Racism in Educational Institutions, Essay Example

Racism in institutions is a phenomenon that still exist even in the 21^st century although there have been strong campaigns against the vice. Institutional racism is where establishments such as schools or even government agencies experiences disharmony and non inclusion of all races. Most common type of racism is where whites and black don’t get along well with each other on various grounds.

In the military all boy school that I attended, racism was evident and this presented a great challenge to the whole community. The institution faced various issues related to racism that were hard to deal with decisively because of the nature of the vice which emerged in different forms. One of the biggest challenges arising from racism in the military boy school was the fact that it was hard to deal with it without offending the other races. For instance, it was often the black race that faced greater racist experiences than the white people. The whites also felt targeted when the black people were protected.

Similarly, I observed that racism may occur in school in the form of jokes and friendly gestures where other races made fun and also create humor out of other races’ attributes. This further complicated the way the school dealt with racism cases. The students often make friends with other races but still at some points tend to sideline others based on race. It also seemed to me that racism was almost natural when more students of the same race met together than when they are mixed with other races. Sometimes, racist attitudes were expressed without a will and thus strongly misunderstood. Such instances put the school administration in awkward position on how to deal with the problem.

As much as racism often took the explicit nature and also occurred passively, the military school did all it can to help reduce the implications of racism in school. Students often have more time to learn to be with diverse creeds and this helped the institution fight racism. Although there was a general laxity in fighting racism directly, the institution preferred to make racism a two way thing that can affect both sides. This helped students to appreciate one another without putting race into much consideration.

During the schooling period, it was evident that the institution did not take a radical stance since majority of the students were from one race and thus makes it hard to use a “hands on” style. This elaborates how racism in organizations affects the way leaders in those institutions approach racism issues. The most intriguing part was that some students and even staff members in the school did or say things that could be considered racist unknowingly.

Although strict rules are there to fight racism in schools, it is equally hard to implement them radically since it might seem so punitive rather than mindset changing. Changing the attitudes and perception was taken to be important than just minimizing racism and racist tendencies among students and staff. The school days nevertheless provided some insights about racism and how and why students sometimes do not mind joking about other races. It also seemed that the approach taken by the school relaxed the perceptions on racism.