http://yardsticks4-14.com/2007/11/15/cultural-equity-issues-in-education-part-3/ Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:55:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 http://yardsticks4-14.com/2007/11/15/cultural-equity-issues-in-education-part-3/comment-page-1/#comment-188 chipwood Sat, 29 Dec 2007 15:10:07 +0000 http://yardsticks4-14.net/?p=126#comment-188 Response to anonymous: Angry and acting out behavior on the part of any male student can definitely be in response to abandonment issues on the part of a father or father figure, or worse, a history of abuse from such figures in the home or who have abused and then left. Trauma leaves a mark. And it is estimated that there are scores of millions of African American boys being raised without fathers. This is all the more reason to carefully follow Hale-Benson's recommendations about how school's should proceed to engage African American boys in academic activity and encouragement as early as possible in school.(Found in Yardsticks pp. 33-34) Obviously, more adult males in elementary school, whether teachers, staff or volunteers, matter dramatically. Bringing high school students into elementary classrooms can make a big difference too. I'm sure your perceptions are important to share with your school leadership and hopefully some plan of action can begin to be formulated that deals proactively with this issue. What do other readers think? Chip Wood Response to anonymous:
Angry and acting out behavior on the part of any male student can definitely be in response to abandonment issues on the part of a father or father figure, or worse, a history of abuse from such figures in the home or who have abused and then left. Trauma leaves a mark. And it is estimated that there are scores of millions of African American boys being raised without fathers. This is all the more reason to carefully follow Hale-Benson’s recommendations about how school’s should proceed to engage African American boys in academic activity and encouragement as early as possible in school.(Found in Yardsticks pp. 33-34) Obviously, more adult males in elementary school, whether teachers, staff or volunteers, matter dramatically. Bringing high school students into elementary classrooms can make a big difference too. I’m sure your perceptions are important to share with your school leadership and hopefully some plan of action can begin to be formulated that deals proactively with this issue. What do other readers think? Chip Wood

]]> http://yardsticks4-14.com/2007/11/15/cultural-equity-issues-in-education-part-3/comment-page-1/#comment-187 Anonymous Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:32:46 +0000 http://yardsticks4-14.net/?p=126#comment-187 In the school I teach, in NYC, it has been my experience that African American children do not have any worse socio-economic difficulties than their Hispanic peers; they are however, more likely to act out. When they do act out, their behavior is explosive, violent, and hateful. I cannot say there is one particular reason for this. I came into the school later in the year and have noticed this difference. I have found that parents of the students who act out are certainly a major part of the problem. They do not look for, nor do they accept, the help that is all around them. The students I see are in major need of emotional assistance: they face living in apartments that are far too small, parents who are addicted to drugs, siblings who have died, and immigrating from other countries, trying to find their place here. I do notice one distinctive commonality: no fathers. Most of the students I see in extreme emotional distress have fathers who are in another country, in jail, or who are completely absent. I believe this to be a pervasive problem, and one that has no immediate fix. This seems to be a cultural phenomenon, but because this is not my field, I cannot presume to know that for a fact. Just some observations. In the school I teach, in NYC, it has been my experience that African American children do not have any worse socio-economic difficulties than their Hispanic peers; they are however, more likely to act out. When they do act out, their behavior is explosive, violent, and hateful. I cannot say there is one particular reason for this. I came into the school later in the year and have noticed this difference. I have found that parents of the students who act out are certainly a major part of the problem. They do not look for, nor do they accept, the help that is all around them. The students I see are in major need of emotional assistance: they face living in apartments that are far too small, parents who are addicted to drugs, siblings who have died, and immigrating from other countries, trying to find their place here. I do notice one distinctive commonality: no fathers. Most of the students I see in extreme emotional distress have fathers who are in another country, in jail, or who are completely absent. I believe this to be a pervasive problem, and one that has no immediate fix. This seems to be a cultural phenomenon, but because this is not my field, I cannot presume to know that for a fact. Just some observations.

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