My Own Racial Identity

Knowing ones own racial identity is so important in the education field. How can a person work with children of they do not know who they are? A racial identity helps a one better know who they are as a person and as a teacher. Schools are becoming more and more diverse; if a teacher does not understand their own journey through finding their own racial identity then they will most likely not succeed as an effective teacher. It is so important for a teacher to be aware of their own racial identity because it can help them connect with their students on a deeper level. When students feel more connected to their teachers it could help reduce discipline problems because the students would have gained a respect for their teacher a person. Sharing their racial identity with the students could help the students be more open and honest with their teacher because they would feel like they could trust him or her.
One stage I went through was called the status quo stage; the Janet Helms racial identity model explained that the status quo is accepting the way things are, the “norm” of society. When I was in high school I accepted the status quo because I was not exposed to many cultures other than my own. I went to a very small private school where there were only one or two black students in the whole high school, which were not in my grade. Not being around people of color made me completely unaware that racism even existed; white privilege made this possible for me. I lived my life not knowing anything about racism and other cultures up to this point because I am white; being white has given me opportunities that I was completely unaware of at this time in my life. Since I am white, I could not see that I was taking things that were handed to me on a “silver platter” for granted; I was unaware that people of other ethnicities than myself had to work hard to achieve the things I had given to me all because of skin color. When I was about to be a senior the small private school I was attending shut down because they did not have enough students to pay tuition so they ran out of money. My senior year I went to slightly larger private school, where I was exposed to a larger variety of different cultures. In my history class we got into a discussion about slaves, the African Americans in the class were expressing how the things of the past were still affecting them and how they felt that they were treated differently in society. I remained quiet throughout the whole class, thinking to myself “well I didn’t cause them any harm, it’s not my fault, so what does this have to do with me?” The more and more the discussion went on the guiltier I felt about what was happening to them but I still kept the “It’s not my fault” point of view. As my senior year went on and the discussions continued I began to move into the denial stage. I began to get tired of hearing people of color talk about how they felt discriminated against. Instead of stepping back and listening I thought “well why don’t they just try harder, if I can be in advanced classes and succeed then they can too.” I was getting really angry that the students of color in my class were “pulling their race card” all the time, I even thought they were trying to make people feel sorry for them. It was not until I entered college that I began to see whiteness for what it is. I did not know what I could do to help and I felt so ashamed for the way I had acted my entire life toward people of color. As time passed, I learned that I was not in fact a bad person for my past actions, but I was never taught how to adapt to other cultures until I had already formed my point of view about other cultures. I was finally able to accept my self as being white and having all of these unearned privileges that I did not deserve. To be honest, it was not until I came in to Dr. Juarez’s class that I was able to take ownership and decide that I should do what I can to stop racism from evolving more than it already has. I know there are a lot of people out there like me who was never around people of color until they were grown and had already developed their own opinions about minorities.
I have benefited from being white my entire life. Don’t get me wrong, my parents have worked very hard to earn the things they have, but the playing grown was never level to start with. My family is pretty well off and I don’t believe we would be so lucky if it were not for us being white. I see in restaurants how colored people are treated differently and receive different service than white people; things like this anger me because society makes judgments about people before even meeting them. People think they can form opinions about others based on the skin color and appearance but this is simply not true. There are white trash people just like in any other racial group. I believe white privilege has made my life easier than it should have been; I have gotten every job I have ever applied for, received better service because I am white, and have been accepted into society based on the way I look rather than what is on the inside.As a prospective teacher, I will do every thing I can to make sure that my students are culturally aware to their surroundings. I want my students to have a curriculum that is fair and not based on the normative white standard, but that incorporates many other cultures. I believe being aware of my own racial identity and knowing how white people have been set up for success has changed the way I view education. I want all of my students to be treated the same way no matter what their skin color. Also, I think it is important for the students learn about each other’s cultures to help them get to know each other better. Most importantly, I think that teaching children about other cultures at a young age will help them not have to go through the journey I did to realize the unfairness that colored people have to deal with every day, and hopefully it will change the way the students will view people of color in their futures.