There has been an attack leveled on the identity of young black boys in America. And perhaps many have failed to acknowledge it, and I'm even more certain that few have suggested viable counteractive measures. You will often read studies that explain to you that young black boys value or expect less out of schools. They will identify the culture, point to their aspirations, cite the disproportionate number suspended and casted off as special ed. These studies are often published by prominent black scholars, but few have left us with much to consider as to what can be done. Not that these accomplished individuals need a defense, because they HAVE done us a great service in exposing the problems and identifying what I would like to call the "identity attack." These scholars no doubt should be applauded, for without their work we would not be as far along as we are know in understanding this phenomena.
At this moment I should be writing one of my final papers, but this topic has laid heavy on my heart and ultimately will serve as the outline for one of those papers. In short, I'm attempting to be productive even in procrastination. But also know that if you read this, you are likely to find grammatical and even spelling errors, try not to use those to discredit the message. In short, this message is emerging from my soul and I woud like to share it with you all, right now.
The limitations of previous studies lie within where they stop and the interpretation that could be placed upon their findings. For instance black males statistically look up to less academically successful peers than their counterparts. Let's see if I can break that down further. A study by Cynthia Hudley found that if ask black males, which of the peers within their gender and race they look up to generally they will pick peers with high achievement at a rate lower then that of black females. In short they tend to look up to students who are doing poorly in school more then those who are doing well. However, as someone in my class pointed out statistically as the achievement gap would suggest their are less high academic achieving peers for black males to pick from. Consequently, if only 1 or 2 of my peers out of 10 are doing well in school and you ask me which peers I look up to chances are I'm going to look up to someone outside of those 1 or 2. Thats just statistics, math or probability. However this simple idea is indicative of the attack on the black male identity that occurs in schools.
Statistically as a black male I'll have less peers that look like me to look up to who are doing well in school. Bam! Academic identity hit. I am more likely to be placed in a special ed program, which are notoriously viewed as the place for slow kids, by the people who matter the kids. Bam! Academic identity hit. I am more likely to be suspended. Bam! Academic identity hit. I am more likely to encounter stereotype-threat situations, because well I'm black and a male. Bam! Academic identity hit. No in previous studies like the one mentioned above it could be interpreted that well Black males just think that way because thats how it is, they just do. Blame, for lack of a better word could be squarely placed on the kid. Not until someone comes in and list all the "Bam! Academic identity hits" would some start to think hey thats not a black boy response thats a human response. Those black boys in those systematic situations have little other choice of peers to look up to because of a lot of issues that plague the schools.
Even more, with so many hits on your academic identity, with so many messages that oppose the concept that you can be a black boy and be successful academically how are we expecting them to do well in school? There is a theory called Self determination theory(SDT) that would suggest that it is highly unlikely an individual under these circumstances would gain high academic achievement. And again this has nothing to do with the color of the child's skin but humans need certain things to feel a sense of "I can do-it-ness" for lack of a better term. You see SDT says that if someone is going to feel motivated, to do well in an area, they need to feel competence, relatedness, and autonomy. Well I can't feel competent if all the signs around me are saying I shouldn't feel competent. I can't feel related if all the signs around me say I don't really belong here (especially not as a kid, and this is literally all I have really ever been exposed to). What about the circumstances black males are under in most public schools that I have listed above say to these particular human beings they are apart or related to a culture of academic success? Why would these kids feel like they could be successful? According to what we know they wouldn't and we would be foolish to think they would. Evenmore it is foolish to believe in anyway this has anything to do with what the kid has control over. They didn't create the achievement gap. They didn't create the media images they see. They don't create the instances of racism and stereo-type threat they encounter.
But I'm here to say all is not lost. These young boys are not in a hopeless situation. We have the power to change this. We have the power to prove that SDT theorist are right. We can give these humans of the black and male variety something to expect out of schools. Places like the Harlem Children's Zone, select public schools in New York (check Pedro Noguera' work), the all black male academy in Chicago (Urban prep) have all done it. They have reduced the strain of these students identity load(that's my phrase use it don't steal it), which means they have closed the gap between being smart and being black for these boys. They have provided environments that foster feelings of connectedness to eduction, the have given black boys the opportunity to feel competent.
They (HCZ etc. list) have done this by surrounding them in the success of peers that look like them, through tireless work. They have accomplished this by not disproportionately placing kids in special ed. By meeting needs of these children early. By counteracting the negative effects of their homes and embracing the positive ones. They have created an environment where there isn't just 1 or 2 black boys out of 10 to look up to as shining examples of academic success but more like 7 or 8 out of 10. Imagine how that changes the study that I first referenced. Imagine what that does for the psyche of a little black boy or any little human. You look up and see that the people that look like you are smart, so that means you can be smart too. Let's change the view for black boys in America.
