The processes of segregation among Mexican Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, African Americans and Puerto Ricans differed, but the results has had the same impact on putting these communities at a disadvantage, today. All these communities are attempting to close the educational performing gaps that were widened by segregation.
Let’s take the instance of the Mexicans who are direct decedents of Native Indians and Spaniards. The treatment endured by them is disturbing to think about suggesting this nation was created to subdue inequality in religion and welcome freedom of expression. How could the people of this land inflect the same isolation they felt upon them before its formation?
The stripping of Mexicans, Native Indians lands and the displacement of Africans are all obviously negative and unfair. This nation could have been a greater nation after bringing these groups into unwilling situations. For example, if the intention was to bring unity and not segregation through education, we would have a stronger education foundation for all people. The resources used to treat groups inferior, could have been an opportunity to establish a cohesive system earlier on in America. By embracing racial diversity in 19th century we would have alleviated the problems we are facing in poor performing schools today. Students from vast backgrounds would be comfortable working with one another because it would be apart of the American culture. The depths of performance gaps would have decreased tremendously.
Generation of collaborations among different ethnicity groups would have yield more productivity among citizens of the land. I wonder if the American educational system were decentralized, and embraced diversity earlier on would this have subdued the racial gaps in performance we see today? These past issues easily lend itself to present day issues in education and in immigration especially in the cause of Mexicans. Now we are faced with states wanting to hire more teachers to improve the school culture, so schools depict the population it serving. Before reading this chapter I did not know the full intensity of how Mexicans have been scorned on their own land. Furthermore, the importance of embracing multiculturalism entirely in a nation.
