Before I begin, let me ask you to imagine yourself on a journey. Let's say you are a missionary. You travel to a country whose geography, culture, language, and customs are unknown to you except for what you've seen on television and read in books (because the media is always accurate, right?). Let's say you are going to work and live in this country for an extended amount of time, let's say nine months or so... Answer this question, would you like a translator and tour guide to accelerate your learning?
If you answered yes, then you've already answered my question.
Now my point. I feel Black and Brown students NEED a significant amount of teachers, particularly male, who look like them.
Why?
The answer is simple... role modeling. In an earlier post on "Why every teacher should take an improv class," I embedded a video of principals of three different schools in the San Diego area who agreed that teacher selection should be purposeful and meticulous. We have all heard of this so-called "achievement gap", yes? Let me ask you this, what "sub-group" (term used for category of students who fall below their, usually white, student peers) always fall into this category: black and brown males.
Okay, so I know what you may be thinking: "I don't see color, children don't see color, if a teacher is good, it shouldn't matter."
Well... not really.
Do we really have to go into the lack of color offered in traditional curriculum. Let me take you back to my days in college... that's me, proud undergraduate education major, ready to rule the world. That's my grandma who we affectionately call "Grandma Key". She's awesome, but I digress.
I recall my freshman year of college, I was one of the FEW Black students in my freshman English comp. classes. A major portion of our grade was to write literary responses and being the only Black person in the class, I felt proud to hold my own and represent for all of my fellow Black freshman who, for whatever reason, were placed in the remedial comp. classes. So we get to the syllabus, I look and see an assignment: "Response and thoughts to 'why do Black people use the word nigger." I can't remember the author of the article, and remember, this is in 1998 so this is WAY before the advent of Wikipedia, Facebook, Twitter, and just about any other easy resource to find an easy answer. I cringed at having to do this assignment... because I knew inevitably, I would be the representative for my entire race... black and brown folks I know hate that by the way. Unless we are giving a symposium about race, then don't ask us why do "Black or Latino" people do ANYTHING, it really makes us upset.
Any who, the day eventually rolled around when we had to type up an assignment and provide in class feedback. I had so much anxiety about giving the right answer. I was asked over and over again "why" and "how come" and "why can't 'we' say it". It was so humiliating... and I was in college, 17, but still, in college the same.
Now, can you imagine being 11, and one of few Black or Brown kids in your classroom and having the same discourse, well meaning... maybe, but still.
I can remember a joke by Chris Rock where he once said that the only thing he learned in school about black folks was "Martin Luther King", he thought it was the answer to everything.
See it here(excuse the sometimes colorful language he uses):
When a curriculum highlights people of color, particularly Black and Brown, as slaves or "vaqueros" and provides no follow up... a student of color disconnects from the curriculum. Would you want to read something about your people being oppressed or being once great and losing their land? The History textbook is FULL of great things white folks did. White kids can connect. They see themselves in History, they may not even think about it... but they see themselves. White kids, white teachers, white contributions... are you following me yet?
Why can't kids of color have that same experience?
Let me go on to my next example. When I taught in Detroit, my hometown, there were tons of black kids and tons of black teachers... we still had problems, those problems were mainly rooted in classism, another killer of teachers connecting to students, but it wasn't until I started teaching in San Bernardino, a city that is mainly Latino in population, did I realize how thirsty the students were for a Black teacher.
I started a step team. I am a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., a historically Black sorority founded in 1920 at Howard University in Washington D.C. Stepping, while I sucked at it (those who can't teach, lol), was an art form I remember being amazed by.
Here are examples of what "stepping" is and looks like:
Its good exercise and provides the perfect forum to bond with young girls to push an agenda of sisterhood, respecting your mind, body and soul. So I announced to my middle school kids in San Bernardino I'd be starting one. Remember, I was one of two black teachers on a staff of about 50... the first year I had 40 girls audition, the second year, I had well over 100. They all wanted to be apart of something... they didn't know what it was really, but they saw a black teacher, a "black" thing and they could identify.
If not, you should. Good read, it will give you a lead on understanding why, when there is a marked absence of color, students of color bond together. This is true of ANY group of kids who are a minority in a white majority.
Let me keep moving to my original point and close.
Instead of this:
If you were constantly bombarded with one type of image, which one would you believe... this is where teachers of color come into play. They contradict the negative images that stereotypes provide to students.