-Pperiod out
s/o to Jessie Cain for helping me think through much of these thoughts
At this moment I should be writing one of my final papers, but this topic has laid heavy on my heart and ultimately will serve as the outline for one of those papers. In short, I'm attempting to be productive even in procrastination. But also know that if you read this, you are likely to find grammatical and even spelling errors, try not to use those to discredit the message. In short, this message is emerging from my soul and I woud like to share it with you all, right now.
The limitations of previous studies lie within where they stop and the interpretation that could be placed upon their findings. For instance black males statistically look up to less academically successful peers than their counterparts. Let's see if I can break that down further. A study by Cynthia Hudley found that if ask black males, which of the peers within their gender and race they look up to generally they will pick peers with high achievement at a rate lower then that of black females. In short they tend to look up to students who are doing poorly in school more then those who are doing well. However, as someone in my class pointed out statistically as the achievement gap would suggest their are less high academic achieving peers for black males to pick from. Consequently, if only 1 or 2 of my peers out of 10 are doing well in school and you ask me which peers I look up to chances are I'm going to look up to someone outside of those 1 or 2. Thats just statistics, math or probability. However this simple idea is indicative of the attack on the black male identity that occurs in schools.
Statistically as a black male I'll have less peers that look like me to look up to who are doing well in school. Bam! Academic identity hit. I am more likely to be placed in a special ed program, which are notoriously viewed as the place for slow kids, by the people who matter the kids. Bam! Academic identity hit. I am more likely to be suspended. Bam! Academic identity hit. I am more likely to encounter stereotype-threat situations, because well I'm black and a male. Bam! Academic identity hit. No in previous studies like the one mentioned above it could be interpreted that well Black males just think that way because thats how it is, they just do. Blame, for lack of a better word could be squarely placed on the kid. Not until someone comes in and list all the "Bam! Academic identity hits" would some start to think hey thats not a black boy response thats a human response. Those black boys in those systematic situations have little other choice of peers to look up to because of a lot of issues that plague the schools.
Even more, with so many hits on your academic identity, with so many messages that oppose the concept that you can be a black boy and be successful academically how are we expecting them to do well in school? There is a theory called Self determination theory(SDT) that would suggest that it is highly unlikely an individual under these circumstances would gain high academic achievement. And again this has nothing to do with the color of the child's skin but humans need certain things to feel a sense of "I can do-it-ness" for lack of a better term. You see SDT says that if someone is going to feel motivated, to do well in an area, they need to feel competence, relatedness, and autonomy. Well I can't feel competent if all the signs around me are saying I shouldn't feel competent. I can't feel related if all the signs around me say I don't really belong here (especially not as a kid, and this is literally all I have really ever been exposed to). What about the circumstances black males are under in most public schools that I have listed above say to these particular human beings they are apart or related to a culture of academic success? Why would these kids feel like they could be successful? According to what we know they wouldn't and we would be foolish to think they would. Evenmore it is foolish to believe in anyway this has anything to do with what the kid has control over. They didn't create the achievement gap. They didn't create the media images they see. They don't create the instances of racism and stereo-type threat they encounter.
But I'm here to say all is not lost. These young boys are not in a hopeless situation. We have the power to change this. We have the power to prove that SDT theorist are right. We can give these humans of the black and male variety something to expect out of schools. Places like the Harlem Children's Zone, select public schools in New York (check Pedro Noguera' work), the all black male academy in Chicago (Urban prep) have all done it. They have reduced the strain of these students identity load(that's my phrase use it don't steal it), which means they have closed the gap between being smart and being black for these boys. They have provided environments that foster feelings of connectedness to eduction, the have given black boys the opportunity to feel competent.
They (HCZ etc. list) have done this by surrounding them in the success of peers that look like them, through tireless work. They have accomplished this by not disproportionately placing kids in special ed. By meeting needs of these children early. By counteracting the negative effects of their homes and embracing the positive ones. They have created an environment where there isn't just 1 or 2 black boys out of 10 to look up to as shining examples of academic success but more like 7 or 8 out of 10. Imagine how that changes the study that I first referenced. Imagine what that does for the psyche of a little black boy or any little human. You look up and see that the people that look like you are smart, so that means you can be smart too. Let's change the view for black boys in America.
-Pperiod out
s/o to Jessie Cain for helping me think through much of these thoughts
I concur! My perspective is that of a lay[woman] but this is my supposition...the Euro-centric curriculum plays a role too. How can one know "self" if they do not have a proper historical/ancestral framework/foundation to build upon? Black children do not learn of the scholastic accomplishments of their fore-fathers and fore-mothers with the same tenacity that we learn of Rome, Socrates, William Blake, etc. At what point will the educational systems in America allow for studies centered around the historical, philosophical, literary, and etc. contributions of the African Diaspora? I believe knowing oneself begins with having a working knowledge of ones ancestral past...how can you know where to go if you don't know where you've been?!?! Great post Mr. William P. Period : )
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading... and of course you bring up some very valid points!!
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