Henry’s article, Speaking Up and Speaking Out left me puzzled on several fronts. Henry states that she is, “particularly concerned with how schools may shortchange Black girls.” She goes on to explain how black girls lose their voices in school, voice being an all inclusive term for identity, expression, and connection to content taught. I would have liked to have seen support that this is a major problem in classrooms around the country. What research says that black girls have no voice in the classroom? That has not been my experience. My three most vocal class participants this year were black females. If anything, it is my Hispanic females, coming from a patriarchal society, whose personalities and feelings are buried deeply under the parental expectations of compliance and passivity. We also, contrary to Henry’s assertions that “Black students… are denied the right to learn about their own culture…”, learned about Nigeria as a part of our global theme this year. Henry should have identified the problem thoroughly before trying to fix it. As she speaks of black females resorting to transgressive speech in the face of oppression, I am left with the question, what oppression?
Henry later gives an example of Tamisha’s transgressive speech in regards to sex and gangs. These topics, which Henry discusses in her group, are ones traditionally shied away from in school because they represent personal and religious beliefs that should be taught by parents at home. I am not sure that I would label these topics as transgressive so much as inappropriate for most classrooms. Is the oppression Henry refers to teachers refusing to acknowledge or discuss taboo topics in the classroom? That hardly seems oppressive as there are sex education classes which would welcome such discussion should parents choose to let their children participate.
I was also puzzled when Henry spoke negatively of children learning to defer to teachers and texts as authorities on subject matter. While I do not think it is necessarily a bad thing to question authority, our students are still children, with limited understanding and experience. We defer to teachers and texts written by authorities because they have more experience and more education than we do. That is not to say we shouldn’t teach kids to question, to think for themselves, and to investigate the validity of other teachings, but children are not miniature adults, and should not be asked to make the same kinds of evaluations and judgments we do.
Furthermore, Henry sites research that says black females are, “elevated by their physical characteristics such as hair texture and skin color; they are considered sex objects as they mature.” The implication here is that schools, or teachers, view black females as sex objects. I find that preposterous, and would suggest instead that this perspective comes from black culture itself. I have often cringed at the blatantly sexually provocative clothing my first graders come in wearing. The emphasis placed on beauty and hair in no way helps to validate these girls as intellectual beings. My black students, male and female, leave early from school to ‘get their hair done.’ You have to look no further than BET to see that black women as sex objects is an idea perpetuated not by educational institutions, but by black culture itself.
As for Hustle and Flow, I am not totally sure what to think of this article. The literacy activities in the article seem solid and the framework for respect and shared values a good idea. The students in the story were invested in their learning and felt safe revealing their flaws as learners. What I am not sure about is the content of the chosen works. The movies chosen, Macolm X, Shawshank Redemption and Hustle and Flow, seem rather controversial. Also, again there is this assumption of black males being marginalized by schools, but I would have liked to have seen supporting research.
In both of these articles the researchers were looking into schools with an outside perspective. Both researchers worked with small groups of children outside of the classroom, and both place the responsibility solely on teacher’s shoulders for incorporating their findings. Such suggestions are easy to make if one ignores the volume of work already on teacher’s shoulders and the large number of students they are responsible for. Neither acknowledges that parents and home life play a crucial role in educating children.
-Rebecca Ashby
Comments (7)
Rebecca - This is like the best post I have ever read! You are completely right! This is my fourth post and so far now I have been saying things like "oh yes we should do better as teachers blah blah blah", but in reality what more could we do? Yes, I know we should make our lessons to connect to real-life experiences and I need to do a better job at that. But how hard is it to teach students whose parents do NOT support you whatsoever and will call you racist withouth even knowing you. Who are they to judge? And as far as the African American girls not voicing their opinions, I would agree with you and say that is ludacris. The African American girls at my school are the loudest and they have lots of drama. The only thing I will say for them is that maybe they are unsure of themselves and are trying to find "their way" in life because of the role that is assumed for them. I did not think about it, but coming from a different perspective other than an African American lady might have brought up a different point. As teachers we can only do so much when we are expected to have our kids pass the EOGs and to teach the Standard Course of Study all at the same time! This was a great post! Thank you so much for it!
Katy Dellinger
Posted by Katy Dellinger | June 14, 2010 1:52 PM
Posted on June 14, 2010 13:52
Great soap box! I completely agree with everything you said. I think minorities often come to school with a preconceived notion that we, as white folk, think they are inferior and unintelligent. I do not know where this idea comes from. I have real issue with minority groups thinking I "owe" them something because I am white. I am not the oppressor, and I am tired of being labeled "racist" for no reason. I think we are capable of teaching all children equally regardless of race or gender. Teachers do an excellent job of seeing the individual before them, not color.
Posted by jennifer wagoner | June 14, 2010 3:34 PM
Posted on June 14, 2010 15:34
Rebecca,
When you mentioned Hispanic females not having a voice, I can totally see that in my classroom. I have a Hispanic girl who is very quiet. It can be very hard to get her to participate. I didn’t even think it could be her culture of why she is so quiet.
You also stated that your three most vocal students were black females. Do you think it is because the girls in the article were African Caribbean? I think there could be a cultural difference between African American and African Caribbean girls. When Alice and Nadia did the play, it was really focused on how they had to go home and cook for their husbands a dish that took a long time to make. From this, it seems African Caribbean women have a more submissive role in their culture. So, I think even within the same ethnicity there are differences in culture.
