Chapter 3 - African American Teachers

Summary

• Many African-American teachers suffer from racism, too.
• African-American teachers are sometimes torn between the way they grew up and the situations they are placed in as educators.

Commentary

I can see that it must be very difficult to be an African American educator in schools that have a predominately white faculty. However, I can see that it must also be difficult to be a white educator in a school with a predominately black faculty. This is because many of us do not practice what we preach in regards to diversity. I have learned so much from African American coworkers - the ability to laugh at insane situations, take comments with a grain of salt, and when/how to stand my ground. I would not trade those qualities I have thanks to my African American friends and colleagues for anything.

Chapter 2 - White Female Teachers

Summary

• Most teachers in America are white.
• Most teachers in elementary schools are white females.
• Code switching is the ability to translate informal dialect/communication into a more formal way. This is seen in students that speak Ebonics. If a student can be taught to code switch, communication can be more effective. For example, treating African American students are bilingual rather than degrading Ebonics and shadowing it in negative light.
• Although many educational institutions value diversity in the teachers, the color of the teacher does not impact the student as much as the expectations of the teacher.

Commentary

I feel that I should be more open to Ebonics. I can identify it as an area where that I should become more understanding. I do not allow the students to use informal communication addressing me. I could possibly treat the students as bilingual rather than treating the informal style as negative. It seems logical that some students will use Ebonics with or without my "openness" to it. If I can teach the students to code-switch between formal and informal versions of English, I can help prepare them for real world experiences. I will work on addressing that differently in the future. Additionally, I completely agree that the color of the teacher does not matter as much as the expectations of the teacher.

Chapter 1 - Middle-Class Schools

Summary

• Although most African American families are above the poverty line, most of the African American students are below the poverty line. This is due to the number of children in the families. The average African American family below the poverty line has more children than the average African American family above the poverty line.
• Very few African American families are middle class (income above $50,000 per year).
• In many African American families, the father is not present.
• Poverty-level and working-class families do not have resources that middle class families have - transportation, books, technology, education, etc.
• The poverty-level and working-class adults suffer from lower levels of education. Giving homework that requires parental involvement could be difficult for these families. Additionally, the IEP meeting is intimidating for those with low amounts of education.
• Delaying gratification is a skill that many poverty-level and working class students do not have. This affects going to school for 13 years to receive a high school diploma, going to college for a bachelor's degree, and attending graduate school for a master's level degree.

Commentary

I feel that poverty-level and working-class families are very different from the teachers and school administrators that serve them. Many middle-class teachers might not make consider the ways that homework is perceived and resolved in various types of homes. Additionally, the general perception of the school will be unintentionally affected by these social differences. It is our jobs as educators to teach all students regardless of level of income. To become better, effective educators, we must begin to practice reflection and observation of the effects that socioeconomic status and/or race play on cognition.