Current issue in Sydney: Schools working to resolve racism in schools.

There are no words to describe how racism feels. Everyone deals with it differently. Some people lash out verbally, others withdraw into themselves. Some people can talk openly about how it feels, others hide it deep within... How many of our children are trying to learn in racist classrooms? How does a child reach their full potential and exercise their rights as citizens of this country when they are given messages every day that they are worthless human beings? What if it was your son or daughter? What would you do? (Mark Williams, 1999)

With the rise in multiculturalism within schools, the concept of racism is also growing. On the basis of identity and culture, students within the schools are faced with many problems that affect their educational culture and stability. Schools in general should focus on the awareness of the actual concept of what is racism and the way it affects individuals so that students learn to think before they speak. As in some occasions many students take part in an act of racism whereby they specifically humor themselves by ridiculing another individual due to their race. As seen throughout history till recent day racism has been an issue in the educational system. It went from issues of domination of whites, to Indigenous Australians issues in education, to those migrating from different countries having difficulty in gaining a sound and peaceful education due to their race. As the Wed 31 Jul 2013 article ‘Teachers, pupils on mission to tackle racism in Australian schools’ points out in 2013 there has been a series of high profile racist incidents that have caused a number of concerns. One of the main ones schools and teachers should ask themselves is enough being done to address racism and prejudice in schools.

As teachers racism needs to be a concept in which we have to understand how to have effective classroom management strategies in which to deal with racial incidents. This can be difficult as teachers need to choose their choice of words carefully as they could be misunderstood by students. Also to have a notion that everybody is equal is an important concept to raise about students. As the video how Jihad Dib Punchbowl boys’ principle deals with racism is that he creates a family relationship within the school with the students emphasizing that everybody should be treated equally and well. Also celebrating different customs is a striking procedure he includes in his school system that in my opinion is a positive way of making students more aware and acceptable of the different races and cultural identities within the school.  Implementing changes to the school curriculum to suit the needs of the variety of students regardless of their race is most important to start within the school atmosphere and then working towards classroom interactions.  

Students who experience racism can be affected in a sense were they have reduced levels of confidence, feelings of insecurity whereby if a student has high potential will possibly head towards failure. Educational outcomes depend solely on the way in which educators within schools provide a sound environment whereby students can gain an education. As in the article Jihad Dib aims to build a sense of belonging in his school regardless of race or cultural background, he builds a sense of ambition and encouragement for a all students. For further insight on the Jihad Dibs progress in punchbowl boys and other videos on the awareness of racism visit the website:

 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-31/hip-hop-helps-students-overcome-racism-in-Australian-schools/4854174