The Trouble With Black Boys: Chapter 4

I found chapter 4 to be very interesting from the beginning, because it was titled "How Listening to Students Can Help Schools Improve", and I was very curious to see how Noguera felt that students could play a role in improving the quality of our public schools.  The stats that Noguera cited on p. 61 did not surprise me at all - high dropout rates in urban areas, concerns about violence and safety, low achievement on standardized tests, and the achievement gap that corresponds to race and class.  Understandably, people should be concerned about these things in our schools, which should be safe places where students are educated academically and socially.  I am very curious to see if Noguera will address reformers and the charter school movement in later chapters. 

The interesting thing that Noguera started off addressing in this chapter is the concept of large schools in comparison to small.  I teach in a high school of about 2,800 students which does not breed "mediocrity and intellectual laziness, disorder and delinquency, and an inability to provide a personalized learning environment for students" as is cited on p. 62 based on Newman.  I was glad, however, to see that Noguera also challenged the assertion that reforming our schools to be smaller would ensure that students would learn more and be more successful, citing the fact that not all small schools are successfully serving their students.  

I also found the students' suggestions for improving high schools to be very interesting: (1) relationships between students and teachers (and other adults), (2) the impact of high-stakes testing, (3) discipline and order, and (4) student motivation and goals for the future (64).  I love to know that students value the relationships with their teachers, when so often they give the impression that they don't care or don't value their teachers.  I was also very interested to see the feelings that students have toward discipline and order; I would have assumed that students like to have permissive teachers, so it's nice also to understand that they value discipline and limits in the classroom. The comment that especially caught my eye was, "Teachers should be firm and not allow students to get away with preventing other students from learning" (65).  

In discussing the value of student input in school improvement, I also appreciated Noguera's comments about how to make the input from these students valuable.  Noguera suggests that conversations not be limited to students that are "handpicked by adults because they occupy a leadership role within the school" - he states that it is important to include other students who may not be role models but are likely better connected to their peers.  What I find most interesting about this is that it is the exact opposite of what my high school does.  Two years ago we had proposed moving to a block schedule, and they took input ONLY from the students who happen to be on student council.  Of course, those are students who are very involved across the school, take rigorous courses, and never face disciplinary issues.  It's unfortunate that the school that I teach at, while it does so many wonderful things for at-risk students and the general population, also likes to only hear the answers they want.  

Literature Response 1: Culture

The definition of culture is something that is often discussed and rarely explicitly defined.  In fact, Banks argues that in the educational world, the concept of culture is frequently misused and misunderstood (35).  When most people think of culture, they think of things that are visible and easy to identify, such as race, gender, or language.  However, there are elements of culture that are not easy to identify.  There is a distinction between visible and invisible culture, and much of a person's culture is held outside conscious awareness (Hall and Philips cited in Banks, 38).  Banks also argues that visible culture is only a small part of culture, and that implicit and invisible aspects of culture may even be more important (28).  These aspects include punctuality and how late one can be without being considered rude, personal space, or topics that can and cannot be discussed among friends in a conversation.  While people may respect a person's culture based on visible aspects, they may unknowingly disrespect someone based on a misunderstanding in their invisible cultures.  Culture is a "dynamic, creative, and continuous process including behaviors, values, and substance learned and shared by people that guides them in their struggle for survival and gives meaning to their lives (Arvizu, Snyder and Espinosa cited in Hernández, 58).  A more basic definition of culture is "patterns in the organization of the conduct of everyday life" (Pollock cited in Banks, 35).  This definition seems very appropriate because it considers patterns of behaviors, which may be visible or invisible.  

I agree with Banks's basic definition of culture, as well as the importance that he attributes to invisible aspects of culture.  I have experienced these things in my time living in Spain, where I had to get used to a number of aspects of the culture that were different than my own, and where I had certain situations that led to cultural misunderstandings.  For example, in Spain, mealtimes are very different than they are in the U.S., with the biggest meal of the day at lunchtime around 2 or 3pm and only a small dinner around 9 or 10pm.  Also, Spaniards tend to use a great deal of curse words in conversation.  In Master's classes, I had a number of professors who regularly used these words in class, which is not considered to be rude.  If you agree to meet up with a Spaniard at 2:00, they may not show up until 2:30 and will not apologize for being late, because they do not consider this to be late.  I was prepared to live in a different culture, but some of these things I could not be prepared for, and it was important to just try to keep an open mind and understand that these are the norms of a culture outside of my own, although some of my classmates in the Master's program were offended by the use of language by some professors.  

