engaging african american males in reading · 2013-03-18 · school years. national reading...

6
Engaging African American Males in Reading By providing meanin^ul reading material and encouraging honest debate, teachers can help African American adolescent males embrace the power of text T he field of education is saturated with studies documenting the poor performance and achieve- ment deficits of African American males throughout their school years. National reading achieve- ment data continue to indicate thai as a group, African American males— particularly adolescents in middle and high school classrooms—are not performing well. Researchers have examined several factors that serve as barriers to achieve- ment for African American males. Internal factors include self-concept and identity issues. African American male students often exhibit various cultural-specific coping mechanisms— such behavdors as acting tough, failing to retreat from violence, avoiding self- disclosure, and dissociating from school. These students are often subject to disproportionate and some- Alfred W. Tatum times unfounded grade retentions and suspensions because teachers and administrators mismterpret these behaviors and find them offensive. External factors include structural racism, community patterns, parents' education attainment, and socioeco- nomic status. These adolescents must also deal with negative stereotypes in and out of school, a scarcity of positive role models, and a lack of culturally competent instruction and direction. Moreover, many of them experience problems associated with low socioeco- nomic status and high-risk neighbor- hoods. Students in such neighbor- hoods are often too consumed with concerns about mortality and safety to think seriously about either schooling or their uncertain futures. Convergmg in multiple sources of stress and disso- nance, these factors characterize the experiences of African American males as they begin the tumultuous adoles- cent work of self-definition (Fashola, 2005). Several solutions proposed over the last 10 years specifically address the literacy needs of African American adolescent males. They include providing culturally responsive literacy instruction that links classroom content to student experiences; devel- oping character development programs, rites-of-passage programs, comprehensive literacy programs, and academically oriented remedial programs; and establishing all-male academies or alternative schools and programs designed specifically for African American males. All the proposed solutions empha- size a meaningful curriculum reflective of student experiences. Yet the most vulnerable African American adoles- cent males remain in public schools in which literacy instruction is not responsive to their needs. 44 EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP/FEBRUARY 2006

Upload: others

Post on 23-Jul-2020

0 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Engaging African American Males in Reading · 2013-03-18 · school years. National reading achieve-ment data continue to indicate thai as a group, African American males— particularly

EngagingAfrican AmericanMales in Reading

By providing meanin^ul reading material and encouraginghonest debate, teachers can help African American

adolescent males embrace the power of text

The field of education issaturated with studiesdocumenting the poorperformance and achieve-ment deficits of African

American males throughout theirschool years. National reading achieve-ment data continue to indicate thai as agroup, African American males—particularly adolescents in middle andhigh school classrooms—are notperforming well.

Researchers have examined severalfactors that serve as barriers to achieve-ment for African American males.Internal factors include self-conceptand identity issues. African Americanmale students often exhibit variouscultural-specific coping mechanisms—such behavdors as acting tough, failingto retreat from violence, avoiding self-disclosure, and dissociating fromschool. These students are oftensubject to disproportionate and some-

Alfred W. Tatum

times unfounded grade retentions andsuspensions because teachers andadministrators mismterpret thesebehaviors and find them offensive.

External factors include structuralracism, community patterns, parents'education attainment, and socioeco-nomic status. These adolescents mustalso deal with negative stereotypes inand out of school, a scarcity of positiverole models, and a lack of culturallycompetent instruction and direction.Moreover, many of them experienceproblems associated with low socioeco-nomic status and high-risk neighbor-hoods. Students in such neighbor-hoods are often too consumed withconcerns about mortality and safety tothink seriously about either schoolingor their uncertain futures. Convergmgin multiple sources of stress and disso-nance, these factors characterize theexperiences of African American malesas they begin the tumultuous adoles-

cent work of self-definition (Fashola,2005).

Several solutions proposed over thelast 10 years specifically address theliteracy needs of African Americanadolescent males. They includeproviding culturally responsive literacyinstruction that links classroomcontent to student experiences; devel-oping character developmentprograms, rites-of-passage programs,comprehensive literacy programs, andacademically oriented remedialprograms; and establishing all-maleacademies or alternative schools andprograms designed specifically forAfrican American males.

