Race And The School Yard

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Mohammed I EL-Samna Professor Butterfield Race and Ethnicity 16 October 2011 Race in the school yard Race in the Schoolyard by Amanda E. Lewis is a thought-provoking work of how race shapes both the experiences and interactions of two urban elementary schools as well as one white suburban elementary school. Lewis considers her study an effort "to see and bear witness" to how race works in classrooms as it shapes the experiences of students in their everyday lives (p. 11). She critiques educational research as often viewing race as a fixed characteristic that does not fully capture "the reality of race as a product of schooling" and the racialization of people and schools (p. 11). Lewis argues that by focusing solely on achievement gaps, differences in discipline patterns, or disparities in test scores, educational research does not take the time to realize how race is "learned," "lived," "constructed," and "negotiated" in the lived experiences of people as they act and interact in the school contexts (p. 11). The author begins by exploring the complexity as well as the present issue of race in schools by asking the following questions. Lewis questions how race and racial inequality are reproduced in day-to-day life in schools along with how race can shape schooling experiences and educational outcomes. Lewis uses these questions to help frame the voices and experiences of students, teachers, parents, school personnel, and communities around issues of race. Through Lewis’ piece of work, she uses rich details that she has generated from her study to capture the "genuine" voices of participants around issues of race. She explores the complexities of race as they unfolded in Forest Hills, a white suburban elementary school, and West City and Metro 2, multiracial urban elementary schools. Although each school might have different contexts, they all at some
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