“I want to do the right thing but what is it?” White Teachers’ Experience with
African-American Students
By Malik S. Henfield and Ahmad R. Washington
Increasing Teacher Diversity: Growing Your Own Through Partnership
By Steven A Schmitz, Steven W. Nourse and
Molly E. Ross
How Cultural Dynamics and Teacher Preparation Affect the
Educational Opportunities of Minority Students
By Dedrick J. Sams
Summary
While
the legal precedent set forth by Brown v
Board of Education focused on the inherit shortcomings involved with a separate,
but equal education system the reality is that very little has changed in terms
of bringing a racially balanced educational system within the United
States. Matter of fact the harsh
reality is that there are 250 school districts within our country, 67 years
post Brown, that are still operating
dual school districts (McNeal, 2009). It can be argued that this separate reality is
due in large part to the effects of concentrated poverty and the growth of a
suburban reality in most metropolitan cities. That withstanding the need for a teacher workforce who is
competent and socially agile when it comes to the everyday realities of a
diverse student population is essential.
In
each of the above articles the focus of teacher competency as it relates to navigating
the social landscape many children come from rang through. In his research, Sims (2006) suggested
that the lack of understanding regarding cultural differences could have dire
repercussions for urban students in particular minority students.
Research Findings
The
research provided by Henfield and Washington (2012), concluded that in the
academic school year of 2010-2011, 45 percent of all students within the
American K-12 public school system were identified as minority students.
Whereas, in the previous decade the nation as a whole saw an 11.1 decrease in
minority students, large urban schools districts saw an increase in urban
students by 5.6 percent (Hunter & Donahoo, 2003). That being said the research presented by Henfield and
Washington (2012) went on to further conclude that in the academic school year of
2008-2009 83 percent of the teacher workforce identified themselves as White. In their research Hunter and Donahoo
(2003) concluded that 85 percent of the people currently enrolled in
undergraduate teacher education programs were White females. All of this is presented in light of the
growing trend back to resegregation, in particular in the education space.
The
research furthermore suggested that an imbalance of this proportion has led to
the hotly contested notion of deficit thinking and decreased academic
expectations on the part of White teachers (Henfield & Washington,
2012). In his research Sims (2006)
suggested that this deficit thinking has lead to terms such as “disadvantaged,”
“at risk,” and “culturally deprived,” being used to identify minority
students. Furthermore, Henfield
and Washington (2012), suggested it was teacher’s “Whiteness” or color-blindness
that often times ran counter to the experiences or patterns of socialization of
the students they serve. In
research provided by Leland and Harste (2005), they suggested that the usage of
color-blindness was a means of White teachers to cover up coping with fear and
ignorance.
The
final research finding of the above articles led to a greater need to make a
focused effort surrounding the recruitment and the retention of minority
teachers and a more concerted effort on the part of leadership in terms of
teacher preparation when it comes to minority students. In research offered by Schmitz, Nourse
and Ross (2012), they suggested that despite the best intentions White teachers
did not have the cultural experiences needed to understand minority
students. To follow up on this
idea in the research offered by Henfield and Washington (2012), teachers
commented that they find themselves chasing test scores and things such as
discussions of diversity fall through the cracks. Finally, because the larger school culture is rooted in
White America, the cultural deprivation of young minority students often leads
to a destructive bias towards education (Sims, 2006).
Strengths
The
strengths of “I want to do the right
thing but what is it?” White
Teachers’ Experience with African-American Students, Increasing Teacher
Diversity: Growing Your Own
Through Partnership and How Cultural Dynamics and Teacher Preparation Affect
the Educational Opportunities of Minority Students lie in the researchers collective
ability to paint a picture of the effects of the lack of minority
representation in the classroom on student outcomes.
Another
strength of “I want to do the right thing
but what is it?” White Teachers’
Experience with African-American Students, Increasing Teacher Diversity: Growing Your Own Through Partnership
and How Cultural Dynamics and Teacher Preparation Affect the Educational
Opportunities of Minority Students lies in the articles ability to shed
light on how color blindness impacts student outcomes. In his research Sams (2006), suggested
that this color blindness has lead to teachers being taught how “all” children
learn rather than how to teach.
