The War in High Schools

Answer

The War in High Schools

The War in High Schools, by Wendy Kaminer, is an argumentative essay published in (2001). Kaminer (2001), in her writing, informs the audience that the school system is structured in a way that does not allow the student to express themselves. Kaminer uses facts and evidence to develop her essay. This essay's purpose was to show that even though the school system has its benefits, student rights such as freedom of speech should not be restricted. The target audience of the essay is school students across the world.

I was wowed while reading the essay by Kaminer. She raised issues that are consistently ignored in most schools and shed light on them. It is an essay that I believe most school administrators and students need to read. As teachers and administrators give orders to the student for compliance, I think students also have the right to express themselves sartorially. School is not an army barrack, neither are the students trained for that purpose; therefore, there should be some flexibility. Students should not be treated as criminals. In her essay, Kaminer stated that "How will most students learn about freedom when schools treat censorship, surveillance, and conformity as social goods?” I must say this is a thought-provoking question, which also requires some deep reflection because there is no way for students to learn independence when they are being treated like prisoners. This essay reminds me of my high school days when I was assigned a particular uniform and a hairdo for each week. Student opinions were disregarded on this matter. Failure to adhere strictly to the instruction required a certain kind of punishment to cut the grass or report back home.

Kaminer (2001), in her argumentative essay, mainly adopts the use of ethos to serve as a backup for her argument. She provides various examples to ensure that her message is passed across and clearly understood. She describes multiple ways schools oppress students into doing things. (Kaminer (2001) quotes,” Unhampered by logic, judges have ruled that clothing choices are not expressive." In this quote, Kaminer explains the fact that clothing is not expressive enough. This means they are not adhering to the rules governed by the first amendment. She emphasizes how a high school student was suspended for wearing a black armband to school for a protest on free speech, which followed the shootings in Littleton. Such attire was considered a gang symbol. Kaminer also spoke about how education has become militarized. "Under the law, elementary school students are now required to address all school employees as ‘sir’ or ‘ma'am’ as in ‘yes, sir’ or ‘yes, ma'am.’ This law also classifies the students as little armies that have just been recruited. This is the extent to which the law appears difficult. According to Kaminer, police officers armed with real guns are being deployed in some schools to provide security or its appearance. This clearly shows the extent to which most schools understand their definition of security, which is presented in a harsh method. Kaminer also states that students in some schools would be subject to bimonthly searches for drugs and weapons. This is a result of the security measures being put in place. To conclude, the aim of Kaminer listing all those examples in her essay was to explain the extent to which schools make students act like robots rather than exercising, what they call, democracy and the exercise of individual conscience.

Black Women and Everyday Racism

I chose to write on Black Women and Everyday Racism because it is a vital issue in our society today. I have some distant relatives and friends who are also perturbed by this same issue. There are countless acts and structures of racism, discrimination, racial identification, intimidation, and all sorts of harassment that got me agitated. "In the world we live in, black women and women of other color live in a world of racism which has resulted in a denied entry to the various women's movement." A significant aspect of black feminism is known as intersectionality. Intersectionality has to do with race, gender, and other social categories that influence individual life outcomes. The story of black women at work and everyday life is one of resilience. It is also essential to understand that "Despite the challenges Black Women encounter, they have achieved so much and have not given up on their dreams. The change is coming, and it is only the Black American Women that can bring the change." Race and discrimination are considered a significant cause of inequality amongst women and people of color. To address the issue, policies should be put in place to eliminate racism and discrimination amongst women and people of color because it contributes significantly to increased poverty and inequality in the world.

The World Is Against Black Women

Even though Black Women are hated due to their skin colors, we are still seen as optimistic as people of other colors despite structural oppression.

The debate of whether the world is against black women is very controversial. However, all forms of discrimination and racism, particularly among black women, such as gender inequality, sexual harassment, and prejudice in terms of privileges, could be a strong indication for such controversy. Black women are still far from achieving equality (Amina, 2020, pg. 47)." The research shows that Black women experience many discriminations and crisscrossing inequalities. However, they are trailblazers and leaders in their communities and country at large. To build a more equal and better world, gender equality and racial equality movements cannot manage to abandon anyone behind.

