way. "Part of the difficulty, I think, is in the history as mythology many of us received as young children: the prim, immaculate, starched and pressed Pilgrims who made friends with the Indians and lived happily ever after; the Columbus who in 1492 'sailed the ocean blue' to prove to the unbelieving masses that the world was round and 'discovered' America; the numerous poems and stories about Washington and Lincoln that are either patently false or far from the essence of who these presidents were" (195). Teachers need to teach students the truth about our history, from all perspectives. Once the school systems realize that the information 'inspiring' our children is false, maybe then we can 'rewrite' history. Literally. Aside from the four things that teachers can do to overcome racism, there are two important concepts for them to understand. This is the difference between unaware racism and internalized racism. They should know what these two terms mean so they can look for signs of them happening. Unaware racism is exactly how it sounds. It is when people unintentionally say or do things that hurt the feelings of individuals of another group. This act happens with people of all ages, but it is important that teachers are aware of this problem. They need to learn to see beyond color and treat all students the same. Internalized racism is what happens as the result of stereotypes and discrimination. "It is the result of a group of people targeted by racism, systematically, over a long period of time, from all around them hearing stereotypes about people like themselves, and the message that they are inferior and cannot achieve, and their coming to believe or internalize those stereotypes and messages" (201). This turns into a loss of self-esteem and extreme hatred towards oneself and members of their group. In the school systems, teachers tend to pay less attention to students of color, or else don't ...