This idea is further supported by research supported by Henfield and
Washington (2012), who suggested, “Color blindness obscures the impact of
racism and diverts conversations away from exposing systematic discriminination
that non-Whites experience.”
Weaknesses
One
of the obvious weaknesses within “I want
to do the right thing but what is it?”
White Teachers’ Experience with African-American Students, Increasing
Teacher Diversity: Growing Your
Own Through Partnership and How Cultural Dynamics and Teacher Preparation
Affect the Educational Opportunities of Minority Students was the
assumption that race constituted a shared experience. The mobility of people post Civil Rights, in particular
minority families from core cities has given them experiences that run parallel
to many of the of the White teachers they see in the classroom. Therefore, race as the sole mitigating
factor for outcomes is diluted.
Another
weakness in the aforementioned research is that none of the articles take into
account the effects of poverty rather than race has on minority student’s
outcomes. Literary research is
saturated with studies documenting the crippling effects poverty has on student
outcomes. Therefore, having the
best minority teacher and the most culturally relevant curriculum would not
change the child’s outcomes.
In research offered by Hardaway and McLoyd (2009) they suggested that poverty
was the one consistent rather than race that crossed multiple domains of
development thus hindering positive outcomes.
Implications
The
implications of the research within the articles “I want to do the right thing but what is it?” White Teachers’ Experience with
African-American Students, Increasing Teacher Diversity: Growing Your Own Through Partnership
and How Cultural Dynamics and Teacher Preparation Affect the Educational
Opportunities of Minority Students by lies in two main areas. First and foremost the articles clearly
point out what happens when you have a teacher population who are teaching from
a color bind perspective.
Therefore, the deficit theories that have become theoretical gospels
become self-fulfilling prophecies with the academic landscape.
The
second implication of the research presented is that as a recruitment tool the
need for minority teachers is at a critical mass. Therefore, the research offered by Schmitz, Nourse and Ross
(2012), offered the most comprehensive method for addressing the lack of
minority representation within the classroom. The first stage involved exposing minority candidates to
teaching as a profession. Secondly,
it involves an early introduction of minority students to college through
teacher education programs, thus creating a sense of purpose and worth. The net results have lead to every
student graduating from high school and students enrolling in teaching
preparation programs.
References
Barton, A.C., Drake, C., Perez, J.G., St. Louis, K., George, M.
(2004). Ecologies of Parental Engagement in Urban Schools. Educational Researcher, 33(4), pp. 3-12.
Hardaway,
C.R. & McLoyd, V.C. (2009).
Escaping Poverty and Securing Middle Class Status: How Race and Socioeconomic Status Shape
Mobility Prospects for African Americans During Transition to Adulthood. J.
Youth Adolescence, Vol. 38, pp 242-256. DOI 10.1007/s10964-008-9354
Henefield, M.S. & Wasington, A.R. (2012). “I want to do the
right thing but what is it?” White
Teachers’ Experience with African-American Students. The Journal of Negro
Education, 81(2), pp. 148-161.
Horsford, S.D. (2009).
Black Superintendents on Educating Black Students in Separate and
Unequal Contexts. Urban Review, 42, pp. 58-79. DOI
10.1007/s11256-009-0119-0
Hunter, R.C. & Donahoo, S. (2003). The Nature of Urban School Politics After Brown. The Need
for New Political Knowledge, Leadership and Organizational Skills, Education and Urban Society, 36(1), pp
3-15. DOI: 10.1177/0013124503256961
Leland, C.H & Harste, J.C. (2005). Doing What We Want to Become Preparing New Urban Teachers, Urban Education, 40(1), pp. 60-77.
DOI: 10.1177/0042085904270374
McNeal, L.R. (2009). The Re-Segregation of public Education Now and After the End
of Brown V Board of Education, Education and Urban Society. 41(5),
562-574.
Schmitz, S.A., Nourse, S.W. & Ross, M.E. (2012). Increasing Teacher Diversity: Growing Your Own Through Partnerships. Education,
133(1), pp. 181-187.
Sims, D. J. (2006). How Cultural Dynamics and Teacher Preparation
Affect the Educational Opportunities of Minority Students. Essays
in Education, Vol. 17.