Throughout history, black women worldwide have made unexpected efforts in our communities that sometimes do not get recognized (Lewis, 2019, pg. 13). Anti-racism includes revealing the unique ways in which Anti-blackness is seen in different forms in our daily life. While trying to understand the Black women's involvements, "intersectionality," a term invented by Professor Kimberly Crenshaw, was first defined as distinctive forms of melancholy faced by black women. Nowadays, time is mainstream and is intellectualized as the experiences encountered by those with transecting personalities. A term coined by Moya Bailey, "misogynoir," " describes unique specific prejudice, distrust, dislike, and hatred directed towards the Black women (Lewis, 2019, pg. 18)". Anti-racism, tutelage, and exertions should scrutinize misogynoir, its ways of manifestation, and instrumental techniques of mitigating it.

Misogynoir is widespread all over the world in different ways, in which some may not be realized. In 2005, Moya Bailey used the term misogynoir to highlight how black women are looked down on and unnoticed. Such experiences range from sexual assault to police brutality, and these cases often go unreported.

Why Should A Woman's Skin Color Matter?

We are equally the same and created by God; we are all beautiful; we are all different and unique in our way, which makes things much more enjoyable. So why do people still think that a woman's skin color matters?

Colorism in the United States is a form of intergroup stratification generally associated with black people but present amongst people of color. It subjectively ranks individuals based on their skin color. According to the book "Ain’t I a Woman?" the lives of black women were very tough and unfair (Rolls, 2009, pg. 1801).  In the year 1851, a Women's Rights Convention meeting was held at Akron, Ohio. A black woman delivered the speech. Mrs. Frances D. Gage commenced a conference in Ohio.  According to Rolls, the movement leaders started trembling after seeing a tall black woman walk into the church like a queen up the aisle and taking the seat on the pulpit steps. This event resulted in causing a scene in the church, and one of the members said, "Go for it, darkey!”. This implies that many white people feel intimidated when black women take leadership positions or take the place of power. In this context, a woman had the chance to narrate her life story in front of everyone. When she started telling her story, it was heard again and again. Some of the trembling ones came to the organizer of the meeting and said with an earnestness that "Don't let her speak, Mrs. Gage, it will ruin us." They also knew that every newspaper would make great news mixed up with abolition.

Unfair treatment of black women encouraged them to fight for themselves. Changes were taking place gradually as few people stood up for themselves as against society. It was not an easy task to bring social justice and change in the community (Thornhill, 1985, p.153). The fight against racism is still on, but initiatives were put in place, and campaigns were carried out to change.

Black Women Success: A Means to End Racism.

According to Frye (2019), black women have accomplished their desired goals despite the existing inequality present in society, including the workplace. Based on the outcome received on the research on the State of Black Women in Corporate America, there is the same general pattern for everything but in many ways. Black women have had worse experiences in comparison to almost everyone's experiences in life. As for minimum waged jobs and in terms of promotion, everything was slow. Such experiences were of greater micro-aggression compared to other women of color. (Crutchfield et al, 2020, p.817), shows that black men were not respecting black women in the past, making life difficult for women. As the black women took up initiatives, they gained respect from their family, which led to boosting every black woman's confidence. Women have fought for themselves, which can be seen by the current education rates among black women. (Crutchfield et al, 2020, p.815). from 2004-2014, there was a 24% increase among black women who completed a bachelor's degree. In addition, the enrolment of black women in college was greater than the men and higher than the white men. If there is a reduction in discrimination amongst women of color, this world will be a better place for all.

In conclusion, it is important to note that racism against black women is a vast topic that has impacted every black woman's feelings and sentiments. The negative impact of racial discrimination clearly explains the claim made above on the difficulties and the problems faced by black women. In addition to this, years of rejection and unequal treatment have led to the national and global issue, leading to the outburst in the nations. Black women fought for their rights and liberty against the men and the white people. Various initiatives and campaigns were undertaken to bring change in society and the people's thinking, creating a place for black women in society. This issue can be seen to be a success as these initiatives have proven to make a difference.