African American Males in School and Society


Book Description

In this groundbreaking and timely volume Vernon Polite and James Davis have brought together the perspectives and research findings of eminent scholars who study the educational and social lives of African American males. The result is a volume that brims with new outlooks and viewpoints, a refreshing departure from pervasive and oftentimes stereotypical literature about the African American male experience, and gives the reader access to prevalent issues affecting this population today. Thoughtful attention is paid to broader outcomes such as educational attainment, job procurement, and quality of life. These topics are discussed against the backdrop of student background and schooling with an overall aim to improve the academic and social outcomes of this population . Chapters range from explorations into identifying giftedness and responsive teaching styles, to educating African American males in the suburbs. The contributors to this volume offer differing methodologies and foci to document how the social and educational worlds of African American males cross, and the editors suggest policy implications that derive from these studies. This eloquent, engaging, and accessible volume has much to offer its readers and is especially important to people concerned with the well-being of African American boys and men.




The Brilliance of Black Boys


Book Description

This much-needed book will help schools and, by extension, society to better understand and identify the promise, potential, and possibilities of Black boys. Drawing from their wealth of experience in early childhood education, the authors present an asset- and strengths-based view of educating Black boys. This positive approach enables practitioners and school leaders to recognize, understand, and cultivate the diversity of social skills of Black boys in the early grades (pre-K–3rd grade). Each chapter begins with a vignette to illustrate what is lost when Black boys are prevented from participating freely in boyhood, having to instead attend to adult and peer interactions and attitudes that view them as “bad boys” and “troublemakers.” This accessible book provides teachers with classroom strategies to help young Black boys achieve their highest potential, along with other resources for supporting their social-emotional development, such as a reading list of authentic multicultural children’s books with Black boys as protagonists. “The Brilliance of Black Boys claims new ground to advance knowledge and practice that can change the narrative about Black boys and their early schooling.” —From the Foreword by James Earl Davis, Temple University “Wright’s uncommon insight into the world of Black boys unveils a new narrative and gives educators a formula for turning opportunity into advantage.” —Carol Brunson Day, past president, NAEYC “The Brilliance of Black Boys provides counter-stories, theories, paradigms, and resources to skillfully illustrate the strengths of Black boys. Readers will not be disappointed.” —Donna Y. Ford, Vanderbilt University




African American Males in School and Society


Book Description

In this groundbreaking and timely volume Vernon Polite and James Earl Davis have brought together the perspectives and research findings of eminent scholars who study the educational and social lives of African American males. The result is a volume that brims with new outlooks and viewpoints—a refreshing departure from pervasive and oftentimes stereotypical literature about the African American male experience—and gives the reader access to prevalent issues affecting this population today. Thoughtful attention is paid to broader outcomes such as educational attainment, job procurement, and quality of life. These topics are discussed against the backdrop of student background and schooling with the overall aim of improving the academic and social outcomes of this population. “At last, a comprehensive look at the most salient issues that affect the future of African American men. This book provides much more than a ray of hope; it is replete with recommendations and practices that, if implemented, will positively impact educational and social outcomes. Every educator and parent who grapples with the dilemma of educating Black boys and young men should read this book.” —Robert Peterkin, Ph.D., Harvard University's Urban Superintendents Program “School administrations serious about addressing the underachievement and underdevelopment of African American boys and youths will find in this book theoretical and methodological approaches (e.g., practical, just–in–time strategies for implementation). . . . This book will empower readers who are committed to equity and excellence for African American male students.” —Gwendolyn J. Cooke, Ph.D., Director, Urban Services, National Association of Secondary School Principals




Other People's Children


Book Description

An updated edition of the award-winning analysis of the role of race in the classroom features a new author introduction and framing essays by Herbert Kohl and Charles Payne, in an account that shares ideas about how teachers can function as "cultural transmitters" in contemporary schools and communicate more effectively to overcome race-related academic challenges. Original.




Teaching Black Boys in the Elementary Grades


Book Description

This book will help educators rethink their expectations of and practices for developing the literacy skills of Black boys in the elementary school classroom. Tatum shows educators how to bring students’ literacy development into greater focus by creating an early intellectual infrastructure of advanced literacy, knowledge, and personal development. He provides a strong conceptual frame, with associated instructional and curricular practices, designed to move Black boys from across the economic spectrum toward advanced literacy that aligns with the Black intellectual tradition. Readers will learn how to use texts from a broad range of potential professions, across academic disciplines, to nurture social and scientific consciousness. The text includes guidance for selecting texts, reading supports, prompts for analysis, and examples of student work. Teaching Black Boys in the Elementary Grades counters the current obsession with basic and proficient reading and argues for adopting an exponential growth model of literacy development. Book Features: A multidimensional model that supports reading and writing development.Student writing artifacts that can be used as a model for teachers.Sample lessons with texts for use across the academic disciplines.A strong conceptual and curricular frame to support educators in their text selection.




