Discrimination Can Be Stopped

By: Tom Kucharski
8th Grade, Emerson Middle School
Niles, Illinois

America is a rich blend of many cultures and ethnicities, but despite the diversity, there is still discrimination in our society, in our workplaces, and schools. Here in Emerson Middle school, the number of students of different cultures and ethnicities is on the rise. But there is still little ethnic and racial diversity. 90.9% of the kids at Emerson are white. Because there are not many kids at Emerson of different ethnic backgrounds they are considered to be out of the norm. As a result, they are made fun of at school.

Counselor Norman Dynesson believes that "Ignorance is what causes children to feel uncomfortable around things," in the case of discrimination at EMS kids feel uncomfortable around students of different ethnic and racial backgrounds. Mr. Dynneson believes that if kids were taught about and familiarized with other cultures, they would not seem so different and strange to them.

Currently at Emerson there is an emotional intelligence program which is supposed to teach kids about tolerance and emotional intelligence, hence the name of the program. In Emerson there is also a Barrington Health World anti-violence program that promotes tolerance as well, but discrimination still occurs despite these programs and kids are still made fun of. 8 out of 11 kids surveyed say that they have been discriminated against at Emerson, and 100% of 9 kids surveyed say that they have witnessed discrimination at Emerson.

Mrs. Dziedzic, a teacher at Emerson middle school, agrees that there is too much discrimination at Emerson saying that "any discrimination in our school is too much." She also said that educating the students is the only way to get rid of it. She pointed out that in her art classes she does all she can to allow students to express themselves and to teach students to respect other kids and their artwork. She also says that some social studies teachers try to incorporate teaching about other cultures into their curriculum so as to teach students about the diverse world they live in.

When asked why he makes fun of a certain foreign student, one 8^th grader at Emerson said "I don’t know, he’s just weird." Maybe the urge to discriminate is subconscious and kids don’t realize it. Like Mr. Dynneson and Mrs. Dziedzic both said, that the best solution would be to familiarize the students with other cultures so that the students would all look at each other in the same way, and not treat one student differently because of their ethnicity or race.

The school board has recently been discussing the topic of racial and ethnic discrimination in District 64 schools. The school board is trying to establish curriculum goals for social/emotional learning. They plan to try to teach kids tolerance, which they hope will help to stop discrimination.

(Uploaded May 2004)