Adultified

Two representations of black masculinity are widespread in society and school today…as a criminal and as an endangered species(320). They are seen as mirror images, either way they are responsible for their fate(323). This is a harsh depiction of boys just wanting to be boys. Unfortunately for black boys, the color of their skin necessitates that their actions be seen as actions of deviant adults by a lens that is and has been altered by affluent whites for centuries.
The status quo won’t change anytime soon, what can change is the way that we treat students, regardless of their race, gender, or socio-economic status. As teachers we owe it to the children, as well as their parents and local community to be as fair as possible when dealing with discipline issues. Over the last few weeks we’ve witnessed numerous presentations that highlighted good techniques, based on a number of studies, to deal with children. We could research what psychologists and sociologists have said over the years on the topic of student-teacher relationships, but in the end I think I’ll just treat everybody as I would like to have been treated as a middle schooler.
The golden rule is more important to me than what these studies could ever recommend. I was once a student and I think I can translate that knowledge into molding the minds and attitudes of children at that very tumultuous time of their life. No two kids aren’t the same, but we do need to see them through the same unbiased lens.

The Peoples Among Who We Live

Adolescents live in a world that attempts to restrict their essence as much as possible (247), especially if they are of color. In this “social jungle” there’s no feeling of being alive without a sense of identity(253). Referring specifically to American teens, it has been argued that industrial democracy poses special restrictions in that it insists on self-made identities ready to grasp the perceived pervasive opportunity and ready to adjust to the changing necessities of life(255). Change itself can be a shock to the system of adolescents since it can break up the inner consistency of their hierarchy of expectations (257).
Minorities experience the psychosocial formation of identity(261) in a quite distinct manner than their white counterparts. For example, it has been inculcated into some African Americans that doing well in school is equated with “selling out” or becoming non-black(259). Although Janie Victoria Ward claims that African American females have two strikes to their being(268), I disagree with her. I think that minority men are the ones born with 2 strikes. Minority women can be discriminated for their color and possibly for their sexual practices, but they are not direct competitors of the elite white males. Minority male teens compete with white male teens in the academic, athletic, and social milieus.
From Enora R. Brown we gain an understanding of just how different the scholastic environments of these competitors can be. For poor minorities a JROTC and vocational curricula are the norm. Affluent white teens can expect the best in college and business-prep curricula. The militarization and privatization of the poor minorities’ schools are a way to continue the current social order, in which rich whites have the most to gain(277). Brown concludes with some suggestions to challenge the current educational inequities.

Teachers vs. Parents

Most people find it imperative that parents become involved with their child’s education, but can they go overboard at times? The short answer is yes. “Parent empowerment is deemed to introduce uncertainty into teacher’s work and to raise questions concerning their control over their professional discretion”.
“With their different concerns for the children, teachers and parents have often been described as enemies, rivaling over what is best for the children’s education”. If a parent sees something that they don’t like being taught to their children, they are apt to complain to the teacher. The teacher might then get upset because its authority in school is being challenged. Who is right, who is wrong?
I say that the teacher should be the main voice in a student’s schooling. The parent should provide moral support to the child, but maybe less involvement by parents is better. Teachers are trained in providing scholastic aid. If parents find fault in a teacher’s lesson, then they should do their best to come up with a suitable alternative. If in fact a fitting alternative is proposed, then, unless the teacher makes one hell of an argument that states why the lesson is detrimental to a student’s well-being. I may seem to be contradicting myself, having said that the teacher is in charge of the schoolroom, but a student deals with family more than teachers in a lifetime. Teachers should understand this and make a wholehearted effort to not discard parental involvement.