Trish Edwards
Posted by Trish Edwards | June 14, 2010 7:14 PM
Posted on June 14, 2010 19:14
Rebecca, Great job. I totally agree with you. I don't have many minority students in my school, but the quiet ones without a voice are definitely NOT the African Americans. I only have 2 to 4 African American students on my team each year. But they all gather in the halls during break and in between classes and are always the loudest group in the hall. I have more Hmong students than any other group and they are by far the quietest. I am not racist and I do not see color in my teaching. I only see students in need of an education.
Posted by Karen Chester | June 14, 2010 8:21 PM
Posted on June 14, 2010 20:21
That’s a good point Trish! Maybe the female students from the Caribbean bought with them a different set of cultural expectations (they may have even been influenced by the Spanish Machismo) than that of native born African Americans. I love my African American females, but I simple cannot agree that they are oppressed in my classroom. My African American girls had some of the highest grades and are outspoken and even dominating to others! And yes they do love drama!
In contrast, I have had Hispanic couples come to conferences where the mother would not even look me in the eye. The fathers did all of the talking and translating, even though these women could speak some English. When the father was not present the mothers would speak to me though. I think my Hispanic students’ mothers are often isolated by their lack of transportation and their role as caregiver which keeps them at home and limits their opportunities to learn the English language. Also, in the Hispanic culture many girls get married as young as 15 and may not have had an opportunity to pursue much education. All these factors help perpetuate the idea of machismo, which is already rampant in Hispanic culture.
What I see with many of my students is not the issue of schools ignoring students’ culture, but of students coming to school without positive cultural experiences to share. I am in a school with 99% free and reduced lunch and many of our kids bring from poverty values and behaviors that are not compatible with those of the school or society at large. In the article about Daniel, his family frequented powwows, taught him to play the drums and dance. They were proud of their traditions and took pains to pass them on to their son. They immersed Daniel in positive cultural experiences that helped to define how he saw himself. I don’t see that in my families. There is a lack of intentionality in parenting which means that students come with few positive experiences to share about themselves and their heritage.
I take great pains to teach about the American values of hard work and honesty, our national songs and symbols, and historical figures. I want all my kids to have something they feel a part of and can contribute too! Learning about ourselves as Americans allows us that, even if it will not replace learning about one’s individual culture and history.
-Rebecca Ashby
Posted by Rebecca Ashby | June 15, 2010 2:36 PM
Posted on June 15, 2010 14:36
Becky,
Like you, I don’t think it is a bad thing to have the students look to their teachers as authorities on subject matter in school. Students are at school to learn information, work collaboratively, think critically, and problem solve, among many other things. The teacher is the expert and the authority on subject matter and should use it to guide and direct the students.
While I believe the teacher is the authority on subject matter, I also think the teacher should be open to and value student knowledge and interests that affect their learning in school. It is important that students have some say and ownership in their learning. They are more engaged and motivated when they do so. I think communication and respect is the key.
Laura Corbello
Posted by Laura Corbello | June 15, 2010 5:38 PM
Posted on June 15, 2010 17:38
Is it fair to say all black women are shown as sex objects on BET? I have a feeling the women on BET Sunday morning gospel shows would have a different opinion. The women on the news programs would have a different opinion. The music videos do present the wrong image. I will not say all music videos. As a black woman in my place of black culture, I do not dress in provocative clothing but have been disrespected by white men on occasion. Does this only happen in educational institutions? I am sure it happens in all types of institutions to all women. If it did not happen, we would not have sexual harassment laws. Is it fair for me to say all white women are shown as sex objects on VH1 and MTV? No. A yearlong study on Nigeria teaches black students about their culture. I believe most of the students have no personal connection to Nigeria. Personally, I think a yearlong study of Nigeria raises students’ global awareness not personal culture awareness. Maybe a yearlong study on minorities’ role in shaping America is a better cultural experience for all minority students. They have a connection with the American culture. I have had my first, second and third grader girls of all ethnic group come to school dressed inappropriately. I have always thought of it poor parental choice not an ethnic choice. There is research on black males and males of other ethnic groups being marginalized in schools. Through my own research project, I found this is problem in Australia, Britain and the United States.
I have found girls, regardless of race, full of drama. I prefer male students to female. I rather have a testosterone explosion than the whine of she said, she said and then she said. I must admit I have had some wonderful female students, but they did not whine. All minorities groups do not feel anything is owed to them. I believe some members of minorities groups believe things are owed to them. I was called ‘racist’ by a Hispanic parent. It went as far as a meeting with the school district’s attorney present. I am tired of having to prove myself as teacher because my skin is brown. Yesterday a parent had called to thank me for loving her son and providing him the best school of his life. She admitted she was a little nervous on “Hey Day” when she met the teacher because her son had never had a black teacher nor had seen one in his former school. I am not sure why she was nervous. If I was not qualified, I doubt I would have been given the job.
As for voice, I believe Henry means voice of participation in the classroom not volume in the hallway. If your African-American girls are extremely loud or vocal, I wonder if they were not heard in the past and do not know another method of grabbing attention. I had two of the quietest African American girls in my class. I think volume is based on the individual not their ethnic group. I see the color of all my students. Whether the skin is creamy white, olive, bronze, golden brown or ebony, the skin helps to create a unique person. I know for a fact skin color does not define the person.
Trish is correct. There are different cultures and different values within the same ethnic group.
Posted by Zandra Hunt | June 15, 2010 11:52 PM
Posted on June 15, 2010 23:52