I’ve always thought about diversity but before my Storytelling Media Diversity class in college, I guess I never thought much of it, or as much as I should have. Diversity is all around us, and sometimes segregation is happening in unconscious ways.
To understand diversity, college can be a real eye opener. But, people shouldn’t just start learning about diversity at this older age, it should be starting when kids are young and still developing so they develop these moral values early on.
School segregation has been growing fast and, according to John Wihbey in School resegregation, race and America’s future: Recent research, in elementary schools it has been growing the fastest.
When the segregation starts at such a young age, the norm for these student’s minds. The start to believe segregation is normal and that nothing is wrong with it.
For example, Erica Frankenberg in the article Segregation at an Early Age, talks about how a social benefit to early exposure of diversity can causes a healthier attitude and become a more high-quality, well rounded person.
The effects of the exposure can cause only a better outcome, while the effects of not understanding diversity can only have negative consequences.
In the article School Segregation is Not a Myth by Will Stancil, he said “when diversity increases, some measures of segregation are likely to get worse, more or less by default.” This is claiming that segregation is becoming more of a problem, without people knowing.
He also claims how segregation in schools can be hard to keep in line, but it’s a complicated matter. This shouldn’t be so complicated we should be able to understand diversity and how to teach it and how to show it in schools.
To tackle segregation, we have to look at the cycle it has. By starting those unconscious beliefs at a young age can cause the affect to be bigger as the child grows up. To try to expose them to diversity at a young age and make them aware of different races.
Children grow up in a school environment, the most important part of their lives. Where they will flourish and develop their morals and values. Diversity should be a part of this process, allowing students to understand the difference in the community they live in.
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