:35, , a: Isl. éflfi .3: a g 1 :1. .5 . .19.: :1. 3 . _ i“ w... "a \ .aflhxflwum Juan? 7 It." 43.3431. Gun" 5.. ’ . .mwmu‘ w» 1- . :hfima... {am .2 3r .Lfiwuwm 3mm}. ‘4).1uwowumafinw .fl... . , x ‘ . ..310 it. i‘ a : z i 1.12.}. i ll 11 . . in‘simuxnn , - ‘\v|v|s’..... ‘01 .v‘ ‘ \o v. 1 UBRARY “1006 MiChia State University This is to certify that the dissertation entitled The Academic And Social Impact Of Cultural Intersection On African American Male Middle School Students presented by Telly Savalas Brannon has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor Of degree in K-12 Educational Philosophy Administration Major Professor’s Signatt‘lre , £25, £005 ( , PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE §EP-2 0132007 2/05 cmTcmm.m.1s THE ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL IMPACT OF CULTURAL INTERSECTION ON AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS BY Telly Savalas Brannon A DISSERTATION . . Submitted to . Michigan State Univer51ty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Educational Administration 2005 ABSTRACT THE ACADEMIC AND SOCIAL IMPACT OF CULTURAL INTERSECTION ON AFRICAN AMERICAN MALE MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS By Telly Savalas Brannon The academic and social impact of cultural intersection on African American male middle school students was investigated. Interviews with and observations of eight students as well eleven staff members were analyzed. The results indicated that an intersection between the dominant culture and the subordinate culture had a negative impact on the academic and social experiences of the students in this study. Recommendations include ongoing professional development and realigning of the curriculum. Copyright by TELLY SAVALAS BRANNON 2005 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION "mu" 1 Statement of problem 7 Purpose- -i- . 6 Theory 6 Role of researcher 11 Selection of site and participants 11 The location of Wichitaw Middle Schoolmmmmmmmmll The student body of Wichitaw Middle School ......... 13 Selection of student participants 14 Selection of staff participants 15 Description of student participants -- 16 Description of staff participants 70 Procedures 75 Initial questions asked to students 77 Initial questions asked to staff 78 Establishing trustworthiness 30 Limitations ' '30 CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE _- W- "32 School systems nurturing or hindering 32 Lack of diversity and multicultural knowledge ................. 33 Disciplinary intervention 33 Classroom intervention and learning environment differences 36 Intended and unintended lessons 39 Stereotypes of the subordinate culture 42 Oppression of subordinance 44 One best way i 46 Cultural conflict theory 49 Theory of culturally relevant teaching 49 How schools come to fail African American studentsmSO Compensatory education 51 CHAPTER 3 METHODS STRATEGIES FOR INQUIRY W54 Critical ethnography 55 Narratives and short stories 57 Participant Observation 58 Interviewing 59 iv CHAPTER 4 NARRATIVES FROM THE FIELD -.- - 62 Nobody knows the trouble I see 62 Outside problems impact inside performance 65 Mr. Wilkes perspective on the lack of relationship building _- 67 What is racism 68 School staffs perspective on racism 69 Mrs. Grimes 69 Mrs. Oliver --- _ - 70 Mrs. Light- - 71 Mr. Finch 71 Color blind racial attitudes that lead to persistent negative stereotyping 72 Labels caused by cultural intersection (teachers perspectives) _ mm ...... - W 76 Relationships that lead to labeling 78 Jamon’ s permanent marker 79 Student stories on the frustration of being labeledm82 Chad’s excerptnlm- - 1 83 Don’s excerpt _ 83 Defense Mechanisms 85 Academic failure - 85 Free of myself .m" _ - 87 Just as I am ..... - -m 88 I don't want to be around you 89 Adopting the cool pose 89 Andre’s cool pose 90 Andre's response ...1 - ...................... - 92 Eli’s response 92 Learned predispositions 93 Observation of Mr. Sheets and Omar -- 94 Tradition blocks change 98 Mrs. Shine 99 Mrs. Hankins ..... 101 The impact of the study on me as a researchermmmmmm102 CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION REVIEW OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS -va ............................ 105 Lessons congruent with literature 106 Teaching what has been learned 106 Defense mechanisms ....... 106 Labels caused by cultural intersection -11108 Unwillingness to form relationships ....... 108 A lesson learned from this study not in the literature 1 .m 109 Suggestions for improvement Removing factors that promote intolerance Ongoing professional development Becoming culturally sensitive Family involvement Curriculum adjustments Ways to implement suggestions at Wichitaw Middle Schoolm Suggestions for future research APPENDIX BIBLIOGRAPHY vi 110 "110 112 116 119 122 126 129 134 135 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION A disproportionate number of African American males are being suspended and expelled from the public school system. Most recent data from the Department of Education indicates that while African American children only represent 17% of public school enrollment nationally, they constitute 32% of out-of—school suspensions. Caucasian American students who make up 63% of public school enrollment represent only 50% of the suspensions and 50% of the expulsions. According to a publication of The National Coalition of Advocates for Students, a 1998 Michigan study, shows that African Americans comprise 40% of the student body in the districts surveyed but represent 64% of expulsions. Expulsion of African American students occurs at twice the rate of their enrollment in many districts. The vast majority of those are males (National Coalition, 1998). The National Coalition also states that at the national level, school discipline data reported bi-annually to the federal Office for Civil Rights showed that male minority students are far more likely to be targets of school discipline. As a result, schools are now realizing that the consequences of discipline disparities based on race can prevent the educational success of the African American race (Schwartz,2001). An unawareness of African American social styles, denigration of African American traditions, and persistent negative and fear-inducing media images of African Americans have long characterized the society of the United States. Thus, as products of this society, educators may project negative attitudes toward African American male students and avoid rather than mentor them (McCadden, 1998). African American male students often manage the anxiety caused by the negative attitudes of educators by being resistant to cultural norms or even dropping out of school, thereby confirming for schools the legitimacy of their low expectations for the students (Mahiri,1996). African American male students feel disrespect from the teachers and, therefore, respond to what they perceive as unfairness by resisting authority and failing grades (Towns, 2002). Statement of Problem School culture is defined as the historically transmitted patterns of meaning that include the norms, values, beliefs, ceremonies, rituals, traditions, and myths understood by members of the school community (Stolp and Smith, 1994). However, the problem is that the historically transmitted patterns of meaning often exclude the values, beliefs, ceremonies, rituals, and traditions of some members of the school community. Many times the members who are excluded are African American males. The members of the school community who fit into the norms are part of the dominant school culture and often times these students are Caucasian Americans. In this case, those students who are often excluded are a part of the subordinate school culture. According to Dr. David Cole and Dr. L. Chubbuck (2002), dominant school culture consists of the cultural group whose characteristics, values, norms, and viewpoints are considered the norm because of the power and the influence held by members of that group. Institutional structure has been created and developed to support this cultural group’s dominance. They also state that part of what maintains this dominance is the sub ordinance of other cultural groups. Subordinate school culture consists of any other groups who are not members of the dominant group and whose values and viewpoints are judged as inferior or inadequate (Cole and Chubbuck, 2002). In many school settings African American males are considered as inferior individuals with inadequate values and viewpoints. Cultural intersection is when the dominant culture whose characteristics, values, norms, and viewpoints are considered the norm comes into contact with the subordinate culture whose values and viewpoints are judged as inferior or inadequate. Providing African American male students with an effective public school education has proven to be a nearly intractable problem on all grade levels. African American males are apt to feel alienated from rather than engaged in the education process (Hrabowski, Maton, & Greif, 1998). Educational and psychological research repeatedly has shown that students labeled as coming from disadvantaged United States minority groups such as African American, Native American, and Hispanic American tend to attain poorer academic outcomes than do white or Asian students. Included among these poorer outcomes are lower grades in school (Demo and Parker, 1987;Simmons, Brown, Bush, and Blyth, 1978), lower standardized test scores (Reyes and Stanic,1988), and higher dropout rates (American Council On Education, 1990). Rather than serve as a vehicle to promote liberation, public schools in some instances have become structured support systems assuring social, political, cultural, and economic inequality for African American male students (Hopkins, 1997). The review of literature leads to this research question: HOW does the intersection of the dominant school culture and the subordinate school culture impact the academic and social experiences of African American male middle school students? This question was used to develop a list of narrower questions that were intended to form interview protocols used to gather an understanding of this situation. Interview responses were combined with observations and reviewing the literature. The list was as follows: 0 To what did African American males ascribe their middle school experience? 0 Did outside influences impact the performance of these young men in school? 0 How did the lack of relationship building between these young men and staff members impact their academic and social experiences? 0 Did racism contribute to the academic and social experiences of these young men? 0 What impact did labeling caused by cultural unawareness have on the experiences of these young men? o What defense mechanisms did these young men utilize to combat their experiences? 0 Is change possible in this particular school setting? Purpose The purpose of this study was to garner an understanding of perceptions held by African American male middle school students about their academic and social experiences as a part of a subordinate culture. The study provided a vehicle for some African American male students to share their school experiences in an effort to better understand their behavior and attitudes about schooling. Theory Critical race theory is the conceptual lens that I used to form my conceptual framework. Critical race theory challenges the dominant discourse on race and racism as it relates to education by examining how educational theory and practice are used to subordinate certain racial and ethnic groups (Bell, 1993; Crenshaw, 1995). According to Solérzano and Yosso (2001), a critical race theory of education has at least five themes that form its basic perspectives, research methods, and pedagogy. As a critical race theorist, I utilized four of the five themes. The four themes that I utilized were the centrality and intersectionality of race and racism, the challenge to dominant ideology, commitment to social justice, and centrality of experiential knowledge. The first theme is the centrality and intersectionality of race and racism. A critical race theorist of education recognizes the central role racism has played in the structuring of schools and schooling practices and the intersecting with other forms of subordination (Solérzano & Yosso, 2001). As a critical race theorist, I looked at curricular practices such as teacher expectations, materials utilized to deliver the curriculum, and methods of delivery to determine if they have historically been used to subordinate African American male students. The second theme is the challenge to dominant ideology. Critical race theory critiques the inequalities of society by examining the educational system to see how it is influenced by society. Critical race theory allowed the examination of the dominant social and cultural assumptions regarding culture and intelligence and language and capability to reveal the self interest, power, and privilege of a dominant group that is camouflaged through traditional claims of objectivity and meritocracy (Solérzano & Yosso, 2001). The third theme is the commitment to social justice. A critical race framework is committed to social justice and offers a libratory or transformative response to racial, gender, and class oppression (Matsuda, 1991). Through the use of critical race theory, suggestions were offered that will help to address the issues of racism and injustice that were found in the school setting and used to disempower African American male students. Theme four is the centrality of experiential knowledge. Critical race theory recognizes that the experiential knowledge of women and men of color is. legitimate, appropriate, and critical to understanding, analyzing, practicing, and teaching about racial subordination (Calmore, 1992). Just as issues of experience, culture, and identity are not the subjects of explicit legal reasoning (Caldwell, 1995), lived experiences by students of color are generally marginalized, if not silenced from educational discourse (Solorzano & Yosso 2001). Critical race theory allowed a focus on the strength of the life experiences students brought to the classroom by using narratives, scenarios, and biographies (Bell, 1987; Delgado, 1996; Olivas, 1990). Critical Race Theory is linked to the development of African American thought in the post Civil Rights Era (Tate, 1996). Derrick Bell(1993), M. Matsuda(l991), Robert Delgado(1995) and K.W.Crenshaw(1995) challenged the philosophical traditional position of the colorblind approach to social justice. According to Delgado (1995), both Bell and Freeman were deeply concerned with the slow progress of racial reform in the United States. Bell (1993) said that whites would promote racial advances for blacks only when they also promote white self-interest. This causes persons of color to speak from an experience framed by racism. Delgado (as cited by Tate, 1996) argues that the stories of persons of color come from a different frame of reference and, therefore, give them a voice that is different from that of the dominant culture and deserves to be heard. Critical race theorists believe that in order to appreciate the perspective of a contributor, the voice of that particular contributor must be understood During this study critical race theory is used as a means to help African American males tell their stories from their own cultural perspective and not from the perspective of the dominant culture. Crenshaw (1988) identifies two distinct properties in anti—discrimination law as expansive and restrictive properties. Expansive properties stress equality as an outcome relying on the courts to eliminate the effects of racism. Restrictive properties treat equality as a process and have as a focus the prevention of any future wrongdoing. Crenshaw also argues that both the expansive and the restrictive properties coexist in the anti- discrimination laws. Crenshaw argues the failure of the restrictive property to address or correct the racial injustices of the past simply perpetuates the status quo. Based on Crenshaw’s arguments, Tate(1996) concluded that the restrictive interpretation of anti- discrimination laws inhibited African American students. According to Gibson (1986) Critical race theorists in education have three things in common. They begin from a concern to map the inequalities and injustices of education. Next, they claim to trace those inequalities and injustices to their source, showing the educational processes and structures by which they are maintained. Finally, they seek or propose remedies for those injustices. Critical race theory allowed me to go into the middle school setting and look for possible inequalities and injustices that African American male students encountered. It also allowed me to empower the students by providing a vehicle for them to tell their stories about their middle school experience and to commit to proposing remedies for the injustices. As a critical race theorist I offer 10 suggestions to make school a place where all children have an equal opportunity to learn and succeed. Role of Researcher I serve as the assistant principal at the school site where this problem was researched. The research was carried out after the students knew my job. The principal of the school agreed to handle all discipline situations that occurred during the time of this study and allowed me the opportunity to function as an interviewer. During this study, I learned from and with the students and staff members who participated in this research and according to Glesne (1997) that is a key role of the researcher. I chose this middle school because it is my place of employment and these students made up the minority population figuratively and numerically. Selection of Site and Participants The Location of Wichitaw Middle School Wichitaw Middle School is located on the West side of the city of Wichitaw. The middle school is in the middle of the community. Located directly across the street from the middle school is the administrative central office for Wichitaw Community Schools. This is where the offices of the superintendent the assistant superintendent, the director of curriculum and the director of special 11 educations services are located. One block west of the middle school is Wichitaw High School. There is a grass field that separates the middle school from the high school with a paved walkway that connects the two. Two blocks south of the middle school is one of the four elementary schools. There is a football field and a track that separates this elementary school from Wichitaw Middle School. One block east of the elementary school there are several medical complexes that consist of oral surgeons, pediatricians, chiropractors, and other medical professions. The fire department and the police department are also located in the same vicinity of these medical complexes. By traveling one mile southeast of these complexes, you reach the shopping district of Wichitaw. The shopping district of Wichitaw consists of several shopping plazas and a shopping mall. There are also several restaurants located in the shopping district. The shopping plazas and restaurants are surrounded by apartment complexes and housing developments. Most of the apartment complexes consist of families whose socioeconomic status is lower to middle class. The housing developments in the area are very expensive because of their location. The majority of the housing developments consist of higher 12 middle class to upper class two—parent households. A combination of the lower socioeconomic class, the middle socioeconomic class, and the upper socioeconomic class make up the student body of Wichitaw Middle School. The Student Body of‘Wichitaw Middle School The site for the research is comprised of seventh and eighth grades. The student population is five hundred seventy students. There are two hundred eighty seventh graders and two hundred ninety eighth graders. These students range from the ages of twelve to fourteen. Out of these five hundred seventy students two hundred eighty five of them are males. One hundred sixty one of these males are Caucasian American. Twenty- seven of these young men are Hispanic American. Eleven of these males are American Indian and eighty-six of these two hundred eighty five students are African American males. Twenty-six of the African American males have a grade point average below 2.0. This means that 33% of these students fall below average academically. When compared to their Caucasian American male counterparts this is extremely high because only 19% of these Caucasian American male students fall below average academically. Fifteen years ago the elementary schools, the intermediate school, the middle school and the high school 13 began to accept school of choice students. School of choice allowed students to come to any school in the district when they live outside of the school district. Approximately twenty percent of the Wichitaw Middle School student body consists of school of choice students. Prior to this study, several African American parents indicated they had chosen to send