Is The Tide Turning?

Today, Yahoo News published the results of a Gallup Poll which surveyed the public's attitudes toward the public schools, as well as President Barack Obama’s performance in relation to education reform. Check it out here:

7 of 10 Parents: I'd Like My Child To Become a Teacher


To be honest, I was surprised at the (generally) positive response to this poll. Judging from certain news sources–especially web sources that enable reader comments, like yahoo.com— many Americans feel very negatively, if not vehemently angry, about the current state of public education. As someone who has always been grateful for her overwhelmingly positive experience in a public high school, I could never understand these passionate feelings, but I am sure they must have their root in someplace very real to those who feel so cheated by public educational institutions.

The charter vs. traditional debate also continues to interest me. Certainly some middle ground could be found, yes? Could traditional public schools take some cues from successful charter schools without compromising their cultures too much? The salary of a traditional public school offers the type of security that many charter schools cannot offer, which might deter many progressive, but financially struggling, teachers from seeking employment in the charter model. Would it be possible, I wonder, to couple the progressive values and aggressive standards of charter schools with the financial and career security offered by the traditional model of public education?

Finally, I agree that there should be national standards for teacher certification. Teachers, like many other licensed professionals, must reapply for licensure in each state they intend to teach in. Though there is some degree of reciprocity, teachers must be willing to at least take an examination, such as the Praxis, in order to qualify for proper licensure. In some states this examination might be given infrequently (California) or the school boards might impose residency restrictions (New York), making relocating as an educator rather difficult. If the US adopted a nationwide standard for teacher certification—a sort of universal licensure— I believe that qualified teachers would be more confident in relocating, even potentially teaching in areas of higher need, if the transition was made easier. The need for discrete state licensure requirements seems bureaucratic to me; as with other professions, the need to retest and re-license highly qualified applicants in each state seems irrevocably intertwined with test-taking and licensure fees payable to that state’s government.

Hypermasculinity Reference List

Here is my reference list for my research, should anyone be interested. Please forgive my rudimentary HTML skills, which made it hard to preserve proper APA format.

Where applicable, I have inserted an amazon.com or other website link to the article or book in question, rendering this reference list interactive. All non-hyperlinked articles can be found under your university's license on JSTOR.

Brown, J.A. (1999) Comic book masculinity and the new black superhero. African American Review, 33 (1), 25-42.

Check, E. (2002). Pink scissors. Art Education, 55 (1), 46-52.

Dimitriadis,G. (2003). Friendship, cliques, and gangs: Young black men coming of age in urban america. New York: Teachers College Press.

Gallo, D.(2004). Bold books for innovative teaching: The boldest books. The English Journal, 94 (1), 126-130.

Gruber, E. & Thau, H.(2003). Sexually related content on television and adolescents of color: Media theory, physiological development, and psychological impact. Journal of Negro Education, 72 (4), 438-456.

Hill, S.A. & Sprague, J.(1999). Parenting in black and white families: The intersection of gender with race and class. Gender and Society, 13 (4), 480-502.

Majors, R.G., et al. (1994) Cool pose: A symbolic mechanism for masculine role enactment and coping by black males. New York: Touchstone.

Mercer, K. (1994).Welcome to the jungle: New positions in black cultural studies. New York: Routledge.

Milner, Jr. M. (2004).Freaks, geeks, and cool kids:American teenagers,schools, and the culture of consumption. New York: Routledge.

Ray, H. (1995). Black masculinity and visual culture. Callaloo, 18 (2), 401-405.

Rowell, C.H.(1991). An interview with henry louis gates, jr. Callaloo, 14(2), 444-463.

Ward, E. G. (2005).Homophobia, hypermasculinity, and the us black church. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 7(5), 493-504.

Hypermasculinity, Gender Roles, and Media

Another interesting article I came across during my period of research was "Sexually Related Content on Television and Adolescents of Color: Media Theory, Physiological Development, and Psychological Impact" by Enid Gruber and Helaine Thau, originally published by The Journal of Negro Education in 2003.

This article revealed the results of studies which monitored the amount and type of television consumed by pre-teens and teens across many races. Gruber and Thau found that, on average, African-American adolescents consume more media (television, music, movies, websites) than their White and Hispanic peers.

While exposure to media in and of itself isn't dangerous, Gruber and Thau feel the level of consumption of media by African-American teens was troubling, even dangerous. The authors feel that the greater the consumption of media, the greater the exposure to sexually-charged material that fosters acceptance of outdated or stereotypical gender roles--essentially encouraging hypermasculinity,homophobia, and misogyny.

Gruber and Thau also believe that many portrayals of African-Americans in creative media are subtly rooted in a racist ideology and portray lifestyles and experiences that are very different from the real lives of the teens consuming the media, essentially providing them with unattainable or unhealthy role-model that skews the expectations they have for themselves.