All the proposed solutions empha-size a meaningful curriculum reflectiveof student experiences. Yet the mostvulnerable African American adoles-cent males remain in public schools inwhich literacy instruction is notresponsive to their needs.

4 4 E D U C A T I O N A L L E A D E R S H I P / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 6

Page 2: Engaging African American Males in Reading · 2013-03-18 · school years. National reading achieve-ment data continue to indicate thai as a group, African American males— particularly

The Missing PieceA review of research that I recentlyconducted on the education of AfricanAmerican adolescent males revealed aglaring omission: the role of text inliteracy development. Althoughcurriculum is often a significant consid-eration for improving education

outcomes for African American males,specific texts and text characteristicsthat should inform curriculum selec-tion are strikingly absent.

This is problematic because educa-tors who are seeking to identify ways toengage African American males inreading-related tasks have little guid-

ance in doing so. For example, a highschool administrator recently e-mailedme on behalf of a 9th grade teacher.They were both "looking for a piece ofliterature that may teach Irespect andcixality] without doing so in an explicitfashion."

By selecting appropriate readingmaterials, teachers can engage AfricanAmerican adolescent males with text,particularly those students who havenot mastered the skills, strategies, andknowledge that will lead to positive lifeoutcomes. This productive shift inliteracy takes into account students'four literacy needs—academic, cultural,emotional, and social—and relies oninstructional practices that have proveneffective with African American males.

Modifying curriculum on the basis ofsuch texts and creating a responsiveenvironment can foster meaningfuldiscussions among students agamst aneducation backdrop of standards andaccountability African American adoles-cent males currently have limited expo-sure to this kind of quality hteracyinstmction in school. A meaningfulprogram should include texts that shapea positive life trajectory and provide aroadmap that can help students resistnonproductive behaviors.

Texts That MatterHistorically, texts have been central inthe literacy development of AfricanAmerican males, with the connectionsamong reading, writing, speaking, andaction eminently clear. The literacydevelopment of African Americanmales, both seif-generated and school-rendered, connected to larger ideals,such as cultural uplift, economicadvancement, resistance to oppression,and intellectual development. TheAfrican American abolitionist FrederickDouglass recalled how reading twobooks set him on his life's course: thepolitical essays and dialogues in TheColumbian Oralor, edited by DavidBlight (New York University Press,1998), which Douglass read in earlyadolescence; and the piquant docu-

ASSOCIATION FOR SUPERVISION AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT 4 5

Page 3: Engaging African American Males in Reading · 2013-03-18 · school years. National reading achieve-ment data continue to indicate thai as a group, African American males— particularly

These texts canprovide students withthe capital they needto be resilient inenvironments inwhich they werepreviously vulnerable.

ments of the abolitionist William LloydGarrison.

The Wretched of the Earth (Grove

Press, 1963), an important anti-colonialtext written by Caribbean-born FrantzFanon, became a blueprint for manyAfrican American males m the 1960swho were trying to define themselveswithout embarrassment, apology, orexternal constraint as they embracedthe Rights of Man ideology put forthcenturies earlier by Thomas Paine.According to Van Deburg's comprehen-sive account of the rise and fall of theBlack Power movement.

Every brother on a rooftop could quoteFanon, and lAfrican American maleslacknowledged ihat someihing uniquelytheir own—their distinctive Afro-American culture—very well might turnout to be the most essential weapon inIthetrstrugglel. (1992, pp. 60-61)

Histor)' is laden with these kinds ofenabling texts for African Americanmales. An enabling text is one thatmoves beyond a sole cognitive focus-such as skill and strategy develop-ment—to include a social, cultural,political, spiritual, or economic focus.

During the last 30 years, however, thekinds of texts that African Americanmales as a group encounter in schoolshave been characteristically "dis-abling."They lack that broader perspective and

largely ignore students' local contextsand their desire as adolescents for self-definition, focusing instead on skill andstrategy development. This shift islargely influenced by policy decisions tomeasure reading output using psycho-metric instruments.