their sons to this middle school believing it would provide a better education than that of other middle schools in the surrounding areas. These parents found the experience for their sons less than they had envisioned. Parents discovered their sons did not receive a fair and unbiased education and in many cases were being forced into failure because the teachers did not know how to deal with these students. By this I mean that there were cultural incongruencies. The teachers who were a part of the dominant culture were not trained how to implement the cultural values, beliefs and practices of students these students into their daily teaching practices. Selection of Student Participants An advertisement letter to participate in this study was given to every African American male student in this Michigan school. The letter asked for volunteers who might be interested in participating in this study and, if 14 interested notify me immediately. Only the first eight students to reply would be allowed to participate. After the eight students replied, fifteen other students replied as well. Those fifteen students who replied after the first eight, were notified that eight students replied before them. A letter was given to the first eight respondents explaining the purpose of this study and also relating his right as a participant. Consent forms were sent to the parents informing them of the study and asking written permission for their son to participate. Parents were also notified that their son’s confidentiality would be protected and anonymity would be preserved. The parents and their son’s were made aware that participation in this study was voluntary and that they could freely choose to stop participation at any time. Selection of Staff Participants I also interviewed and observed a total of eleven staff members of the middle school. All thirty staff members in the building were given an advertisement letter that described the purpose of this study and asked for volunteers to be interviewed and observed. The staff members were notified that only the first twelve staff members who responded by the end of the week would be able to participate in the study. By the end of the week, 15 eleven staff members responded. These staff members were given consent forms that made them aware that their anonymity would be honored and that all information shared would be kept confidential. Descriptions of Student Participants Chad Chad is a thirteen year old eighth grade student about five feet eight inches tall. He had a medium body build with a tan skin complexion and black hair that he kept out low. Chad thought of himself as a ladies man. He always wanted to be around the females. His hobbies were hanging out with his friends and playing basketball. He has been in the Wichitaw District for two years and both of his years have been at the middle school. He has a cumulative grade point average of 1.85 Richard Richard is a fourteen year old eighth grade student who stands about five feet two inches tall. He skin complexion is very dark and he is stocky. He wears his hair in corn row braids. Richard likes hanging out with his boys and chilling. He does not like to participate in any sports, but he likes watching them on television. He has been in the Wichitaw District for seven years. He came to the Wichitaw District in fourth grade. He failed fourth 16 grade at Wichitaw Intermediate School and he failed eighth grade last year. This is his third year at the middle school. Richard has a cumulative grade point average of 1.49. Jamon Jamon is a fourteen year old eighth grade student who stands about five feet five inches tall. He has dark brown skin and a muscular build with a low haircut that he likes to keep tied up with a doo- rag. Jamon likes to run track and listen to rap music. He has been in the Wichitaw school district for five years. Jamon failed second grade at his old school in Georgia. When he and his family moved to Michigan, he was already a year behind. His overall grade point average is 2.3. Don Don is a thirteen year old eighth grader. Don is a very small structured young man. He stands about four feet eleven inches tall. He has a very light skin color and he likes to wear his hair picked out in an Afro. He also likes to wear baggy clothes. His hobbies are watching his little brother and playing basketball. He has been in the Wichitaw School District for eight years. This is his second year at Wichitaw Middle School. He does not like the 17 way he is treated by his teachers so he refuses to apply himself academically. He has an overall grade point average of 1.0. Jamal Jamal is an eighth grade student who just turned fourteen at the beginning of this school year. He is a very thin and slender young man. He stands about six feet tall and skin complexion is light brown. He has his hair in dread locks. His hobbies are listening to Reggae music and boxing. He has been in the Wichitaw School District for eight years. This is his second year at the middle school. He has an overall grade point average of 1.25. Andre Andre is a twelve year old eight grader. He has a deep brown skin complexion and he likes to wear his hair cut very low. He is about five feet two inches tall and he is always smiling. He has been in the Wichitaw for five years. Prior to moving to Michigan Andre and his family lived in North Carolina. While they were in North Carolina Andre was able to skip second grade because he was so smart. That is why he is only twelve years old in eighth grade. His hobbies are talking on the phone with girls and writing rap music. He has an overall grade point average of 2.63. 18 Eli Eli is a thirteen year old eighth grader. He stands about four feet nine inches tall. He is a very heavy set young man. He has a light brown skin complexion and he wears his hair in a curly afro. This is Eli’s first year in The Wichitaw School District. He transferred to Wichitaw Middle School from another school in Chicago Illinois because his father got a new job in the area. Eli’s hobbies are playing baseball and hanging out with his friends on the weekend. He said that his experience at Wichitaw Middle School has been okay, but some of the teachers are rude and disrespectful. Eli has an overall grade point average of 3.0. Omar Omar is a twelve year old seventh grader. His has a very skinny body frame. He is also very tall. Omar is about six feet two inches tall. He has a very dark skin tone and he likes to shave all the hair from his head. His hobbies are playing basketball and talking to females on the phone. He has been in the Wichitaw School District for seven years. Omar has an overall grade point average of 2.0. 19 Descriptions of Staff Participants Mrs. Hankins Mrs. Hankins is an African American female science teacher. She is about four feet three inches tall and her hair is black with blonde highlights. She has been a teacher for over twenty years. She has been teaching at Wichitaw Middle School for ten years. Her hobbies are working with young people and dancing. She participated in this study because she thinks that our public school system is failing our young African American males. She thinks that there is a need to share this data in order to assist these young men in becoming productive citizens Mrs. Light Mrs. Light is an Asian American Language Arts teacher. She is about five feet tall with long black hair. She has been a teacher for ten years. Six of the ten years has been on the high school level. She has been working at Wichitaw Middle School for four years. Her hobbies are reading books and hanging out with friends. She does not accept students failing. She believes that students only fail if you let them. She participated in the study because she felt that as educators, it is our job to close the academic and social gap between African American males and their 20 peers. She believes that this study will help to remove the biases that many teachers have. Mrs. Night Mrs. Night is a Caucasian American Social Studies teacher who has worked at Wichitaw Middle School for twenty years. She stands about five feet tall and has short blond hair with a few streaks of gray. Her hobbies are knitting and spending time with family. She participated in this study because she felt that she does not have anything to hide and if anything, she can learn something from the study. Mr. Wilkes Mr. Wilkes is an African American physical education teacher. He has been work at Wichitaw Middle School for eight years. He stands about six feet two inches tall and he wears his hair cut close to his head. His hobbies are teaching Tae-Kwon-Do and being a positive role model for the African American male students. He participated in the study because he said that he cares about all kids and he wants to see African American males receive the same educational opportunities as their peers. He also said that his son is an African American male who will be coming to the middle school real soon, so he wants to help shed 21 some light on this topic and work to come up with some solutions. .Mrs. Grimes Mrs. Grimes is an African American social worker at Wichitaw Middle School. She is about four feet six inches tall with black hair. She has been at the middle school for five years. This is her first year as a social worker. Prior to being social worker, she served as a guidance counselor. However, this was not her first profession. Prior to getting into education, she was a corrections office at a state prison. Her hobbies are going to church and traveling. She participated in the study because there is a growing concern regarding the impact of cultural intersection on African American adolescents. She thinks that it is crucial that educators are made aware of its negative impact so that changes can be made. .Mrs. Oliver Mrs. Oliver is and African American special education teacher at Wichitaw Middle School. She is about five feet ten inches tall with short curly black hair. This is her first year teaching. She enjoys working with special education students because she had a younger brother who was a special education student and she had to help her mother take care of him. Her hobbies are listening 22 to jazz and spending time with her family. She participated in the study because she thinks that sensitive issues such as racism and labeling need to be put on the table and discussed. Mr. Finch Mr. Finch is a Caucasian American social studies teacher. He has been working at Wichitaw Middle School for fifteen years. He has been in education for twenty years. Prior to working at the middle school, he worked as a special education teacher at the intermediate school. He is about five feet three inches tall and he has long gray hair. His hobbies are watching movies and learning history. He participated in the study because he thinks that these African American young men have much promise but with many impediments to that promise. He wants to join in the effort to assist these young men to be successful. Mrs. wallace Mrs. Wallace is a Caucasian American Language Arts teacher. She is about five feet tall with long blond hair. She has been working at Wichitaw Middle School for six years. Prior to working at the middle school, she worked at Wichitaw High school for two years. Her hobbies are shopping and going to athletic events. She participated in 23 the study just because she thought that it would be cool to have her thoughts recorded and her actions observed. Mrs. Shine Mrs. Shine is a Caucasian American Language Arts teacher who has been working at Wichitaw Middle School for thirty five years. She is about five feet six inches tall with long black hair patched with gray. She is eligible to retire from teaching but she refuses to do so because she loves teaching. She always sacrifices her free time such as planning to work with students who need extra help. Her hobbies are working with at risk students and organizing school wide performances such as talent shows. She participated in the study because during her thirty five year experience, there has not been any real effort made to find out why the African American young men are not succeeding at Wichitaw Middle School. She wants to contribute to finding solutions to the academic and social problems that these young men are experiencing. Mrs.Stokely Mrs. Stokely is a Caucasian American World History teacher. She has been teaching at Wichitaw Middle School for twelve years. Prior to teaching at the middle school she was an airline pilot for her own private company. She is about five feet eleven inches tall with short white 24 hair. Her hobbies are collecting model planes and spending time with her husband. She participated in the study because she thinks that these young men have some problems and she does not have a clue what the solutions to these problems are. Mr. Sheets Mr. Sheets is a Hispanic American mathematics teacher at Wichitaw Middle School. He has been teaching at this middle school for twenty-five years. Mr. Sheets is about four feet ten inches tall with short brown hair. His hobbies are playing basketball and play station. He participated in this study because he thinks that he is a pretty good teacher and he wants to find out why these young men just can’t seem to flourish academically in his class. Procedures Some of the student interviews were conducted in a private office at the middle school away from other persons in the building. The purpose of this was to ensure the anonymity of the persons who participated. Interviews took place during the students’ study hall periods, elective courses, and lunches. Times were selected so students did not miss instructional time in their core classes. 25 With the consent of the parents, some student interviews were held away from school at a site agreed upon by the student and myself. The purpose of holding interviews away from the research site was to give the students an opportunity to more freely share the information away from the school setting. Interviews with staff members took place at the middle school in a private office away from other people in the building as well. The interviews were conducted over a six to eight week period and lasted between forty to forty five minutes. The number of times I met with each interviewee depended on the fluency of the respondent. Follow up interviews to verify accuracy did occur. Interviews were audio taped so I could give the participants my undivided attention while they were sharing their experiences. This also provided time to observe verbal and nonverbal cues that had an impact on the procedures such as the body language and the change of voice tone. Parents of the students were made aware that their son's would be audio taped before they agreed to allow their son to participate. Each participant was asked for his permission to audiotape his interviews. The confidentiality of the participants was guaranteed, and the 26 names of the participants are changed to help ensure anonymity. Each student participant was initially asked the same set of questions. A set of identical questions was also developed to ask each staff member. The questions are listed below. Initial Questions Asked to Students 0 ‘What is the name you would like to be this study? 0 How old are you? 0 ‘What are your hobbies? o How long have you been in this school 0 ‘What grade are you in? 0 .Are you a school of choice student? 0 What type of relationship do you have peers? o 'What type of relationship do you have teachers? 0 'What type grades are you receiving? 0 Have you suffered consequences from a problem? called during district? with your with your discipline 0 If you have suffered consequences, how did you feel about consequences? 27 0 What do you‘want to get from this middle school? 0 Do you think that you are getting this? Initial Questions Asked to Staff 0 What name would you like to be called during this study 0 How long have you worked at this school? 0 Has the ethnic makeup of the school changed from then until now? 0 How would describe the present culture of the school? 0 Has the culture changed during your time here as an employee? 0 Do all the ethnic cultures in the school work together? 0 Do you think that racism is a problem at this school? 0 Describe your ideal student? 0 Why do kids fail? 0 How do you get kids to succeed? Data Analysis Data analysis contains three linked sub processes: data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Field notes, 28 interviews, tapes and other data were used to formulate data summaries, to code, to find themes, and to cluster to help condense the information. Huberman and Miles (1994) also define data display as an organized, compressed assembly of information that permits conclusion drawing and/or action taking. The data was displayed in a way that allowed the researcher to look at it in a reduced manner, so he could better understand its meaning. The first step in the data analysis was to go through the interview transcripts and search for common themes in the respondents answers. After those common themes were found, the responses of the participants were transferred to color coded index cards that were color coded according to the theme. After coding the interview transcripts, the researcher proceeded to go through the field notes and search for the same themes that were found from the interview transcripts. The field notes were then placed on index cards that were color coded according to the themes. The results of the data were also shared with the respondents before the displayed information was interpreted, verified, and taken through the conclusion drawing process. This gave the respondents an opportunity to look at their responses and determine whether or not it was accurate. 29 Establishing Trustworthiness According to Glesne (1998), the credibility of findings and interpretations depends upon careful attention to establishing trustworthiness. Lincoln and Guba (1985) describe prolonged engagement and persistent observation as critical in attending to credibility. Prolonged engagement provides scope and persistent observation provides depth. The researcher spent eight hours a day for eight weeks at the research site building sound relationships with the respondents to build trustworthiness. Spending time with the participants, made them feel comfortable enough to the point that they did not feel it was necessary to behave in a certain way and answer questions in a way that they thought the researcher wanted to hear. The researcher also remained aware of his own biases and subjectivity while sharing the interpretive process with the respondents. The interview transcripts were shared with the respondents. Sharing the interpretive process with the respondents allowed the respondents to verify that the researcher had reflected their perspectives. Limitations Limitations are consistent with the always partial state of knowing in social research, and elucidating your limitations help readers know how they should read and 30 interpret your work (Glesne, 1998). One limitation of the study was the generalization of the findings.. This study took place at one particular site. The information gathered from one site may not be representativeof other middle school settings in this city or state. Another limitation of my study is the sample of students that were chosen for the study. An assumption cannot be made that the information received from these participants is representative of all the African American male students at this particular site or at other middle school settings. Eight African American males is only a small sample of the African American male student population. Although not the case for this study, another limitation could be that the researcher is the administrator where the study was carried out. This could have caused some students not to participate in the study. It could have also caused those who participated not to be as forthcoming. 31 CHAPTER 2 REVIEW’OF LITERATURE School Systems nurturing or Bindering? Each school and school system reflects an institutional culture that is represented by a set of beliefs, values, policies, and practices that support and nurture students, families, and educators toward high performance or create insurmountable barriers to success (Grant & Ladson Billings, 1997). In many cases school systems create barriers. In fact providing African American males with an effective public school education has proven to be a nearly intractable problem. Many times, these students are apt to feel alienated from rather than engaged in the education process. Some do indeed express their discontent through antisocial behavior (Hrebowski, Maton, & Graff, 1998). These African American students believe they are triply disadvantaged: “unjustly accused, unfairly silenced, and unnecessarily punished” (Sheets & Gay, 1996). According to Gordan, Piana & Keleher (2000) African Americans are in fact far more likely than whites to be suspended. 