Race in the Classroom

Reflections on "From Racial Sterotyping to Deficit Discourse" by Daniel R. Soloranzo and Tara J. Yosso.

          Soloranzo and Yosso wrote this article, as it appears to me, aiming at the white race. They address 

the white supremacy idea and how it effects outcomes of education. They are " examining educational theory 

and practice [and how they] are used to subordinate certain racial and ethnic groups" ( p.2). The critical race

 theory give 5 points: The Centrality and Intersectionality of Race and Racism,The Challenge to Dominant 

Ideology, The Commitment to Social Justice, The Centrality of Experiential Knowledge, and The 

Interdisciplinary Perspective.

           The authors also mention the idea of unconscious racism. They say that white people make comments

 that are not meant to be racism and do not appear to be racism, but in fact show racial bias. It gives 

examples in the article of the exaggerated bias that are give to other races like slow, lazy, violent. It touches 

on three biases that are present: intelligence and educational stereotypes  personality or characteristic 

stereotypes  and physical appearance stereotypes. All of these are presented in a perspective of how whites

 view other races. They say that in education settings teachers show these biases by setting low expectations, 

separating students of color, or " dumbing down" the curriculum. 

             In conclusion, the article challenges people to fight against racial stereotypes. In regards to education 

we should not lower expectation or treat them any differently.. I was surprised that they made assumptions 

about how whites feel about other cultures.I feel like that was stereotyping in itself.  Soloranzo and Yosso 

seem to take the " be color blind" approach to racial issues. While this is effective in many ways, I also

believe it is important to let students be who they are. Each student will bring a different culture to the 

classroom. I do not believe in suppressing that, but integrating that. I personally think it is a really big learning 

experience for students if they can interact, accept, and learn from each others different cultures.