Discrimination

Shannon Pollard Doyle
Axia College of University of Phoenix

Though bilingual programs are offered in the schools, Hispanic minorities do not get the same education as other students due to language barriers and an absence of bilingual teachers. As the former room mother for my daughter’s second grade class, I have seen first hand the problems associated with this topic. When planning special activities such as parties, field trips, and PTA events, some of her classmates were unable to communicate with me due to the language barriers mentioned above. It was even harder for me to communicate to the parents of these children when it was necessary.
As a community member of Henrico County, Virginia most of the residents surrounding me are of white European decent. The majority of my immediate neighbors look like me in color and have similar features. However, there are multiple African American and Asian families in my neighborhood as well. Although, these races are predominate in my area there are a number of Hispanic families in the county. According to the US Census Bureau, only 3.6% of the county’s residents are of Latino or Hispanic background. This is a small percentage compared to the 65.4% of White Americans and 27.8% African Americans.
“As Principal of Ridge Elementary, it is my duty to treat each child equally no matter what their religious, racial or ethnic background may be.” (Mrs. Robin Exton) Though this may be true for Mrs. Exton, it may not be true in every school in the county. In 2002, George W. Bush signed off on the “No child left behind” law allowing every elementary school child to pass on to the next grade. This law allows the school systems to teach what needs to be taught in order for the children to pass Standards of Learning tests. I believe that this law was placed into effect in order to help the students with learning disabilities and children of races not speaking English to feel as equal as others. Considering these two factors I...