Letter to Teachers

We Must Change the Paradigm


There have been many times in this country our educational system has been under siege and under a microscope. From our beginnings in this country as strangers in a strange land, as a country whose European immigrants have dominated the curricular epistemology, we have marginalized groups of people and segregated children for reasons that we are still addressing today. But we now have a body of information and cadres of educators that can help change some of these long held injuries against any targeted group of students.

African American women have been particularly pushed to the fringes of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines and left to feel inferior, dismissed, and regulated to the three C’s of history – “cleaning, cooking and child-rearing” (Noelle 2010) – resulting in their marginalization of jobs in the science and math fields. There is now research addressing why this is so and we believe the time to reverse this trend is now.



Don’t Ignore Race

Our educational structure is cracked and not yet organized to reach these students in the current pacing and tracking system so prevalent in our school systems. We know from research that as they are currently configured, schools “help to maintain the status quo while marginalizing or disqualifying certain groups of people, such as women, minorities and members of low socioeconomic classes from positions of influence in society” (Lim 2008). That status quo is one that says African American girls are unmotivated and unable to cut it in the sciences, especially in the math sciences. You have to look no farther than your local schools tracked math classes and take a head count to verify the low percentage of African American girls in remedial classes and contained instruction. Compare that percentage to the high percentage of White students on the AP track. Race and ethnicity can often define who is where, doing what and at what level of achievement.

Our school system was not set up to serve women or any person of color until the late 1800’s. Until the 1840’s the education system was highly localized, available only to the wealthy landowners and excluded slaves and their children (Thattai 2001). Knowing from where we have come and what our children bring to school is vital to changing how we relate to children of color. African American girls, like any culturally attached group, have a way of being and acting that is often misunderstood. Loud doesn’t always mean rude, “attitude” doesn’t mean inflexible and trust is given only once. If you fail to hear the message because of the volume or accept a negative attitude, then this girl will not believe you give value to her life. As a result, teaching her a subject that that institution has already told her is “not her thing” will not happen.



Be Aware of False Negatives

We have all experienced the negative effects of low test scores, be it SAT, PSAT, MSP, WASL or any other L, P or T standardized test which supposedly measures what we can teach and who we teach it to. Students of color routinely struggle in math and are identified as belonging to the group situated in the “achievement gap” of performance. When they fail to achieve at a certain level, we blame the students, their home, their family, what they ate for breakfast – anyone or anything but ourselves and our own methodologies. Look at the results of tests, quizzes and other measurements with a critical eye. Can you verify the recommended math class, based on testing outcomes, will best serve this student? Does the class address the funds of knowledge you see demonstrated on a daily basis? What has been your role in situating these girls and students of color in lower achieving classes? Have you contributed to the sociology of “college capable” students in your approach to low achieving students? The negative or low tracking of African American girls may be in your power to impact positively.



Know Your Students

Humans are pack animals and need interaction to be healthy. Individuals need to trust that you have their best interest at heart. African American students have a historical community wariness and mistrust of educational institutions based on over a hundred years of deceit. These students are vulnerable to your bad days and unintended racial and gender biases. You must bring your “A” game every day. Etta Hollins (2010) sums it up in her letter to teachers “Contextualizing Teaching and Learning”:

Through observation and interaction with my students I have come to realize how much teachers influence the development, even transformation of their students as person. When a teacher is able to create a social context in the classroom in which each student feels accepted, appreciated and valued, students develop self-confidence and a sense of belonging as a member of the group.

Time spent in ice breakers, making connections, building relationships, making the classroom a safe place to be can produce the small wins needed to break the bleeding of African American girls feeling out of place in the higher level math classes.



Encourage Rebellion

Small acts of defiance can produce long term successes. We all want our students to be challenged and to achieve to the top of their ability. When we make that head count and see a sea of black, extra curly hair in Pre-Algebra and the absence of any hair wave pattern in the Calculus class, we need to challenge why this is so and take a series of concrete steps to address the issue. Enlist a few rabble rousers to bring up the facts at parent meetings. Encourage parents of African American girls to come to Open Houses, Back to School Nights and Board meetings and ask why this is so. Consider what WE are doing to make a change. Look at the statistics used to place students in their classes and fight for those on the margins. Help to set up math labs and math tutoring programs both before and after school on your campus, and in the communities where these students live. Find summer school academic programs that serve African American students and make those names available to every student in every math class.

This is not an “us” vs.” them” battle. This is an “us” and “us” journey and we have our students of all colors but especially our African American girls on the ride with us. We can’t do it all but we sure can do more than we are now.


References

Hollins, E. (2010). Contextualizing teaching and learning. In M.C. Fehr & D.E. Fehr (Eds.). Teach Boldly! (pp. 182-187). New York, NY: Peter Lang.

Lim, J. H., (2008) the road not taken: Two African-American girls’ experiences with school mathematics. Race Ethnicity and Education, 11:3, 303-317. Retrieved 6 April 2011.

Noelle, K. (2010) The history of women’s education in America. http://www.ehow.com/about_6729065_history-women_s-education-america.html

Thattai, D. ( ) A history of public education in the united states. http://www.servintfree.net/~aidmn-ejournal/publications/2001-11/PublicEducationInTheUnitedStates.html