Racism and the Developing Child

As I observe my son in his present youth, I often reflect upon my childhood, and the way I was brought up. I note the dramatic differences between our upbringings. I grew up in Edmonton, Alberta Canada and was one out of two children that attended my elementary school, not only was that a notable difference as one revved the physical differences between myself and my classmates but in the general population as well. Quite noticeable I didn't look like anyone else except those that were in my own household. It wasn't even that I thought in my young mind that anything was wrong with it, it was just a plain fact. I also had a mixed household with a younger siblings whom were both half white. It wasn't until I was 5 years old that I really noticed the negative effect on the physically characteristics, when one day when I was walking with my mom in the mall and a little girl pointed and laughed at my hair making a comment on my ill Afro puffs. A year later I started kindergarten, and was called the "N" word. In that instance I developed a sense of self-consciousness about my appearance. As I entered school, I made numerous amounts of friends, as I strived to be the best at everything else that was within my control, fashion, sports, and a clique of friends. Negatively, that also caused me to develop a need for people to like me and be "cool", I got caught up with the wrong crowd in high school, among people who liked to party hard. My last year of high school, my family moved to the America, where the majority of my mom’s family lived. and I was in complete culture shock, not only did I look like the majority of people but where we moved to in Maryland there was a rarity of any other race in that proximity besides African Americans and Hispanics. It was then that a new difference was discovered in which I didn't act or sound like the other students and was labeled as "acting white". However, by that time I was surrounded with a large number of family members including ones that were only a few years older than me. They became a major influential role models to me, as many of them had similar upbringing. I was able to cope by leaning on the support of my family and close friends, as I slowly came to the realization of self-empowerment, and self-love.

     I would like to know my family's native country, which is still considered a third world country. I know of the struggles that my family went through during their childhood, like poverty would like to know of the present struggles that are apparent in 2013. The country currently struggles as a developing third world country, vast aspect of poverty and the ever effect of developing its industry. As a result many children struggle to acquire the very basic needs needed to sustain life. Additionally, the education system suffers dramatically, where shortages of national expenditure on education were seen as serious drawbacks. In the past few years Guyana, like most of the developing countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and Asia (all referred to as the Third World) are commencing in a similar phase; in other words, their education systems began undergoing a transition from the stage of educational underdevelopment to one relatively developed one.