Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Shoffner, M. (2018). Disrupting the World as We Know It: Addressing Racism in ELA Teacher
Education. Journal of Language and Literacy Education. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
Wong, C. A., Eccles, J. S., & Sameroff, A. (2003). The Influence of Ethnic Discrimination and
Ethnic Identification on African American Adolescents' School and Socioemotional
Adjustment. Journal of Personality, 71(6), 1197-1232. doi:10.1111/14676494.7106012
Rationale: I chose the African American population to do my analysis on because I feel like the
African American population has been known for being misplaced in special education classes
due to past prejudices educators and all of society have had in the past. This article specifically
focuses on African American Adolescents and their personal experience with ethnic
discrimination. I feel like this population is commonly overlooked. Usually, when we think about
a population we focus on children or adults but most do not see the sizable difference between
children and adolescence. There is a completely different level of understanding that applies to
adolescence that children do not have. The research was based out of a specific county in
Maryland. It was stated that there have been numerous changes demographically and politically
since the 60’s. The large demographic changed with more African Americans entering the
primarily white community and this interested me because I am noticing this shift in my
community. I am hoping to be able to analyze the research and further understand what happens
when a new population enters an area and how I can help create a smooth transition for
everyone; especially the adolescent population because they are in such an unstable, crucial part
of life.
Motive for writing the article: It is imperative for educators to understand all the factors that
may affect an adolescents learning ability. All educators must realize that when there is a major
demographic change within a community it is their job to make sure the transition remains
smooth and to make adjustments where it may be necessary. In this case it happened to be for the
African American Adolescent population and the researchers were able to show the effects of
ethnic discrimination within the educational setting.
Central Argument: The authors stated their main goal as, “It is impossible to determine the role
of these ethnic processes or situations in psychological development unless the proposed ethnic
constructs are examined explicitly” (Wong 1199). There has been racism in the united states for
countless years and even though we may want to think it has vanished from our communities,
that is simply not true. Since this is still a factor that is effecting students but more specifically
African American adolescents. Educators must find a way to meet the needs of all students and
eliminate ethnic discrimination and ethnic identification from affecting students learning
experience. Considering the fact that all students are receiving a free and appropriate public
education it is crucial that this remains true and unviolated for the sake of all students.
Throughout the report the cultural characteristics of African Americans and African
American adolescents came through. Some of the underlying factors hinted at the cultural
characteristics. It was found that the family base is extremely important and offers each family
member heaps of support, in most cases. This is very important because sometimes that is the Commented [WNP1]: Take a look at my Activities to
Investigate Funds of Knowledge List – Clinical Experiences
Module. What strengths and resources can members of a
only support system one has when racial discrimination take place. In this article they focused on household or community bring to their children’s learning
that complements what they are learning in traditional
adolescents so it is common to see a base of friends that will show support but unfortunately in classrooms? How can the teacher then work with said
students to make connections to desired dispositions and
specific academic standards and content being discussed in
this situation when the community predominantly white, at first, these kids do not have that a unit, lesson plan, or classroom management strategy?
Another characteristic that was present in the research was that African Americans have
been undervalued in the past and still might feel that pressure. This became apparent when the Commented [WNP2]: Here is something to think about:
The authors know the negative ideology about school, held
African American adolescents started disengaging from school because they were seeing adults by some students of color, is shaped by social circumstances
(economic conditions; nature of urban schools serving
minority youth; educational and social challenges to having
being discriminated against in the workplace. This is a common occurrence when adolescents see pride in one’s racial identity), but my students don’t until I
discuss it - Oppositional culture occurs when schools tend to
this because they have a tendency to not understand the point in higher education if they will just under-educate students of color and/or try to demean their
racial identity by devaluing being black, Latino/a, Indian,
Asian, etc. Would you view schooling as positive if it was a
space that demeaned you academically and undervalued
you and your sense of ethnic or racial identify?
be discriminated against. Now, this is what the students noticed in this specific setting so this is
“Prior to 1960, 85% of the residents in this county were White and political control was
held by the Whites; by 1995, 51% of the households were African Americans and 43% were
White, and the Whites and African Americans had equal political control” (Wong 1205). To
begin this can be quite and intimidating statistic but essentially it is saying this county when
though a decent amount of demographical change within a short time frame. Such an abrupt
change to society can lead to ethnic discrimination which will have a lasting effect on the
adolescence within the community. Since the political control became balanced between African
Americans and Whites this was a unique situation for the community because this is usually not
something one would see in this situation. It is more common for the dominant race to remain in
power.
