Conscientious Ear-hustlers

According to the U.S. Department of Education (2014), Black boys are suspended and expelled from school at higher rates than boys of other ethnicities. The scholarship is also rife with the fact that Black boys are also overrepresented in special education (Bryan & Ford, 2014 and many others). Speaking of special education, one research study suggests that some teachers make judgement calls about special education for Black boys based on how they walk (Neal, McCray, Webb-Johnson, & Bridgest, 2003). Yes, you read that correctly. Walk.

As we embark upon a new school year, let's rethink what we know about teaching and learning as it relates to our young Black male students. While it would be nice to see an increase in the number of Black male educators in our public schools (a notion I embrace, advocate for, and work behind the scenes with brothers on), this as the sole solution to the problem oversimplifies the complex and systemic nature of the problem that exists, that being the other 'r' in our school systems, racism. Sometimes it's subtle and at other times it's right there in our not-so-subtle policies and practices (ahem, Zero Tolerance) in schools. While I am a huge proponent of a diversified workforce, especially when it comes to Black men who will be effective in the profession, we cannot sit and wait. We cannot wait because some of our well-meaning colleagues may feel absolved of their responsibility to even try to work with our young Black brothers if we do so. No ma'am, no sir, no absolution here.

Want to know how Black boys learn best?

Ask. Do not believe for one second that they do not have opinions about how they like to learn. Ask them. Working together? Listening to music in the background? Alone?

Observe. Be conscientious in your ear-hustlin' (eavesdropping) and in your overall observations. You can learn a lot by sitting in the cut, shutting up, and watching. 

Make meaning of what you see and hear. When making that meaning, however, you must converse with your students, with their parents, with other adults who know them and are familiar with the culture and customs of the students with whom you work. Making meaning in a bubble may only solidify incorrect interpretations of what you're observing.

In short, be a student of your students!

Even for me, being a "brotha" and fully invested in this calling, I found myself asking my summer high school students questions about language, music, and ways of thinking. In a subsequent conversation with my sister, who also teaches, we spoke about how I made attempts to incorporate my new found knowledge into the classroom. Because of the nature of the summer work, the conversation with those young men was the way that I incorporated it into the classroom. I was their student for 10 minutes.

We've been rehashing the same trite pedagogy long enough. We've been narrow-minded in our chase of test scores and those ever elusive and mutable levels of proficiency long enough. Let's stop the insanity and learn how our young Black boys learn best and adjust accordingly. Yes, there may be pushback. But if a little pushback is the worst that can happen and we teach using a paradigm and pedagogy that is liberating and relevant for them, let them push! 

References

United States Department of Education. (2014, March). Civil rights data collection: Data snapshot: School discipline (Issue Brief No. 1). Washington, D.C.: Office for Civil Rights.

Bryan, N. & Ford, D. (2014). Recruiting and retaining black male teachers in gifted education. Gifted Child Today 37(3), 156-161. doi:10.1177/107621751453011

Neal, L., McCray, A., Webb-Johnson, G., and Bridgest, S. (2003). The effects of African American movement styles on teachers’ perceptions and reactions. Journal of Special Education, 37(3), 49-57