Becoming the Educator They Need
Strategies, Mindsets, and Beliefs for Supporting Male Black and Latino Students
- 128 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Becoming the Educator They Need
Strategies, Mindsets, and Beliefs for Supporting Male Black and Latino Students
About This Book
Winner of AM&P EXCEL Gold Award
"They don't care about their education." "They are not capable of learning." "I can't work with them." "I can't get through to them." Just as you may have thought these things about your students, they, too, may have similar thoughts about you: "She doesn't care about my education." "He is not capable of understanding me." "I can't work with her." "I can't get through to him."
While all students in your class, building, or school district need your support, the Black and Latino male studentsâthe most underserved, suspended, and expelled students in educationâneed you to understand them as you support them so that they can thrive academically.
In Becoming the Educator They Need, former professional athlete turned educator Robert Jackson reminds teachers and administrators that although "a great majority of all the stories in the news about Black and Latino males are negative, " these young menâthe most likely to be incarcerated, drop out of school, and become victims of homicideâneed you to work through any biases you may have and internalize and employ the five core beliefs and mindsets necessary to best serve your Black and Latino male students, the six core values for teaching Black and Latino males, and the 11 characteristics of strong, healthy relationships and become the educator that these students need.
Frequently asked questions
Information
Cultural Awareness: Understanding the Realities of Life for Black and Latino Males
Kalief BrowderIn 2010, 16-year-old Kalief Browder of the Bronx, New York, was accused of stealing a backpack, the contents of which included $700, a credit card, and a laptop. When he and his friends were stopped by the police, although he stated that he hadn't stolen the backpack, the police insisted that he had. After he was thoroughly searched by the police, who did not find the backpack or any of its contents on him, he was arrested.After being unjustly arrested, Browder was told that if he pleaded guilty, he would be charged for stealing the backpack and allowed to go home. He refused to "deal," as he'd stated that he hadn't committed the crime and didn't want a blemish, particularly one that was unwarranted, on his record to jeopardize his plan to attend college on a wrestling scholarship.He was imprisoned, and his bond was set at $3,500. As neither he nor his family had the money to get him out of jail on bond, he spent three years in Riker's Island, one of the toughest prisons in the United States, awaiting a trial date that was never set. While at Riker's, he endured starvation and physical and sexual assaults from guards and prisoners. Of the more than 1,000 days that he spent at Riker's, 800 or more were spent in solitary confinement.After three years, someone powerful heard about his case, spoke out against it, and Browder was released from prison. However, by that time, he had missed sitting for the SATs, his high school graduation and prom, and the opportunity to attend college on a scholarship. After his release, he experienced nightmares and depression and every day feared returning to prison. Mentally, he couldn't cope and attempted suicide on more than one occasion. Even though someone who'd heard about his story paid for him to go to community college, his struggles with anxiety and depression worsened.Two years after being released from prison for a crime he didn't commit, Kalief Browder died after hanging himself outside his parents' home. He was only 22 years old. Sixteen months after Kalief committed suicide, his mother died of a heart attack (though many say she died of a broken heart).
Factors That Specifically Affect Male Youths of Color
- Invisibilization
- Marginalization
- Pre-criminalization
- Stereotype threat
- Colorism
Invisibilization
LaQuan McDonaldOn October 20, 2014, 17-year-old LaQuan McDonald was shot 16 times by police officer Jason Van Dyke as he, with a small knife in his hand, was walking away from Van Dyke. Van Dyke and his fellow officers tried to cover up the crime and stated that McDonald "came at" Van Dyke, but a video showed a totally different story. After more than four years, Van Dyke was found guilty of second-degree murder and aggravated battery and sentenced to seven years in prison.
Michael BrownOn August 9, 2014, shortly after his 18th birthday and high school graduation, Michael Brown was fatally shot by 28-year-old white police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri. An altercation took place, and Michael Brown and his friend were pursued by Officer Wilson. In the end, although Brown was unarmed, 12 shots were fired at himâand among the six that hit him was the fatal shot to his head. Brown died at the scene. His body lay uncovered for several hours while people from the neighborhood, including children, passed by before finally being covered. Wilson was acquitted of all charges and reassigned to another city and continues to serve as a police officer.
