Anonymous Essay: Must Read

Hello valued readers! We here at The Great Change received an anonymous essay in our inbox yesterday. It address problems that are clearly evident. Check it out below!

The perspective and the reality of the educational system are far from the same. As I experience and observe the education profession, I find it important to share injustices that should be addressed.

The definition of education, in common usage, is that education is the delivery of knowledge, skills and information from teachers to students. However, teachers are not able to deliver knowledge, skills, and information within their full capabilities due to a number of restrictions. Restrictions that are influenced by and include prejudices, people pleasing, preconceived notions of abilities, politics, naïve mindsets, and greed. Therefore, the educational system can be seen more as just another business. This is especially true for the public school system.

The motivation behind this statement comes after a recent popular and controversial occurrence between an African American female student and a Caucasian male campus police officer at a high school in South Carolina. Allegedly the female student was told a number of times to get off her cellphone. An officer, Senior Deputy Ben Fields, was then requested to the classroom and asked the student to stand up to leave the room. Officer Fields responds to the student refusing to stand up, by wrapping his forearm around her neck, pulling her backwards unto the floor, and then tossing her across the floor. Fields then commands that she put her hands behind her back and applies handcuffs to her.

Of course, thanks to the convenience of cellphones and ability to share anything instantly online, a recording of the event spread fast sparking another controversial story and issue.

A few days ago, as I scroll down my Facebook timeline, I notice someone share that they signed a petition for The View to cut Raven Symone from the show. They also make insulting comments about her character and intelligence.

During a conversation with other hosts on the issue, Raven states, “The girl was told multiple times to get off the phone,” She also shares that she believes, “There’s no right or reason for him to be doing this type of harm, that’s ridiculous. But at the same time, you gotta follow the rules in school. . . This shouldn’t even be a problem to begin with, and he shouldn’t have been acting like that on top of it.” Media summarizes her statement by suggesting that Raven “victim blamed” the student for the event. It seems as if the majority of African-Americans active on media were disturbed and infuriated by her comments. Though I understand the agitation of “victim blaming”, I am not a fan of it whatsoever, I do not agree with the condemning of another young minority woman. I get that she probably could have used a different choice of words when delivering her points. At the same time, our African-American community have to put themselves in her shoes for a moment. Raven is a childhood star who has continued to have a successful career over the years.

Now... let’s consider all of the Disney stars over the years who have had chaotic circumstances broadcasted for the world to see... Also, consider the fact that Raven is one of the younger co-hosts on a very popular live broadcasted show. From the look of comments and posts I have seen, many do not know the difference between their, they’re, and there... do those same people think they could go on a live show and not make misconstrued statements? Let’s state the obvious...Raven has made a few statements regarding race that can come off condescending. Although, the media suggests that “Raven is against her own race”, I am sure she knows firsthand that people are treated differently based on their appearance. She is a 29 year old woman with brown skin, not a size 3, and who dresses in a bizarre way at times....  I am positive she has felt discriminated against in her career.

Conflict is a commodity in the media industry. If the show a certain conflict and get people tuned in, (to websites, news stations, etc.), the more money they will make. The job of media is to get you tuned-in, and sometimes that conflict is created if it’s not actually present. This has occurred in Raven’s case as well as many other public minority figures who make statements that are not necessarily “people pleasing”. I applaud the actions of, The Talk co-host, Sheryl Underwood, who spoke up against the backlash that Aisha Tyler underwent for expressing her point of view of the Spring Valley High School incident.  (Please see video- http://youtu.be/w-jypMvf2il ) I respect the women such as Raven Symone, Sheryl Underwood, and Aisha Tyler. There is no doubt that they have experienced many trails to earn the positions they have. Despite their abilities to achieve so much as women of color, they are still crucified for any opinion that might become misunderstood or small mistake they might make. I just wonder if anyone ever stops to think about how they must feel... To receive such criticism from the same race of people that experience the same challenges you do and

you would think would be more supportive... Instead of focusing on what the media has promoted, I wonder if anyone has took a moment to realize a valid point that she made. The notion that Raven is “victim blaming” comes from her pointing out that there is more than one issue that should be addressed with what was going on in the classroom. Her two points include: 1) There is indeed an issue of misuse of power and procedure by the school and officer. 2) There is also an issue of inappropriate use of technology in classrooms.

Not only are those valid points, there are additional concerns that should be addressed that trickle all the way down to the superintendent of the school district. The other students present in the video watching the actions of Fields, known as “Officer Slam”, have seen this happen times before. And now the district wants to make statements suggesting that they will do an in-depth investigation. Why now? Because mass media has caught a glimpse of internal issues that the school has swept under the rug? As I continue to work in education, I witness countless occurrences similar to these. I have witnessed Caucasian teachers roughing up students with no limitation or consequence. I have witnessed students walking out of classrooms in front of principals, while taking a test, to take a phone call. I have witnessed so many discrepancies at a high ranked school in Texas....that I hope to become someone who can help to make changes.

Along with the points Raven made, issues of ignoring faults such as misuse of power, prejudice, procedures, and policies in a school all need to be addressed.

I love my culture. I love our people. On countless occasions, I have experienced and witnessed injustice that has occurred because of a person’s appearance, so I hope my points are not misconstrued into “victim blaming”.

The most accurate summery of my points would be that the reality of education has many broken pieces that need to be acknowledged and fixed.

- Just another voice