32 Lack of Diversity and Multicultural Knowledge The society in which we live has negative perceptions about African American social styles and traditions because of a lack of awareness. Many educators have been trained by this society and therefore project negative attitudes about African American students. Teachers may try to control black males more tightly than whites when issuing disciplinary consequences, believing that they are not sufficiently disciplined at home (McCadden, 1998). When schools engage in these types of practices, they are not tapping into the knowledge, cognitive abilities, or culture and values of African American students. When schools fail to utilize the knowledge and the cultural values of these young men, many African American students misbehave. Research done by Fremon and Hamilton (1997) shows the bad conduct of a white male student is likely to be excused as a one-time slip while an African American male who similarly misbehaves is labeled as a perpetual troublemaker and is severely punished. This is perceived by many African American male students as racism. Disciplinary Intervention Many African American males want to be successful in school, but racism limits their ability to accelerate at 33 the same pace and to the same level as their white counterparts. This causes the African American male student to manage his anxiety by being resistant to cultural norms or even dropping out of school, thereby confirming for schools the legitimacy of their low expectations for students (Mahiri, 1998). Often times, the African American male's resistance to cultural norms is perceived as undisciplined behavior. This causes these students to receive excessive punishment. Further, arbitrary and excessive consequences for minor offenses can develop in all students a sense of powerlessness, dependence on authority, and anger that leads to further misbehavior (Gathercoal, 1998). Considering the reasons for the perceived misbehavior is also important in making decisions about the method of disciplinary intervention. Many of these “undesired behaviors” stem from racial differences between the teachers and the students. Teachers exemplify a sense of respect for the student when they show a willingness to consider the reasons behind the perceived misbehaviors. Exemplifying this respect can uncover information about a problem the school might help solve, such as the need for educational support, assistance in securing food and shelter, relief from victimization through bullying, and 34 counseling for trauma, depression, and family difficulties (Gathercoal, 1998). Perceived inappropriate behavior from African American males may be reflected in several ways such as an African American student speaking out loudly in class. Teachers may see this as an interruption. However, the African American student may be trying to show interest. Some may argue to get a point across. The students may argue to misbehave; they may argue because they want to participate. Some teachers consider this behavior as disrespectful and move directly to disciplinary action. Students may engage in certain challenging behaviors common to the African American male adolescent community not because they want to disrupt the classroom but because they want to demonstrate their rebellion against what they consider a teacher's “power tripping.” Power tripping means the teacher is abusing her privilege to issue consequences. Some African American male students rebel because they consider the lessons irrelevant, racist or too simplistic or because their perception is that teachers believe them incapable of achievement (Dandy, 1990; Sheets & Gay, 1996). In the area of education, discipline should be something that is utilized to help students realize there are consequences for inappropriate actions. Discipline 35 should help students commit themselves to changing the inappropriate behavior. The disciplinary measure should model good behavior, not retribution and humiliation, and students should have some control over its nature. Students can help determine discipline policies in general, but specific punishments should be customized (Gathercoal, 1998; Gottfredson, 1990). Many factors should be taken into consideration when trying to decide upon the punishment for a given misbehavior, such as consideration of the infraction, the student’s self-esteem as well as the academic and personal development needs. The punishment decided upon should also involve restitution and an apology. For example, a student who writes on the bathroom wall should be helped to understand why it is important and necessary to clean the writing off the bathroom wall. However, to Gathercoal (1998) a student should be able to do so when it would not interfere with a school activity, nor be seen by other students. This could cause the student to feel humiliated and as a result lead to even further rebellion. Classroom Instruction and Learning Environment Differences Despite being located in economically poor neighborhoods and communities, some schools do exceptionally well in educating students (Waxman & Huang 36 1997). To gain the level of results that we are seeking for African American male students educational leaders must be prepared to “create a web of support around children and their families” (Houston, 2001). Educators who want to make a difference for African American male students can not just dedicate their time and expertise, but they must commit their heart and soul as well. In order for schools to create an environment where African American males can increase their level of academic success as well as decrease the number of discipline problems, the culture and structure of the school must be designed to nurture such an environment. The culture and structure of schools must encompass a foundation of respect for diversity, and high academic goals and standards for students of all cultural backgrounds. Educational leaders must become collaborators and believers that all persons involved in the educational process are stakeholders. In Urbana, Illinois, at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, a group of African American teachers and staff members came together to develop approaches that would help their school's African American male students experience more academic success and fewer discipline problems. The program they came up with was a combination of the fourth and fifth grade curriculum and the SETCLAE 37 curriculum. SETCLAE stands for Self Esteem Through Culture Leads To Academic Excellence. The SETCLAE curriculum focused on contributions of African American authors, scientists, and mathematicians more frequently than did the traditional curriculum. African American male students could better relate to SETCLAE curriculum. Their ability to relate to this curriculum caused an increased level of self-confidence and leadership. As more of the students developed confidence in themselves and took on leadership roles, their level of dedication to academic success increased, and the dedication continued throughout middle school and high school. As they began to perform better academically, the behavior problems they had experienced in the past disappeared. The results of this program show that when African American male students experience a classroom environment that is attuned to their individual needs they are more successful academically and socially. A teacher does not need to be the same ethnicity as his or her students, but teachers who share the cultural and ethnic background of students can provide insights that might not otherwise be understood (Delpit, 1995). Gloria Ladson Billings (1994) argues for changes in our teacher preparation process to 38 help teachers understand the central role of culture and to structure time to observe culturally relevant teaching. Intended and Unintended Lessons According to Dr. Kumoshiro (2003) contradictions abound in education. Teaching involves both intended and unintended lessons, and it is often in the unintended, hidden lessons that racism, sexism and other “isms” find life. Learning involves both a desire for and a resistance to knowledge, and it is often our resistance to uncomfortable ideas that keeps our eyes closed to “isms”. Dr. Kumoshiro also refers to oppression as a social dynamic in which certain ways of being in this world, including certain ways of identifying or being identified, are normalized or privileged, while other ways are disadvantaged or marginalized. Much of the time teachers, including some African Americans, are a part of the dominant culture, which means they are normalized and privileged. African American male students are members of the subordinate culture and therefore are disadvantaged and marginalized. From this same background, teachers are a part of the dominant culture, their teaching styles and techniques mirror the dominant culture. Teachers who have been socialized by the dominant culture are not reaching diverse populations that 39 make up most schools today. Bennet (1986) believes that to the extent that teachers teach using the same methods they learned, and to the extent that culture shapes learning style, students who share a teacher’s ethnic background will be favored in class. Bennett also warns that ignoring the effects of culture and learning style affects all students: If classroom expectations are limited by our own cultural orientations, we impede successful learners guided by another cultural orientation. If we only teach according to the ways we ourselves learn best, we are also likely to thwart successful learners who may share our cultural background but whose learning styles deviate from our own. Primary cultural differences result from cultural developments before members of a given population come in contact with American or Western white middle class culture. In contrast to primary cultural discontinuities, secondary discontinuities develop after members of two populations have been in contact or after members of a given population have begun to participate in an institution, such as the school system, controlled by another group (Ogbu, 1982). African American male students have not chosen to be (placed in a setting that causes them to fall into a subordinate culture. According to Edwin D. Bell (2003), 40 caste-like minorities such as African Americans, Mexican Americans, Native Americans, and Puerto Ricans have been permanently and involuntarily incorporated into their societies. They have little or no political power and are economically subordinate. Their disproportionate representation in menial jobs is used to argue that low status is appropriate. Persons labeled as caste like minorities are characterized by disproportionate and persistent school failure. Ogbu (1983) argued that school plays an important role in an economy, and school attempts to fulfill this crucial role in three ways: The three ways are teaching children beliefs, values, and attitudes which support the economic system; teaching them skills and competencies required to make the system work; and credentialing them to enter the work force. During their education children develop appropriate cognitive maps or shared knowledge of how the economic and status-mobility systems work. However, due to structured inequality, unequal power relationships permit the dominant group to control minority access to education and jobs. African American males tend to see most of their problems in terms of systematic discrimination. As a result of this discrimination, many African American males do not believe their efforts will be good enough to achieve the objectives created by persons 41 from the dominant culture. They also believe that when they are able to achieve the objectives they will not receive an appropriate award. Many African American males believe that should they manage to excel in school, despite the obstacles, racism will limit their ability to reap the advantages available to white achievers. So they manage their anxiety by being resistant to cultural norms or even dropping out thereby confirming for schools the legitimacy of their low expectations for the African American students (Mahiri, 1996). Stereotypes of the Subordinate Culture Many times the dominant culture brings with it stereotypes of the subordinate culture. Steele's 1997 theory of stereotype threat identifies negative stereotypes as a culprit in the academic underperformance of students of color. African American males fall into the category of students of color, which means they suffer from increased anxiety. While these African American males suffer increased anxiety, they tend to fall into a self-protection mode that causes them to devalue or reduce their identification with academics. The aversion is used to decrease the anxiety that is induced by this stereotyping. It also serves as a shield that allows these African American males to lose interest in that domain. 42 The dominant culture also tends to lump disadvantaged minority students together; however, Ogbu (1997) argued that not all minority groups are the same. Ogbu separates minorities into two groups, those who reside in a country or society voluntarily, and those who have been subjugated into a country or society against their own free will. African American males are examples of those who have been subjugated into a country or society against their own free will. When African American males fall into the subordinate group involuntarily much of the time, they have social or collective identities that are in opposition to the social and collective identities of the dominant group. African American males tend to see education as a system controlled by the enemy that is currently oppressing them and that has oppressed their ancestors in the past. For them school is seen as an inappropriate aspect of what they deem proper African American identity (Fordham and Ogbu, 1986). This causes African American male students in particular to value those things in society that are in opposition to what European Americans, who are a part of the dominant culture, value as being appropriate for themselves. Ogbu labeled this type of oppositional behavior as cultural inversion. According to Ogbu, cultural inversion is a defense mechanism used by African 43 American males to help them cope with subordination. This defense mechanism is going to continue to be used because there are fewer incentives for African Americans to give them up as long as they feel subjugated and oppressed. Oppression of Sub-Ordinance African American male students also have to deal with not being accepted and rewarded in the same way as white students are accepted and rewarded that causes them to consciously or unconsciously see learning at school as a process in which they are misplaced and is not an asset to their social identity, sense of security, and self- worth. According to Majors and Billson (1992), African American males adopt a cool pose that is a ritualized approach to masculinity that allows them to cope with and survive in an environment of social oppression and racism found within schools in the United States. The cool pose is adopted as another way to deal with the oppression of being placed in a subordinate group. African American males project behaviors of emotionless, fearlessness, and aloofness to counter the inner pain caused by the damaged pride, poor self-concept, and fragile social confidence. Majors and Billson depict African American males as victims of their own coping strategies. Members of the dominant culture see the cool pose as flamboyant behavior, which leads to a 44 consequence in a school setting. Consequences are issued because African American male students utilizing the cool pose as a defense mechanism do not fit into what the dominant culture sees as an ideal student who is disciplined and motivated to learn. The coping strategies that African American male students use are Oppositional to academics. As a result of these consequences, many African American male students can be found wandering the halls of public schools, alienated from the educational process searching for their American dream (Bailey and Paisley, 2003). Very few African American male students are in upper level and gifted academic classes. However, they many times overpopulate remedial classes. They outnumber white males on suspension and expulsion lists (Bailey, 1996). Many African American males walk away from their education, their hopes, and their dreams they were wandering the halls looking for because they do not see the educational and social systems as places for them to achieve. Many African American males see these two systems as institutions that collectively label them without giving them the opportunity to realize their potential as individuals (Narine, 1992). 45 According to Gloria Ladson Billings (2000), there is a generalized perception that African American culture is not a useful rubric for addressing the needs of African learners, thus African American learners are often treated as if they are corruptions of white culture, participating in an oppositional, counter productive culture(Ogbu,1987). Schools and teachers of the dominant culture see their job as removing the culture of African Americans from them and replacing it with the dominant culture because they see the language, prior knowledge, and values of African American students as subordinate. One Best way Gloria Ladson Billings(2000) states that the emphasis on a one best system (Tyack, 1974)emerges from the nineteenth century Americanization model that was assigned to merge all students, regardless of ethnic and cultural origins, into one ideal American model (Olneck, 1995). The problem is that this process only looked at immigrant and cultural groups from Europe. African Americans were not seen as a group that was capable of being educated, and therefore, they were not a part of the mainstream educational discourse. According to King (1994), the creation of racial hierarchy with white and black as polar opposites has positioned all people in American society and 46 reified whiteness in ways that suggest that the closer one is able to align oneself to whiteness, the more socially and culturally acceptable one is perceived to be. This created a sense of white supremacy in society and in schools. Allen (1994) argued that this white supremacy labeled African Americans as genetically inferior and not fully human. This is why the expectations for educating African American males were, and still is, low. As a part of the subordinate culture, African American male students are being told systematically and on a consistent basis that they are inferior to those who fit into the dominant culture, and they are incapable of high academic achievement. After being told they are inferior and incapable of achieving high academic achievement, they begin to internalize what they have been told, and their performance in school mirrors the low expectations that have been set for them. Another problem encountered by African American male students is they are often taught by teachers who would rather not teach them (Grant, 1989; Haberman, 1989). One of the main reasons that teachers in the dominant culture do not want to teach African American males is because they have not been prepared by their institutions to effectively teach African American male students. Most teachers report 47 that their pre—service preparation did little or nothing to prepare them for today’s diverse classrooms (Ladson Billings, 1994). The lack of preparation causes teachers to apply the same remedies to all students. This causes a major problem because according to Boykin (1985) what may be valued in African culture differs from what may be valued in schools, and applying the same remedy may actually increase the educational disparities experienced by African American males. According to Dunbar (1999), many educated researchers have documented over the years both the overt and subtle ways poor and minority students are deprived of full participation in the academic culture of schools. In fact, many African American male students are placed in alternative schools because their behavior is seen as inappropriate to fit into the dominant culture of mainstream schools, and are labeled as being incapable of functioning in the dominant school culture. When students are labeled, they acquire special identities in which learners are reduced from a whole individual to a tainted discounted one (Goffman, 1963). Darling Hammond (1990) said students who are labeled rarely get an opportunity to talk about things they like, what they know, or what they would like to know. They also miss out on reading books in which 48 they see their own reality reflected. This means African American male students who are placed into these alternative programs are not actively involved in their learning. Cultural Conflict Theory According to Ogbu (1978), two variants of the culture conflict theory both argue that black children fail to do well in school because they grow up in a culture that is different from the mainstream culture. Black children acquire values, attitudes, and learning styles within their culture that are different from and in conflict with those required for success in the public schools and in wider society. Cultural conflict theorists feel that the language style and other cultural features of blacks are valid and respectable. This develops pride in blacks and