A Reflective Essay on Racial Awareness: The Salience of Race

This reflective essay explores the salience of race through the author's personal experiences in predominantly white educational settings. It highlights the racial disparity between students and teachers, the impact of macroaggressions, and the importance of diverse teaching staff. The author recounts advocating for change, facing backlash, and finding solace in a few educators who invested in their dreams and taught with social justice and equity. The essay emphasizes the need for greater cultural competence and racial understanding in schools, underscoring the invaluable learning power of educators who share similar backgrounds with students of color. Desklib provides similar essays and solved assignments for students.

Running head: THE SALIENCE OF RACE: A REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON RACIAL
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The Salience of Race: A Reflective Essay on Racial Awareness
Name
Institution

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THE SALIENCE OF RACE: A REFLECTIVE ESSAY ON RACIAL
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As a young high school learner, who has undergone a 13-year period in education, I have
solely been taught with two tutors of color. The significance of education is never found in the
classroom interaction and course units, but it is found in the significance of relationships
established from questions, conversations as well as quality investment in corresponding lives of
both students and staff. It remains in such conversations which personal experiences alongside
stories of race and racism’s navigation can be deeply explored. Having gone to a principally
white school, in the course of challenging periods of mid-school, I stood reminded in each unit
from Earth Science to Literature that I stayed different from everyone else. Albeit I managed to
thrive, my other colleague friends of color writhed to succeed in the unit material. Attending
classes became a burden not only for me but also for my fellow friends of color.
Nevertheless, as we transitioned into high school, I thought of matters of cultural
competence and racial understanding would cease, with a learner population which was 87%
student of color. Surprisingly, I stood wretchedly mistaken! The teaching staff remained
proportionately contrary: more than 87% white. The racial disparity between staff and students
stood a problem. The subconscious and subliminal macroaggression of scratchy queries relating
to black hair; continual trials to overturn race-oriented experiences of learners of color alongside
persistent assumptions regarding a student of color’s background, aligned to stigmatized ancient
rhetoric-by staff and tutors remain the embodiment of such a disparity at its center (Gooden
&O’Doherty, 2015). In learning institution of individuals who act, look as well as come from a
similar background as me, I still felt like another by teachers and staff who are white. Such a

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feeling remained a reality for several learners universally, who are coping with inherent
identity’s description (Tatum, 2017).
This remains a reality which has stayed as the foundation of most of my educational
career. I have subsequently advocated for the need of a diverse teaching staff/body; made
attempts, with my staff, to initiate a podium for honest as well as an in-depth conversation about
race. I have also offered to assist with the newly established equity team; expressed my take that
learners of color remain unfairly treated (McGee, Alvarez & Milner IV, 2016). I, nevertheless,
persistently faced with a backlash. Their credentials and place as white tutors remain completely
valid, however, the learning power from an individual who resembles me as well as carries the
societal burden which I do remains invaluable and apparently missing in my educational
experiences.
Such an underrepresentation of tutors of color has to alter. Of all which I have
experienced in my educational career, 3 figures remain which are outstanding of whiteness. They
include tutors, who have made attempts to speak to me face-to-face, invested in my dreams and
hopes, mentored my aspirations as well as taught with social justice and equity. Such figures
remained intentional in this approach as well as successful in their respective actions. I have
henceforth kept in close contact with one of them, with whom I stayed acquainted in mid-school.
The other 2 are my current tutors at the moment. In their lectures, I always feel a sense of
comfortability which remains uncanny to spaces I inhabit in the course of my day. In such
sessions, color as an obstacle remains deconstructed in a manner that students and staff are able
to work across respective dissimilarities (Durden, Dooley & Truscott, 2016).

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References
Durden, T., Dooley, C. M., & Truscott, D. (2016). Race still matters: Preparing culturally
relevant teachers. Race Ethnicity and Education, 19(5), 1003-1024.
Gooden, M. A., & O’Doherty, A. (2015). Do you see what I see? Fostering aspiring leaders’
racial awareness. Urban Education, 50(2), 225-255.
McGee, E. O., Alvarez, A., & Milner IV, H. R. (2016). Colorism as a salient space for
understanding in teacher preparation. Theory Into Practice, 55(1), 69-79.
Tatum, B. D. (2017). Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?: And other
conversations about race. Basic Books.