In the video "Never judge people by their appearance", a mother walking with her young child was immediately suspicious of a man for his appearance as a Muslim who was carrying a duffel bag.  Based upon the visible aspect of his culture, his religion, the woman made an assumption based on a stereotype of the Islamic faith.  What the woman failed to realize is that everyone is more than just one aspect of their culture; this man's commitment to his family was deeper than his commitment to his religion.  He was not the religious zealot that the woman had presumed him to be.  It is important to recognize that groups and group identification are important factors in an individual's identity, and that understanding the groups that one identifies make certain behaviors more probable.  Of course, each individual belongs to several groups at the same time (gender, race, religion, socioeconomic) and the individual may identify very strongly with one group and have little or almost no connection with the others (Banks 13).  

The implications of culture are important for teachers because understanding a student's culture can help to understand their behavior and to avoid misunderstandings and conflict.  If students and teachers do not share the same beliefs, values, and behaviors, conflict can occur.  However, knowledge of cultural differences can allow teachers to be aware of some of the values, attitudes, and behavioral patterns that can lead to problems (Hernández 58-60).  In an increasingly multicultural world, it is essential that teachers have the ability to teach effectively to students in a culturally pluralistic setting.  Hernández proposes several things that teachers can do in order to be more effective in a culturally diverse classroom.  First, teachers must be aware of the culture in themselves, both as individuals and as teachers in order to accept the reality of cultural differences and deal with diversity in the classroom.  Second, teachers must develop an awareness of culture as it is manifested in their students, both as individuals and as members of different cultural groups.  Third, teachers need to know which sociocultural factors influence the teaching and learning process and how they do so (Hernández 60).  Banks and Hernández both discuss the importance of getting to know the culture of the students in a classroom.  However, as a teacher, I struggle with this issue because although I want to know the cultures that my students come from, I teach students from so many different cultures that it would be nearly impossible for me to gain an understanding of so many different cultures.  I do not question the value of this, but rather the reality of it for teachers who teach in a truly multicultural setting.  It might be easier for a teacher who is from one culture (a White female, for example) and teaching an entire classroom of students from one shared culture (Latinos, for example).  While this situation still presents the possibility for cultural misunderstandings, it would allow for an exchange of two cultures in which students and teachers could learn from one another.  

As far as the concept of understanding a student's culture, we must try to understand the culture to be able to see which behaviors are more likely for a student, however we must also avoid stereotyping.  In The Trouble with Black Boys, Noguera addresses the harmful effects of stereotyping in schools, whether they be positive or negative.  He mentions that in a predominantly White school, Black males may face certain stereotypes that could be considered positive such as being inherently gifted athletes, good dancers, and naturally "cool".  While these are positive traits, this stereotype fails to attribute Black males with other, more positive personality traits such as intelligence, honesty, and integrity (xiii).  Additionally, Noguera discusses how these "positive stereotypes" can be harmful in the organization of schools and classes.  He states that schools often reinforce and maintain racial categories and the stereotypes associated with them.  Schools sort children by perceived measure of ability, and Noguera states that White and Asian children are disproportionately placed in gifted and honors classes, reinforcing the idea that they are inherently smarter than children of other races (30).  While the stereotype of being more academic or intellectual is a positive trait attributed to White and Asian children, it can be harmful to the children who fail to live up to this positive stereotype, and it is also harmful to Black and Latino children who are inherently placed in the category of being less intelligent.  

One of the final elements of culture that teachers must consider is the concept of a hidden curriculum.  Within a classroom, there are two interrelated curricula negotiated by teachers and students: visible curriculum, the academic content and instructional materials, and hidden curriculum, which exists in the interactional, social, management, and organizational aspects of classroom life (Hernández 159).  According to Hernández, teachers must recognize the effect of the elements of this curriculum in order to create an environment that enhances the academic performance and self-concept of all students.  For example, patterns of communication and participation deemed appropriate by both teachers and peers is an element of hidden curriculum that could impact student performance if a student comes from a background in which work is done cooperatively rather than individually, or if students are not used to responding to direct questions.  In addition, Noguera presents the hidden curriculum as a barrier for academic success for students of minority groups.  Noguera considers the racial separation in schools as an element of the hidden curriculum, which "teaches" certain students what they can and cannot do because of who they are (12).  Noguera also states that these are not always elements created by teachers or schools, but may be put into place by the students.  

I agree with Hernández and Noguera's assessments of the importance of recognizing the hidden curriculum in a classroom and a school.  These are things that teachers must be aware of in order to ensure academic success of all students, and to create a safe and comfortable learning environment for all students.  Even if the situation is that the boys will not allow the girls to play sports at recess because "girls don't play sports", teachers should monitor this to avoid stereotypes and self-fulfilling prophecies.  Within the classroom, if teachers notice that certain students do not participate in class, or only yell out responses without raising their hands, teachers should attempt to understand this situation rather than immediately reprimanding the students as these may be elements of their culture rather than rude or inappropriate behavior.  