These instruments, the use andmisuse of the data resulting from theseinstruments, and the associated educa-tion practices that these instruments

influence—such as academic tracking,retention in grade, and remedialcurriculums—have had dire effects onAfrican American adolescents. Thesepractices have created an oppositionalidentity in students, a resistance toschool-related tasks, and a diminishedsense of self as an academic being.Many experience school as an assaulton their identities and on theirmasculinity They believe that their

ASSOCIATION FOR SUPERVISION AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT 47

Page 4: Engaging African American Males in Reading · 2013-03-18 · school years. National reading achieve-ment data continue to indicate thai as a group, African American males— particularly

existence simply doesn't matter. Dispro-portionately referred for disciphnaryactions and assigned Eo special educa-tion placements, they see Uttle reason tonavigate this path of humiliation. Manyend up dropping out of school.

Reshaping the TrajectoryWe need to shore up the resilience ofAfrican American adolescent males,particularly struggling readers attendingpublic schools in low-income areas.Identifying texts that can shape positivelife outcome trajectories for African

increasing test scores, and nurturingstudenis' identities are fundamentallycompatible,

• Resolve the eilher-or dilemma oflocusing on skill development versusdeveloping intelligence by offering chal-lenges that satisfy both requirements.

• Serve as soft role models in theabsence of physically present male rolemodels by providing motivation, direc-tion, and hope for the future andsuggesting vv'hal is worthwhile in life.

Identifying reading material is notsufficient, however. Teachers need

The most vulnerable African Americanadolescent males remain in public schoolsin which literacy instruction is notresponsive to their needs.

American males—who constitute 7percent of the school-age population (4million of 53 million)—is a significantchallenge.

Must-read texts have four characteris-tics: They are intellectually exciting forboth students and teachers, they ser\'e asa roadmap and provide apprenticeship,they challenge students cognitively, andthey help students apply literacy skillsand strategies independently Morespecifically, must-read texts should

• Engage students in authenticdiscussions in which they can analyzetheir realities in the context of thecurriculum and discuss strategies forovercoming academic and societalbarriers.

• Address students' cognitive andaffective domains, taking into accountstudents' cultural characteristics.

• Connect the social, the economic,and the pohtical to the educational.

• Acknowledge that developing skills.

professional support to help themmediate texts with students, such asWestEd's Reading Apprenticeshipframework. In addition, the studentsthemselves should provide input aboutthe value of these texts. Their voices arenoticeably absent in conversationsabout their literacy-related successesand failures in middle and high schoolclassrooms.

Making Reading RelevantTo shore up resilience in my ownAfrican American students, I introduceda wide variety of texts. As part of my8tb grade social studies curriculum, mystudents read extracts from DavidWalkers Appeal, arguably the mostradical of all anti-slavery documents.Published in 1829, it called for slaves torevolt against their masters. Wanting tofocus the students on one central ques-tion tbat would resonate with them, Iasked, "Do you think African Americans

should integrate or separate?"Some students argued that African

Americans should separate. Othersinsisted that people needed to movebeyond that narrow perspective, that"we're all human." One studentcommented that what might have beena good idea 200 years ago was no longervalid. Another wondered aloud why weeven needed to focus so specifically onthings "black." We then studied a textwritten by Martin Luther King Jr. thatpromoted a contrary thought—thenecessity of integrating. Students arguedthe merits of both perspectives, usingthe texts to support their points of view.

I also introduced James Baldwins"My Dungeon Shook: Letter to MyNephew on the One HundredthAnniversary' of the Emancipation" (DialPress, 1963). giving my students theopportunity to critique society andexamine tbeir place within it. Weexplored such comments as "You werenot expected to aspire to excellence;you were expected to make peace withmediocrity" (p. 7). 1 asked students toconsider the relevance of this essay, notjust to young African American mengrowing up today but to young meneverywhere. Finally, I wanted studentsto consider the role they played inconstructing their own "dungeons," aswell as the roles their teachers, schools,and community played. Tbey mightbegin to consider why they are in low-level reading tracks or why they are inlow-achieving schools.

