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?

Hypermasculinity and Homophobia, Part 4

In my last post, I wrote about E.G. Ward's wonderful article, Hypermasculinity, Homophobia, and the US Black Church.

I was really moved by the article and wanted to learn more about what churches in predominately African-American communities say about homophobia, hypermasculinity, bullying, and acceptance.

Just to clarify, I am totally aware that no one faith tradition, ethnic group, or race is exempt from homophobia. The problem is, sadly, very widespread among every color and creed. The reason I chose to focus on hypermasculinity and homophobia amoung young African-American males is that I was fascinated by how these two systemic behaviors really grew out of a reaction to a very specific history or racism, discrimination, and disempowerment in the United States.

I also think the issues of hypermasculinity and homophobia amongst a cohort of young African-American males is poignant and timely: as a result of these pervasive ideologies, these young men are the new face of HIV infection. The hypermasculine male has more sexual partners and has an aversion to condom use, because he sees it as a threat to his virility; the young gay man who is silenced and isolated by a culture of homophobia denies his orientation by engaging in secret, risky behavior on "the down-low."

I did a quick YouTube search and came up with these thought-provoking videos:

This video is the first of a three-part discussion featuring three different ministers from Atlanta voicing their opposing viewpoints on homophobia within their faith communities.

The next video features Larrell, a young woman who has "repented" from being a lesbian. Larrell now has a myspace and YouTube-based ministry. In this interview, she speaks with one of the ministers featured in the previous clip about Atlanta churches.

Hypermasculinity and Homophobia, Part 3: Religious Influences

During the course of my research, I also came across a wonderful article about the intersection of ideologies of traditionally African-American churches with homophobic ideology. Written by Elijah G. Ward, it is entitled Hypermasculinity, Homophobia, and the US Black Church. It was originally published in Culture, Health, & Sexuality journal in 2005.

When I originally started this project, my first thought was that I would focus primarily on rap and hip-hop and the role of hip-hop/rap music culture fostering homophobia among a young male cohort. Though there are lots of great resources online and in databases like JSTOR that analyze these connections, I think I was alternately surprised and saddened by the discovery that religion often plays a role that is equally as significant as that of homophobic lyrics and visual media in encouraging the bullying, shaming, and isolating of gay students or effeminate male students by their peers.

Ward suggests three reasons that historically African-American churches might extol a message that is not embracing—or even tolerant—of the GLBTQ population:

1) Religious interpretation: At their inception, many African-American churches in the Christian tradition were built on a very literal interpretation of the Bible. During slavery, the promise of actual, physical, heavenly salvation was a great comfort to many of the faithful; however, in order to accept the scriptures describing a physical heavenly reward, members of the church would also have to accept passages in the Bible which might justify homophobic actions.

2) Sexual Stereotypes: The racism historically espoused by the dominant culture has—as mentioned in previous posts—continually simultaneously vilified and fetishized African-American bodies and sexualities. Because of the ABUNDANT stereotypes regarding African-American sexuality, many participants in faith communities become afraid to talk about the issues of desire, sexually orientation, and sexual practice, fearing they will confirm or reinforce negative stereotypes that racism has assigned to their culture. This effectively creates a silence in many communities in which the existence of gays and lesbians is denied or ignored.

3) Race Survival Consciousness: Ward also believes that “racial survival” is also an issue in the silence surrounding young African-American gays and lesbians in certain faith communities. Ward describes how, together with the traditional religious practices mentioned above, some nationalist groups are so concerned with the survival and preservation of the traditional (that is, binary) African-American family, traditions, and culture in the face of a dominating (or imperialistic) white culture, that they equate gays and lesbians with weakness or “whiteness.”

Ward also notes that recent studies show that, even if no longer active in their church, African-Americans still tend to subscribe to the ideology and morality that they were raised in as they pass through adolescence and into adulthood. In other words, the influence of one's faith community or religious tradition is pretty huge in relation to later socialization.

