Rich, Black and Flunking

Link to article: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/2003-05-21/news/rich-black-flunking/4

I had the pleasure of reading an article from 2003 entitled “Rich, Black and Flunking” which centered on an anthropological study of a K-12 school district in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Both the parents and school district called in John Ogbu, the author of the study to give them answers as to why many Black students, even though they were at basically the same income level of their White counterparts, were not doing as well in school.

The findings of Prof. Ogbu, now deceased (2003) were both interesting and appalling. While I won’t claim to condense his entire theory in a sentence or two, the gist of the study was that many Black students regardless of income level, reject the educational system. If a Black student speaks Standard English, studies hard and gets into AP classes, then s/he is seen as “acting white”. Another part of Prof. O theory centers around the fact of voluntary and involuntary minorities. Since Blacks are involuntary minorities, then they reject the mainstream culture (White) because they feel “taken over”. On the other hand, racial minorities such as the Chinese are voluntary minorities because they immigrated here (emigrated?) and thus do all they can to get that American Dream and succeed.

Well, what do I think? I think that as a teacher, I have observed behaviors that play right into Prof. Ogbu’s theory. I have seen the decrease in parental involvement from K to 8 th grade. I have experience parents who won’t come to school about a child’s academic troubles but will show up at the school if a dance or prom is cancelled to complain. I have had students in my class who would not do homework, no matter how I talked, fussed or talked to parents. “Academic Disengagement”, Prof. Ogbu’s words, certainly suit this situation.

In the referenced article, the comment/theory is made that teachers treat black students differently that white students. Prof. O. retorts, ‘if the student hasn’t turned in work for weeks on end, what else is the teacher supposed to do?’ I also concur with that statement. What are we supposed to do as educators? We cannot take the place of the parents!

I am going to keep this post short, as I am still turning over many theories in my mind. Certainly, I know that there are students, both black and white, who are not getting what they need from the school system. Certainly, there are horrible teachers out there who could care less about their students. But, I still believe it is up to the individual to want to succeed and achieve. Success is not “white”, it’s green.