helps them to better achieve in schools (Baratz and Baratz, 1970; Dillard, 1972). Although this idea has shown some growth within the last thirty years, there are still many obstacles because many people do not feel a need to identify African Americans as an important class of people who are in need of a distinctive pedagogy. Theory of Culturally Relevant Teaching The theory of culturally relevant teaching serves the purpose of getting people from all cultural backgrounds to 49 recognize and understand society's racial hierarchy. “There is a hierarchy of positions, with upper-class White males at the top and lower-class males and females of color at the bottom” (Scheurich, 1993). Our world and our schools operate under a covert “culture of power” (Delpit, 1988) with the powerful people belonging to the white race. Those who do not belong to the culture of power acknowledge its existence, but those who do belong tend to deny their own privileged status. This is a form of racism because racism is not only defined by mean spirited attacks on non- whites, but also by “. . .non-action and tacit acceptance of the privilege and advantages whites receive, and this is perhaps the most insidious form of racism (Ladson Billings, 1996). White people have established all rules, codes of conduct, language, behaviors, and people of color are always evaluated in terms of these societal rules. “This means that success in institutions-schools, workplaces, and so on is predicated upon acquisition of the culture of those who are in power” (Delpit, 1988). How School Came to Fail African American Students Historically schools were created to serve the needs of white males, and the culture of schools has not changed much throughout history to include other cultures. When African Americans were allowed to go to schools, they were 50 required to go to separate schools from whites, and the conditions were different. Many times African Americans attended school in old buildings, with used materials and supplies, and were not given the same financial support as white schools. This was school desegregation. School desegregation has “. . .yet to demonstrate a sustained effort to provide quality education for African- Americans. Despite modest gains in standardized test scores, the performance of African Americans in public schools, even those from relatively high-income stable families, remains behind that of whites from similar homes” (Ladson-Billings, 1994,). When African American students fail to learn in the same way as white students, school wide policies are developed to help them become more like the status quo. According to Ogbu (1978), since the second half of the 1960's this theory of cultural deprivation has been very influential in generating compensatory education programs, including programs in early childhood education such as Head Start. Compensatory Education Compensatory Education is a movement where the goal is to “. . . redeem the children from the influences of their home environments by resocializing them to develop those skills necessary for success in public schools. . .” (Ogbu, 51 1978). These programs are implemented during the preschool years because educators feel that this is a good age to undo the damage done by the students’ home life so that the students will not fall into unwanted patterns. The most well—known program that falls under compensatory education is Head Start. The objective of Head Start is to help children of poverty develop cognitively, so they can do as well as their middle class peers. Studies have indicated that some groups of children show an ability to keep up with their white peers in the early grades, but this tapers off as they move up in grade level. Most success does not last beyond the third grade level (Miller, 1967; Passow, 1971). Many theorists believe that it is due to the underlying assumptions of the model: black children are unable to succeed in school because they are not properly trained at home in the same way as Head Start attempts to train them (Goldberg, 1971; Stanley, 1973). Ogbu (1978) said: I reject these explanations and contend that Compensatory education programs, both preventative and remedial, fail to produce significant improvement in the school performance of black children because the theoretical assumptions upon which they are based are wrong. Although lower- class blacks probably come to school with preschool training and cognitive and other skills that differ from those of their white middle class peers, the 52 difference does not arise from the fact that there is some deficit in black development because of cultural deprivation. It arises from the respective positions of Blacks and whites in the American caste system which require that the two races develop different patterns of child training and different types of cognitive and motivational skills. These differences were until recently reinforced by the education system itself. 53 CHAPTER 3 METHODS STRATEGY FOR INQUIR! Qualitative research is multi-method in focus, involving an interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matters. Qualitative research is used in this study because it allows me to study the African American male students in their natural settings, and attempts to make sense of and interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings that these students brought to them (Denzin & Lincoln 1994). This method also involves the studied use of and the collection of a variety of empirical materials that describe routine and problematic moments and meanings in the lives of individuals. This method is used to describe the routine and problematic moments and meanings in the lives of these students by getting closer to them and forming a good rapport that allowed me to get a better grasp on their perspective through detailed interviews and observations. Qualitative research allows the researcher to emphasize the value—laden nature of inquiry and to seek answers to questions that stress how social experience is created and given meaning (Denzin & Lincoln, 1994). 54 Experiences uncovered of the everyday social world of these African American male middle school students are reflective of the intersection of the dominant school culture and the subordinate school culture. Critical Ethnography Critical ethnography was also used in this research. According to Quantz (1992), critical ethnographers focus on how knowledge is both powerful and political, and by focusing on groups marginal to the dominant culture, researchers attempt to understand and describe the experiences, consciousness, and cultural context of people living in asymmetrical power relations. It is a way to discover, describe, analyze, and open to scrutiny otherwise hidden agendas, power centers, and assumptions that inhibit, repress, and constrain African American male students (Thomas, 1993). Critical ethnography was a useful tool in this research. Thomas (1993) further states that critical ethnographers seek to do more than understand and describe; they want to transform unequal power relations. Critical ethnographers study culture to change it. The term critical refers to the detecting and unmasking of beliefs and practices that limit human freedom, justice, and democracy (R. Usher, 1996). Further, critical 55 ethnographers assert that while values enter into all research, they work to make their values explicit. They see research as a political act because it not only relies on value systems but challenges value systems. Critical ethnographers often question and investigate ways in which lived experience may be distorted by false consciousness and ideology (Schwandt,l990). Critical ethnographers analyze the problems of structural causes in order to make the investigation an educational endeavor. Once the structural causes, such as the discipline code and the curriculum makeup have been analyzed, it then becomes a process of collective action aimed at social change (Glesne, 1998). Horkheimer (1972) put it succinctly when he argued that critical theory and research are never satisfied with merely increasing knowledge. After increasing knowledge, action must be taken to move towards a change in the social environment. The focus of this research is on African American males as a group that is part of the subordinate culture and marginal to the dominant school culture and attempted to describe the experiences, consciousness, and cultural context while they participated in asymmetrical power relations. Uncovered are 56 some of the issues that have been hidden as well as some of the assumptions that inhibited, repressed, and constrained African American male students academically and socially. Narratives and Short Stories Narratives have been implemented into the study allowing the presentation of perspectives of students and staff members from interview conversations. “Narratives are the primary way through which humans organize their experiences into temporally meaningful episodes” (Polkinghorne as cited in Richardson 1990). “Narratives display the goals and intentions of human actors; makes individuals, cultures, societies and historical epochs comprehensible as wholes; humanizes time, allows us to contemplate the effects of our actions and to alter the directions of our lives” (Richardson,l990). The short story was used effectively. According to Glesne (1997) the ethnographic short story allows the researcher to combine his own imagination with ethnographic insights to tell good stories. Drawing upon literary techniques, such as flashback, characterization, dialogue, internal monologue and action helped to create ethnographic short stories which gave a voice to those who have been silent and marginalized. 57 Participant Observation Participant observation was incorporated into this study. According to Howard Becker and Blanche Geer (1983), the term participant observation covers several kinds of research activity. The researcher may be a member of the group he or she studies; he or she may pose as a member of the group, though in fact he or she is not; or he or she may join the group in the role of one who is there to observe. In general, the participant observer gathers data by participating in the daily life of the group or organization that is being studied (Becker and Geer, 1983). Becker and Geer also said a participant observer also watches the people who are being studied to see what situations they ordinarily meet and how they behave in them. It has been argued that in a sense all social research is a form of participant observation because we cannot study the social world without being part of it (Hammersly & Atkinson, 1983). Further they define participant observation as observations carried out when the researcher is playing an established participant role in the scene studied. The four types of participant observation are the complete observer, the observer as participant, the 58 participant as observer, and the complete participant (Gold, 1958; Junker, 1960). Using the role of complete observer allowed observation of the students as well as the staff in their natural setting. According to Junker (1960), natural state means people carry out their daily activities without altering their behavior because they know they are being observed. During my time as a complete observer, I did not interact with the students or the staff. The lack of interaction allowed me to get a more realistic view of how the intersection of the two cultures impacts the academic and social experiences of the students. Interviewing Qualitative interviewing is based in conversation (Kvale,l996) with the emphasis on researchers asking questions and listening and respondents answering (Rubin and Rubin, 1995). Interviewed were staff members, some of whom are a part of the dominant school culture, and some who chose not to be, as well as African American male students who fall into the subordinate school culture. These interviews helped me in acquiring first hand information pertaining to their narratives. 59 According to Glesne (1998), interviewing is getting words to fly. In fact, she uses comparison and contrast to show how an interviewer is similar to and different from a human baseball pitcher. As an interviewer you pitch questions at your respondents with the intent of making words fly. However, the difference is that a human pitcher does not throw pitches they want batters to hit and interviewers pitch out questions that they want the respondents to hit. In this study questions were formulated that allowed the respondents to answer in a way that hit homeruns and provided information that was transmuted into data. A grand tour question is the question that all the other sub questions stem from. The grand tour question for the staff members was: How would you describe the school culture and climate? The grand tour question for the students was: How would you describe your middle school experience? Individual face-to-face interviews were conducted with both staff members and students to help get a better understanding of how they see their experiences in this particular middle school. While conducting these interviews, a style of “interested listening” was used that rewarded the respondent's participation but that did not evaluate their responses (Converse & Schuman, 1974). 60 Lofland (1971), points out that open-ended ethnographic interviewing and participant observation go hand in hand. Open ended questions were used during these face to face interviews because it would inhibit any assumptions about what staff members or students revealed, and according to Malinowski, (1989) unstructured questions assist in “understanding the complex behavior of members of a society without imposing any priori categorization that may limit the field of inquiry”. 61 CHAPTER 4 NARRATIVES FROM THE FIELD Nobody Knows The Trouble I See From my observations and interviews, I discovered that the young men in this study come to school with problems of which many teachers are unaware. This lack of awareness creates a conflict between teachers and these students. Mrs. Light an Asian American fourth year teacher of Language Arts recognized that unawareness regarding the personal problems of the student seriously affects that student's academic and social growth. She stated: Many of these African American males feel like loners. They come to school to get away from their problems and the teachers tend to add to their problems. The teachers have expectations from a time period that these students can’t even begin to fathom. I don’t think that some of our teachers stop and think about the lives that some of our kids come from. In fact,wonder if some of our teachers stop and think at all. As teachers, we have to take the life of the students into consideration. As a staff, we must become more aware of the problems that these young men experience outside of school or they will continue to fail academically and socially. Although Mrs. Light realized this problem, other teachers did not. Mrs. Night for example a Caucasian American teacher of Social Studies with twenty years of experience in middle school, caused a conflict between herself and Chad. Chad a thirteen year old African 62 American male student had problems at home that he brought with him to school. On the day Chad brought his problems to her classroom, Mrs. Night responded to the problem by ordering: “Chad get up or get out.” She stood over Chad eyebrows raised, nostrils flared, and finger extended towards his face. Chad slowly raised his head, saliva raunning down his chin. He asked“ What I do? I ain't even do nothing; it ain’t no fair.” Mrs. Night replied, “Exactly. You have not done anything but sleep. In fact, since you want to talk back, you can get out.” Chad sucked his teeth and walked out the door. I walked out behind Chad and this began the following conversation. Mr. B: “What is going on, is everything all right?” Chad: “Man, she didn’t have to disrespect me like that. I am tired. She don't know what I had to go through last night.” Mr. B: “Do you want to talk about what happened last night?” Chad: “1 ont care” Mr.B: “So tell me, what happened?” 63 Chad: “I ain't get no sleep last night cause my mom put me out.” Mr. B: “Why did she put you out?” Chad: “Cause we was arguing about me not having no shoes for school, and I told her that if I lived with my daddy, I bet he would get me a pair. She told me my daddy didn't do shit for me in thirteen years. That is pretty much all my life. I said Yeah! Right. Then she said, You know what. Get out of my house and go live witcho sorry ass daddy then. She put me out for real and locked the door. I was walking around all night with no where to go. I ain't know where my daddy live at. I walked around for bout six hours. It was freezing, too. I finally walked to my homie's house, and he let me in. His mom was at work, so that’s why he let me in. I ain't get no sleep. My mom let me back in the next morning, so I could get ready for school. Then I had to walk to school. Man! Shoot I'm tired.” Mr.B: “All right Chad. Go to my office and get some sleep. I'll wake you up and give you a pass to your next class”. Chad: “Ahight, preeshate it, Mr. B.” Outside Problems Impact Inside Perfemance The incident between Mrs. Night and Chad is an indication of problems some of these children bring to school. Another example involves Richard who is another participant in this study. Richard is a fourteen year old African American male student who has failed his grade twice twice. This particular incident took place in the classroom of another Caucasian American female teacher who sent Richard to the office for disciplinary actions. As the researcher, I spoke with Richard to see what was the cause of his problem. Mr. B: “Why are you in the office?” Richard: “Cause Mrs. Nichols put me out of class.” Mr. B: “Why did she put you out of class?” Richard: “Cause, she said I wasn’t doing my work, and she wasn't gonna have me stopping other people from learning. Don’t nobody be paying her no attention noway. She boring.” Mr. B: “Why weren’t you working?” Richard: Man! You know I gotta go to court right?” Mr.B: “What you gotta go to court for?” Richard: “Stealing.” Mr.B: “What are you doing stealing?” 65 Richard: “I was hungry, so I took me some chips, and I saw these tite earrings, so I took them too.” Mr.B: “Why did you take the earrings?” Richard: “Cause all my friends had some, and I wanted some too.” Mr. B: “So you were trying to fit in and be like your friends?” Richard: “Yeah, pretty much.” Mr. B: “Where were you?” Richard: “I was at Meijer.” Mr.B: “Why didn’t you just ask your mom or dad for some money?” Richard: “Man, my daddy ain't got no money. I ain't saw that Dude in a minute. And my momma don’t got no job. So that mean I ain’t got no money. I can’t get what ain't there. So that’s why I stole the chips and the earrings.” Mr.B: “When do you go to court?” Richard: “I 9%) to court Cflh I think it’s the twenty fourth of January. Mr.B: “Are you scared Richard?” Richard: “Yeah, I’m scared, I might get taken from my mom. My dad don't want me, and I'll probably go to juvee. See that’s the real reason why I ain't do no work in Mrs. Nichol’s class.” 66 As the researcher, I was able to build a rapport with Richard that caused Richard to feel comfortable sharing this personal information with me. Richard made me aware of why he was not focused on his work. It is very difficult to focus on completing a task, whether academic or social, when you are going through a life altering situation that creates fear. The way for teachers to become aware of the outside problems these young men bring to school is through relationship building. This leads into Mr. Wilkes perspective on the lack of relationship building, and the problems it causes for these African American young men. iMr.