These statistics made me realize what a tough position many young men and women are in. If they were only getting the message that homophobia is a tolerable bias from popular culture, I think this negativity would be easier to ignore; these young adults could use critical thinking skills to come to the conclusion that the media is biased or has a specific agenda; that it is full of posturing and commercialization. However, I think the negotiation of such feelings would be much more difficult when the homophobia message is coming from one’s trusted pastor. It’s not at all hard to see a teen having a crisis of faith given a circumstance like this: “If I don’t trust or believe in what my pastor is saying about gays and lesbians, how can I trust anything else he says? Wouldn’t it be equally up for debate?”

As a start to a solution, Ward suggests that gays, lesbians, and allies take active roles in church reform and begin the process of demystifying black sexuality, especially in regards to the creation of a dialogue regarding the socialization of young African-American men that doesn’t include room for tolerance of homophobia.

Hypermasculinity and Homophobia, Part 2

In my previous post, I mentioned the concept of hypermasculinity and how it related to male identity and body image. I also mentioned how, though especially devestating to young African-American men, hypermasculinity can affect all races and social groups.

Please check out the link I’ve posted below to some YouTube videos for the film Bigger, Stronger, Faster. This is an excellent documentary about three brothers who become obsessed with their body image and resort to steroids and extreme fitness regimens to assert their masculinity and find their "perfect" bodies.

The documentary is engaging, fast-paced and features wonderful segments with experts in the field of psychology, pop culture, and health. My favorite segment of the film is the visit to Harvard University, where the director is schooled in the ways in which the physiques of male action figures and GI Joe dolls have mutated since the 1960’s to become abnormal and impossible to imitate--tantamount to the permutations of the female figure that occured with the rise of the supermodel and anorexic chic.

I recommended this film to a male high school senior who was writing an essay on male body dysmorphia. He absolutely loved it, saying it inspired him to not only do more research on the subject, but to reflect on why he was so concerned with bulking up.

My last post also discussed the links between racism, hypermasculinity, emasculation, and body image. In the “Intro” clip posted below, pay attention to the way physicality becomes a vehicle for stereotypes and emasculation/empowerment: the Iron Sheik is bald (significant when hair is a sign of virility), bears a mustache that would look at home on Snidely Whiplash, and possesses a body that is more pallid and less defined or than golden-skinned “good American” Hulk Hogan, who reverently crosses himself before slapping his biceps and entering the ring.

I acknowledge that pro-wrestling is basically a performance: the costumes, beefs, and characters are carefully constructed as entertainment. However, I think it’s provocative to consider WHY certain details are chosen when creating these characters, knowing that these elements will get a visceral response from the collective unconscious of the target WWF demographic: young men.

Trailer:



Intro:

Bigger,Stronger,Faster website

Hypermasculinity and Homophobia, Part 1: The Culture of the Corporeal

Yesterday, I read a really excellent article: Comic Book Masculinity and the New Black Superhero by Jeffrey A. Brown. The article originally appeared in The African-American Review in Spring of 1999.

The article began by analyzing the influence that feminist scholarship has had on scholarship/research related to other gender issues, focusing on the idea that what we know as “gender” is often constructed by our society. In this case, the construct Brown focused on was the pervasiveness of and dependence on a “mask” or “performance” of hypermasculinity by young African American men.

So what’s hypermasculinity? Hypermasculinity, as this article defined it, is basically the intense performance or over-exaggeration of everything that is considered masculine. And what do I exactly mean by ‘masculine’? Well, masculinity is an interesting concept because it is mostly defined by what it is not. For example, the masculine is defined as everything that is not feminine. Masculinity is hard, not soft; aggressive, not passive; physical, not cerebral.

Brown argues that, because so much of this construct of masculinity is focused on the male body as a living symbol of masculinity (and proof that one is not the dreaded and isolated feminine “Other”), young men begin to focus on building their bodies to impart this message of aggression, hardness, and physical strength.

