High School Mixed Race children face an enormous amount of peer pressure. I knew a few very light Blacks, that may or may not have been mixed race, but, were extremely radical. I recognized this behavior as over compensation as an attempt to fit in. On my first day at High School in the US, I was unable to understand the slang ‘whaats haaaaening’ from a classmate to be ‘what’s happening’ and my classmate after several attempts shunned me. This shows that cultural differences also has an effect on ‘fitting in’.
If a mixed race child is darker but does not speak with an African American accent, there are those that may accuse him of ‘acting White’. This is quite a put down as it could make the child feel as though he’s trying to be what he’s not. This accusation is not exclusive to mixed race children, but could be leveled at any person who is not White.
The research on mixed race children in the Journal of Social Sciences makes sense, as the child that embraces all of his ethnicity is more likely to be better balanced. Parents play a very important role in the forming of this identity, and although society, in general may identify a child as one race, the child should be guided by parents to choose an identity that they’re comfortable with. Academics could also be a challenging area, as there are groups of children of all races who try to make it seem like studying and getting good grades is not cool. Of course, these are not the kids you would want to emulate.
I noticed that in High School, children that find a sport that they like and get involved, are able to form bond with a group and is more prone to not be ostracized, even if they might be academically inclined more than the average student.