Sample Research Paper No. 2

Separate title page

[Course name and number]

Dr. Gant-Britton

[Date]

[This paper is not perfect. But it gives an example of the research aspects of the paper.]

SAMPLE RESEARCH PAPER

The Right for Exceptional Education

for

African American and Latino Minority Groups

[Student Name Withheld- Some names and quotes have been altered for purposes of this sample]

(Separate title page- not part of the 3pp.)

The United States has become one of the most culturally diverse places in which to live. The increase in minorities such as Latinos and African Americans has drastically risen during the last century. This means that schools in some areas of the country, such as southern California, are overrepresented with minorities who have immigrated to the United States or migrated from other states in search of improving their lives. With this in mind, should education be modified to include special education for certain minorities? This is the question many young Latinos and Latinas face when they come to this country without sufficient knowledge of English. Due to the increasing number of immigrants arriving to the United States, they are often prevented from getting the full education they need. It should be possible to reconstruct or modify the educational system to be able to provide more minorities with quality educations to help them overcome initial language barriers. This paper will analyze the importance of reconstructing the educational system in order to prevent otherwise qualified minority students from receiving insufficient education for their special needs.

As educator Natalia Petrzela notes: “All individuals residing in the United States have the right to exceptional education regardless of their race, color or economic status” (406). But this is often not the case for school-age immigrants. Due to economic and political oppression in their home country, they made decide to travel to the land of "opportunity" in search of a better life. But upon their arrival and enrollment in high school in Los Angeles, they may be placed in ESL/Shelter English classes. These specific classes are designed for students with language barriers, those for whom English is not their first language. Some immigrant students are clear with the school personnel at the time of registration and that they have already been taking some English classes in their home country and should be capable of doing the work in regular English classes. However, being a minority and having a thick accent, they may still be placed in classes where they are not challenged. Their curriculum is often not as demanding as the curriculum for students in regular classes and the school district's expectations of them may be lower. The educational structure needs to change in a way in which it will not only benefit those who are already citizens, but will also be helpful to those who have emerged into the United States from other lands. In Mike Roses's "Lives on the Boundaries", the author strongly believes education should be available to all. Rose begins by telling us about his  own experiences as an immigrant student and informing the reader of his initial lack of interest in reading. Not until his teacher, Jack MacFarland "sparked an interest in writing" (106) did Rose begin to appreciate literature to some extent. This is a perfect example of the importance of adjusting teaching styles and curriculum to meet student needs. By not doing this, we are disempowering and therefore excluding students like Rose and denying minorities the right to the fullest possible education.

Another area in which the educational system needs to be adjusted is in providing all students with the same opportunity to participate in gifted programs that can lead to college. There is no conclusive evidence that all African Americans, Hispanics, or any minority group have inherently lesser intelligence. So, why exclude many minority students from such opportunities?  In "The Underrepresentation of Minority Students in Gifted Education", Donna Y. Ford states that "one of the most persistent, troubling, and controversial issues in education is the disproportionate  lack of representation of minority students in special education, including gifted education" ( 4). This area of need can be improved or modified by having teachers "understand minority students’ communication skills, modalities, and behaviors" (11). Most importantly, "teachers will need training to avoid cultural deficit and pathological models and to understand that intelligence and educational ability are matters of individual differences rather than racial differences” (11 ). These statements show us that education is a power that belongs to every individual. Education is power and therefore denying the right to an exceptional education is disempowering an individual.

Fortunately in our era in this country, we no longer have to face slavery and nearly complete depravation of education. At one point, according to "Beginning of Black Education", very few blacks in Virginia were able to receive an education until public school was established during Reconstruction. However, when this happened "many whites did not want blacks to become educated, fearing they would challenge white supremacy" (22).  This was clearly a way of disempowering African Americans and they had no choice but to accept it during that period in time. Although times have changed, one can say that educational disempowerment still exists in our communities and in our everyday lives, because as people like the aforementioned young immigrants were striving for a better life for themselves and their loved ones, they encountered situations that were so challenging, sometimes they felt it was impossible to keep going towards their goal (Rose 107).

While we strive for empowerment in the midst of disempowerment, it is important to continue to analyze the ways in which the educational system should improve the quality of education for minorities such as Latinos and African Americans. It is such an important issue to address because according to the Schott Foundation for Public Education: "without a policy framework that creates an opportunity for all students, strengthens support for the teaching profession and strikes the right balance between support-based reforms and standards-driven  reforms, the U.S. will increasingly become unequal and less competitive in the global economy" (1).

Minorities make up a big part of today's economy in the U.S. due to their hard work and taxes paid every year. It is only fair to provide them with the kind of excellent education they need to compete in the real world. Education is power and every individual has the right to receive it regardless of the color of their skin, gender, place of origin, language or economic status.

[Three full and complete pages, not 2 ½ or less.]

[Separate page for Works Cited page]

WORKS CITED

Ford, Donna Y. "The Underrepresentation of Minority Students in Gifted Education." Journal of Special Education 32.l (Spr 1998): 4-14. Print.

Donna Mendez. Personal Interview. 6 May 2014.

Petrzela, Natalia M. "Before the Federal Bilingual Education Act: Legislation and Lived Experience in California." Peabody Journal of Education 85 (2010): 406-424. Print.

Rose, Mike. "Lives on the Boundary''. The Presence of Others. Eds. Andrea A. Lunsford & John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York: Bedford/St. Martin, 2000. 106-115. Print.

Sousa, Andrew and Jocelyn Rousey. “America's Education System Neglects Almost Half the Nation's Black and Latino Male Students”. The Urgency of Now: Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males. Schott Foundation for Public Education. Schott Foundation for Public Education. 19 September 2012. Web. 5 May 2014.