8). I think it is safe to say most would view “public education as a major vehicle for socialization and serves to cultivate both cognitive and social skills” (Braddoock II and Gonzalez, 2012, p. 1634-5). The middle class families understand the importance of having a concerted cultivated lifestyle. They are reading to their children at a young age, taking them to museums, and plays etc. There are many types of cultural capital that communities of color and/or poverty offer but unfortunately they are rarely recognized by the dominant culture. Since our American society is built on white is right. The only thing that is acceptable is when individuals follow the “white norm”. It is not respected or appreciated when non-Whites express their cultural norms. Regrettably, is also how our educational system operates according to Landsman. Lastly, hooks (1994) posits that in order to challenge the status quo and to end institutionalized oppression, educators need to be dutiful of how their instruction may be prejudiced by middle class norms and how this could generate barriers for dissimilar groups of …show more content…
We must give credence to “those who have experienced discrimination…as they speak with a special voice to which we should listen” (Matsuda, 1995, p. 63). We must keep in mind that all students do not have access to top quality education in their respective public schools. Essentially our job is to prepare “the nation’s youth for living in an increasingly diverse society” ((Braddoock II and Gonzalez, 2012, p. 1650). More importantly urban “segregated schooling will not---cannot—offer equality of educational opportunities to our children” (Mickelson, 2005, p. 105). According to Anderson (2011), we must acknowledge that “housing segregation is also a prominent feature of the context of school segregation” (p. 774). All of which is a symptom of a much larger problem…our government. Bell (2004) “noted local governments have been active accomplices [in segregation] through mortgaging practices, the location of public housing and urban renewal projects, and zoning regulations (p. 111). In addition, we must concede the part city planners and real estate agents play in the housing segregation. They understand “the power of schools to determine home values and steer the suburban residential development” (Erickson, 2012, p. 253). Lastly, how some “school boards gerrymandered zone lines so as to bring about a little actual desegregation as possible” ((Erickson, 2012, p. 258). Therefore, we need to have