Changing School Culture for Black Males


Book Description

Addressing the many unique academic challenges that face black males--from low self-esteem, absenteeism, fatherlessness, and gangs to not accepting middle-class values, the impact of hip-hop culture, and drugs--this book provides answers and hope to teachers and the afflicted students and their families. With more than 75 solutions for educators to implement in their schools, including mentoring programs, rites of passage, internships, motivational speeches, counseling, and cooperative learning, this helpful resource shows how issues of retention, illiteracy, special education, and dropping out are simply symptoms of a much larger disease, and, if left unaddressed, will continue to stunt the education of black students.




Black Boys Apart


Book Description

How neoliberalism and the politics of respectability are transforming African American manhood While single-sex public schools face much criticism, many Black communities see in them a great promise: that they can remedy a crisis for their young men. Black Boys Apart reveals triumphs, hope, and heartbreak at two all-male schools, a public high school and a charter high school, drawing on Freeden Blume Oeur’s ethnographic work. We meet young men who felt their schools empowered and emasculated them, parents who were frustrated with co-ed schools, teachers who helped pave the road to college, and administrators who saw in Black male academies the advantages of privatizing education. While the two schools have distinctive histories and ultimately charted different paths, they were both shaped by the convergence of neoliberal ideologies and a politics of Black respectability. As Blume Oeur reveals, all-boys education is less a school reform initiative and instead joins a legacy of efforts to reform Black manhood during periods of stark racial inequality. Black male academies join long-standing attempts to achieve racial uplift in Black communities, but in ways that elevate exceptional young men and aggravate divisions within those communities. Black Boys Apart shows all-boys schools to be an odd mix of democratic empowerment and market imperatives, racial segregation and intentional sex separation, strict discipline and loving care. Challenging narratives that endorse these schools for nurturing individual resilience in young Black men, this perceptive and penetrating ethnography argues for a holistic approach in which Black communities and their allies promote a collective resilience.




Black Male(d): Peril and Promise in the Education of African American Males


Book Description

In his new book, the author of the bestseller Why Race and Culture Matter in Schools examines the chronic under-performance of African American males in U.S. schools. Citing a plethora of disturbing academic outcomes for Black males, this book focuses on the historical, structural, educational, psychological, emotional, and cultural factors that influence the teaching and learning process for this student population. Howard discusses the potential, and promise of Black males by highlighting their voices to generate new insights, create new knowledge, and identify useful practices that can significantly improve the schooling experiences and life chances of Black males. Howard calls for a paradigm shift in how we think about, teach, and study Black males. The book: examines current structures, ideologies, and practices that both help and hinder the educational and social prospects of Black males; translates frequently cited theorectical principles into research-based classroom practice; documents teacher-student interactions, student viewpoints, and discusses the troubling role that sports plays in th lives of many Black males; highlights voices and perspectives from Black male students about ways to improve their schooling experiences and outcomes; and identifies community-based programs that are helping Black males succeed.




Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life


Book Description

One of the most vexing problems confronting educators today is the chronic achievement gap between black male students and their peers. In this inspiring and thought-provoking book, veteran educator Baruti K. Kafele offers a blueprint for lifting black males up and ensuring their success in the classroom and beyond. Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life offers proven strategies for getting black male students in middle school and high school to value learning, improve their grades, and maintain high standards for themselves. The author shows how simple but powerful measures to instill self-worth in young black males can not only raise these students' achievement, but also profoundly alter their lives for the better. This book will help you to help students * Reverse the destructive effects of negative influences, whether among peers or in the popular culture; * Surmount adverse conditions at home or in their communities; * Participate in mentorship programs with successful black male adults; and * Take pride in their heritage by learning about great figures and achievements in black history. Whether your school is urban or rural, all-black or mixed, you'll find this book to be an insightful resource that addresses the root causes of low achievement among young black males and offers a clear path to overcoming them.




The Trouble With Black Boys


Book Description

For many years to come, race will continue to be a source of controversy and conflict in American society. For many of us it will continue to shape where we live, pray, go to school, and socialize. We cannot simply wish away the existence of race or racism, but we can take steps to lessen the ways in which the categories trap and confine us. Educators, who should be committed to helping young people realize their intellectual potential as they make their way toward adulthood, have a responsibility to help them find ways to expand identities related to race so that they can experience the fullest possibility of all that they may become. In this brutally honest—yet ultimately hopeful— book Pedro Noguera examines the many facets of race in schools and society and reveals what it will take to improve outcomes for all students. From achievement gaps to immigration, Noguera offers a rich and compelling picture of a complex issue that affects all of us.