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Race and Family Relationship Effect in Childs Education

About two centuries ago, the majority of African Americans were not allowed to get
educated either at school or home because they were owned by white people as slaves. After
prohibiting slavery, inequality still continued. The segregation forced black students to attend
separate schools than white students where whites received better education supports. The
segregation affected the racial life cycle of African Americans since only a few African
Americans got educated, and the majority chose making money by having low income jobs
rather than getting an education. Then these low income jobs affected the entire family not only
in a positive way for making money to pay bills but also in a negative way because working and
low socioeconomic status (SES) parents were less likely involved in childs education because of
their busy life. This consequence continues even today because the rich are richer, work less
hours but earn a lot more than the low SES families, which allows them to support their children
more in education such as receiving private tutoring and sending them to private schools. Racial
analysis explains that lack of achievement might be because of the cycle of history that puts low
SES families in negative circumstances, while SES relates family involvement in childrens
education as more likely because neighborhoods where they tend to live in together are very
limited and block parents to see the social capital. The two educational theories, readings in
racial analysis by lack of achievement and how socioeconomic status relates family involvement
to the childs education are two of the major issues that we as educators should consider.
THE ROLE OF STUDENT - RACE
Society favors white more than black. This leads young children to feel the same as they
get older because, the young person who has grown up in a multiracial community and had a
racially mixed group of friends tends to start to pull away from his non-black friends, his white

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friends in particular (Tatum 1). We tend to favor white students, but try to avoid black students.
As Dr. Wenk mentioned during the class, in most suburban areas when a black student attends
non-black school, most likely all white students move out or transfer to non-black neighborhoods
or schools. Therefore, school administrators try to keep their school as white as they can
although one of the most effective education reforms for improving poor childrens school
performance would be housing policies that integrate poor families into middle-class
neighborhoods and middle-class schools (Anyon 103). Even in NYC schools where it is very
diverse, we perceive separation very often. As many studies have shown, white students tend to
do better than students of color academically. This gap gets bigger as students get separated to
white only and black only friendships because white only friendships assist each other and share
their ideas for academic achievement. However, students of color tend to do poorly because low
achievement students tend to talk about things that are not related to the topic with their colored
peers because either they do not understand the material or do not care at all. Therefore, it would
be beneficial for all students to be assigned as a mixture of low, grade-level, and high
achievement in groups, and to respect each other. For example, low-achievers would be
motivated by high achievement students in their groups while high achievement students would
be able to master lessons by practicing and teaching others.
THE ROLE OF STUDENT-FAMILY INVOLVEMENT
Low SES tends to care less in their childs education. When I observed one of the
geometry classes at Long Island City High School, where the majority of students were taking
the course a second time for failing the regents, the math teacher asked his students to raise their
hands if any of their parents would be coming to the parent-teachers conference. None of the
students raised their hands and no one actually seemed to care including the teacher because

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parents rarely come to the conference. However, if the circumstance were opposite that the
majority of students raised their hands that their parents are coming to the conference, students
who might not share about the conference with their parents might have asked parents to be
involved. This is because most students tend to see what the majority of peers do and then
follow, because students choose between maintaining ties with their peers or achieving success
in school (Noguera 9). Therefore, putting students in circumstances where they see their peers
parents being involved in education can lead them to invite their parents more vigorously.
THE ROLE OF TEACHER - RACE
When I observed the Academy of American Studies, one of the African American
students in the Integrated Co-Teaching class seemed to not understand algebra at all. Every time
I observed the class, the boy was either absent or was sleeping in the class. He barely paid
attention and rarely raised his hand. One time, the student raised his hand to answer a question
that the teacher asked, but he did not provide answer and replied that he forgot his answer. The
teacher did not encourage or assist the student to retrieve his forgotten answer, and the teacher
chose another student immediately to move on. There was no waiting time, and the teacher never
got back to the student either. The teachers action towards the student is likely leading the
student to impede and then lack in achievement. Therefore, the teacher should give a fair
amount of wait time, encourage, or allow the student to be able to get the answer by asking other
students to help with retrieving the lost answer especially for students whom are affected
widespread racial disparities in academic achievement (Noguera 9). This allows other students
in the class to participate, interact, and help each others learning. Teachers providing
environment to students where students can be and work together will allow them not to notice
separation of color in society that we can commonly see in school.

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THE ROLE OF TEACHER - FAMILY INVOLVEMENT
People tend to do better and want to succeed when they get attention. This also affects
students academic achievement. The more parents are involve in school, the greater the childs
academic outcomes. Thus, educators and policymakers may seek to increase parental
involvement in schooling by boosting the educational capabilities and information resources of
parents (Lareau 83). Some schools provide family involvement homework, but students tend to
do it alone or do not complete it at all because either their parents are always busy working or
cannot interact because of the limited education, if any, received. Therefore, students should be
the main messenger and advocate who should allow their parents to be involved for their
academic achievement. This can be done by teachers clear direction. Instead of providing a long
hour of homework that parents need to be involved, short time of involvement will more likely
convince students to get their families involved. Teachers providing family involvement
assignments that are clear, fun, short, and cannot be done without an adults help should be given
to students for their better academic learning.
THE ROLE OF SCHOOL - RACE
Most schools tend to have stereotypes of students of color because statistically they tend
to contribute to fewer opportunities to learn, lower graduation rates, ultimately very low college
graduation rates, and fewer labor market possibilities (Anyon 101). Therefore, most schools
have low expectations toward students of color. However, the stereotypes can be removed and
allow schools to raise their expectations by posting the equality posters in schools and providing
the mandatory workshops, such as sexual harassment workshops, can be very effective for both
teachers and students. I have seen a poster saying that kids are against bullying in the hall way
and the poster was filled with many students signatures indicating that they are against bullying.

