A web-based app that will teach students in primary school about the implications of discrimination and racism, sponsored by the All Together Now initiative, will use real-life scenarios to showcase active discrimination. The thought process of this app is to foster a sense of self-awareness in children to help stifle stereotyping.
An adult version of the app was already a hit.
The Every Day Racism project allowed people to live vicariously through a Muslim person, an Aboriginal man, or an Indian student. Every couple of days, the person who downloaded the app will receive a text or video message that will help challenge preconceived notions that they might have.
The Effects Of Racism In School-Aged Children
There are real life consequences for those who are subject to racism. A study by the American Journal of Public health has noted that children who are exposed to moderate racial discrimination can actually experience illnesses.
Racism isn’t just a sole act of demeaning someone due to their ethnic background, but it also contributes to school and housing segregation, which limits a child’s social circle.
One of the earliest study of childhood racism comes from an experiment in 1939. The Clark Doll experiment was an experiment that showed how colorism occurs even in very young children.
An example is how it was used in the Brown v. Board of Education case to show that separate does not mean equal.
Launching In Australia
The app will first have a test group of as many as 400 children in New South Wales and Victoria, where one out of three schoolchildren are either immigrants to Australia or at least have an immigrant parent. As diverse as Australia is, sadly one in five students experience some sort of racism on an almost daily basis.
The hope is that this app will connect with young students, alleviate prejudgments via exposure, and equip them with the tools to deal with internalized biases.
Watch this video to get an idea of how racism affects kids:
Featured image Screenshot Of Fanpage.it Video Via YouTube