I'm not saying that teachers of color don't have to undergo cultural proficiency training either. Like I stated earlier, many teachers who teach in high poverty areas and are of the same ethnic background as their students but have a middle class background discriminate, but they can still be examples.
I'm not demonizing white teachers. But I think white teachers who wish to teach in areas where the student population is diverse should be aware of stereotypes and biases they may hold. I can't tell you how many things people have said to me that have offended me... oh these people are teachers.
Anyway, she asked if her daughter could have a baby with my "dark son" so they could have a mixed baby because mixed babies are the cutest black babies. I can only imagine what she has said with no filter in her classroom to the many Black students she has.
I swear sometimes I want to write a manifesto for White Teachers or the TEN COMMANDMENTS of Caucasian teachers.
I think I will:
1. Thou shalt not assume ANYTHING. I remember a White teacher once asking me about my family. I mentioned my mom first and he goes "and how about dad, or do you know?"
I can look back and laugh now but as a teenager, you really don't know how to answer something like that.
2. Thou shalt not inauthentically use pop culture as a way to bond with your students. People of color get offended if you try too hard and reference every rap song, every Spanish word, every Asian film, every Indian restaurant you've been to in an attempt to connect. Just be yourself... but don't make stereotypes, is that too much to ask?
3. Thou shalt not lower expectations and socially promote. Okay, I get so tired of hearing "these kids can't..." Really? Instead of focusing on what the kids "AREN'T" doing, how about focusing on what they can do and start from there? You entered this business and you knew coming in that you'd have students with different ability levels... oh, you mean your undergrad education didn't prepare you for the real world? In the real world , everyone doesn't live like you, doesn't have the same background as you. Lowering expectations is racist. How are you preparing your kids for the future? Set a goal, have them reach it. Hate to invoke Malcolm X here, but do it by:
4. Thou shalt look at your behavior problems and ask if you are sending out one student or group of student who look the same or have the same background. Here's the thing: your students and your administrators will notice a trend in your referral writing before you do. There sometimes is merit to kids saying "he or she only sends out the black kids" or the "Mexican kids". Is this true? I'd like you to first tighten up on your classroom management. Then track your referrals. This is something you should be doing anyway. Look for patterns in the type of student and type of behavior that sets you off. Remember to be present. When a student does something, what's emerging for you that makes you upset? Remember this is a child, right? I know by middle school the kid may be taller than you, may have more facial hair than you, deeper voice than you, but still... they're still a child. Remember that and remember you're a teacher. Its not about winning a verbal battle with a child, its about educating them. Besides, when teachers bicker with students, students remember it and know how to push your buttons.
5. Thou shalt not criticize language use of your students or call it "ghetto." Have you ever been called a name by someone who was trying to help you? What if you went to a seminar and the speaker called you an idiot but still wanted you to stay and learn. Would you? Probably not. Well that's what happens when you call your students ghetto or correct their broken English. I know you want them to speak properly... but properly to whom? First there is something called "code switching" look it up. Non white and ethnic whites have been doing it for years and I promise you it is not an indicator of intellect. If you tell your kids that how they speak is fine but you want to teach them the rules, while not fair, to success... then they will listen. When you criticize how they speak, you criticize how their parents speak, how their neighborhood speaks, everything they know. Don't do that. Show them what they need to play the game. After all, I'm sure you have used colorful language from time to time, right? Do you use it on campus, no? Teach them that way. Not in a "right" v. "wrong" way. They'll listen.
6. Thou shalt not disregard claims that you're a "racist." Look, racism comes in many forms and if you're a non white person, chances are you've seen about every kind at some point in your life. Being a racist doesn't mean that you don a Klan uniform to work and burn crosses for a living or shine your Neo-Nazi boots Friday afternoon with the spit of impure people... it could be as simple as, oh, I don't know, asking that your child have a child with my child because mixed babies are cuter than regular black babies. Yes, that was racist. If I called her racist, she wouldn't think so. I'm sure she'd use the old "look where I teach" I can't be racist line... uhhh, yes you can. If a student or fellow staff member calls you out. Look at what you've done. Ask the opinion of a trusted non white or culturally aware white friend you have if what you did can be perceived as racist. If it was or is, address it. Students like when you own up to your mistakes. When you do that, you're being a good role model.