‘Wilkes Perspective on the Lack of Relationship Building Mr. Wilkes is an African American teacher of physical education who has worked at this middle school for eight years. He thinks the lack of understanding and lack of relationship building on the part of Caucasian American staff members add to student failure both academically and socially. He stated: Man these white teachers around here don’t have a Clue what these young men have to go through and they could care less. The lack of awareness has been here for years. They have not had to go through what these young men have had to go through, and they don’t seem to care enough to find out what they have gone through which impacts them in school. It is like they are privileged. I work with them everyday and I see 67 their actions and reactions. Instead of building relationships, they build barriers. For example, I witnessed an African American male student being yelled at for coming to class without all of his materials. The student tried to explain that when father got paid, he would have the rest of his materials. The teacher completely tuned this statement out and responded by saying,”If you come to my class again without your materials, you will be kicked out.” I witnessed a Caucasian American student come to this same class without all of his materials and he was warned about it and then provided with the materials. In my eyes, excuse my language, but this is some racist shit and racism is definitely a barrier which has to be removed. Mr. Wilkes statement about racism as a barrier raises an issue concerning racism and its definition and how it serves as a barrier from the perspective of the staff members. What Is Racism Helen Neville (2000) states that racism thus has been viewed as an ideology or expression of racialism (ie, belief in inherent superiority and inferiority of groups of people based on racial classification) and racial animus (ie, hatred, hostile feelings) by individuals, groups of people, or society in general. “Racism is a complex and multifaceted social system. Traditional psychological conceptualizations of racism have centered on a set of ideas or beliefs that are regarded as 68 having the potential to lead individuals to develop prejudice”(Bonilla Silva, 1996). The School Staffs’ Perspectives on Racism Mrs. Grimes When asked, five out of the six teachers in this study agreed that racism was a problem at the middle school. Mrs. Grimes is the first teacher who acknowledged the presence of racism. She is an African American female social worker at the middle school, and she believes that racisnt has definitely caused problems for these .African American males. She states that: Racism definitely exists at the middle school. It stems from the dominant group having privileges that others don’t have. The African American males definitely don’t have those privileges. Privileges are opportunities to do 'things that other people may not have an opportunity to do. For example, Caucasian American students can hang out in the halls and talk between classes and not get stopped. However, when a group of African American male students congregate in the halls between classes, they are separated and told to move on to class. The cultures are mixed, and the dominant culture does not understand the minority culture, and they never even get the desire to get the information that will make them aware of some cultural behaviors exhibited by these young men. You can’t help but have racism in a situation like that because kids are going to be singled out because of their differences. 69 Mrs . Oliver Observing students being singled out and at times wrongly accused is why Mrs. Oliver’s perspective on racism at the middle school nearly mirrors the perspective of Mrs. Grimes. Mrs. Oliver is a first year African American female teaching special education. She has witnessed several acts of racism towards these young black men take pflace. She stated: I thought that special education students were discriminated against,but the young black men in this building definitely experience racism. For example, I witnessed one occasion where two sets of male students were playing around pushing each other in the hall. One set of the students were Caucasian American and the other set was African American. Before, I had chance to speak to both sets of students, the guidance counselor who is Caucasian American rushed right by the two Caucasian American males and went directly to the African American males to issue consequences. At that moment it appeared to me at that moment that the young black men had been singled out and that the young white men had special privileges. In fact, I am starting to see this happen on a regular* basis by the same staff' members. It happens so often that I am not even sure that they realize that this form of racism exist. Many times, people don’t realize that this form of racism exists and subsequently deny that it occurs. Mrs. Light spoke about the denial on the part of these staff members when she shared her perspective on racism. 70 Hrs.Light Mrs. Light the fourth year language arts teacher acknowledged the fact that racism definitely exists in the middle school and that those people who display racism claim that racism does not exist. She stated: The Caucasian American female teachers in the building feel comfortable sharing their feelings with me because although I am Asian American both my adopted parents are white, so they consider me as one of them. When I brought up the topic of racism experienced by the African American male students, they said that they did not see racism as a problem in the middle school. In fact, they felt that the problems that these young men encounter in school, they bring upon themselves, and race has nothing to do with their middle school experience. Mr . Finch Although Mrs. Light said that the Caucasian American female teachers shared how they felt that racism is not a problem, it appears from Mr. Finch’s response to the question “Is racism a problem at the middle school?” that he agrees with his Caucasian American female coworkers. He stated: Racism is not much of a problem at this school Now I guess racism is something that is to some extent defined by the person who is being discriminated against. So as an old white guy, I may be the wrong guy to ask. At the same time, I feel like I am fairly sensitive to a lot of this stuff, and I have spent a whole lot of time with the black kids at this school. I guess my overall observation is that the interplay that takes place is based more on the personality of the kid than on race. Now, on the part of the 71 staff, there are probably some staff who have\ more difficulties than others putting themselves in the place of kids from a black family because they are unaware of the cultural values and practices of these kids, and they don’t want to become aware . If that is considered as racism, or maybe the ground work on which racism might grow, there may be a little bit of it. But again, if I had to place the problems in order in this building from top to bottom, I would probably not place racism at the top. People who deny that racism exists and then shift the blame to those persons who are experiencing the racism are condoning a more disguised form of racism which brings me to the next topic of color blind racial attitudes. Mr. Finch’s comment that the problem is the student and not his race suggests an attitude of color blindness. This attitude is held by many despite the appearance that these African American young men are being singled out. Color Blind Racial.Attitudes That Lead To Persistent Negative Stereotyping Helen Neville (2000) states that color blind racial attitudes are rooted in the structure of society. People who adopt a color blind racial attitude deny that racism actually' exists, and. they ibelieve race does not (play’ a meaningful role in lived experiences of people. As a result, a more modern “laissez faire racism” has taken shape. This new form of racism is characterized by 72 persistent negative stereotyping, a tendency to blame minorities themselves for racial disparities, and resistance to meaningful efforts to ameliorate problematic social conditions and institutions (Bobo, Kliegel, & Smith 1997). The first characteristic of a color blind racial attitude that leads to laissez faire racism is persistent negative stereotyping. During this study, I witnessed persistent negative stereotyping take place when I overheard a discussion by four Caucasian American teachers about black children. Teacher 1:“Boy, those black kids just can’t keep their mouths closed. It seems like no matter where I am, they are always the loudest.” Teaher 2: “Yeah, I agree. They always have to be talking, and they always have to have the final word. It is the males more so than the females.” Teacher 3: “Yeah, if they would just keep their mouths closed, the hallways would be much quieter.” Teacher 4: Laughingly, “How about if we just get rid of them all, then we would not have any problems.” During this conversation not only had these young men been stereotyped as loud, but they had also been stereotyped as troublemakers. These teachers did not know 73 I was listening, and when I walked around the corner to make my presence known, they immediately changed the subject. Why do teachers make such negative comments about students? It is because they are unaware of cultural differences. An observed cultural difference was the way this particular group of African American males chose to show interest in class activities. The body language and tone of voice of these young men changed when they wanted to participate in classroom activities. These students showed interest by speaking out loudly in class, squirming around, sucking their teeth, and frowning up their faces. Teachers saw this type of behavior as an interruption. The young men not only spoke out loudly, but they even argued to get their point across during classroom discussions. Teachers in this study considered this behavior as disrespectful and moved directly to disciplinary action. In this study, the young men engaged in this type behavior because they viewed the teachers response as an abuse of power. According to Dandy (1990), Sheets and Gay (1996), this challenging behavior is common to the African American male adolescent community not because they want to cause problems but because they want to demonstrate their rebellion against the teacher’s “power tripping.” 74 This leads to another cultural difference that was observed during this study pertaining to disciplinary action. Teachers see disciplining these young men in front of their peers as a form of retribution that will teach the students involved how to behave. However, the young men that I observed and interviewed during this study see this type of discipline as a form of humiliation. Gathercoal (1998) stated that when disciplining students, the students self—esteem and personal development needs should be taken into consideration, and it should not interfere with a school activity or be witnessed by other students. This only causes the African American male to feel humiliated and as a result leads to more rebellion. Another observed cultural difference pertains to the materials that have to be learned by the students and how they have to be learned. In this study, the young men seemed to be very interested when they could relate the classroom activity to their life experiences and to their individual learning style such as learning through music and learning by performing. However, during my observations, these types of activities were not taking place. Teachers that I observed did not implement the language, prior knowledge, values, and learning styles of these young African American men into their lessons. 75 Teachers utilized the same remedies and methods with all students, and according to Boykin (1985), this only increases the educational disparities experienced by these young men because what the young men value differs from what is valued in schools by the dominant culture. This cultural intersection without cultural awareness leads to other problems for these young men, such as being labeled unreachable, loud, and trouble makers. When the dominant culture intersects with the subordinate culture, there is a lack of reciprocal agreement and the cultural values and beliefs of the dominant culture do not coincide with the cultural values and beliefs of the subordinate culture. The lack of coincidence causes labeling to occur. Labels Caused By Cultural Intersection Teachers Perspectives Mrs . Light This leads to my next topic of discussion labels resulting from incongruence with cultural intersection. Mrs. Light said that she thinks it is hard not to have labeling take place when there is cultural intersection without providing the requisite awareness to members of the dominant culture. Cultural intersection is when the dominant culture whose characteristics, values and 76 viewpoints are considered the norm comes into contact with the subordinate culture whose values, characteristics, and viewpoints are considered inadequate. Mrs. Light also shared stories with me about African American young men who had received labels from staff members at the middle school. Mrs. Light stated: Anytime you have two cultures that intersect you are always going to have labeling. In this situation, the African American males are the ones who get the labels. For example, I have not had in my classes Darius Mulliken, a fourteen year old African American male eighth grader, but I know who he is because I have heard teachers talk and say that he is a difficult child, so he has been labeled already. But giving him that chance to show that he is capable of behaving and doing his work, and being nice to him in the hallway, you know, lends me to have a relationship with him right now. Mrs. Light’s comments and my observations suggest that it has been accepted as culturally appropriate by the dominant culture to stereotype African American males as aggressive and insubordinate. This allows them to control the black males more strictly than their peers. According to McCadden (1998), schools that allow these practices to take place are permitting the formation of relationships between staff members that are not healthy for the young men because they are not tapping into the knowledge, cognitive abilities, or cultural values of them. 77 Relationships That Lead To Labeling One of the keys to removing cultural unawareness caused by cultural intersection is by forming relationships which, in turn, will help to remove the labels that have been placed on these young men. In forming these relationships teachers help create a web of support around them. According to Delpit (1995), a teacher does not have to have the same cultural and ethnic background as the student, but they need to form relationships with these students. Teachers and students form relationships by sharing cultural and ethnic background information that has the potential to provide insight into teaching that might not otherwise be understood. Unfortunately during my observations, I discovered that some of the teachers in this study were unwilling to form relationships with these African American young men. For example, I witnessed Chad, a student in this study, ask Mrs. Night, his social studies teacher if he could meet with her after class to discuss how he felt about her disciplining him in front of his peers. She responded by saying she did not have to discuss it. She told Chad that he brought it upon himself and that if it happened again, she would handle it the same way. However, 78 Mrs. Night did meet with a Caucasian American student after class to discuss a discipline issue. Another indicator that the teachers I observed in this study may not be willing to encourage relationships with African American young men was their unwillingness to provide these young men with extra academic assistance during school or after school when it was requested. However I witnessed several other Caucasian American students request extra academic assistance and they were allowed to stay after class and after school to receive this assistance. Instead of forming relationships with these young men, teachers in this study form relationships with each other to discuss the “negative” actions of these African American males and these discussions transfer preconceived biases from one teacher to another. This is not good for these African American young men because many of them do mature and change, but once they receive a label, it is like a permanent marker over their heads. Jamon' s Permanent Marker For example, Jamon, is a fourteen year old eighth grade African American male who participated in this study. During my observation of Jamon in his Language Arts class, several students were making inappropriate noises as though 79 they were “passing gas” while the teacher Mrs. Wallace wrote the daily assignment on the board. Mrs. Wallace is a Caucasian American female teacher who has been teaching Language Arts for six years. She turned around using a loud tone voice and said “Jamon! Get out! and I am calling the principal on you as well.” Jamon responded by asking her why he had to get out of the room. Mrs. Wallace told him was behaving inappropriately. In this particular situation, it was not Jamon who made the noise that interrupted the class. I had been observing Jamon’s behavior, and he was sitting quietly waiting for Mrs. Wallace. As the observer, I did not want to comment about her false accusation. Jamon exited the room and said, “Man! This some bull.” A few minutes later, the principal arrived and Mrs. Wallace exited the room to talk with Jamon and the principal. After this class ended, it was Mrs. Wallace’s planning period. I remained in the classroom during the planning period to converse with Mrs. Wallace about Jamon’s behavior. Mr. B: “Has Jamon been a behavior problem in your class in the past?” 80 Mrs. Wallace: “No, not really in my class, but his other teachers say that he is always in the middle of some disruption.” Mr. B: “How were you able to determine that Jamon was the student making inappropriate noises?” Mrs. Wallace: “As I stated earlier, he is known for being a disruption in his classes, and when I turned around, he just looked guilty.” Mr. B: “What made Jamon look guilty?” Mrs. Wallace: “Like I said, I know Jamon and when I turned around, his facial expression alone told me that he did it.” Mr. B: “Well, thanks for you time and I will talk to you again soon.” Although I was aware that Jamon did not make the disruptive noises, as the researcher, I could not mention this to Mrs. Wallace. I did not want to ruin my chances of observing her class as well as interviewing her in the future for this study. However, from this situation it is clear that Jamon was not given a fair chance. A fair chance is not something that should be earned; it should be given. However, from the observations and the interviews, it seemed that these young men have not been 81 given a fair chance and had been labeled whether fair or not. The labels have caused them to become frustrated with their middle school experience. The students willingly shared the disappointments of their middle school experience. Student Stories on The Frustration of Being Labeled Jamon was sitting in the hall after the principal left and Mrs. Wallace had returned to the classroom. When she returned to the classroom, I went out to talk to Jamon for five minutes about how this particular situation made him feel and I then returned to Mrs. Wallace’s class. During our five minute conversation, Jamon said that all he wants to get from middle school is a good education. However, it is hard for him to even get a middle school education. He stated: All I want to do is get an education and do what I got to do to make it through the school year But sometimes it gets awful hard. I spend more time in the hallway than I do in my classes Teachers always put me out for no reason. You know, last year I got into some trouble, but this year I been tryin hard to stay out of trouble, but some of these teachers just won’t give me a chance. Like I didn’t even do nothing. Other kids made them noises, and Mrs. Wallace just gone single me out. Why she single me out and call the principal on me? And den when he got dare, she gone say some “We know how acted last year, and he is coming back this year acting the same way.” How she know? I can come back and act totally different from last year.” They don’t seem to notice that I have changed. 