Challenges facing minority students after Brown v. Board of Education

Education: Social Foundation

Brown v. The Board of Education (1954) was a landmark ruling that not only marked the beginning of the era of desegregation in the school environment, but also served as a frontal attack on the practice and doctrine of white supremacy in the overall society. Many viewed it as a reprieve for the Black-American community, but as Justice William Douglas revealed in 1971, the de jure segregation ruling in Brown v. Board of Education was more than just a mere reprieve for blacks; it was a direct effort towards integrating the philosophies, policies, and cultures of different communities to make public education accessible to American Indians, Latinos, African-Americans, and Asian-Americans just as it was to whites. As it turns out, however, desegregation of public schools did not even come close to being the one-fits-all solution that many thought would address all the inequality concerns of minorities -- even after gaining access into predominantly white institutions, children from this group still continued to face serious challenges that impeded on their ability to matriculate speedily, graduate, and match up to their white counterparts in the academics sphere. This text reviews some of the key challenges faced by some of these minority groups in their attempts to not only gain access into public education, but also fit in amidst the philosophies and policies that had been designed primarily to meet the needs of the dominant paradigm.

The Challenges and Struggle of Black Americans

The African-American's struggle to gain access into public education is undoubtedly the most prominent of its kind. Even after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, most leaders still appeared committed to advocating for the segregation of school children on the basis of race. George Wallace's, then governor of Alabama, quote; "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever," in 1963 was an outward sign of defiance to the Brown ruling, and although predominantly white institutions were under a legal obligation to open their doors to black children, there was still much of a status quo in various aspects and this made it quite challenging for black children to fit in (Rothstein, 2013, p. 2). First, despite opening their doors to blacks, most schools still conformed to the old institutional standards, rather than evolving the same to be able to respond to the needs of their increasingly diverse student bodies (Benton, 2001). This made white students to not only feel superior, but also develop negative attitudes about the inclusion of 'strangers' in their institutions. This in turn made the public school environment rather unwelcoming and unsupportive of black children. Moreover, the curriculum was blatantly ignorant of black's culture and perspectives -- student services and teaching styles were drawn from a monocultural angle, making black children to perceive themselves as 'side dishes' simply because their cultures were not considered part of the university fabric (Benton, 2001). A third challenge was the unfavorable school environment - the black culture values family, groups and social networks; in fact, most blacks derive their social values from their social groups (Benton, 2001). The public school environment impeded on black children's capacities to establish social networks as most of the staff and faculty members were white, and of course a bulk of the student population was white as well.

The Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s served as major breakthroughs, coming in to reinforce the ruling made earlier on in Brown v. Board of Education. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, signed into law by President Johnson, called for the integration of all Americans, requiring all facilities, business or otherwise, to bestow equal opportunities to all, regardless of race. As a result, schools began to seek out human development models that would assist them in understanding the processes of human development and consequently, providing black students with an environment that appreciates and responds to their specific educational needs (Benton, 2001). In another landmark ruling in 1978, in the case of Regents of University of California v. Bakke (1978), the Supreme Court made it mandatory for public schools to incorporate appropriate affirmative action programs into their admission programs to ensure that they met the minimum thresholds for black student and staff admissions. The Civil Rights Act imposed upon schools a legal obligation to make the school setting more than just an academic center by implementing social and cultural services, providing social support services targeting black children and allowing for the formation of black student unions and other social outlets in institutions of higher learning (Benton, 2001).

The Struggle of Native American Children

Native Americans have also had quite a struggle in their attempt to access public education. One of the key challenges faced by children seeking to gain education from this group was the high level of illiteracy among its members. Children need role models, and when they lack these, their drive for positive change is likely to die (Indian Country Media Network, 2011). A lack of interpersonal financial and emotional support was also identified as a key challenge for children in this group. A 2012 study by Pew Research Center established that one out of every four Native Americans lives below the poverty line. We can rightly argue that the situation was worse a few years back, judging from the fact that some Native Americans have had access to education or secured jobs over the last few years. Another key challenge is that children from this group were often intimidated by the unfamiliar processes of financial aid application and often lacked the advice of career counselors because reservation schools, which most of them attended, had limited access to such services (Indian Country Media Network, 2011).