7. Thou shalt know the neighborhood beyond driving to work everyday. I find it funny when teachers don't know the lay of the land in the school district they work for. What if students told you a fight was happening at the corner of X and Y. What would you do? Not that you'd show up and try to stop it, but you can be aware. I remember once being taken on a tour of the Logan Heights area of San Diego by an alternative ed. principal. He knew gang territories, he knew where kids typically fought, he knew where kids made out, he knew stores kids frequented, he just knew. Ever heard of collaborative action? Store owners, local residents, and yes, the police, appreciate an educated Educator. Learn about the neighborhood where your kids come from. You'll learn about them and know how to better drive the delivery of your content. Heck, you may even find a good food spot... or "hidden gem" as I like to call them.
8. Thou shalt offer other perspectives than then ones in the textbook. Do I really need to say this? If you aren't supplementing the very White History or Literature in your books with contributions of people from all ethnic backgrounds, why are you even in this game. Everyone wants to feel validated. Are you helping or hurting?
9. Thou shalt decorate your classroom with heroes from ALL backgrounds, not just during Black History Month or Latino Heritage Month, etc... When you only put up people of color in your classroom 30 days out of a 9 or 12 month school year, kids don't buy it. Represent your love of humanity by researching people who have contributed to your content area. Kids love it. Find historical posters, find quotes, find pictures of books. Make your walls scream that in your four walls, everyone is celebrated.
10. Thou shalt NEVER, EVER say "I don't see color." When you say you don't see it, you are saying everyone should ignore anyone who is different. Kids see color, they will point it out. So what, what will you say, "nope, we're all the same." No we're not. As soon as you realize that, the better off you'll be. You should see color... just don't prejudge it.
thank you for keeping it real. i hear you. for example, i think that we need latinos teaching our kids in the barrio. why? nine times out of ten the boys who have anger issues, drugs, etc. have some kind of daddy issue. they need a role model to emulate positive behavior. now, would i offer a job to a BAD latino male over a GOOD caucasian male simply because of race? of course not. its just an added qualification like bilingualism is in a school that has 97% english language learners is all. but yes, we need teachers who CONNECT with the community and our kids...bottom line. skill can be taught. connection and cultural proficiency comes with life experience, character, and is sometimes truly a gift.
ReplyDeletethis stands true for any race. students need culturally proficient teachers. and i sure wish that the native american children in the united states in the late 1800s and early 1900s had native american teachers and/or culturally proficient teachers of any race that valued their true names instead of having them change their native names to suit the dominant culture.
My reference point of any real expertise has to be the college classroom since I don't count my time as a substitute in CPS. I will say that I am very conscious of who I am as a black man when I enter the classroom and try to demonstrate an image of who I am that is true to me, but also relate-able to students who might be taking their first college course ever, and there instructor happens to be a black man who is relatively young.
ReplyDeleteOf course I take an interest in the black students because they are usually in the minority and I feel like I have something to offer them in terms of thinking about the things they will learn in their other classes. However recently I realized that my presentation was very important to the white students as well in terms of representing an image beyond the stereotypes that they are used to.
So to answer your question, I wholeheartedly agree that black students need black teachers, especially. But I think all students need black teachers, how else do we counteract Lil' Wayne? I actually taught a class last semester ago, Black Women in the U.S. The obvious challenge is that I am not a black woman; what I had to do was put my maleness front and center and recognize as many biases as I could in the planning process but also throughout the course. I can't help that I am a male and quite certainly there would be some things that a black woman would have brought to the classroom that I couldn't, but I think there was something to gain from a black male teaching the class, especially to the young black men and white men who take their patriarchy for granted, but also to the various women who thought it was beyond a man to try to step beyond his particular experience and teach such a challenging subject.
I believe the same is true for the white teacher who teach non-white children. There is something valuable there is that teacher can approach with a level of sensitivity that demonstrates to black and brown kids who have every reason to be skeptical that some whites can actually meet students half way to understand their lifeworlds and offer something from their vantage point that those kids might find valuable in a non paternalistic way.
But I don't disagree with anything you stated. I don't know much about how things are in Cali, but I often here about the different tensions between blacks and Latinos, in my mind I think it would be very important for those students to have teachers who were both; it would have to cause some level of dissonance to leave school race warring and returning the next day looking at their teacher who is of that other race who can command respect and showing them how all the tensions of rooted in ignorance and orchestrated through a system of white domination.
My 2 cents.