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Closing the Education Achievement Gaps for African American Males
By Theodore S. Ransaw, Richard Majors Michigan State University Press
Copyright © 2016 Michigan State University
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-62895-262-9
CHAPTER 1
Male and Black Male Learning Styles
Theodore S. Ransaw
Presumption should never make us neglect that which appears easy to us, nor despair make us lose courage at the sight of difficulties.
— Benjamin Banneker
The U.S. graduation rates from public high schools are especially low for males, 65 percent, and are even lower for minority males: 55 percent for African Americans and 53 percent for Hispanics (Greene & Winters, 2006). A contributing factor to these poor graduation rates is a lack of reading achievement. While there is no one size fits all to what and how boys prefer to learn, the need to focus on the achievement of boys is evident considering girls outperform boys in almost every related category of reading (OECD, 2006).
Overview
A learning style is both the natural and developmental way that identical instruction is successful or unsuccessful for students (Dunn & Dunn, 1993). Learning style has also been defined as a "complex manner in which, and conditions under which, learners most efficiently and most effectively perceive, process, store, and recall what they are attempting to learn" (James & Blank, 1993, p. 47). Clearly, learning occurs differently for different students.
Gardner (1993) details six different types of learning styles: (1) linguistic, the ability to use spoken words, and logical-mathematical, inductive and deductive thinking and reasoning abilities, logic, and the use of numbers and abstract pattern recognition; (2)visual-spatial, the ability to mentally visualize objects and spatial dimensions; (3) body-kinesthetic, the wisdom of the body and the ability to control physical motion; (4) musical-rhythmic, the ability to master music as well as rhythms, tones, and beats; (5) interpersonal, the ability to communicate effectively with other people and to develop relationships; and (6) intrapersonal, the ability to understand one's own emotions, motivations, and inner states of being and capacity for self-reflection. These categorizations seem to apply to both boys and girls. However, this does not mean that gender does not have a place in the way we learn.
In regard to male and female learning styles, there are two main streams of thought, biological and cultural (Ransaw, 2013). The biological stream reports that brains of males and females are just wired differently (Cleveland, 2011). To that point, a research paper from the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, asserts that girls are developmentally ahead of boys by at least two years in the early stages. However, the same paper asserts that boys begin to surpass girls by the age of fourteen (Sax, 2006). The point is that boys and girls mature differently, and therefore behave differently, which in turn plays an important role in their learning styles and preferences.
The second school of thought regarding male and female learning is cultural. Being male is a practice that is being re-created under constantly changing social conditions, including resistance by subordinate groups (Wedgwood, 2009) and is not a fixed biological behavior (Bean & Harper, 2007). Put simply, some believe that boys are socialized into gender roles that are more physical than intellectual (McDougal, 2007). Some researchers call this cultural conditioning the boy code (Cleveland, 2011; Pollack, 1998). The boy code is both the formal and informal messages that males receive as to acceptable male behavior in society (Pollack, 1998). These messages, which focus on being tough, independent, and self-resilient, make it difficult for boys to ask for help. While there are gender differences in the way we learn, there are also differences in the way gender and age play a role in the way we learn.
Male Learning Styles
For example, during the developmental stages between nine and seventeen girls tend to become preoccupied with how individual peers view them while boys are more interested in group status (Guyer et al., 2009). Additionally, brain scans reveal that, in general, girls' cerebral cortexes, the area of the brain responsible for memory, attention, thought, and language, are dedicated to verbal functions. For boys, in general, their cerebral cortex is dedicated to spatial awareness. Boys also have less oxytocin and serotonin, hormones that help to bring a sense of calm, than girls do (Zamosky, 2011). However, boys do have higher levels of testosterone and dopamine in their blood, which is known to increase impulse behavior and physical activity (McDougal, 2007). Is it any wonder that boys are characterized as unable to sit still in class?
Research also suggests that girls are more sensitive to sounds and more proficient at fine motor skills than boys (Restak, 1979). Boys, on the other hand, are more visually acute, able to think in three dimensions, and more adept at gross motor skills (Restak, 1979). These fine motor skill assessments — for example, neat handwriting and the ability to cut out small bits of paper with scissors, abilities that are considered benchmarks for early stages of development — are not favorable to young boys. This may be the reason people say that girls develop faster than boys. Gross motor skills, an aptitude more prevalent in young males, is more akin to kinesthetic learning styles.
