Additional Resources
Online Posts and Responses to Alfred Tatum's Chapter
Angelyne's Post & Response
Message
Author: Angelyne
Date: July 18, 2011 11:46 PM
I can relate to Mr. Tuscany and Mrs. Garden from a cultural similarity being that I am a Black teacher also, and again because I have always struggled with "culturally responsive" literature and practices in the classroom. I struggle because I usually have to find the “culturally responsive” texts; there have been times when I thought the texts were and [was] then dismayed to learn that my students were tired of the class set novels that dealt with “slavery and stuff”. Compelled to inform me that the book we read in class was the 4th book about slavery and racial injustice they had been subjected to in the past 3 years, my students who were majority black didn’t want to read yet another book about such oppression. So I think my approach has not always been successful, but that’s because I used what I had – relying on the school to tell me that the students would like “The House of Dies Drear” when they actually didn’t. Just because the characters in a book are diverse does not make it a story that is relevant to today’s youth.
Because of this, I am not sure we are to judge what is culturally relevant – the students are the ones. I usually would give the choices of what novels we could read in class and then let the majority tell me what they wanted to read and why on a small sheet of paper. So, if the students chose “The Outsiders” rather than “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry”, it was their choice. But as the instructor, I would just relate the literature to everyday society – purposefully looking to popular culture to give me inspiration to enlighten the students about whatever literacy practices we engaged in during class. I personally think that popular culture lends itself to texts that are culturally relevant as the “culture” is usually mainstream and familiar to the students.
I am interested in using the professional development support with the four key points to use in my school. I plan on telling my principal about it so we may incorporate it with the classes we conduct for our teachers. Having a program like Tatum introduced would definitely be beneficial to new and veteran teachers.
Response #1:
Message
Author: Mary Louise
Date: July 19, 2011 8:10 PM
Angelyne,
I laughed to myself when I read about your students getting tired of reading about "slavery and stuff" because I can only imagine their response to yet another one. Wanting students to identify with the text and/or characters can consume a teacher who may not even realize how many of each type of text he/she is presenting to the class.
My search for literature for my students was similar to yours in that I always wanted to make sure I represented the culture and/or race of the students in my class (predominantly African American). I always tried to include books with topics students could relate to as well. I wanted my students to see the beautiful variety of and the many differences between people, places, and even topics in the texts they read. This was important to me because so many of those kids grew up in one city/area and never saw much outside of it. Or worse, they were already developing negative attitudes toward people of other races or cultures (I taught the little ones – second grade).
It’s amazing what can happen when we get to know the students, see their needs and help them expand/develop through exposure to the new and different.
Heather's Post & Responses
Message
Topic: Ch 4 Posts and Responses
Author: Heather
Date: July 16, 2011 1:26 PM
I think the issues that Tuscany and Garden deal with are very common in many different schools systems. Each school system has their own identity issues and they can vary in many different ways. My school is predominately white, but we have a very large group of Southeast Asians that speak a language called Mung. This is something I had never heard of before. I have tried to talk to different parents and understand more about their culture, but I have run into the issue that they do not want me to know they are different. They like America and do everything to do what they think they should do. It is hard to get some of my parents to even admit they speak two languages. I look at speaking two languages as a gift, but from their eyes they just want me to think they speak English. This is hard to relate to the students because while there is a large population there might only be one or two in each classroom. So unlike Tuscany and Garden what I found for them would not appeal [to] the rest of the students in the classroom.
Another difference that I find in my school is when there is a mix of cultures and trying to appeal to everyone. I think it is amazing what they were able to do in their classrooms, but their students all had similar backgrounds and the books they were picking were there to help everyone. I have found my biggest challenge is connecting to the one black child and one Mung child. Once the connection is there it is like what Tuscany and Garden saw. They grow and when they begin growing they will grow fast. The best example is from my first year teaching. I had one black boy and he was very shy. He saw me perform at our CRCT pep-rally where I performed a rap with some other teachers. We had the big chains and tried to look like the rappers in the video. That day my student saw a side in me that he felt like he could connect to. He did not find it in our books, but in his teacher. For the rest of the year everyday he came in and thought I was the coolest teacher. He said “Ms. Howard, you so cool.” I saw more growth in the last two months th[a]n I had seen since Christmas break. It was the moment that Tuscany and Garden talk about when the students were interested. They felt like they understood. In my situation, my student felt like I understood him.
One of the best things I liked about this chapter is when Tatum mentioned the idea about teachers teaching study guides. I do not think this is any way to teach and I loved how he was able to show others teachers how much higher their scores would go up when the students were engaged and interested. I would have to say that this study was a complete success. I hope that more teachers would learn to listen and watch what their students like. This goes back to the other chapters about giving students a choice. Tuscany and Garden did not give them the choices, but they saw a[nd] listen[ed] to what their students would need to excel in school.
