After reading Chapter 5 of the first section of CKCS I thought of some instances in my own childhood that relate to what the writer experienced. On page 35 of that chapter, Samson Davis mentions that when he recieved a good grade he told his friends that he cheated, thereby minimizing his accomplishments. Davis raises an interesting point "Kids who did well in school were considered nerds. I wanted to be cool. And more than anything, I wanted to fit in."
In my own elementary years, me and my twin sister were constantly picked on because we recieved good grades. We were told that we "acted white" because we chose to read books instead of walk around the blocks. By definition, since we did well in school, we were considered nerds.
Like Davis, we had a longing to be "cool." We tried to fit in with the other kids by hanging out until late at night instead of doing our homework. At one point in sixth grade we even formed a clique and were accused by the principal of forming a gang. In the end, I, and I think my sister, realized that doing well in school was much more important than trying to be cool.
The whole point of me mentioning this is to say that telling kids that they are "acting white" when they pursue academic endevours sends the message to them that only white kids can learn. They have no place in an academic setting and they should reliquish all hope of doing so. I think that this idea of education equaling whiteness has its roots in slavery. In those days, slaves could not be educated. Those that risked their lives to learn in a sense were "acting white" because only white people had the legal right to learn. I think that we are still enslaved by the idea that we as a black community cannot learn. I know plenty of former classmates who were academically talented and in the gifted program with my sister and I. They had all the potential in the world, but instead of staying in enriched classes, they chose to stay with their peers in regular classes in order to stay "cool."
I think that this idea is very damaging to the psyche of young African American children. Instead of being praised for their accomplishments they are ostracized and told to act "Black."
My questions are these: Why can't Black be equated with intelligence? Why must we stay captives of intellectual ignorance? Why can't we be rewarded for doing well in school instead of being ostracized?
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3 comments:
Tanika, I thought your post was great and spoke volumes about how African-American children feel extra pressure to be mediocre in school in order to fit in with their peers. Part of the problem is that at a young age, children are looking to their teachers for encouragement and support, and many black students feel that their teachers don't believe they can achieve what white students can. From very early in their lives, children can see what is expected of them, and most will respond accordingly.
Once kids reach middle and high school, though, their peers become a much larger influence on behavior, and if African-American children have been relegated to low-performing classes and cliques are putting pressure on their peers to stay with them, it can certainly alter behavior. Unfortunately, I remember that most of the gifted classes in my childhood school district were almost exclusively white, but my view is a little skewed because we were so white overall. I never would've given a second thought to it at the time, but looking back it makes me wonder whether it could have been different.
This happens with all kids, if to a lesser extent in a school with a white majority. I know that I was sometimes teased for being a high-achieving student, and it became especially difficult for me when the schools separated students by "level" for most of the day, because there were some friends that I never got to see, and it was clear why.
I wish I had something to offer as far as how to change this phenomenon among African-American and other students. I feel that saying "just encourage them and make it seem cool" doesn't mean anything, because I wouldn't know how to make that happen. I think that some of the things we have talked about in class about involving students in the curriculum and having them be an active part of what they learn would help some students. That way, they see that some things found in school are worth learning for everyone.
Tanika, you always have a good point. I would just like to add that when students minimize their accomplishments at a young age they continue to this through out their lives.That is why we have so many people in our society who could speak up, make a difference, and make their voices heard to make things happen but will not because they are worried about what others will say or may be even do to them if they present themselves as different then others. This really aggrivates me because so much could change in this world if more people took pride in themselves instead of just following along with what others want them to follow. Who knows may be one day that will all change, but if it does we all know it will take time.
Great questions Tanika. My question for any African American who thinks they are acting 'white' by excelling in school is: Do they think Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. acted white when he did very well in school? He skipped grades and scored high on placement exams. He earned a Doctorate and was awarded over a dozen more. He and hundreds of other people worked hard for the African Americans today to have the opportunity to go to better schools. There is a historical reason, for why slaves were not educated: what do educated people do? They think and form opinions and have tools to defend themselves intellectually. Knowledge is power and early settlers new that. The only way to subjugate a group of people is to deny education and feed them only the information that's necessary for them to do what you wanted them to do. I would show them scholars that shared their cultural background and the rewards they received as a result of their successes.
This would be the lesson I would share with them.
The ones that can really change this perception is the PARENTS! Parents who tell their children they can succeed and then tell them that doing the hard work - the home work and being educated is a natural expectation.
For example, my mother and father placed me in an environment where success was rewarded with popularity and pressure to do even better. Popular people in my school were smart and involved with extra-curricular activities. My father who is African-American and one of fifteen children was raised to do well. My grandparents accepted nothing less than A's and B's from my father or my aunts and uncles. They were taught that they were disgracing themselves with poor grades and not utilizing the gifts that God had given them. Going to college was desired, if not expected for all of them. He was also an accomplished Violinist. Most of them went on to higher education. On my mother's side of the family everyone, and I do mean everyone, goes to college and has for seven generations. If I wanted to be car salesman, my mother would be okay with it as long as I had my Bachelors degree. I never 'acted white' in school with my good grades, I was acting like my family.
Also, go to this website if you want to read an interesting article from the journal "Education Next" it is titled "Acting White": http://www.hoover.org/publications/ednext/3212736.html
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