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I thought this was a clever idea because every time students passed by the poster, they searched
for their names and their peers names which allowed them to see the sign of bullying again that
reminded them that bullying is the substantial issue. Therefore, providing an environment where
adopting comprehensive systems for prevention and intervention that accelerate learning
opportunities for students will allow students and educators to adopt responsibility of being
equal to each other naturally (Noguera 162). In addition, a mandatory workshop will provide
more understanding and necessity of equality in education. These resources will allow students
to leave schools with the real meaning of equity that leverages each others learning. This way,
students will continuously perform well in college or their careers because race that impedes
motivation will not affect them for their achievements at all.
THE ROLE OF SCHOOL FAMILY INVOLVEMENT
I believe that the role of schools with community agencies is important for everyone
including teachers, students, parents, and neighbors because the administrators of schools are the
ones who can reach everyone easily for any special events or notices through advertisements,
electronic communication devices, flyers, and letters. The school itself should be a clean
environment where everyone feels welcome and wants to study once they visit the school.
Schools tend to perform better when they work collaboratively with community agencies to
address needs that they have neither the capacity nor the expertise to serve (Noguera 163). In
addition, the more events and programs are provided for children, the more parents and students
would think that their schools actually care about them. For example, parents who never attended
school in the United States, graduated from ghetto schools that had no events or programs, or
barely went to school would benefit from the open school night to learn about special programs
that can benefit their children to maximize learning and how parents can be role players and able

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to open communication including on weekends and evenings might be effective for especially
low SES family involvement (Noguera 156).
COMPARISON AND CONCLUSION
Difference between race and socioeconomic status. How we respond to race is more likely
societys responsibility including schooling while SES is raised more effectively by parents
being involved and nurturing in childrens education. Race inequality is something that we can
prevent by educating and convincing each other as we see slavery only in history.
Socioeconomic status can be part of the society issue too, however, it can be effective in childs
education just by having open communication. Although parents might be too busy to
communicate with their children or school, just five minutes of conversation can offer better
reparation for success in school and in professional careers because five minutes builds up not
only words but also relationships (Talbot 15).
Most likely, students will notice racism inside and outside of school. Therefore, students
should know their rights and laws so they can fight the discrimination. In addition, both teachers
and students should cooperate well as a team because most of the time teachers do not notice that
they are treating students of color unequally. It can be a stereotype that is built because of
students low grades during assessments. Therefore, teachers should question themselves and
realize the problems whether students are failing because of unequal treatment, their
backgrounds, or laziness.
Unlike racism, students might not notice their low SES because everyone near them lives
similarly. However, it is essential for parents to know that regardless of whether they are rich or
poor, graduated from college or not, and have jobs or not, they should nurture their children as

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positively as they can. Parents being active in childrens education can easily open childrens
trust of learning inside and outside of school to perform well.
Similarity between race and socioeconomic status. Race and SES can be effective in childrens
learning. Therefore, school is the key to childrens success and school environment is where
students should be responsible for their own learning. Teachers should be responsible for
teaching. Principals and school districts should provide teachers and students the resources
needed for success regardless of race and SES (Leonardo 269).
Since the correlation between race and class is high in many school districts, the
government should provide more funding for experienced teachers and place more responsible
educators in poor neighborhoods. We should stop the segregation on education where
insufficient school funding, few or non-advanced courses, too few qualified teachers,
undemanding pedagogy, building in disrepair and unprepared for technology, large classes, and
all-too-often unchallenging academic content (Anyon 101). The Black-White wealth gap should
be changed and more attention should be given to students who are colored and in low SES that
are in need.
Conclusion. Educators should not only focus on teaching materials and pointing fingers at
children who do not complete their homework or fail exams. Instead, we should understand why
these children are not succeeding and be concerned how we can guide them to success by
considering connection between race and family relationship that effect childs education.

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Works Cited
Anyon, Jean. Radical Possibilities: Public Policy, Urban Education, and a New Social
Movement. New York: Routledge, 2014. Print.
Lareau, Annette. "Social Class Differences in Family-School Relationships: The Importance of
Cultural Capital." Sociology of Education 60.2 (1987): 73-85. Web.
Leonardo, Zeus. "The War on Schools: NCLB, Nation Creation and the Educational
Construction of Whiteness." Race Ethnicity and Education 10.3 (2007): 261-278. Web.
Noguera, Pedro A. The Trouble with Black Boys: And Other Reflections on Race, Equity, and the
Future of Public Education. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Print.
Talbot, Margaret. "The Talking Cure." The New Yorker (2015). Web.
Tatum, B. D. "Why Are All the Black Children Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? and Other
Conversations about Race." Educational Leadership 55.2 (1997): 12-17. Web.