82 I think change is noticeable. It may take time before it is noticeable. Some people refuse to acknowledge change, especially if acknowledging change means that they have to admit making an incorrect assessment of another individual. It creates frustration for the student when it seems teachers are unwilling to acknowledge change. Chad's Excerpt Chad, a thirteen year old eighth grade student, has been labeled as a trouble maker, and he voiced his opinion about the unfairness he experiences because teachers are unwilling to acknowledge the fact that he can change. He stated: That's why I didn’t want to come to this school because I don’t like the teachers here and the way they do stuff. It ain’t fair. Like if you slip up and do one thing, you pretty much done. They label you and like they always look for you when something bad happens, whether you do it or not. Teacher’s always seem to go by what they have heard from other teachers. They don’t even try and get to know you for themselves and give you the opportunity to show that you have changed. Don’s Excerpt Don has a story that is a mirror image of Jamon’s and Chad’s story. He too has been labeled as a trouble maker, and it follows him from teacher to teacher. Don is a 83 thirteen year old African American male who is in his second year at the middle school. He did not want to remain at this school, and he made it known. Man, Mr. B. I wanted to leave this school last year because I did not think I was being treated fairly by my teachers. I had a teacher who really didn’t like me and he told me, that anything I do he was going to make sure he put me out of his classroom. He kicked me out a whole bunch of times too. He kicked me out for talking; he kicked me out for asking my team mate what to do instead of asking him. Errybody else was talking, so I talked too; plus I didn’t feel like getting up. I even got kicked out for doing a handshake with somebody. Every time he put me out, he called me a trouble maker. Just because of that, all my other teachers started saying, “Oh he’s a troublemaker.” Why should I do my work when nobody ever listens to my side of the story? My observations and interviews helped me to determine that when the dominant school culture intersected with the culture of the African American males in this study, there was not a change in the cultural practices that created an environment that allowed these students to grow academically and socially. Houston (2001) stated that a change in the structure of the school must occur when the dominant culture and the subordinate culture intersect in order to create an environment structured to encompass a foundation of respect for academic and social diversity. Such an environment will help all students to grow academically and socially. The lack of this type of 84 environment caused these African American males to become frustrated. The frustration of the three African American male middle school students above is obvious from their statements. They feel that they are not given a fair chance and that the only other option that they have is to formulate a defense mechanism, an option used by these students and other African American males. Defense mechanisms When individuals believe that they have constantly been mistreated they manage their anxiety by resisting cultural norms and formulating defense mechanisms (Mahiri,1996). Defense mechanisms in this study are methods utilized by these African American young men to express their cultural frustrations stemming from cultural intersection. The defense mechanisms observed in this study being utilized are academic failure and adopting the cool pose. Academic Failure Academic failure is a way for African American males to show that they do not value and agree with the educational practices and beliefs of the dominant culture (Ogbu,2003). Failing academically is a way for the African American males in this study to demonstrate their opposition to what the dominant culture values as being 85 appropriate. During this study, several young men were observed mentally detaching themselves academically and socially from the ideas and practices of the dominant culture. They saw academic work as part of the ideas and practices of the dominant culture, so they detach themselves from that as well. This detachment from the academic work results in their academic failure. Most people see academic failure as a bad thing. However, cultural domination has resulted in these males viewing academic failure as a way of rebelling. According to Fordham and Ogbu (1986), in their study African American students took on this behavior because of the fear of acting white. The fear of acting white is when African students refuse to accept what they perceive as the attempt by white people to define white ways as the right ways to talk and behave and black ways as the wrong ways. It is also when the peers of African American students perceive their behavior as acting white when they do homework, listen in class, and listen to certain kinds of music (Haynes,l985). The African Americans in this study refuse to accept this because they believe it would be detrimental to their collective racial identity and solidarity (Fordham and Ogbu,1986). Below are excerpts 86 from interviews with three African American male students who have chosen to utilize academic failure as a defense mechanism. Free of Myself Jamal is a fourteen year old African American eighth grader at Wichitaw Middle School. He is looked up to by other African American young men at the school, and he refuses to allow the teachers to change what he believes in. According to Jamal, before he allows the dominant culture to change who he is, what he believes in, and how he learns, he will continue to fail. Jamal stated: I want to be free of myself. I want to be able to come to school and dress the way that I do without being called a thug. I want to be able to talk the way that I talk and not have people tell me my English is not appropriate. If I want to express what I have learned academically through drawing a picture or saying a rap, then I should be able to do that. These teachers always trying to tell me how I should be in school. Let me be me. The things that they say I got to be, I ain’t feelin it. They trying to change who I am into who they want me to be. Yeah, I talk back to teachers because they expect me to learn the way the white kids learn and be interested in the things that the white kids are interested in. They need to teach me for me and until they do, I will continue to fail my classes. Although there were other African American kids who were actively engaged in this school work, Jamal is demonstrating the frustrations of his middle school 87 experience like many of the other African American males in this study by refusing to utilize white impositions, such as the curriculum and the language, because white Americans have used both to label African Americans as inferior throughout history (Ogbu,2003). Just As I Am. Richard is also a fourteen year old eighth grade middle school student. Richard also rebelled by failing academically. He stated: Yeah, I talk back to the teachers, and I come to class unprepared because they won’t accept me for who I am. They always telling me that I need to behave more like the successful students in the class. They say stuff like ”If you develop good study habits like your classmates who get A’s, you’ll be a much better student”. There are only four blacks in the class and none of us got A’s. So you know they trying to get us to be more like the white kids. The stuff is straight boring, and I don’t think the teachers should come at me the way that they do. Like when I go into the classroom, I get off to a bad start just because of how they be talking to me. They act like they got an attitude or something. It’s like they want me to be perfect the way that they see perfect. They see perfect as coming to class, opening the book, and listening to what they teach, and then acing the test. I can’t get down with that. That’s not how I learn. I learn by acting things out, by building stuff, you know by getting physically involved. I am a hands on type person. Note taking from long speeches is not my thing. They should be able to teach me for me and until they do that, I ain’t doing nothing but tuning them out. 88 I Don’t‘want To Be Around You Don who was introduced earlier in the study, would rather keep his pride and refuse to work before he allows himself to be mistreated by his teachers. He shared his thoughts with me by stating: Man, they don’t like me because of the color of my skin, cause I’m darker than them. The teachers, I don't like them cause they mean, they never liked me. I mean I don’t know why they so mean. They just showed up the first day, and they were just mean. I mean they show a personality that you don’t want to be around unless you are a good white kid. The teachers always treat them good. You know what, I ain’t white and they definitely don’t see me as good. So what that mean? That mean I ain’t doing no work for them. Although these young men are choosing not to do any work, their interest is not in academic failure. Their interest is in preserving their pride, dignity, and respect. In order for these young men to preserve these things, they look for ways to help them adapt to environmental conditions and neutralize stress. They look for ways to help them remain cool when they are marginalized. This leads to my next topic of adopting the cool pose as a defense mechanism. Adapting The Cool Pose Although many of the young men in the study utilized academic failure as a defense mechanism, several of them 89 also adopted the cool pose as a defense mechanism. According to Majors and Billson (1992), cool pose is a distinctive coping mechanism that serves to counter the problems that black males encounter on a daily basis. During this study it was noted that when the dominant school culture intersected with the subordinate school culture, the young men in the study encountered problems on a daily basis. The problems resulted in their masking their true feelings of self-doubt, insecurity, and inner turmoil by acting calm and fearless while experiencing blocked opportunities. Blocked opportunities in this case means that a sense of supremacy has been created in this school by the dominant culture that labels these young men as inferior (Allen,1994) . The young men in this study rarely got an opportunity to talk about things they like, what they know, or what they would like to know because it was not implemented into the curriculum. They are not actively involved in their learning (Darling Hammons,1990) . Below are excerpts from an observation and interviews that demonstrate these African American young men utilizing the C001 pose as a defense mechanism. Andre’ s Cool Pose Andre is one of two African American students in Mrs. Stokely’s American History class. She is Caucasian 90 American and has been teaching American History at this school for twelve years. Andre, an African American, is an eighth grader in this class of twenty one students. Mrs. Stokely had been teaching a unit on the Declaration of Independence and this day was test day. Mrs . Stokely issued out short answer questions as a form of as sessment. Andre asked Mrs. Stokely if she would allow him to write his short answer in the form of a rap. She replied by saying, “Absolutely not! This is a classroom, not a rap studio. I did not rap it to you when I taught it - ” The Caucasian American students laughed at the statement made by Mrs. Stokely. During an earlier interview with Andre, he shared with me that he really enjoyed rap music and that rapping was his method of learning. However, he did not respond negatively to the statement made by Mrs. Stokely or to the laughter of his classmates. Andre remained well ordered in the face of this disruptive situation. I met with Andre right after Mrs. Stokely’s class to congratulate him for responding in such an appropriate manner_ I also asked Andre how he was able to remain so calm, Andre’s response is in the excerpt below. 91 Andre's Response You know what, Mr. B.? After a while, you get used to being dissed and you learn to defend yourself by remaining cool. This happens on a regular basis. Yeah, I was upset, and my feelings were hurt. But I could not let them see that. I had to remain cool, calm, and collected. I could not let them see that my pride was hurt and that my dignity was taken. I could not let her know that she made me feel like I was less of a person whose opinion did not have to be respected. Eli’s Response Eli was the other African American male in Mrs. St:<:>kely’s class during the incident involving Mrs. Stokely arlci. Andre. He is a thirteen year old, and this is his first yeaaan: at Wichitaw Middle School. After my conversation with Andre, Eli came up to me and shared his unhappiness about the way Mrs. Stokely responded to Andre. He also said that tug aarad.Andre are treated unfairly on a regular basis. When I asslced.Eli for an example of his being treated unfairly, he s t ated: I got so many, I don’t know which one to choose. Okay, now I remember. It was the end of January and Black History Month was approaching. I asked Mrs. Stokely if we were going to discuss Black History, and she responded by saying “I am not going to spend my twenty eight days discussing Black History. You guys are going to get time on the intercom every morning to discuss a famous black person. Isn’t that enough? We give you a yard, and you are not happy; you want to take a mile.” But when Jenny, the little white girl, asked her about Saint Patrick's Day, she was all excited. She said that she was Irish and that she was planning to teach an entire unit on Saint 92 Patrick’s Day. Now, you know that hurt, and it had me heated, but I just smiled and kept my cool. I could not let her know that she took my pride. I could not let her know that she made me feel like me and the history of my people were not important and good enough to be recognized. And you know what? She probably feels more comfortable teaching about Saint Patrick’s Day because that is a part of her. Many times teachers who are a part of the dominant (311:15ture do not feel comfortable teaching African American rnaijlne students because they have not been prepared by their iruxsstitutions to effectively teach these students according 'tc> ‘the cultural values of the students. They only feel comfortable teaching what they have been taught (Ladson BiH1NJ_ings,l994). Eli’s statement about Mrs. Stokely feeling comfortable teaiczliing what is a part of her learning and background bririggs me to the next topic, the conflict of learned Predispositions. During this study it was noted that when the crultural intersection occurred at Wichitaw Middle SCh£>C>l, the teachers who were a part of the dominant culture implemented their personal values and experiences intC> vvhat they taught and how they disciplined the young men. Learned Predispositions Ikeginald M. Clark (1983), states that teachers always brlrng' their personal values and experiences with them to 93 work. They come from home and earlier school experiences to their jobs with a set of learned predispositions about what real knowledge is, and about what promising students should already know, and how they should behave. The biases of teachers caused problems for the African American male students in this study. The students in the study rarely exemplified social and academic behavior that was closely aligned with the expectations of the teachers. Teachers spend the majority of their positive time focusing on the students whose academic and social behavior closely aligned with their own and that of the schools expectations. Below is an excerpt from an observation that demonstrated conflict caused by learned predispositions of teachers who are a part of the dominant culture. Observation of Mr. Sheets and Omar During this study Mr. Sheets seventh grade classroom was observed several times. Mr. Sheets a Hispanic American teaching seventh grade math, has been employed Wichitaw Middle School for over twenty five years. Omar is a twelve year old African American male seventh grader. This day Mr. Sheets was teaching the class how to find the area and perimeter of squares and rectangles and how this related to multiplication. 94 Mr. Sheets believed that being able to do mental multiplication without counting on your fingers was a necessary strategy. Mr. Sheets notified Omar that mental multiplication was a necessity, and Omar responded in a way that Mr. Sheets saw as unacceptable. Below is the excerpt from this situation. Mr. Sheets: “Omar, please tell me that you are not counting on your fingers to find the area of these shapes.” Omar: “Yeah, I’m counting on my fingers.” Mr. Sheets: “Why are you counting on your fingers?” Omar: “Because I ain’t that good at my time tables.” Mr. Sheets: “This is geometry, and if you don’t know how to multiply without counting on your fingers, you should not even be in this class. It is going to be very hard for you to pass this class if you don’t know how to multiply.” As I observed this situation, I saw the problem as Mr. Sheets insulting the learning style of Omar in front of the class. Mr. Sheets appeared to be trying to force Omar into utilizing a learning style that was a part of the status quo. According to Ogbu (1978), this is cultural deprivation, and schools must stop enforcing policies that force students to become more like the status quo. 95 After Mr. Sheets told Omar that it was going to be difficult for him to pass this class, he walked away from Omar’s seat and began to praise other students in the class who were not having difficulty solving the problems. As Mr. Sheets rotated around the classroom, Omar raised his hand. After five minutes, Mr. Sheets had not acknowledged Omar’s raised hand. As a result of this, Omar became frustrated. Omar: “Mr. Sheets, Man, I know you see my hand. I got a question about this math problem!” Mr. Sheets: “Apparently you don’t know how to multiply or act in a respectable manner.” Omar: “What you mean?” Mr. Sheets: “I mean in this class, you wait to be acknowledged and blurting out is not going to get you recognized any faster.” Omar: “Man that ain’t right!” Mr. Sheets: “Well, you better get used to it because that is the way most of us do things around here, and if you want to make it out of this class and out of this school, then you better get use to it.” Mr. Sheet’s behavior and his comments caused me to formulate another question to staff members. The question was, “Why are the teachers allowed to behave in a way that 96 degrades the academic and social values of these African American young men?” Below are excerpts from the response of two African American staff members. Mr. Wilkes the African American physical teacher responded by saying: Mrs. Iflue excerpt s academi C my final It has been happening for years, and the “big wigs”, such as the superintendents and the principals, have not been stepping up to the plate to make the necessary changes, such as diversity training and consequences for those teachers who don’t want to receive the information. But they are a part of the dominant culture too. Nobody wants to test the waters. Everybody wants to keep the dominant group happy. They want everybody to be just like them. If you walk like them, talk like them, and take on their cultural values, then you are okay with them. If you don’t, then you are an outcast. A lot of the African American males won’t do these things, so teachers are allowed to treat them like they are not important. Grimes the African American social worker stated: Most of the teachers around here have been programmed by the same system, the system that promotes dominance. They have been trained that there is one way that works the best and, if you think differently, you are not treated fairly. It seems like it is a tradition for the district to hire people who are going to promote the ideas and beliefs of the dominant culture. common theme that emerged from these interview was that tradition allowed teachers to degrade the and social values of the young men. This leads to topic of discussion: tradition blocks change. 97 Tradition Blocks Change Tradition is defined as the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth that promotes cultural continuity in social attitudes and institutional instruction (Webster’s Dictionary). Cultural intersection brings traditions with it. In this particular study, the traditions are the cultural practices of the dominant school culture. One cultural practice was the persistent effort by teachers to force these students in submission to the ideas, values, and beliefs of the dominant culture. Another cultural practice observed during this study was the evaluation process utilized by the dominant culture to evaluate the young men. The young men were evaluated based on the codes of conduct, the language, and the behavioral practices that were established by the beliefs and practices of the dominant culture. They were trying to merge all students, regardless of ethnic and cultural origins, into one ideal model (Olneck, 1974). When the young men refused to participate in this merging, they were labeled as incapable. According to the staff members who were interviewed, although cultural intersection has resulted in a change in the cultural makeup of the school, the traditions of the dominant culture has not provided a vehicle for changes to 98 take place that promotes the academic and social growth of the African American young men. Below are excerpts from the staff interviews. Mrs . Shine Mrs. Shine, a Caucasian American teacher of Language Arts has been teaching at Wichitaw Middle School for thirty five years. She has witnessed the cultural incongruencies that has resulted from the traditions of the dominant culture. She stated: Wichitaw Middle School has been integrated for twenty five years now. When I first started teaching at Wichitaw Middle School, we did not have any African American students. We did have some white children who were quite poor, and we had white children who were wealthy, but for the most part, they all had the same cultural values and beliefs. Their cultural values and beliefs were also very closely aligned with the values and beliefs of the staff members. This made it very easy for teachers to communicate with the students and teach them the school curriculum. There were also very few discipline problems. There was set way of doing things. It was like a tradition. However, about my eleventh year of working there, the cultural makeup of the school began to change. This is when cultural intersection started at Wichitaw Middle. African American students came with their own set of cultural values, expectations, and beliefs. These cultural values, expectations, and beliefs are different from those found in the dominant culture. The students in this study do have a different set of cultural values, expectations, and beliefs. They value their self, their identity. They do not believe that they 99 have to learn the same way that the students in the dominant culture learn in order to be successful. The young men do not believe that they have to walk like, talk like, or think like the persons who make up the dominant culture. They value their historical backgrounds and their cultural identity and are willing to rebel against the dominant culture in order to gain recognition. They believe that all cultures are unique and should be recognized as such. This caused problems for the African American students at the middle school because the teachers who were a part of the dominant culture have not changed their traditional way of doing things, and although many years have passed, the traditions remained the same. The dominant culture believes that their job is to do just that: dominate. They hold a perception that the cultural values and beliefs of the young men are not useful in addressing the academic and social needs of these young men. They see their job as making the young men more like them. Gloria Ladson Billings (2000) states that this is a problem because it creates a generalized perception that the culture of these young men is not a useful rubric for addressing their needs as learners. As a result, these young men are treated like they are corruptions of the dominant culture (Ogbu, 1987). 