The critics of an all-boys academy claim the proposed
school are sexist, cost too much and is counterintuitive to the intent of Brown
vs. Board of Education. Each appears as a vital argument; however, none take
into account the troubling culture that makes an all-boys academy the best
solution for Durham’s black and brown boys.
“The ‘extensive data’ that Kenney refers to goes
unexplained,” Tim Tyson, State Education Chair for the NAACP, responded to my
recent blog supporting a proposal for an all-boys academy. “This assertion
certainly does not represent any consensus of the scholarly literature. People
of good intentions can differ. But to pretend that the research shows a
deafening roar in favor of academies segregated by race and gender are
unjustified. “
Tyson’s thesis, along with the assessment of others,
fails to take seriously the stack of research and statistics that give
credibility to an alternative approach. Research suggests an inner-city culture that
regards education in negative ways, which guides poor academic performance and
dropouts among minority boys.
The Metropolitan Center for Urban Education at New
York University’s Theories of Change
among Single-Sex Schools for Black and Latino Boys: An Intervention in Search
of Theory was published in 2010. The study examines the work of six all-boy
schools and offers a strong argument in support of their relevancy.
Need for
Changing Boys’ Ideas of What is a Man
The Metropolitan Center study discovered the
importance of framing the social/emotional need for a masculine identity based
on their understanding of ―street‖ images and the absence of male figures that
often surround boys of color
“I think that this notion of manhood that a lot of
your urban youth experience is pretty one-sided,” a member of the staff at an
all-boy school says. “It pretty much
looks at this aspect of strength and power and equates them solely with sexual
prowess, the ability to earn money, and the ability to defend.”
The study uncovered how students are bombarded with
imagery and the identity of being a thug, being a gangster, being hard, as defining
what qualifies one as a man.
School is referred to as something that ―girls‖ do,
and it is for this reason that some administrators claim it is necessary to separate
the boys from female students – to give them a space where they do not have to
―compete‖ or feel the need to show off as ―men‖ who are ―too cool for school.‖
Bilson &Mansini’s Cool Pose is informative in unlocking the implications related to
inner-city culture.
Need for an
Academic Identity in their Social Identities
Minority boys face the acting White stigma. Cook & Ludwig address this matter in
their book The Burden of Acting White.
“Due to the history of racial discrimination in the
United States, African Americans began to doubt their intellectual ability,
began to define academic success as White people’s prerogative and began to
discourage their peers from emulating White people in academic striving, i.e.,
from acting white,” the book concludes.
All-boys schools confront the negative perceptions of
education among minority boys by establishing a brotherhood among students that
instills the resilience to develop and sustain their emerging academic
identities.
Need for
Future and Leadership
Those interviewed in the study expressed it was
through this identity work that they could begin the work of transforming black
and brown boys into ―leaders.‖
“These single-sex schools transmit the message that
their Black and Latino male students should become examples in their own right
and find ways to ―give back to their communities,” the study states. “The young
men are being primed to lead the next generation in transformational change for
their communities. Rather than sit back and be influenced by the negativity of
street culture, the schools direct their students to take positive control of
their own lives and take what they learn back to ―the community.”
Need for
High Expectations
An administrator suggested that the structural issue
of racism prevents Black students, in particular, from making educational
gains:
“I would say social issues just from the standpoint of
being a young Black male, dealing with racism,” the administrator said. “And
so, you’re going to have to converse with people who have low expectations of
you, who have no expectations of you. Or you might be in an environment where
they don’t want you to be.”
Core in the analysis of public education is how the
biases of school administrators and teachers impact their ability to teach
minority boys.
Need for
Relevant Curriculum and Instruction
The schools in the study expressed the need to center
teaching and the curriculum around the educational needs of their students,
with careful attention given to the social, emotional, and academic challenges
minority boys face.
There is massive evidence that points to how the
culture of minority youth clashes with the academic goals of the traditional
public school setting. As admirable as
the goal to embrace an integrated school may be, the body of evidence clearly
speaks to cultural dynamics that make it problematic to teach those who regard
education as a thing that black and brown boys don’t need.
Durham’s statistics make the case – 3,002 black male
and 560 Hispanic male short term suspensions in 2011-2012, compared to 249
white male students. 233 black male and
68 Hispanic male dropouts out of a total of 363 for all students. 47% reading proficiency among black males
compared to 81% among white males. 64%
math proficiency among black males compared to 90.6 compared to white males.
Add to the pot unemployment, incarceration and metal
health concerns and you have an increasing divide between black and brown males
and their white counterparts.
Tyson argues the affirming of Brown vs. Board of
Education. His is a valid claim when taken outside the context of the current
plight of black and brown boys. This is
what John Stuart Mills called Experiments
in Living. There are times when the conceptions
of good must be tested by the experiences we have in living them out, not
merely by comparing them with ethical institutions.
Is it possible that the integration of public school
has fostered a population left fractured by the internalized inferiority
created by a well-intentioned union? If
so, we, as a society, are obligated to undo a culture that makes education a
bad thing among black and brown boys.
They have the right to achieve. Our failure to respond in an affirming way is
paramount to casting them to the wolves to continue their journey toward low
achievement and incarceration.
Is that the message we want them to hear?
