Structures & Institutions

I feel like I am naturally a pessimist so being hopeful can be difficult for me at times. That being said, my blog posts usually consist of my worries for the present and future. This week I wanted to make an effort to note something I feel very positively about. In “Can Schools Be Fixed,” something that gave many of the interviewees hope was the amazing educators that they had met. I have also found that educators on average are not a group that lacks passion or knowledge. Teachers I have had, professors I have currently and students I know that are training to become educators have all been truly concerned about their students learning as well as their well-being. Even through the current presidency and the potential rough road ahead for educators, especially those in public education, those in the field have a lot of hope for the future because overall they believe in kids and the influence education can have on their futures.

As we saw in “Dropout Nation,” within the educational system race and racial identity are so important because history proves that different ethnicities often correlate to socioeconomic backgrounds which correlates to economic opportunity. Because of the structure of educational institutions these early disadvantages can have long-term impacts on the lives of students. I went to a high school in a low socioeconomic status neighborhood and the labels that were placed on kids due to their ethnicities and their parents’ incomes effected the kids they hung out with and therefore their participation in school and extracurricular activities. Post high school this then affected their options for further schooling and jobs.

In Fields and Fields article “Racecraft,” they discuss the idea of racelessness. They show that racelessness or a post-racial society is actually the direction we are moving in because the concept of race does not really exist. I think they do a good job of separating the non-existence of race from those who choose not to acknowledge ethnic and cultural differences though. To me race not existing just means that there are not any biological differences or advantages between people. Yes we have different DNA, but we are all people and the region of the world we are born in does not make us better, worse, or different, simply human.

In his novel Allan Johnson quotes James Baldwin discussing how white does not really exist and that whiteness was forcefully developed. This idea resonates with me because I do not know the ethnicities that make-up my ancestry, only that I am “white.” While there is nothing wrong with being white, whiteness is not a culture. It does not involve proud historical traditions or celebrations, it does not feel like it defines who I am. This correlates with Baldwin’s argument as he claims that ideas such as race and whiteness are constructs of society and not reality. According to Baldwin it is not being white, heterosexual, abled, etc. that is valued, it is being in the majority with normal society.  

This then addresses the question of men in helping profession positions. Regardless of race, ethnicity, social class, education level, etc. professions that value ethics and people over money are not professions meant for men according to society. Society says that to be successful men have to make a lot of money. To be in a helping profession then men have to constantly overcome their pride and the judgments of society, as well as dealing with everyday stresses of the job. Societal norms and institutional structures are hindrances that can easily be overcome by deviating from normative behavior.  

Fields, Karen E., and Barbara Jeanne. Fields. Racecraft: The Soul of Inequality in American Life. London: Verso, 2014. Print.

Johnson, Allan G. Privilege, Power, and Difference. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education, 2018. Print.

Koughan, F., & Vargas, K. (Producers). (2012). Dropout nation [Motion picture]. United States: PBS.