-image-on-anti-abortion-billboard-in-new-york-city.html>.

Conclusion:

Many may think we have become colorblind. We have not. I believe many stories are not reported because of the dilution and convolution of political correctness.  Progress in racial relations, since the Civil Rights Movement, can be measured by perspective. It has only been 60 years since blacks and whites drank from separate water fountains. Considering the history of segregation, we have come a long way.  However, we must be aware of the mask that current day racism continues to wear. It is still intertwined with every aspect of our lives. It is also important for minorities not to ‘feed the machine’ by accepting their stereotypes.

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Is social perception of interracial relationships changing?

Although the effects of interracial relationships have been debated for several decades, a growing body of research suggests that interracial relationships can promote positive orientations toward members of other racial groups (Tropp, 2007). So, how important is perception? Even though I have been involved in interracial relationships most of my life, I didn’t realize until now how seldom I see interracial relationships represented in the popular media. I don’t watch much television so I must select an example from the vault. My choice .... Tom and Helen Willis from the sitcom The Jeffersons.   
     The Jeffersons is a traditional sitcom, focusing on the characters' interactions with one another rather than political issues or storylines of the late 70”s/early 80’s. It did, however, tackle a few serious topics including suicide, gun control, adult illiteracy, and racism. The Jeffersons was the first television show to have an interracial couple, Tom and Helen, as principle characters.

      Tom Willis is an author and president of Pelham Publishers. He and his wife Helen, live in a luxury apartment in New York's Upper East Side. Tom is white, and Helen is black. This miscegenation was often the butt of, their black neighbor, George Jefferson’s insulting jokes and bigotry. George and Tom eventually became friends (though George still continued to joke at Tom’s expense). Ironically, Tom’s daughter, Jenny Willis marries' George's son, Lionel in 1976. Additionally, Tom is portrayed as a caring person, but often dominated by his wife. He is ridiculed occasionally due to his weight and is known to be a stereotypical horrible dancer.

      Tom’s wife, Helen Willis is the model of regality and an upwardly mobile black woman.  She is sharp, and is especially pointed when it comes to defending herself against George Jefferson’s narrow-mindedness.  George, disliking racially mixed marriages, constantly called both Helen and Tom "zebra" or "chocolate and vanilla". As well, George enjoys calling Tom "honky”. The Jeffersons represented a milestone in popular media for various reasons. This show displayed a interracial relationship as well as a racist black man. Did this portrayal of multiracial relationships help to support or deconstruct the stereotype?

      The upper-middle class setting was a monumental change for the representation of the minority family. That was then. How are interracial couples perceived today? Is there more acceptance for mixing races now than thirty years ago? What responsibility does media have in the manner in which they portray interracial relationships, mixed families, and multiracial children?  
      The choice to engage in a multiracial relationship says much about those involved. It takes enormous will to reject expected social judgement. Aren't we all human. Funny how science is quick to crossbreed a lion with a tiger or a horse with a zebra, but it is taboo for humans to mix races. As a whole, our society examines our individual differences with small minds and with an even smaller scope. Humans tend to fear the unknown and seek refuge in the collective opinion. This collective opinion has been the result of greed; the desire to obtain power and to inhibit those less fortunate. Social construction has thrived on the segregation of status. At least, that is what we are to think. Can this form of judgement ever disappear? No. Ever? No, I don’t think so.  However, I do believe the stereotype is diluting and I would still rather ponder all things possible instead of perpetuating the ignorance that remains to be an epidemic. 

Tropp, L. R. (2007). Perceived discrimination and interracial contact: Predicting interracial closeness among black and white americans . Social Psychology Quarterly, March(70), 70-81. doi: 10.1177/019027250707000108