Kinesthetic Learning Styles
A preference for hands-on multisensory activities is part of the learning style of kinesthetic learners (Davis, 1998). According to Gordon (1998), kinesthetic learners also typically have illegible cursive handwriting, typically stand close when talking, and are poor test takers. Additionally, kinesthetic learners do not like sitting still for long periods of time (Clark, 2010). If you look at the characteristics of male learning styles, they tend to mirror kinesthetic preferences. Males of color tend to prefer kinesthetic learning, especially Black males. However, Black males prefer receiving information both kinesthetically and in other ways.
Black Male Learning Styles
For example, Johnson (2013) asserts that Black male students prefer "more verbal and kinesthetic learning activities" (p. 123). However, McDougal (2007) suggests that Black males prefer receiving information visually. I take these two perspectives as indicators that Black males may prefer information presented to them in a way that helps them see the world so as to adapt to it in ways that are meaningful to them. McDougal (2007) suggests that Black males prefer information that is relatable to the world in which they live. It may be that Black males can project themselves into visual images more readily. Portrayals of Black men are rarely based on perceptions of them as active participants, so they may be more adept and practiced at decoding visual images and finding heuristic value relative and meaningful to their lives. Hyperawareness of race is almost inevitable for people of color who live in a world and attend school in buildings where they are measured against racial markers. In the United States, Whiteness is the measure of standards. For example, there is an achievement gap between African Americans and Latinos. No one ever talks about the overrepresentation of White students in advanced and college preparatory classes or the achievement gap between Asians and Whites.
Noguera (2006) attests that from first grade until college, Black students feel their very humanity is under scrutiny if they make any academically related mistakes. In particular Black male students are also especially conscious of looking foolish or dumb in school (Majors & Billson, 1992). Some researchers feel that this hyperawareness of the appearance of competence may be a result of withdrawing from schooling because of unequal treatment or low expectations (Graham, Taylor, & Hudley, 1998), or even negative perceptions of academic ability by their teachers (Osborne, 1999). Researchers assert that disinterest in school by Black males is assumed to be caused by low intellectual ability (Downey & Pribesh, 2004). However, New Orleans Principal Booker champions another idea that Black male students understand and value education but feel disconnected from schooling, and that the feeling of belonging is crucial for academic success (WDSU News, 2012). This finding is supported by additional research that indicates Black male students do well in classroom discussions that are inclusive and center on Black culture while affirming their identity (Boykin & Bailey, 2000). However, when Black males use cultural markers such as nonstandard English, they are perceived as outsiders and aggressive (Delphit, 1995). Interpreting alternative cultural identifiers, including different language used, as deviant is not uncommon for teachers who walk in life and step into a classroom unfamiliar with African American norms (Durodoye & Hildreth, 1995). Nor is it uncommon for teachers to view African American culture as deficient since it is expressed differently than White values, beliefs, and behaviors (Durodoye & Hildreth, 1995). Being unaware of African American culture may be why any resistance to White cultural norms by Black students results in negative perceptions of academic ability (Sankofa et al., 2005), while the closer to White norms of body language and emotions students of color come, the more likely they are perceived as self-disciplined and acceptable (Delpit, 1995). Racial solidarity for communal support in the classroom may be why African American students prefer to work in groups (Lee, 2000). Resistance to cultural assimilation such as "talking White" may be a reaction to the unconscious fear of losing classroom solidarity among African Americans (Comer & Poussaint, 1992).
Many high-achieving Black students report being stigmatized as a sellout when they start to outpace their peers (Curnutte, 1998). Consequently, high-achieving Black male students are more likely not to prefer working in groups (McDougal, 2007). Additionally, Black male students who have consistently high academic scores prefer to study in the afternoon, and they preferred studying with lots of light (McDougal, 2007). Lastly, having a dedicated place to study in the home is an indicator of academic success for Black males (McDougal, 2007). Having a specific place in the house for academics is a causal relationship to parental involvement.
Wrap-up
When it comes to learning style preferences, it is important to remember three facts. The first is that "learning styles are neither good nor bad, they simply exist" (Cozens, 1999, p. 6). Second, not all students are the same, even within a specific gendered or ethnic group. Therefore, teachers may find more success if they pay attention to individual learning preferences as much as they can (Cozens, 1999). Finally, students, especially when they are young, "need to be competent in all learning styles, auditory, visual, tactile, and kinesthetic" (Cozens, 1999, p. 8). This is called "style shift" where teachers, "achieve a balance between teaching strategies and the students' unique learning styles. Thus, teachers are encouraged to adjust their teaching strategies in light of the different learning styles of the students" (Suleiman, 1995, p. 3).
