Verified Document

Children And Prejudice Essay

Children and Prejudice What a person first needs to know in order to fully understand the various factors that influence racial / ethnic stereotypes is what being Caucasian truly means in our society. In other words, what does "whiteness" mean for a Caucasian child? What does whiteness mean to a child who is African-American -- or to a child that is Latino, or Native American? The authors (Derman-Sparks, et al., 2005) delve into this and other important issues that relate to not just ethnicity but to social power and influence.

What is Racism -- this is important to know -- in America? According to the authors it is important to understand that racism is not just an attitude that one person has towards another. In fact racism in American is an "…institutionalized system of power" that makes the determination as to what groups are "advantaged" and what groups are "disadvantaged" (p. 2). Those that are disadvantaged are left out of society (or pushed to the back of the bus, so to speak) when it comes to politics, economic benefits and culture.

Caucasians may not feel as though they are being "dominating"...

The authors assert that while white folks struggle to earn a living and raise families they do not believe that are "dominating anyone" because the typical Caucasian adult is not conscious of having more power than an African-American employee working alongside that Caucasian adult. That said, the authors argue that "…whites continue to live with unearned racial privilege" while other groups -- people of color -- live "…under racial penalty" (p. 3).
What factors influence children vis-a-vis race and ethnicity? On page 3 the authors point to the fact that children certainly do "…notice racial identity" and they construct their own interpretations as to the "power relationships of racism" from their direct interaction with other children but also from "…what they perceive in a highly 'racialized' society." And by the time Caucasian children reach preschool age, they have learned (or will soon learn) the "power codes or rules of racism" -- that is, "white ways are right" (Derman-Sparks, p.…

Sources used in this document:
Works Cited

Derman-Sparks, L., and Ramsey, P.G. (2005). What If All the Children in My Class Are White?

Beyond the Journal. Retrieved February 5, 2014, from the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Children Being Charged As Adults the Negative
Words: 2430 Length: 7 Document Type: Essay

Children Being Charged as Adults The Negative Consequences of Treating Minors as Adults in Criminal Cases "Old enough to do the crime, old enough to do the crime;" this is an old, yet still very controversial statement when contemplating whether or not juveniles should be tried as adults in certain circumstances (Maroney 1). There are many who believe that anyone who knowingly commits a crime must suffer the same consequences, regardless of

Children Raised by Stepparents of
Words: 6876 Length: 25 Document Type: Term Paper

These may include the parental workplace, school boards, social service agencies, and planning commissions." (Strengthening the Family: Implications for International Development, nd) Four: The Macro-system Macro-systems are 'blueprints' for interlocking social forces at the macro-level and their interrelationships in shaping human development. They provide the broad ideological and organizational patterns within which the meso- and exo-systems reflect the ecology of human development. Macro-systems are not static, but might change through evolution

Children and the Media Whether or Not
Words: 2734 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

Children and the Media Whether or not children should be allowed to watch television or movies is one that elicits great controversy among parents, educators, and child development experts. Some have no problem with exposing children to media, others have distinct criteria to fulfill before allowing children to watch any form of media, and still others strongly advise against exposing children to media at all. The real issue is about the

Prejudice / Discrimination White Privilege
Words: 997 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Additional (86-87) explanations for racism / discrimination: a) the socialization process (if the parents are racists, the child growing up learns to hate certain racial groups); b) economic competition (when security is threatened, prejudice can come into play; Blacks and Czechs in some instances were biased against Vietnamese immigrants because the Vietnamese were supposedly taking jobs away from those already here in the U.S. And in Czechoslovakia). Ossman presents a

Prejudice and Stereotyping Are Not New to
Words: 1507 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Prejudice and stereotyping are not new to society, but alert students (and others who are educated as to the dangers of prejudice) should beware of falling into stereotyping that unfairly passes judgment on others who are not like us. Thesis: While it is nearly impossible for people to avoid placing certain groups and individuals into strict stereotypical categories, nevertheless honest, thoughtful people recognize and avoid the injustices perpetrated by stereotyping. Prejudice

Children's Literature
Words: 1279 Length: 4 Document Type: Essay

Children's Lit Montano urges a rigorous critical examination of children's literature for racism, linguicism, sexism, and bias. The importance of critical examination is to empower teachers, students, and parents to recognize the root causes of bias, prejudice, and stereotype. The function is not simply to point out obvious instances of racism, linguicism, sexism, and other biases. Moreover, it is not enough to include literature written from multicultural perspectives in classroom syllabi.

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now