Finally Gruber and Thau remind their reader that, though all teens who consume sexually suggestive media are at risk for accepting and being assimilated to more stereotypical gender roles, African-American teens are at special risk because of their accelerated rate of physical development. The authors describe how African-American teens experience puberty at least 1.5 years before their White and Hispanic peers, thus finding themselves viewed as "adults" or "sexually mature" at a younger age, pressuring them to engage in earlier, often risky or uninformed, sexual behavior. These rapid physiological shifts, combined with the influence of the pervasive and unrealistic media ( in which characters rarely talk about safe sex or contraception) from which these teens get the majority of their information about sex and gender, is a recipe for disaster and bad choices for many teens.

While I was very interested in this article, I was ultimately disappointed that the authors never explained why African-American teens consumed more media than their peers. Personally, I am at a loss. I am still trying to think of a reason--outside the Neilsen and Kaiser Family Foundation statistics--why this might be so.

The Survivor Guilt of Former Bulllies

Today's non-research post comes from feminist blog Jezebel.

The following short clip is from the television show Intervention and focuses on a topic not frequently explored: what happens to bullies when their aggression has tragic consequences? How do they live with--and respond to--the fallout?

At the center of the episode is former Columbine student Jason, a young man who admits that he was a bully and a jock in high school, whose name was found on a list of intended targets prepared by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Jason believed that his bullying behavior was partially responsible for the massacre and began to descend into drug use to deal with this particularly bitter brand of survivor's guilt.

Though this story was Columbine-specific, it made me think of all the other instances in which pre-teen and teen bullies might have to live with the consequences of what could have been mean-spirited, but transitory, behavioral choices. Think of the myriad suicides of young people that have been attributed to bullying. Behind each of those is another child or group of children who pushed their target to the limit. I think it is easy to demonize these children but, as caring members of the community, we also need to be vigilant about keeping an eye out for their subsequent mental health. A reciprocal tragedy won't even the playing field.

As a teacher, this clip really made me think deeply about the complicated dynamics of high school. I feel that I have been very well-educated and informed about the consequences of bullying, but that most of the discourse and analysis I have been exposed to comes from the perspective of the victim. Perhaps we forget to look at the children who are the bullies and wonder how we can better serve them: by looking for (and understanding) the root of their aggressive behavior to expose any underlying problems and by supporting them for their positive social choices post-bullying behavior.

Intervention: The Legacy of Columbine Continues to Cause Harm (Jezebel.com)

Hypermasculinity and Hip-Hop

Today's YouTube clips will focus on the intersection between hip-hip, hypermasculinity, and homophobia and how these concepts influence young men.

The two-part piece produced by The Advocate is especially interesting, showcasing how--for some individuals--even to be seen as a person who sympathizes or supports gays and lesbians is a giant threat to their manhood.

This clip is from the documentary "I Am A Man: Black Masculinity in America"







Panel discussion on the documentary Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes by Byron Hurt, that disusses hypermasculinity, gender, and sexism in hip-hop







A two part news piece produced by the Advocate that discusses the prevalence of homophobia in hip-hop music and asserting one's masculinity.

Are Good Grades Simply All About the Benjamins?

This is from a little while ago (originally appearing in the New York Post on June 8th), but I feel it is still relevant.

NYC 7th Graders Receive Cash Rewards for High Grades on Standardized Tests

The Sparks program,started by Harvard University economist Roland Fryer, pays students from high-poverty areas up to $500 for success on standardized school assessments.

Champions of the program hope it will foster a mental correlation between academic effort and "future income" among students.

There are some detractors to this initiative, who call it "Euro-centric" and "capitalistic" and feel that the focus on standardized tests often draws attention away from the process of inquiry and everyday learning in the classroom.

Black Voices has some interesting commentary on this issue, analyzing it in terms of economic advantage and privilege, along with some very provacative responses from readers: Paying Poor Kids for Good Grades Appears to be Working

What do you think? Should children be rewarded for good grades? Or should the self-confidence that comes from understanding and knowledge be reward enough?

Of Rubber Rooms and Reassignment Centers...

Once my research concludes at the end of June, The Educationist will settle into its intended pattern: a compilation of posting and commentary on education-related articles culled from the web each day.

This was featured on yahoo.com this morning:

700 NYC teachers are paid to do nothing

I've never heard about these "rubber rooms" or reassignment centers before. While I am supportive of due process and proper investigation of teachers who were fired for seemingly suspicious or contentious reasons, I am surprised that teachers who abuse these centers by sneaking out to bars are still on the payroll. I was also concerned that those who are suffering from mental illness and are described as "depressed" or "unstable" remain at the centers; this certainly does not sound conducive to either getting personally mentally healthy or ensuring that our schools employ professionals who are capable of creating safe environments for students.

Finally, articles like this make me sad because not only am I disappointed by the way some of the individuals in the article have acted, but because revelations and articles like these seem to encourage the great amount of anti-teacher sentiment that I've found on the web. For many people outside the field of education, websites like yahoo.com are the only source for information relating to current educational practice. I wish we were able to read more positive articles about caring, committed, and professional teachers rather than those who slack or abuse the educational system.

What do you think?