Regardless of gender, what may be an effective learning style for some may not be an effective learning style for others (Dunn & Dunn, 1993). It is important for us all to remember that "learning styles are neither good nor bad, they simply exist" (Cozens, 1999, p. 6) and to recognize individual learning differences more so than entire group characteristics (Cozens, 1999).
CHAPTER 2
Black Males, Peer Pressure, and High Expectations
Theodore S. Ransaw and Robert L. Green
The thought of the inferiority of the Negro is drilled into him in almost every class he enters and in almost every book he studies.
— Carter G. Woodson
It was over thirty years ago that Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu published his seminal volume regarding a common phenomenon among African American males in the classroom: To Be Popular or Smart (Kunjufu, 1988). In the introduction written by basketball legend Karim Abdul-Jabbar, Abdul-Jabbar outlines his adolescent experience not just as an athlete, but about how he was treated by his peers as an academically inclined student. Abdul-Jabbar describes his experience in schooling as a place where he learned early how to deal with Blacks who made fun of him for being smart while simultaneously being showcased by White educators as a Black boy who could "speak well" (Abdul-Jabbar in Kunjufu, 1988). Social class and racial identification are two important factors for Blacks in the United States.
For African American youth of low socioeconomic status (SES), who fear losing communal and ethnic solidarity to Blacks who are moving into the middle class, insults related to selling out are often unconscious reactions to possible abandonment (Comer & Poussaint 1992). Sticking together based on a common racial identity is especially important for African American students who are bused into White schools in White neighborhoods. As the Black middle class continues to grow and to move into the suburbs, many positive role models who have the ability to transmit social capital in the form of educational outcomes move also. This is why the success of the few African Americans who are academically successful make those who are not feel even more like failures (Comer & Poussaint 1992). Add the fact that both Blacks and Whites reinforce success for athleticism, and you have yet another impetus for African American males to gravitate toward sports for cultural affirmation and personal validation. Not all African American males can successfully balance their social capital and educational capital as well as Abdul-Jabbar.
It is also important to note that peer pressure related to academic achievement and African American students is not just a phenomena related to low SES. In fact, peer pressure can be more influential than ethnicity, gender, or income (Johnson, 2000). Ogbu's (2008) research attests that for middle-/upper-class African Americans, peer pressure and educational outcomes have a direct correlation. In the example above about Karim Abdul-Jabbar, Abdul-Jabbar was attending a private school when he was made to feel like the "other."
The following serves as a brief overview of research surrounding African American males in regards to helping them deal with peer pressure. Starting with a background about self-esteem and peer pressure, this work provides insight into how peer pressure places Black males within a unique space within American classrooms.
Literature Review
To begin, it is important to remember that peer pressure can be both negative and positive. Negative peer pressure has been associated with risk-taking behavior, substance abuse, and low academic achievement. However, students who spend time among peer groups who are academically inclined but who do not come from families who stress academics tend to get better grades (Peer pressure, 2014). In other words, peer pressure can influence student outcomes both positively and negatively.
This is especially troubling to Black students who seem to get negative peer pressure from both Black and White students when it comes to academic performance. So much so that doing well in school seems to be reserved for White students only. Both African American and Hispanic fourth and eighth graders say that their friends make fun of them when they do well in school (Johnson, 2000). Additionally, higher grades translate to more friends with White teens but fewer friends for African American and Latino youth (Page, 2005). In fact, speaking standard English or reading a book has been shown to be associated with "acting White" (Page, 2005). The fear of the acting White perspective asserts that African Americans reject academics and studiousness because acting smart translates to oppositional culture and acting White (Ogbu, 2008). Ogbu (2008) also suggests that societal and school discrimination instrumental community factors, such as perceptions of lack of jobs, and Black oppositional culture are three necessary interrelated factors related to peer pressure and Black students' success.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Closing the Education Achievement Gaps for African American Males by Theodore S. Ransaw, Richard Majors. Copyright © 2016 Michigan State University. Excerpted by permission of Michigan State University Press.
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