The Power of TextWe need to take an honest positionwith regard to the literacy developmentof African American adolescent males.Neither effective reading strategies norcomprehensive literacy reform effortswill close the achievement gap in arace- and class-based society unlessmeaningful texts are at the core of thecurriculum. In addition, educatorsneed to ground literacy instruction of

48 EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP/FEBRUARY 2006

Page 5: Engaging African American Males in Reading · 2013-03-18 · school years. National reading achieve-ment data continue to indicate thai as a group, African American males— particularly

African American males in larger ideals

and lake students' present condition

into account (Tatum, 2005). In his

novel Convicted in the Womb, Carl

Upchurch (1996) writes.

The [texis'l taught me how to look atmyself. iTheyl told me regardless of mycondition, regardless of the circum-stances 1 came from, I was a legitimatehuman being and a child of God. But Ialso leamed that society considered meinferior because of my color—andconsidered any rights and privileges !have as a black man lo be the gift ofwhite men. I decided that 1 had theresponsibility to stand up for people whohadn't yet leamed to think of themselvesas human heings. (p. 92)

The texts Upchurch read gave him

capital. Unfortunately, he did not come

in contact with them until his imprison-

ment. And that is much too late.

Introducing enabling texts is obvi-

ously not the only panacea for

addressing the Uteracy needs of African

American adolescent males. Ample

precedent suggests, however, that when

they are discussed in caring, supportive,

and cognitively challenging environ-

ments, tbese texts can provide students

Vkdth the capital tbey need to be resilient

in environments in which they were

previously vulnerable. Not only can this

practice improve the reading outcomes

of African American adolescent males—

but it can improve their life outcomes

as well. S!

'The texts referred to included VictorHugo's Les Misemhles, writings by HenryDa\'id Thoreau and Walt Whitman, and TheFeminine Mystique by Betty Friedan.

ReferencesFashola, O. (2005). Educating African Amer-

ican males. Thousand Oaks, CA: CorwinPress.

Tatum, A. W. (2005). Traching reading toblack adolescent males: Closing (he achieve-ment gap. Portland, ME: StenhousePublishers.

Upchurch, C. (1996). Convicted in the womb:One man's journey from prisoner to peace-maker. New York: Bantam Books.

Van Deburg, W. L. (1992). New day inBabylon: The black power movement andAmerican culture, 1965-1975. Chicago:University of Chicago Press.

Alfred W. Tatum is AssistantProfessor, Department of LiteracyEducation, Northern Illinois University,119Graham Hall, DeKaJb, IL60115;[email protected]. He is author ofTeaching Heading to Black AdolescentMales: Closing the Achievement Gap(Stenhouse Publishers. 2005J.

COMPETENT & INNOVATIVE?

COMMITTED TO KIDS?

CURIOUS?Contact us...

Mesa Public Schools is Arizona's largest school district, with 74,000 students inkindergarten through 12th grade. We're located just east of Phoenix, in a residential

community that's supportive of education. Our students consistently score abovestate and national averages on standardized tests and make us proud of their

accomplishments in academics, the arts, career and technical education and athletics.

We're looking for excellent candidates for...

Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instructionand

Assistant Superintendent of Student ServicesSalary and benefits are commensurate with job responsibilities and experiences.

Tentative start date is July 1, 2006.

APPLICATIONS AND RELATED MATERIALS MUST BESUBMITTED ON OR BEFORE January 10, 2006.

Please visit the Mesa Public Schools Human ResourcesDepartment web site at www.mpsaz.org/hr.

MESAPUBLIC SCHOOLSAn Equal Opportunity Organizatic

A S S O C I A T I O N FOR S U P E R V I S I O N AND C U R R I C U L U M D E V E L O P M E N T 49

Page 6: Engaging African American Males in Reading · 2013-03-18 · school years. National reading achieve-ment data continue to indicate thai as a group, African American males— particularly