Response #1
Message
Topic: Ch 4 Posts and Responses
Author: Angelyne
Date: July 19, 2011 12:17 AM
Authentic relationships and recognizing we also have multiple identities just like our students would help classroom teachers reach students. I think your student who saw you rap felt that you were cool because now you and he could bond (if he wanted to) over what he perceived to be a common interest. This view of you "provided an inviting pathway for student participation" (p. 77). It is almost as though you have to earn students’ respect by showing those different sides of who you are. If it encourages them to strive harder to achieve in the classroom, it would behoove all of us to try to display our “multiple identities” more with our students.
It is interesting that you mention how your Asian students and parents want to assimilate by not speaking their language at school, whereas our Latino community which is about 20% of our student population, want to speak their language but sometimes teachers frown upon that, but I think it denies their multiple identities. Although the texts we read are in English, I still tried to find stories to read where a wide array of cultures were represented. Sometimes it is difficult – I remember reading a short story about migrant workers and while the story and characters were realistic, some of my Latino students did not want to discuss openly although I found that in their journals they were more open to discuss. Sometimes, students feel even perceived as one-dimensional – a migrant worker – when those texts are introduced to “have students examine the society in which the live” (p. 72). So, as teachers we must constantly bring to the forefront the many layers of a short story or any text to have students question the author, question the portrayal of characters, and question whatever they feel necessary to shape their adolescent and cultural identities.
Response #2:
Message
Topic: Ch 4 Posts and Responses
Author: Sarah Jane
Date: July 19, 2011 8:39 PM
Heather,
I have Hmong students too and, I agree that sometimes the parents seem to want their children to “fit in” to American culture, but they also have a culture of traditions that they uphold as well. I’ve been invited to Hmong New Year for the past two years and I have really enjoyed it! If you are interested in learning more about their culture, check out Hmong New Year. I go to the one in Monroe, and it is held yearly in November. My husband and I are definitely outsiders there, but we feel very welcomed. It does help that many of my students are there, but they also bring their non-Hmong friends who are equally welcomed. It is really a great time of food, dancing, singing, and playing games. In my classes I notice that students who speak Hmong are not afraid to speak it to each other in class, but they do it quietly. I know there are different versions (?), or maybe dialects is a better term, green and white. Maybe you could ask your students if they speak green or white Hmong to get a conversation started and show your interest in their language.
I also struggled with the complexity of teaching a class made up of predominantly one race and how that differs from teaching in a more diverse classroom. It seemed evident in Tatum’s study that the students were all African American children, and so it would seem like selecting engaging cultural texts for those students would be easier than, say, for a class of white, Hmong, Hispanic, and black students. As you said, “what I found for them would not appeal to the rest of the students in the classroom.” But I wonder if we as educators could push ourselves to think about how to use culturally diverse texts, even if they are from a perspective of a minority in the classroom. For example, using a text from a Hmong perspective may enlighten other students to that culture and help them to see parallels and differences. Also, thinking about culture as a whole in addition to its various parts may be another way to address this issue. For example, all students regardless of their race are in some way influenced by pop culture and the media. We could use those texts to build their literacy, help contribute positively to their identities, and share about the identities and cultures of others. In fact, I noticed that the books Tatum listed were not all focused on African American characters. For example, The Midwife’s Apprentice is about a girl living in medieval Europe, The Giver is dystopian sci-fi, and The Outsiders while about social class struggles does not specifically hinge on African American struggles. Although those novels were not discussed in the transcripts, I do think that they contain themes that could potentially be related to issues relevant for that particular group of students.
Lastly, I think it is hard for us as educators to predict what texts will resonate with our students regardless of the book’s alignment with their cultural background. Just as you had such fortuitous success with your student after the pep rally, an event not specifically focused on reading, a book from another culture may inspire a particular student. As you point out, learning to “listen and watch” what are students like is important for building upon their identities to grow their literacy.
Mary Louise Post
Message
Topic: Ch 4 Posts and Responses
Author: Mary Louise
Date: July 18, 2011 10:47 AM
Tatum stated, “Many students’ academic performance and lives are shaped by the images of their communities and the associated possibilities they imagine for themselves as a result of the surrounding images” (p. 69). Students in the study are surrounded by many negative “community forces,” such as gangs and warfare. If the greater portion of each student’s life is spent within such a community and influenced by such a community, then it becomes difficult to choose another path in life. In short, students succumb to their surroundings “before they come to know their life choices” (p. 70).
School for the students wasn’t viewed as a place that could help their situation because the students couldn’t connect with the material presented. They couldn’t “see” themselves and how their actions are what make the greatest difference in their lives, despite the challenges they face in their community. Adding an emphasis on culturally responsive teaching was critical to helping the students connect with in-school literacy instruction, and even more important, it helped students to move toward “larger goals of humanity and…wisdom [which] is required to move beyond things that are momentarily popular to develop [their] full human power” (p. 66).
Like both teachers who participated in Tatum’s professional study, I am African American and have taught predominantly African American classes. Many of my students came from neighborhoods where drugs and gangs were prevalent. Due to the community forces around them, the mindset of some students was one similar to the students who were a part of the study. School and learning were viewed as “a white thing,” or for “suckers,” especially with the older students in the school. Because I taught younger students, they had a positive view of education still. However, they often times looked up to the older ones. I noticed students I taught in the past go on to the upper grades and gravitate to a more negative view of education.
