BRAVERY AGAINST THE SILENCE: CHALLENGING SOCIAL DEPRIVATION IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS

Authors

  • Tameka Ann Parenti University of South Florida

Keywords:

Covid-19, minority, counterstory, deprivation

Abstract

This paper aims to explore ways in which social deprivation within the education field influences educational achievement of minoritized students during the COVID-19 e-learning experience. COVID-19 forced students to turn to e-learning, and through that experience, social deprivation was shown through the lack of resources, especially in minoritized areas and school.  The quality of education was not equitable, less so than when learning takes place in traditional school buildings.  Through a composite counter-story, a tool used by critical race theory scholars to share counter-narrative of majoritarian stories (Solorzano & Yosso, 2002), the author acknowledges the presence and importance of discrimination experiences in the education system in middle and high school. The author challenges dominant narratives of equity (Pasquerella, 2016) in the school system and discusses the need for students having voices heard to have those injustices dealt with in ways that encourage collaboration, student growth, and student achievement. It is only through finding a voice that counters the majoritarian narrative all students are given the opportunities that allow them to achieve their full potential. The author argues someone must speak up, acknowledge a problem exists, and continue to exhibit a sense of urgency within our schools. The argument becomes who will be brave enough to encourage the issue to be acknowledged, addressed, and overcome so that minority students no longer feel segregated due to their racial identity.

Author Biography

  • Tameka Ann Parenti, University of South Florida

    Tameka Parenti is a doctoral candidate at the University of South Florida and a middle school social studies teacher.  She has taught for 5 years in central Florida.  Her research interest focuses on minority students and Holocaust Studies 

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Published

2020-12-17

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 3 (2020): Navigating Complexity and Seizing Opportunity Amid COVID-19: Lessons Learned and Implications for Practice

Section

COVID-19 Special Issue

License

Research Issues in Contemporary Education (RICE) is a nationally indexed, double-blind, peer-reviewed online journal that publishes educational research studies, literature reviews, theoretical manuscripts, and practitioner-oriented articles regarding issues in education. Views expressed in all published articles are the views of the author(s), and publication in RICE does not constitute endorsement. Submission of an article implies that it has not been published and is not currently under review for publication elsewhere. 

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