So, there were several places that caused some disruptions for me, especially at the beginning. The first chapter was full of things that really disturbed me; for example, on the very first page, the words of the vice principal in regards to a student having a "jail cell with his name painted on it." First of all, way to already determine the future of a student you're trying to help find success in life. With the kind of attitude that is already established by the teachers, there is a small chance for this child to succeed. Again on the second page, there is another problem with labeling that encourages negative thought and behavior in students: the name of the in-school detention room, the "Jailhouse." Well, if you send a kid there often enough, that's the word they'll be accustomed to hearing. It's incredible to me how that kind of labeling could be harmful to a child and condition them to think that that's where their life will lead. Another issue that I saw was with teachers labeling students as " unsalvageable," or, later on in the book, a student talks about a teacher who explicitly insults the students when he gets frustrated with them, calling them names like "retard." It baffles me that a teacher, someone responsible not only for teaching youth how to be confident, compassionate citizens, not people who label others, much less using derogatory terms for people with physical or mental disabilities. Another curiosity I had when reading was at the mention that most of the teachers in the school were white and female, causing me to wonder if that was in part what precipitated the race-and-gender-based discrimination, because not only are the teachers a part of the cultural hegemony, but especially because of the speech patterns of the students, where Black English is valued and is what links communities and ties together social interactions. Another issue I had was with the labels used by Ann herself--I guess she needs to differentiate between the at-risk students and the students who seem to be secure in their schooling, etc. but labeling them as "Troublemakers" and "Schoolboys" seemed wrong to me. Another issue I had was with the teachers' interpretations regarding body language in their students: "Cultural modes of emotional display by
kids become significant factors in decisions by adults about their academic
potential and influence decisions teachers make about the kinds of academic
programs in which they will be placed. These are the kind of emotional displays
for example, that can also be the basis for placement in Special Day Classes or
for denying access to enrichment classes" (p.68). This seems wrong to me. I don't understand how something so simple as body language determines whether a child will make it into a gifted class or a remedial classes.
One story that reminded me about our class discussion was the story of Ricky, a middle-class black student who transferred in to the public school from a private school. He struggled to find a reconciliation between the cultural and social capital he obtained from his private school and the black culture he possessed that contributed to maintaining a connection to his home, culture and language, styles of interaction, and
the connections in which identities are grounded. The conflict between ideas of traditional black masculinity explored in this book, reliant on themes such as a lack of sensitivity, a certain mode of dress typified by the baseball caps, baggy pants, and large sweatshirts, and other differentiating traits. Many black, male students choose to maintain these connections rather than developing social and cultural capital relevant to the white privilege.
One thing that struck me the whole time while reading this book was my capability as a future English teacher to validate Black English and other dialects as languages for my students. Not only would this help validate my students' cultures, but it would help them to know that I see
them as valid, that I don't label them or their culture as deficient or less than. I am determined to not label students. The deficit thinking apparent in this book is overwhelming. The teachers all automatically assume that black boys are troublemakers--that they are not easily "handled" by the teachers and struggle to treat them the same as they treat white students. Several examples were given of the differential treatment given by teachers to white and black students. I am determined to not engage in this kind of thinking. I am determined not to label my students. I am determined to treat them as if they all have a future--that there is not one of them who is "unsalvageable," that they all have potential and the ability to overcome.
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