Another societal factor discussed within “The Influence of Ethnic Discrimination and
was the affects stereotypes had on the students surveyed. It was found that most of the
stereotypes were about African American adolescents having poor mental health and easily
enraged or upset. This was found to heavily impact their drive for education. It was also stated Commented [WNP3]: Here is an example of the concepts
of “racialization” and “ideology” as discussed in my
Important Societal Factors document and my Graphic –
that the students that face these stereotypes have a tendency to remove themselves from school. Social Constructs of Difference document.
Most of the time the students will disengage mentally but will not be able to physically remove
themselves from school. At this point most students experience low motivation and a negative Commented [WNP4]: Great point! See my discussion in
the previous section about oppositional culture.
mental state starting to affect them.
When Wong, Eccles, and Sameroff started the study they wanted to focus on the
adolescent population because there are few studies done with solely adolescents. As they
conducted their research there were many societal factors that would affect the study and the way
the adolescents responded to the surveys. They collected data in two separate waves, one the
beginning of their 7th grade year and the second at the end of their 8th grade year. Some very
fascinating findings were listed such as the fact that, “subjective experiences of discrimination
(Wong 1203). So they were able to prove that African America adolescents were unfortunately
behind in crucial aspects of functioning due to the existing racial discrimination. This is an
unfortunate and illegal situation because all students are not given an equal learning opportunity.
Also, it is a crucial note that all educators are making sure they are ready and prepared to always
advocate for students so this does not happen again like it did to this population of African
American adolescents.
Sectional III: Educational Strategies and Interventions Commented [WNP5]: Now let’s operationalize what you
discuss in this section:
To continue, we will discuss multiple strategies and interventions for educators to prevent
I ask you to think about the Culturally Relevant Teaching
framework as developed by Gloria Ladson-Billings and
any sense of ethnic discrimination within the classroom. The first strategy is to always include operationalized by two of my Saint Paul Travel Study
Teaching Assistants Aubrey and Adrienne (see Discussion
section of D2L). Here are the parts of Ladson-Billings
culture within the classroom. This is a simple step and it will allow all students to understand and
framework:
accept one another. By incorporating culture in the classroom in more ways than just an Academic Achievement: What are the academic
experiences and challenges faced by African American
learners?
occasional party will allow students to realized where their classmates come from and they will Cultural Competence: How can a teacher both identify and
make use of these learners’ Funds of Knowledge (See my
even learn interesting facts about their own ethnic culture they may never have known about. Activities to Investigate Funds of Knowledge List)?
Critical Consciousness: How can a teacher use both his/her
knowledge of African American learners and acquired
Learning about culture encourages acceptance and will help overcome stereotypes. Overcoming cultural competence to empower/advocate for these
learners in social and academic ways (e.g., adjustment of
stereotypes would be and overwhelming step forward for future generations. curriculum – content specific tools to help these students
see academic, social, economic inequalities facing them and
their communities; making changes in pedagogy - see
Pedagogical Triangle; removing learning barriers, utilizing
learners’ families and community as academic resources,
etc.)?
Another strategy that would be better used with middle school aged kids and up would
be, using explicit lessons about racism and ethnic discrimination. By doing this it will bring up
difficult conversation that may expose strong emotions but it will also allow students to
understand the full effect of how racism an ethnic discrimination negatively affected multiple
ethnic groups. To have a student fully understand what happened and by not sugar coating the
lesson, it will be a much more powerful. With the sense of brutal honesty in the lesson it will
hopefully drive kids together and help them understand that any form of ethnic discrimination
can turn from something small, like name calling, to something tremendously hurtful and
disgraceful.
Lastly, it would be greatly beneficial to not only advocate for the students but teach them
how to advocate for each other. While in the process of becoming an educator one learns about Commented [WNP6]: See my Comment Box above,
especially the area of Critical Consciousness.
the importance of being an advocate for their students and how crucial it is. So, why not extend
that lesson to the students? If the previous strategies are followed each student should have a
solid cultural understanding and should be able to support their fellow classmates in multiple
situations. By allowing students to be culturally educated it will further help their understanding
and desire for equality among all cultures, which should allow them to become wonderful
advocates for each other in the process. Commented [WNP7]: Nice discussion in this Research
Report - Rubric Score: 3/3/3
References
Kennedy, B. M., Ard, J. D., Harrison, L., Conish, B. K., Kennedy, E., Levy, E. J., & Brantley, P.
trials that target behavior and health promotion programs. Retrieved February 06, 2018,
from https://utexas.influuent.utsystem.edu/en/publications/cultural-characteristics-of-
african-americans-implications-for-th