100 Mrs. Hankins This leads to the excerpt from the interview with Mrs. Hankins. Mrs. Hankins is an African American teacher of science at Wichitaw Middle School. She has been working at Wichitaw Middle School for ten years. She also realized that the traditional practices of the dominant culture have hindered the academic and social growth of the African American male students. She stated: Mr. B., many of the teachers who are here now, were here before African American young men were allowed to come to this school. Although the cultural makeup of this school has changed, the practices and beliefs of these teachers have remained the same. They have not been properly equipped to deal with this cultural intersection. They see their job as filtering their culture into these young men while removing the cultural values and beliefs of these young men. And, oh, yes, we have had several new teachers to come into the building, but they are mentored by these teachers who instill the values and practices of the dominant into them. This causes the dominant to remain dominant and the African American males to remain in a state of subordination. This topic of discussion and the other themes that were presented in this chapter demonstrated that cultural intersection indeed has a negative impact on the academic and social experiences of the African American young men. These African American young men were forced into academic and social subordination by persons who were a part of the dominant culture. 101 The Impact Of The Study On Me As The Researcher This research topic had an impact on me as an administrator and as an African American male. During this study, it was very difficult for me witness the experiences of these African American young men without interceding on their behalf. When I witnessed the young men get falsely accused of disrupting the classroom setting, as an administrator, I wanted to speak up and say the young men were not involved in the disruption. However, I could not do so because as a researcher, I had to realize what my role is at the exact moment the incident is occurring. During these occurrences I was not an administrator, I was the researcher taking on the role of complete observer. As a complete observer, my role was to observe what was taking place in these settings. It was not my role to discipline teachers or students because while taking on the role of complete observer to discipline teachers or students would have been unethical. Not only would my role make it unethical, but also I had notified teachers and students that during the study I would not be taking on the role of administrator. Because I became a student during this study, whose only focus was to learn about the 102 experiences of these young men, the principal had agreed to handle any problems of discipline that might occur. Although during this study I did not deal with the issues of discipline, the academic issues, the social issues, and the issues of discipline that were unveiled during this study opened my eyes as an administrator. These revelations caused me to realize that as an administrator in the district, I need to hold accountable both myself and others in the school to work toward the mission of the school district. That mission of the school district is to educate and prepare each student to achieve her or his academic best, to develop character, to become a life long learner, and to contribute as a citizen of our global society. Throughout the study, I felt that the burden of making change happen rested upon my shoulders and that if I did not bring these issues to the attention of others, I would only be if not adding to the problem, certainly doing nothing towards solving the problem. Part of my role as an administrator is to lead the staff towards achieving the mission of the district. Now with more knowledge about the issues and problems that cultural intersection cause to happen, I can not just bring them to the attention of other persons who are a part of this 103 school; I have to become actively engaged in the process of change by sharing my knowledge as an administrator and as a leader, by helping to provide solutions for these problems. This study also caused me to realize that as an African American male administrator it is not only my job to serve as an administrator but also as a teacher. It is my job to share my cultural beliefs, values, and expectations with all persons who are a part of the middle schools as well as to open up venues to allow them to share theirs as well. From this study, I found that I am obligated to move the school towards a respect for diversity because a respect of diversity is essential for intercultural harmony and growth. Intercultural harmony is essential in enriching the Wichitaw Middle School community and in tearing down the barriers created by cultural intersection. Lessons learned from these findings, recommendations for improving the educational experiences of African American young men, and possibilities for future research with this particular population or similar populations will be found in the next chapter. 104 CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION REVIEW OF RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to learn about the academic and social experiences of African American males at Wichitaw Middle School by garnering an understanding of perceptions that they held as a part of the subordinate culture. A further aim was to discover, describe, and E at: . :1 analyze the hidden assumptions that inhibited, repressed, I' x. v'.e~e' - and constrained African American male students. The research question that promoted the framework of this study was: How does the intersection of the dominant school culture and the subordinate school culture impact the academic and social experiences of African American male middle school students? While carrying out this study, several things were learned about the experience of being an African American male student in the subordinate culture. Most of the research findings from this study were found to be consistent with prior research. However, there were also some findings that were unexplored that will contribute to future research. First is a discussion regarding findings that are congruent with the literature. 105 Lessons Congruent‘With Literature Teaching‘flhat Has Been Learned According to Bennet (1986), teachers teach using the same methods they learned, and culture shapes learning style which means that students who share a teacher’s ethnic background will be favored in class. Bennet also states that if classroom expectations are limited by our own cultural orientations, we impede successful learners guided by another cultural orientation. During this research, it was found that African American young men rarely shared the same academic and social values as the teachers who were included in the dominant culture. Teachers were unaware of the cultural orientations of these young men. This cultural unawareness created a social and academic gap between the dominant culture and the subordinate culture. This cultural gap contributed to the academic and social withdrawal that the young men experienced by their formation of defense mechanisms. Defense Mechanisms Steele (1997) wrote that African American male students suffer increased anxiety because of their inability to fit in with the dominant culture. While these 106 African American males suffer increased anxiety, they tend to fall into a self-protection mode, causing them to devalue or reduce their identification with academics. The findings of this study demonstrate how increased anxiety causes African American males to develop defense mechanisms. I observed African American male students at Wichitaw Middle School detach themselves from the academic practices and procedures because they saw it as a means to maintain their self identity and cultural pride. According to Majors and Billson (1992), African American males adopt a cool pose that is a ritualized approach to masculinity allowing them to cope with and survive in an environment of social oppression and racism found within schools in the United States. The observations and interviews in this study were consistent with this research. Not only did African American males detach themselves academically, but they also learned how to remain cool and portray a sense of fearlessness even when they experienced inner-turmoil and self doubt resulting from cultural intersection. Cultural intersection also contributed to labeling these young men that further contributed to their lack of academic and social growth. 107 Labels Caused By Cultural Intersection Many times members of the dominant culture bring with them stereotypes of the subordinate culture. Steele’s 1997 theory of stereotype threat identifies negative stereotypes as a key contributing factor in the academic under performance of students of color. In this study, research factors indicated these students tried to break away from the cultural and academic restraints placed upon them because of stereotypes. However, it was difficult for them to break away because school staff members were unwilling to form the necessary relationships to make this happen. Unwillingness To Fbrm.Relationships According to Houston (2001), African American male students cannot reach their maximum potential if they are not provided with a web of support. To form this web, teachers must be willing to form relationships with these students. This study revealed teachers who participate in the practices of the dominant culture were more willing to form relationships with each other and less likely to form relationships with the African American male students. For example, the teachers would not talk with the students to learn what interests and dislikes they had, and the teachers would not give these students extra academic help when it was requested. The teachers lack of enthusiasm to 108 form relationships with these young men presents academic and social challenges for the young men. However, school staff members have not been challenged regarding their unwillingness to embrace change. The unwillingness of staff members to embrace change, hindered the existence of intercultural harmony. A.Lesson Learned From This Study Not In The Literature A lesson learned from this study, but not discussed in the review of literature, was the lack of intercultural harmony presented problems for the African American young men. Intercultural Harmony is when the members of the dominant culture and the members of the subordinate culture embrace each others values, practices, and beliefs. An example of intercultural harmony is when teachers teach to the cultural and individual learning styles of the students. (Gay,1988). There is a problem with intercultural harmony at Wichitaw Middle School because cultural differences influence the expectations that teachers hold for their students. Students who do not fit into the dominant culture are treated differently. (Sanders and Wiseman,1990) According to Klugman and Greenberg (1991), in many schools settings across the United States, interethnic and intercultural tensions create major obstactles that prevent 109 improvements in student achievement, social behavior, and attitudes. These obstacles can be removed with the proper adjustments on the part of the schools and the individuals who make up the schools. Suggestions For Improvement Removing Factors That Promote Intolerance The first step in working towards intercultural harmony is removing the factors that promote intolerance. According to Thomas A. Parham (1999), there are four character traits that support intolerance: the feeling of superiority, the feeling of inferiority, the meshing of ignorance and blindness, and the fear of loss. School staff members who believe they are a part of the dominant culture can not continue to believe that their way is the only way and that their social and academic values are better than the academic and social values of others. School staff members have to be more willing to understand what they perceive as the academic and social shortcomings of these young men are in fact cultural differences. If the unwillingness to understand continues, this will further promote an attitude of inequality and false self affirmation. The sense of false self affirmation contributes to the set of existing problems. Parham (1999), states that 110 ignorance is our ability and refusal to learn new ideas, and blindness is our inability to see beyond our current perspective to a larger view. He is not speaking of physical blindness. He is speaking of intellectual blindness. The scales must be removed from the intellectual eyes of staff members and once the scales have been removed, they must expand their minds and hearts to reach out to the young men who have been forced into a subordinate culture. This can take place through ongoing professional development. Parham (1999) stated that the fear of loss also should be removed. When school personnel degrade the young men by words and actions, they fear whether consciously or not, loss of their privilege, position, and power. By recognizing that support and acceptance of the young African American men for who they are and by helping them to develop their maximum potential and to grow as individuals, it does not endanger the dominant group; it not only empowers both groups, but ultimately helps to create a stronger society. According to Parham (1999), the denial of the rights of others and the denial of others self affirmation and self determination rob us of our own 111 comfort of not only who we want to be but also of what they want to be. Parham (1990) also stated: If you disrespect a persons humanity they will rise in anger, if you disregard a persons needs, they will rise in rebellion, if you perpetrate your evil and wickedness on a person, they will rise in retaliation. How can the factors that promote intolerance be removed, and how can these problems be prevented? A serious effort should be made toward providing ongoing training in multicultural diversity. The training can not just take place at Wichitaw Middle School, it must take place cut all levels. The training has 11) be inclusive of all people who have an impact on the education of children. This includes state boards of education, school boards, administrative staff, teaching staff, parents, and students. Ongoing Professional Development Research shows that brief and superficial training may increase knowledge, but has little or no effect on attitudes or behavior(Bennet, Niggle, and Stage, 1989). The school is a primary source for the learning of information and as such school districts should initiate this learning process and provide ongoing and needed professional development pertaining to multicultural 112 education. School personnel must be held accountable for participating in this ongoing professional development. The professional development cannot be a single event, it must be ongoing. Personnel cannot be allowed to participate in a single professional development and consider themselves as competent in the area of multicultural education. If this is allowed to take place, then this would only be placing a bandage made for a cut on an open wound that needs to go through a surgical procedure. Wichitaw Middle School has participated in abbreviated unsystematic professional development. Abbreviated unsystematic professional development will not change the attitudes and practices of the dominant culture. Grottkau and Nickolai—Mays (1989) stated: Abbreviated, unsystematic inservice programs offered to teachers which provide limited exposure to the wide array of problems these educators must faces in the pluralistic classroom setting may contribute minimally, if at all to changes in attitudes toward minority groups. Short term interventions may even be detrimental to the preservation of a respect for human diversity. In order to close the academic and social gap between African American males and their peers, there has to be in depth sustained multicultural training. Grottkau and Nickolai-Mays (1989) stated: 113 Exposure over time to multicultural education experiences does contribute to a statistically significant difference in overall levels of bias, as well as levels of bias toward specific minority populations. Any intervention geared toward the enhancement of intergroup relationships, must not be contrived or arbitrary but rather controlled and sustained if positive attitudes toward African American males students are to be achieved. However, research indicates that teachers frequently do not translate their positive attitudes toward multicultural education and enjoyment of multicultural education classes into actual delivery of multicultural activities in their classrooms (Merrick,1988). In order for accurate knowledge about diverse cultures and positive attitudes toward them to lead to the provision of true multi-cultural education in the classroom, considerable skill development is needed, and this calls for intensive training (Cotton,1992). Genova and Walberg's large-scale correlational study of successful social integration in schools identifies the following skills and behaviors that should be emphasized in professional development training that will enable teachers to foster harmonious relationships among their culturally diverse students. The first skill that should be emphasized is becoming a positive staff role model. Staff members must become involved in visible and healthy 114 interracial/ethnic relationships. The second skill that should be emphasized is becoming a staff member that supports integration. Staff members must be taught to openly express opinions in favor of integration and not segregation. Another skill that should be emphasized is multicultural exposure. Staff members must be taught to expose themselves and students to activities that present a factual accounting of the contributions of various cultures, as well as similarities and differences among cultural groups. Intercultural fairness should also be emphasized. Staff members should be trained to make all students feel that different racial/ethnic groups are treated equally and fairly by school personnel. Research has also identified numerous teacher behaviors that impact intercultural relationships. According to Aviram (1987), effective teachers of culturally diverse classes reflect on their own values, stereotypes, and prejudices and how these might be affecting their interaction with children and parents, and they engage in staff development activities which can expose and reduce biases and increase skill in working with diverse populations. 115 According to Kathleen Cotton (1990), the intercultural knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of teachers have powerful effects on the quality of intercultural relations in schools and classrooms. Part of the procedure would be to have teachers first recognize who they are. According to Pinderhughes (1989), educators must have an awareness T: and understanding of their own cultural background to be culturally sensitive to students of a different culture. They must also understand how their combined cultural values provide a counseling world view that shapes how they observe, assess, define, and approach client problems. Potential misunderstandings and miscommunications increase when worldviews between counselor and client diverge and may lead to premature termination of counseling services (Dana, 1993) Becoming Culturally Sensitive Larke (1990) states: Studies have shown that a high correlation exists among educators’ sensitivity which includes attitudes, beliefs and behaviors toward students of other cultures, knowledge and application of cultural awareness information, and minority students’ successful academic performance. Effective teachers in diverse settings have been found to exhibit high levels of cultural sensitivity which is exhibited by the modified curriculum and instructional designs they 116 incorporate to ensure that all students achieve excellence and equity. Staff members of the middle school should become culturally sensitive, and not continue to hide behind their own cultural values and backgrounds. When they seek an awareness of their own culture and their own cultural values, they should see the differences between themselves and the young men in how they observe, assess, and define ! these young men and their learning potential. Teachers must recognize the differences between their cultural and ‘E, ' . 