Social work critical thinking essay. book-Blaming The Victim by Essay

Social work critical thinking . book-Blaming The Victim by William Ryan - Essay Example The child’s upbringing is brought up repeatedly as an excuse for the lower educational levels of the minorities. The article mentions the influence of the home environment and the lack of experiences as a reason for hindered learning. It goes on to say that these differences in the home environment cause a barrier to education by not teaching the black student with, â€Å"inadequate preparation for the reality of the modern urban school.† (37) Integration became the solution for the poor educational system. So rather than facing the true problem, the victim is blamed and, â€Å"Uneducated parents, crowded living quarters, absence of books, family disinterest in education—all combine to handicap the poor black child as he enters the school system.† (33) Thus not only blaming the victim, but also instilling a belief in negative stereotypical beliefs about the victims. So not only is the child and his upbringing blamed for the lack of education, the inequality is justified by finding defects in the child while blaming. One instance of finding defect is that it was believed that being poor led to a â€Å"functional inferiority.† The Coleman Report was considered comprehensive. Coleman’s studies found that â€Å"blackness and low achievement are highly correlated†. This research blamed the victim by assuming that because white children learn more, black children learn less. Repeatedly, the blame returns to the home environment, blaming the victim for an upbringing. Researchers based findings on how far a student would go based on number of newspapers in the home, educational level of father and mother, books in the home, etc. (51) The research determined that there were more opportunities, more preparations for college and more resources available for whites. According to the author, the Coleman Report blames the victim based on the family background, treating it as â€Å"a cause-and-effect