All of the readings from the first portion of this course have underlined the importance of culture in the classroom, not just teaching about cultures but also knowing about the cultures of students in order to better teach them.  

The Trouble with Black Boys: Chapters 2 and 3

I have to say that Noguera's book is my favorite of the readings we have done for this course.  I find that his style of writing, providing statistics while also incorporating narratives, makes it very easy and enjoyable to read.  I especially enjoyed this week's readings, because chapter 2 focused on the struggles for Black males in education while chapter 3 focused on the struggles for Latinos in education.  Of course, both of these struggle are part of a bigger cultural problem, which Noguera also acknowledges. 

In chapter 2, "The Trouble with Black Boys", Noguera tries to make sense of the statistics that identify the struggles of Black males in American society.  He discusses that Black males lead the nation in homicides, as both victims and perpetrators, and are now leading the nation in suicides as well.  Black men are at the top of the charts for arrests, convictions, and incarceration.  Black males have the highest probability of dying in the first year of life, and are the only group whose life expectancy is decreasing (17).  All of these statistics are alarming, but of course Noguera chooses to focus on the fact that Black males are more likely than any other group to be suspended and expelled from school and that college enrollment for Black males is declining.  Noguera proposes several possible reasons behind these educational struggles facing Black males.  Noguera states that one out of every 3 Black children is raised in poverty (21).  He goes on to discuss the other challenges faced by children raised in poverty: single-parent household, low birth weight, low educational attainment of parents, limited access to healthcare, and other challenges are more common among children raised in poverty.  Of course, these are not the only challenges facing Black males in school.  Noguera goes on to put some of the blame on the schools as well, given that Black males are more likely to be labeled as having a behavior problem or to be less intelligent even at a young age.  They are also more likely to face severe punishment for breaking school rules, even for minor offenses (22).  He also attributes some of the problems to the behavior of individual students, acknowledging that Black males often adopt behaviors that make them complicit in their own failure, such as acting out in the classroom and avoiding challenging themselves academically (22).  Noguera also recognizes the self-defeating mindset that exists in some Black communities: that Blacks will never be as successful as whites, no matter how hard they work.  Some also feel that music and sports are the only ways out of poverty, rather than focusing on academic pursuits (23).  

As I read for this course, I am always trying to think of the students I have taught and how they relate to the statistics or narratives that I read.  Unfortunately, I have taught only a small number of Black students in my 10 years of teaching in suburban Chicago.  That said, I have only really had one student who may have reflected some of the challenges I read about in Noguera: Sean was raised by a single mother, raised in poverty, and did not value school or education very much.  He was an extremely talented football player and told me his sophomore year that he was going to go to the University of Michigan.  Unfortunately, that did not happen, possibly because of his lack of academic focus in high school, and he ended up earning a scholarship to play football at Northern Illinois University.  He also dreamed of playing in the NFL, but that dream has still not panned out for him, sadly.  This is where Noguera's words make so much sense: Sean viewed football as his road to success rather than academic pursuits (although I'm sure he was capable of being a good student), and now he is in a holding pattern in his life as he has tried to play for a couple of NFL teams and been cut.  Having focused on a passion outside of football in college, he could have had an education to allow him to find a career to make a life.  The other Black students I have had have been more like the typical students that I see in my classes: motivated, bright students, focused on college and their future.  They all played sports or danced and were passionate about them, but I think that they recognized that these were passions that would probably not have a big place in their lives after high school.  

Chapter 3, "And What Will Become of Children Like Miguel Fernández?", was one that I was able to connect with more based on the population of the school that I teach at.  Noguera began the chapter by stating that Latinos have the highest dropout rates and the lowest college attendance rates, and continued to cite some of the same struggles that face Black males: overrepresentation in special ed and remedial programs, underrepresentation in honors and AP courses (43).  I then really enjoyed the narrative that Noguera shared about Miguel, like the narrative about his own son that he shared in Chapter 1.  Noguera described Miguel's situation and it was one that is very similar to that of the Latino students at my school; a number of Latino students work long hours to help support their families (in contrast to the rest of the students who just work for spending money to buy Lululemon clothes or Lollapalooza tickets).  The struggle of Miguel's future is another one we see frequently in our Latino students: many of them are undocumented immigrants, making their college prospects much more challenging.  Our students are fortunate in ways that Miguel is not, though, because the Latino students at my school are a very small percentage and we have a number of services for them.  My school has two guidance counselors who speak Spanish, there is a Spanish-language liaison who also acts as an advocate for the Latino students at school, and we have a special program of Spanish for Heritage Learners in which they are in classes with other Latinos and can focus on their cultures and improving their language of heritage.  Students like Miguel face so many more challenges at overcrowded, inner-city schools where there are so many Latino students and they likely do not get the same services and opportunities that the students at my suburban public school get.  