2.4.134". L the views of the African American male students; the recognition of these differences must result in adjustments in intervention strategies, assessment strategies and a change in the learning environment. According to Kathleen Cotton (1991) some examples of instructional and management strategies necessary to remove the academic and social problems experienced by African American male students are having the students to work in cooperative learning groups that are culturally diverse where they can share their cultural similarities and differences, conduct ungraded multicultural learning activities that are student selected, and teach students social skills related to getting along well together. 117 Cotton (1991) also stated that successful teachers provide accurate information about cultural groups through straightforward discussions of race, ethnicity, and other cultural differences. The teachers at Wichitaw Middle School must teach about cross-cultural similarities and differences. They must also learn general information P about the students religious backgrounds, customs, traditions, holidays, festivals, and practices so they can . incorporate this information into learning experiences of O.‘ 117‘ ”- _—— 1‘". them. The teachers must also create learning environments that are learning style friendly. According to Cotton (2005), teachers must arrange their classrooms for movement and active learning, interact one to one with each child at least once daily, communicate affection for and closeness with students through verbal and nonverbal means such as humor, soliciting student Opinions, eye contact and smiling and have classrooms reflect the ethnic heritage and background of all the children in the classroom. These adjustments will result in a mutual understanding and a good rapport between the school staff and these young men. Further, the adjustments will allow 118 the staff members to develop a good rapport with each other and with the families of these young men. Family Involvement It is important that families of these young men become more involved in the educational process. The lack of good rapport between staff members and the families of these young men increases the odds of academic and social failure. Many of these parents do not want to come to the school because they see it as the school's job to educate their sons. In these situations, teachers must be willing to both stimulate and support this group of students and encourage the interest of parents. According to Bruno (1994), once parents feel the staff members are supportive of their sons, parents learn ways to help their children, and those who have had negative school experiences could come to perceive the school as a bastion of hope for their children. When the staff realizes that parents support their children’s education, they will begin to treat students differently. For example, they will make sure that the students are getting the necessary information to be successful academically. Building rapport between staff and families is basic in breaking down the defense mechanisms formed by parents and students. 119 ‘ gt vr. 1W1... VI. x Dauber and Epstein (l989),stated that many of the parents are haunted by the ghosts of their own educational and social experiences. They want to see their sons succeed, but they do not know how to assist in this success. Parents are uncomfortable in returning to a place where they may have experienced failure. They do not know 9‘ how they can support their children and the teacher. Fear is false evidence appearing real. It is imperative that the school be willing to remove the fear and engage parent involvement. Wichitaw Middle School must demonstrate an interest in and a respect for the family’s culture when interacting with parents. Research has shown that when parents are involved in their child's education, promote a positive learning environment at home, and have positive academic expectations, there is a significant impact on student achievement (Henderson, 1987). According to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, schools must also create goals for parent involvement such as creating a climate conducive to involving parents and families in their children’s education, making sure teachers and administrators understand the importance of a positive school climate in relation to family involvement, providing staff development 120 for teachers and administrators to foster a consistent approach for creating a positive school climate, making family members feel welcomed in the school by letting them know they are valued and supported in their efforts to become more involved, providing opportunities for parents to learn how to become more involved in their child’s 5 learning experiences, and including parents in school governance and activities. Wichitaw Middle School has to make the school family {fiat :J .. 1 . friendly. An example of a way to make the school family friendly is establishing a parent center within the school, where parents can come during school hours. The purpose of the parent center would be to keep all parents connected to what is going on in the school and with their child. The school also has to offer frequent communication that is user friendly to all parents. The frequent communication also has to take on a variety of forms such as newsletters, e-mails, phone calls, and through a school website. Another way to make the school family friendly is by providing after school programs involving parents and community organizations such as family literacy. Organizing school wide social activities for staff members and families such as cookouts, athletic events, and game nights is also 121 important. During these school wide social activities, there must be a time for intercultural sharing where each culture shares information about their beliefs, values, and expectations. Curriculum.Adjustment Another way to impact student achievement is by adjusting the curriculum and the methods used to deliver the curriculum. It should consist of components that are of interest to all students. These African American male middle school students should be able to relate their life’s experiences to what they are learning and to hear about the positive actions of other Africans and African Americans throughout history. An African proverb states that “A man without the knowledge of where he has been knows not where he is nor where he is going.” The curriculum should be a means of giving all students a knowledge of growth for all. The hidden curriculum of the dominant culture transmits values and social skills (Mac and Ghaill, 1988). The values and social skills of the dominant culture are in direct conflict with the values and social skills of these young men. The conflict may be removed by creating a curriculum that is, according to 122 Barbara Sizemore (1979) multicultural, multimodal, multisensory, multidimensional and multilingual. For the curricula to be multicultural, it should be reshaped to include the cultural values and beliefs of all students who make up the student population. These young ER 7 men need to have true stories included in the curricula that will include them in history as a liberated proud people and not as an oppressed people. There needs to be physical evidence that the school is working towards L“ creating a multicultural environment. For example, there should be school wide assemblies where all cultures get to share their values, beliefs, and practices, the hallways of the school should display posters and artwork from all cultural backgrounds, the makeup of the staff should be more reflective of the makeup of the student body, and the curricula should include materials that are reflective of the entire school population such as textbooks and materials pertaining to all ethnic backgrounds. Merely having students from many different ethnic backgrounds is not enough to call the school a multicultural setting. There should be overt multicultural values that include the beliefs and practices of all students specifically books, 123 audiovisual resources, and links to diverse groups of community representatives. Within the multicultural curriculum should be multi sensory and multimodal approaches for delivering the curriculum. Teachers should be willing to meet the students where they are and to teach to an individualized learning style. There is no one way that is the right way. If African American males learn through singing, rapping, drawing, and other methods, then the teacher has the responsibility to tap into these styles of learning and tailor some of their methods of teaching and evaluating to these styles. To make learning a meaningful experience all students, all senses need to be incorporated into the learning strategies. The African American young men need to be used as resources. They are valuable resources in letting teachers know when they are learning and when they are not learning, when they feel included and when they feel excluded. Just as a good parent rushes to the cry of their children, teachers must be able to hear the verbal and silent cries of these young men, so they can provide educational comfort. According to Dr. Freya Rivers (1998), experiences allow children to make an event meaningful, and by using their own sensory resources, students remember the 124 parts that are relevant to their reality. Experiences allow them to grow, develop, and build references for contrasts and comparisons of knowledge. A multidimensional curriculum is a holistic curriculum that reaches the body, the soul, and the mind. Dr. Rivers (1998) stated it best by saying: Students must learn values, discipline, morals, attitudes, beliefs, aspirations, ethics, and dreams. Education is not just academics, it is holistic. It must encompass self understanding, actualization, responsibility, and creativity and commitment, citizenship and consciousness, adaptability, initiative, stability and foresight. Only when humans have succeeded in holistic development will humans become humane. Students do not obtain these skills by osmosis, they must be taught. Yet, the cry from teachers is that there is not enough time to teach the regular curriculum without adding more. However, these principles are taught through modeling. An old belief and saying in the African American community is “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” When a child is busy and engaged, in enjoyable activities, there is less time for trouble. Organized activities and development of talent are just a few ways to develop the soul which breathes life into people as humaneness. For these African American males to develop holistically, it is imperative that all persons with whom they come into contact and particularly those charged with the responsibility to teach them, be willing to teach these young men through modeling. Through modeling, we can meet every need of these young men on Maslow’s Hierarchy of 125 Human Needs. When they come into the school setting looking for a means to survive physiologically and emotionally, we can not continue to push them away. The school should provide them with a safe learning environment where they do not have to form defense mechanisms to survive. Providing these students with a safe learning 1.2) environment makes them feel that they belong. When they feel they belong, they should develop high self esteem that fit.'-‘ H "l.---— allows them to have respect for themselves. By respecting ;j themselves first, they will respect others, and in turn, 4 respect for others will cause the behavior to be reciprocated. This mutual respect will help these young men to expand their potential as productive citizens in a global society. Ways To Implement Suggestions At Wichitaw Middle School According to Diane Pollard (1989), educators can employ several strategic, motivational and confrontational means to change racist behavior. The administrators of Wichitaw Middle School must compile a clear statement of expectations regarding racism. Any time these expectations are violated by any staff member or student in the building, consequences must be issued. The consequences that are to be issued, must be pre established and 126 understood by all persons involved with the school. Administrators must also respond to respond to racial incidents in a fair and open minded manner. Whenever corrections are made regarding a racial issue, it is important that the corrections are not utilized as a form of embarrassment, but as a form of remediation. The administrators of Wichitaw Middle School must also realize that they can not prevent racism by themselves. It has to be a joint effort. According to Beswick (1990) administrators must gain the support of parents, student advisory boards, and key minority leaders in the community. Together, they must develop teacher workshops, assemblies, and arbitration of racial incidents. Not only do the administrators need to gain the support of parents, student advisory boards and key minority leaders in the community, but they also must hire enough minority staff members so the staff makeup is reflective of the student body makeup. This balance also provides a more diverse population of role models for African American male students and other minority students. According to Kofi Lomotey (1989) administrators of Wichitaw Middle School must communicate to teachers that all students can learn, focus on programs helping marginal 127 I ‘f-' .A' 4-..". students, broaden the base of recognized achievement by praising nontraditional work, and honor satisfactory work that represents an all out effort by minority students. Administrators should communicate with teachers, but they should also work towards shaping the culture of the school. Administrators shape the culture of the school through three key processes. The first step is to read the g culture to get an understanding of the culture’s historical "fls ~14...” ._... source as well as analyzing current norms and values. The second step is to assess the culture to determine which elements of the culture support the school’s core purposes and the mission, and which hinder achieving valued ends. The final step is actively shape the culture by reinforcing positive aspects and working to transform negative aspects of the culture (Peterson and Deal, 2002). The findings of this study helped to get an understanding of the culture's historical source as well aided in analyzing the current norms and values. The administrators must determine which norms and values tsupport learning for all students and which cause a decline if] energy, motivation and commitment by all students and StLaff members, community members and parents. The norms arnj values that cause a decline in energy, motivation and 128 commitment, must be changed. The negative issues must be addressed directly by the administrators. Peterson and Deal (2002), also said that examples of success must counteract stories of failure and those who try and sabotage staff learning must be impeded, and negative stories of professional development must be replaced with concrete positive results. Suggestions For Future Research a. "nut iii-.4... .9. M'Anq w .‘ According to Scheper-Hughes (1992) a good ethnographic researcher accepts that his or her understandings will always be only partial and will open doors for others to walk through and to further the research. A critical step is for institutions of higher learning to better prepare their teachers to work in a diverse society. Basic class work and research should build a strong foundation for the development of university classes designed to foster awareness of cultural differences. Although the emphasis has been on holistic teaching and learning of each student, the educational world has overlooked an integral aspect of learning: the diversity of culture. Institutions of higher learning should consider monitoring multicultural education and its importance in preparing teachers to educate students from a variety of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. 129 Sleeter(1990),recommends providing more opportunities to raise the cultural sensitivity of pre-service teachers through long term, in depth multicultural education, and developing a field base to multicultural education courses and methods courses to provide an opportunity for working with culturally diverse students through fieldtrips, classroom observations, and telecommunications systems between the university and school classrooms. The American Jewish Committee (1989) recommends raising the sensitivity levels of university professors through required seminars, seeking early field and student teaching sites that are cognizant of diversity and working to promote intercultural harmony, providing instruction to enable teachers to understand students culturally based and individual learning styles and to match appropriate teaching styles to them, providing instruction in methods teachers can use to develop interpersonal awareness and empathy among diverse learners in their classrooms, requiring training in multicultural education for both administrators and teachers, and establishing resource centers for multi-cultural materials as well as publicizing and promoting the use of these materials. 130 This would assist public school and private schools in bridging the academic and social gap between African American students and their peers because multicultural training leads to the development of attitudes and skills needed to work successfully with culturally diverse groups (Burstein,1989). Larke (1990)states: Teacher educators must recognize and respond to this concern by providing more than one isolated course because one course is insufficient to change the attitudes and behaviors of pre-service teachers to appreciate, accept, and respect the diversity of students facing them in future classrooms. Future research should develop mentoring programs that link culturally diverse students with educators doing their student teaching. The purpose of such programs would be geared to make future educators more sensitive to the needs and concerns of students whose cultural beliefs and practices are different from their own. Such programs must be supported by state boards of education, school boards, politicians, administrators, educators, community members, parents and students. With a joint effort to support such programs, society will move one step closer to removing cultural boundaries placed in school settings through cultural intersection. 131 Future research should also look at the role that schools can play in combating racism, by preserving ethnic identity in the context of racial integration. Racism is a developed set of attitudes that include antagonism based on the supposed superiority of one group or on the supposed inferiority of another group, premised solely on skin color P or race(Beswick,1990). Charles Glenn (1989), stated that it is unnecessary to force a choice between integration of "v. V'i,“.h_1:.'-..'.1 '3 7;‘-'. 1!...” schools and the preservation of ethnic identity. Programs should be offered that encourage African Americans and other minorities to choose fields of math, science, and computer technology. Glenn (1989), also believes that a misunderstanding about the meaning of ethnicity and culture accounts for the reluctance of some educators to risk tampering with ethnic heritage. Ethnicity has to do with generational heritage and history. Culture is the ideas, customs, and art of a peoples living present. Breswick (1990), stated that multicultural education must distinguish between culture and ethnicity if it is to preserve minorities' ethnic identities while freeing them to participate fully in shaping the culture of society, and multicultural education 132 provides some excellent measures to root out prejudice and to foster appreciation for racial and ethnic differences. Another topic that should be researched in the future is what different cultural groups perceive as appropriate family involvement. Many times, the perceptions of those parents whose children are a part of the dominant culture differs from the perceptions of those parents whose children are a part of the dominant culture. McCollom (1996), suggests that educators in the United States tend to believe that parents should intervene in their children’s learning, while immigrant parents often come from cultures where the proper role of a concerned parent is not to intervene in the school's business or question the teacher's practices and expertise. 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