The Disproportionate Overrepresentation of Minority Youth in ...

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“It’s too hard for me. I don’t think I’ll be able to go to college.” Another black male said,
“I don’t like the work.” A white males view, “I’ve been telling everybody that I don’t like
school. I just might be dropping out.”
Treatment
When the youth were asked if they felt that teachers treated blacks and whites the
same, the majority felt that the teachers were fair regardless of race or social class.
Eighty—three percent of the whites responded that sometimes or most time/always that
teachers treat everyone alike and 90 percent of blacks felt the same way (Tables 7, 8).
These same results were supported in the interviews with the majority stating that they
believed teachers to treat everyone alike.
A black male said, “I feel that teachers treat all students alike. I don’t see any
difference in how they treat whites versus blacks or rich versus poor.” A white male
simply responded, “No, they treat everybody the same.”
There were a few youth, however, who believed teachers treated students
differently because of their color of skin. A black female experienced a teacher who
admitted being prejudice. “Cuz we have this one teacher who told one of her classes that
she was prejudice. That’s why she didn’t want as many black people in her class.” A
white female felt that teachers feared blacks. “I think the female teachers are afraid of the
black students. When a black student would...they’ll give black