Dylan RoofDylan Roof was a white supremacist who, at the age of 21, on July 17, 2015, walked into Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and murdered nine innocent people. Among those murdered were the senior pastor of the church and a state senator. Roof was identified by those who survived the shooting. A manhunt ensued, and Roof was apprehended without so much as a scratch on him. (In fact, police granted his request to stop by Burger King on his way to jail because he was hungry.) He later confessed to the shootingsâstating that he hoped to ignite a race war by killing innocent people at a churchâand stated that his views came from the 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin. On December 15, 2016, he was convicted in federal court of 33 charges, including hate crimes. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
I attended a mostly white suburban school in which 96 percent of the students were white and 4 percent were Black, Asian, and Indian. I was one of five Black students on the football team. During my senior year, I was attacked by a white student. Everyone knew I was a star athlete with good grades on my way to a Division 1 college or university to play football and run track. Even though I was physically assaulted by a white student, I was the one put in handcuffs by the police officer called to the scene while the white student was treated as the victim. As I was sitting on the floor, unjustly handcuffed, the white student ran over and kicked me. While still in handcuffs, I hopped to my feet and was immediately grabbed by police officers and school administrators aggressively and yelled at like I was the perpetrator. Again, no one ever addressed the fact that the white student had assaulted meâtwice. The white student was never disciplined. He was sent back to class. He laughed at me as he walked away. I was placed on in-school suspensionâstuck in a small room staring at the wall all day. I felt like I was in a prison cell.As the MVP of the football team, that incident almost cost me my scholarship to college. The day after two prominent community leaders came to my school to discuss the injustice and threatened to call the news stations, I was allowed to return to my classroom, and the incident was never mentioned again. The scars remained, and they ran deep. I never forgot that incident and how powerless I felt. The people who were supposed to protect meâthe teachers and administratorsâdidn't.
Marginalization
Police cars and dogs were everywhere as I entered the school building for the first time. At my old public school, I had friends of all colors, and we never discussed race or treated each other differently. At this particular school, it was obvious from day one that the color of one's skin mattered. I remember being put in a room with other Black students from my neighborhood. (It turns out we were all considered remedial students, even though we hadn't showed any indication that we were remedial students.) We were told that we had to take a series of exams in order to be placed in regular classes with our new classmates. The way they explained it was very condescending and made many of us feel uncomfortable and inferior. In fact, some of my Black classmates accepted the inferior status that was put on us and acted out until they were kicked out of school. We were told that we weren't smart enough to be in classes with our new white classmates.I had a chip on my shoulder and wanted to prove them all wrong. I focused with everything I had and passed the tests that I was given. I knew I was smart. Although I was moved to a general education classroom, I was at times treated like I shouldn't be there. I was almost always the only student of color in my classes. Teachers made patronizing comments toward me. A teacher once said to me, "Just get out!" because I didn't know the answer to a question. (I knew the answer but was nervous and unsure.) Being the only student of color in my classes often made me feel inferior. I got tired of the racist jokes and inappropriate comments made by my classmates. I didn't have the latest brands in clothing or shoes. Life was tough enough without extra pressure from my peers.
During one class, still during the first week of school, a classmate's father burst open the door, rushed in to the classroom, and snatched his daughter, saying, "My daughter is not going to school with raccoons and possums." (Shortly before he had rushed in, his daughter asked me my name and shook my hand. She told me her name was Sarah. She didn't see race as an issue. She tried to get to know me.) Sarah's father jerked her out of her chair and hauled her out of the classroom. I never saw Sarah again.
I said to my mother that night, "I'm not going back to that school. They have raccoons and possums in there." My mother's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. There was a troubling look behind her eyes. Although she was clearly very angry, she didn't say anything to me about it. She addressed the matter at the school. Once I understood that Sarah's father was referring to me and the other Black students from my neighborhood as raccoons and possums, I understood why my mother was angry. (My mother had been raised in the Deep South [Mississippi] in the 1950s and 1960s and, as a little girl, saw racism first-hand. She saw "Whites Only" and "Colored Only" signs on restroom doors, above water fountains, and in restaurants. She never thought her son would have to experience racismâespecially since she'd moved from the prejudiced South to the Midwest.)
Pre-criminalization
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Table of Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- Chapter 1. Cultural Awareness: Understanding the Realities of Life for Black and Latino Males
- Chapter 2. Culturally Aware Teaching Practices
- Chapter 3. Core Beliefs and Mindsets of a Culturally Responsive Educator
- Chapter 4. Building Strong Relationships with Your Students and Staff
- Final Thoughts
- References
- Study Guide
- Related ASCD Resources
- About the Author
- Copyright