I think that the part that I found most interesting of these two chapters was where Noguera distinguished between recently immigrated Latinos and those who are second- or third- generation in the U.S.  Noguera states that the second- and third-generation Latinos are "children of the present - children who are so consumed with surviving, with getting by, with learning how to make it from day to day that they make no plans for the future and often have trouble contemplating life past eighteen" (50).  These comments, which contrast second- and third- generation Latinos from the hard-working, idealist Latinos recently arrived in this country, reflect what we see at the high school I teach at.  The Latinos whose parents or grandparents immigrated here often speak little Spanish, or understand it but refuse to speak it themselves.  They don't value education, and many of them suffer from discipline problems due to poor decision-making: they cut class, they steal from the cafeteria, they get into fights.  The Latinos in the ELL program are very different.  Some of them come from rural areas of Mexico where they did not have the opportunity to go to school, so even though they arrive at 17 or 18 and legally do not have to attend school, they do attend and work very hard to succeed, even working with teachers during their lunches to succeed on state tests in the spring.  I look forward to continue reading Noguera's book to see if he has suggestions for how to help these other students succeed in school.  I hold the belief that all students are able to succeed, and I would like to see all of the schools in this country do a better job at helping ALL of our students reach academic success.  

The Trouble with Black Boys - Chapter 1 Reflections

Reading the first chapter of The Trouble with Black Boys by Pedro Noguera, I was reminded of many of the statements that I had read in the first few chapters of Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives.  Both made reference to some of the same points regarding Black and Brown students being disproportionately in remedial classes, and the disproportionate discipline for Black and Brown students.  Noguera also uses his son as an example of the achievement issues faced by young Black males as they struggle to find their identity.  I thought it was very interesting how he and some of the other researchers attributed a lack of academic success in Black and Brown students, especially males, to an effort to fit in with their peers and avoid being perceived as trying to "act White".  I have heard about and seen these types of situations and I very much recognize that they can be a reality, but I also appreciate that Noguera mentions that there are other minority students who manage multiple identities in order to succeed academically but also fit in with their peers, and still other minority students choose to challenge these expectations through their success.

This chapter reminded me of two students I have taught recently.  Two years ago, in my Spanish 4 Honors class, I had a sophomore girl from Mexico in the class.  This was atypical because the course is primarily juniors, and students who are native speakers of Spanish don't take the regular or honors classes at my school; they take a special sequence of courses called Spanish for Heritage Learners, which is where I expected this student to be placed.  I came to find out that as a freshman, who had recently come back to the US after spending a number of years in Mexico, she was placed in Spanish for Heritage Learners 2 Honors.  However, she had a problems in the class because the other Mexican students did not respond well to her.  She had been educated formally in Mexico, and her mother is a college professor of Spanish.  She is also a very fair-skinned Mexican, so she was facing some issues of racism by her peers who assumed that she thought she was better than them, or that she was trying to act "White".  As a result, she was moved out of that class to the Spanish for Heritage Learners 3 Honors class as a freshman, and then to my class.  I did discover that despite growing up mostly in Mexico and attending school there, she did not have a Mexican peer group at school.  Her friends were other girls from the cheerleading team and other White students, though she also maintained close friendships with her friends in Mexico.  I suppose Noguera would consider Isabela to be one of the students who challenges the expectations of her and has created her own identity.  

Another student that this chapter reminded me of was in my Spanish 4 Honors class this past year.  He was half Pilipino and half Mexican, although he definitely identified with Mexican culture.  He was a member of the Latino Heat dance team, and his girlfriend was a Latina girl he met on the dance team.  All of his friends were Latinos as well.  He was a very nice young man - polite, respectful, although generally on the quiet side in class.  Unfortunately, his struggle with his identity led him to make some very poor choices.  He was suspended from school for two weeks, and thankfully the school board voted not to expel him.  He cut my class numerous times, which is an issue that I rarely deal with, and certainly not in my honors classes.  He suffered from some of the academic achievement issues mentioned by Noguera as well, often not completing his homework and doing poorly on quizzes despite being capable.  I tried so many things to help this young man succeed, but ultimately he continued to make bad choices that led to a D for his second semester grade.  Noguera's book makes me curious if CJ was making these choices in order to fit in better with his Latino peers, or if he was just indifferent.