Student's Achievement Chapter Summary

Racism Discrimination and Expectations of Student’s Achievement Summary In this Chapter Sonia Nieto discusses the role racism and discrimination in the United States plays in terms of student achievement. There is no denying that racism and other prejudices exist in different systems of education, but just how much do they affect students? Children may not be able to clearly identify these issues, but they do suffer because of them. Sonia states, argues that while educators cannot fully control what students endure outside of the classrooms, they can control what happens inside the schools. By challenging themselves and their own prejudices teachers can ensure their students academic performance is not completely affected by racism, sexism, classism, or any other kind of discrimination.

Since the term regularly gets thrown around most people seem to oversimplify it. It is easy to identify racism that is extremely blatant and in front of us, but can we see it when it’s institutional? Can we identify personal prejudices? These skills are critical to becoming a good teacher. If one unconsciously lets their preconceived opinions get in the way of their teaching there is a serious issue. Sonia goes on to encourage would be teachers to challenge this system of injustices by stating “Teachers can do nothing to change the conditions in which their students may live, but they can work to change their own biases as well as the institutional structures that act as obstacles to student learning" (Nieto 63). People of color have historically been oppressed and letting it continue through education is simply not right. By having the power to control what happens in institutions of learners teachers can challenge this form of