Organizations such as the American Indian Education Foundation came up to assist children from the Native American community in accessing public education. This they did by providing scholarships to bright, needy children, and linking members of the communities with career counselors and advisors, thus helping children realize their educational goals by equipping them with expert advice and at times linking then up with appropriate public schools (Indian Country Media Network, 2011).

The Struggle of Women

Women have, and in some countries, actually continue to face numerous challenges in their attempt to gain an education. One of the key challenges faced by women in America during their struggle to gain access to public education was society's persistent preference for males (Women in World History, 2013). Laws and customs had placed men as superior to women, and as such, public schools tended to show preference for men in their selection procedures as well as in the administration of financial aid (Women in World History, 2013). Internal resistance (resistance from other women) was also a key challenge for women seeking to be allowed to access public education. Most women feared that this would make the female gender lose its female rights as the 'protected species' as it would mean that it had chosen to compete with, as opposed to submitting to men (Women in World History, 2013). A third challenge was the large-scale resistance from liberal politicians, who felt that if women were allowed access to public education, they would also demand to be included in politics, and this would damage the conventional structure of progressive politics (Women in World History, 2013).

Society has gradually changed its perceptions regarding the abilities and the place of women in the community. This period of gradual change is commonly referred to as the 'silent revolution'. It has been spearheaded by outspoken organizations such as UNESCO, which have focused on getting the society to appreciate the benefits of having educated women. These organizations have called for the democratization of societies and development of human rights. In its 2012 report titled 'Women Access to Higher Education', for instance, UNESCO develops declarations, resolutions, normative instruments, and recommendations to advance and assure gender equity in education.

Children in Catholic Schools

Children in Catholic schools face a number of challenges that impede on their ability to gain access to public education. To begin with, the curricula in the two institutions are significantly different. Whereas the latter focuses on instilling academic skills that would drive a child to economic success, the former focuses on instilling virtues and facilitating discipleship in addition to enhancing success (Boland, 2013). Cost is also a major concern for Catholic children seeking to gain access to public education. A third challenge facing these children is founded on some prevailing attitude -- Catholics feel that public schools, which are largely protestant havens, are misleading by focusing on the economic gain of education as opposed to the moral benefits; public schools, on the other hand, are of the view that spirituality would not be enough to help children succeed in the current era of technological advancement (Boland, 2013).

In an attempt to reduce the Catholic-Protestant tension, policymakers have allowed the free development of both Catholic and public schools, granting each one the right to instill the values it deems appropriate, and let their students graduate on that basis. This way, parents can make the decision on whether to send their child to a Catholic school or a public school, based on their own individual preferences.

Issues in Contemporary Education

Well, there is no doubt that education plays an immense role in improving the living standards and overall well-being of a community. In this regard, policy makers in America's educational sector ought to be a worried lot because there are a number of factors that threaten the quality and accessibility of education in America today. One such factor is the rising cost of high school education. High school fees have risen by a substantial amount over the last decade (27 to 33% to be precise), and researchers have raised concern that if the cost of education continue to rise faster than average income, more and more people are less likely to afford it and consequently, we are likely to witness higher drop-out rates (Kuh, Bridges & Hayek, 2006). Another key problem with contemporary education is that the curriculum tends to focus too much on instilling success skills and it seems to disregard the role of life and critical thinking skills in an individual's success. Moreover, the curriculum does not grant the psychological well-being of students the attention it deserves. Unresolved psychological problems could have a detrimental effect on performance, causing them to drop out as a result of persistent failure.

Conclusion

The struggle for access to public education by minorities has been long, right from the 1960s when the Supreme Court gave a ruling illegalizing the segregation of children in separate public schools. It is particularly because of this long struggle that policy makers need to make an attempt to structure the educational system in such a way that it guarantees equality to all. In my view, it all starts with addressing the key problems that are threatening to damage the very aim for which the struggles by minorities in the last century were initiated.