White Patricary in the US Education System
Yes, we still have to keep talking about it - cis white males have an innate upper hand in yet another aspect of life. Why do we have to keep talking about it you ask? Simply put because it’s still an issue and the first step in solving an issue is addressing and educating people on it. Exactly what is the issue? There is still systemic discrimination against people of color and women in our education systems.
As per the graph, we see in the STEM fraction of the education system there is an overt number of individuals who are blind to the issue. Overall, findings done by the International Journal of STEM Education indicate that men are less likely to perceive sexism and white people are less likely to perceive racism. These issues will continue to persist if the groups with privilege are ignorant to them; educating those who are members and administrators of the education system should be a top priority.
What evidence do I have that the white patriarchy actually still exists? Well, that’s simply too big of an ask — so I’ll provide what I think is most pressing. The examples stem from all levels of the education system, student, teacher, and administrator. Specifically, I will look into how idealizing of historical figures has perpetuated the ideals of white patriarchy, the continued suppression of women and girls, and the overall lack of equality and more importantly, equity for minorities (partially African Americans) in the United States higher and K-12 education systems.
Works Cited
Dancy, M., Rainey, K., Stearns, E., Mickelson, R., & Moller, S. (2020). Undergraduates’ awareness of White and male privilege in STEM. International Journal of STEM Education, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-020-00250-3