Though the concept of hypermasculinity spans all races, I have found through my research that it is amazingly damaging when used in tandem with racist ideology. How does this happen? Well, Brown gives the examples of how dominant cultures often assert their privilege and dominance by assuming the "masculine" role and casting their “inferiors”—or races they seek to oppress— in the emasculated, less-privileged, "feminine" role. Brown specifically cites media stereotypes relating to Jewish and Asian men— with Jewish men portrayed as nebbishy mama’s boys, and Asians portrayed as delicate, feminine, and hopelessly nerdy--that attempt to assert this control.

[Sidebar: for a great example of how the stereotypes of Asian masculinity are acknowledged and deconstructed, I’d recommend a viewing of Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. Not great cinema by any means, and not something I’d recommend to students—the film is a raunchy stoner comedy—but worthwhile as an example of a film that clearly recognizes the litany of stereotypes directed at Asian men and constructs creative responses and reversals to these near-archetypes. Lead actor Kal Penn now works for the Obama Administration.]

However, unlike Jewish and Asian men, who are emasculated by the media, black men are often portrayed as TOO masculine: all body, no brains—a stereotype that grew out of slavery, when African-Americans literally were just considered bodies.

Brown argues that the media only legitimizes and values black men based on their ability to commoditize their bodies in such arenas as sports and music. For these men, their body--their masculinity-- becomes their identity and a source of protection from bullying. Brown believes that this focus on the corporeal is a hard stereotype to shrug for many black teens: on one hand, they are devalued and disempowered by these projections of a racist society that doesn’t recognize their intelligence; on the other, the qualities endorsed by a focus on the corporeal, namely physical strength, facility at sports, sexual prowess, are all qualities that teen boys might seek to have as part of their developing identity and are all qualities in which white culture stereotypically believes that blacks have attained dominance. On one hand, these boys want respect; on the other, they want to show themselves as superior to those who might discriminate against them: if they cannot be respected, at least they can be feared.

Brown makes some suggestions for teachers, parents, and advocates for young African-American men: don’t deny that these racist or hypermasculine constructs exist, and don’t try to eradicate them by counseling teens to be subservient, physically inactive, or passive. Instead, provide these teens with a model of alternative masculinity that focuses on the power of the corporeal coupled with the heart and the intellect.

Brown goes on to describe, in the final parts of his article, a series of comic books featuring African-American superheroes produced by the Milestone Comics that attempt to provide such an alternative. He describes the characters as highly intelligent men and women who consistently use their wit and intelligence to solve problems and take on foes rather than on using violence and brute force. Brown also notes that the characters, unlike many in mainstream comic books, are drawn in a more realistic scale that is more akin to a well-muscled human being than a disproportionately gigantic hulk.

Finally, Brown mentions that many comics, like those by Neil Gaiman, also provide alternative views of masculinity that focus on brains, not brawn, but that these books are often not given to teenagers or left out of school libraries because they are marketed as “graphic novels” and aimed at adults.

The Next Two Weeks

I started The Educationist as an interactive way to not only post interesting education-centric articles and videos I've found online, but also to share my research for graduate school assignments.

For the next two weeks, I will be concentrating and reflecting on my current research for a class that is focused on adolescent development. I will be posting a variety of resources I've found online--such as links to news articles, other blogs/websites,Twitter feeds, facebook groups and YouTube videos--that relate to my topic.

I am currently researching the concept of hypermasculinity in relation to homophobia, particularly as seen exhibited in teenage African-American males in an urban setting. I am currently exploring the historical, social, cultural, and religious reasons for the pronounced emphasis on hypermasculinity and homophobia amongst this cohort as well as positing suggestions and strategies for effectively dealing with these issues inside the classroom.

Though the strategies and suggestions I will be making will come through my specific lens as a high school English teacher, I would really welcome teachers in other grade levels and content areas to weigh in on the material I am posting and to suggest other relevant routes of tackling homophobia in urban schools.

Welcome to The Educationist Blog

Welcome to The Educationist: a blog designed for educators, graduate students, and anyone interested in learning about or reflecting on educational theory, practice, and news.

Please do not hesitate to email me with any questions, comments, or concerns. You can reach me at: EducationistBlog@gmail.com, or just leave a comment on any post.