When planning literacy activities, I tried to incorporate picture books that included African American characters or themes my students could relate to. One year in particular, I had several students who faced gang related issues in their community, so I chose to read aloud Your Move by Eve Bunting just to get a discussion going about gangs, kids, and choices. Those students loved the book and connected with the story. But it was more than just having African American characters in texts that was important. I wanted my students to broaden their minds. Many had never left the city or been to the University (which was in walking distance from the school and many of the surrounding neighborhoods). I told them stories about my past, how I grew up in similar situations as them and about my choices along the way. I cheered for them and comforted them. I tried to “keep it real” for my students by helping them understand that life isn’t always fair and that it is sometimes hard. In this way, being African American seemed to give me an advantage. I was a living example of overcoming the odds for my students.
Sarah Jane's Post & Response
Message
Topic: Ch 4 Posts and Responses
Author: Sarah Jane
Date: July 18, 2011 10:59 AM
This chapter brought to light the impact of African American students’ multiple identities in a Chicago neighborhood, but I suppose multiple identities can apply to other settings as well. For example, a rural school setting where most students do not go on to college, but instead marry and stay within the community. I read the dissertation proposal of a woman who had that experience in her home town, but she wanted to leave and go on to college, something that not many people, especially girls, did. Her dissertation research was about her experience leaving and what it was like to come back to visit. There are differences between the situation I just described and the setting of Tatum’s article, but in terms of the identities: those that are expected of the students, their own true identities/capabilities, and the identities that they eventually take on, I think even in different settings, urban/rural, a teacher can encounter students’ multiple identities.
In the chapter, Mr. Tuscany and Mrs. Garden are both African American teachers working with African American students. Though Tatum points out that even “teachers who share the same cultural and racial identity traits as their students” can overlook their students’ multiple identities, I do think that teachers and students being of the same culture and/or race makes a difference, in the beginning at least. The books on the list they used for the study represent a mix of cultures, genders, and oppressions. I think this is a great book list, however there are some books that I would be hesitant to read to a class of African American students as a white teacher.
From my own experience, I wish I had known of some of these books two years ago when I first started teaching high school literature. I stood in front of a class of predominantly African American students and dove headlong into the 11th grade Lit. textbook, which doesn’t include many works by black authors except for slave narratives and a few poems all the way at the end of the book. My students were disinterested and I was devastated. I’d never felt this way in my teaching career, and I didn’t know what to do. For that class, I could definitely see the “in-school literacy underload” that Tatum described. Some of the students wrote beautiful poetry and read other novels all during class, but would disrupt class or completely ignore me the majority of the semester. I wish that I had gotten to know my students on a more personal basis that semester. I wish I had asked them about their interests and used that to help guide them toward books to read. Maybe the comfort level would be such that we could have read a class novel similar to one of the books on Tatum’s list, or maybe I could have suggested novels for my students to read independently.
After my experience that semester and reading this chapter, I am realizing that another complexity of students’ multiple identities is that one cannot assume. I cannot assume that just because my student is an African American male, that he will like to read Walter Dean Myers. In the same respect, I cannot assume that a female student growing up on a farm will not be interested in going to college. I must get to know my students on a personal level to understand their identity and help to build their literacy.
Response #1:
Message
Topic: Ch 4 Posts and Responses
Author: Mary Louise
Date: July 19, 2011 7:57 PM
Though I was very interested in the contents of this chapter and its angle on the multiple identities of African American adolescents, I also believe that the information gathered from this study has far reaching implications. As you stated, “multiple identities can apply to other settings as well” and this is definitely true.
I would hate to think that someone might take this reading and come away with another way to help the struggling African American students alone. Your marriage vs. college example is one of many ways to examine multiple identities of different groups of students (it also reminded me of a poverty training I went to where we watched a clip about getting above your raisin’—check out the short description at http://www.pbs.org/peoplelikeus/film/dana.html if you’re interested). Tatum’s study makes the case for culturally responsive teaching, which I have become interested in learning more about and thinking about how I can use it in the future when I return to the classroom. Have you ever used this approach to teaching? Do you think you’d use it in the future? Perhaps if more educators and test makers (because it doesn’t seem as if tests will ever fade) would take a moment to consider this type of teaching, students would be better off.
The section about teachers who share cultural and/or racial identities yet overlook the multiple identities of their students also stood out to me. At times I wonder if it really makes that much of a difference, and like you believe it does make a difference. I’ve known students (and some parents) who prefer one race of teacher over the other or who feel as if they (or their children) are being treated differently because of the teacher’s background. I don’t know if it’s undercover hate/ignorance, or if it’s more to do with a sense of comfort (maybe it’s both).
I’m glad you noted that this difference is most notable in the beginning (or at least it should be). At the end of the day, the quote “People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care” rings true. I think in the long run, students can tell which teacher is truly for them and wants them to succeed, despite the cultural and/or racial differences.