The Real: Identity and the Educator

An educator finds fulfillment in believing that he or she will make an impact on the students they teach. Without this feeling of fulfillment an educator would find very little gratification in their labor. Bracher states, “All of us who teach have such a desire for immediate recognition and affirmation from our students, and this desire can produce many pedagogical practices and reactions that undermine our efforts to facilitate student learning and development (RadicalPedagogy).” Bracher feels that desire for personal recognition, often gets in the way of what is truly important; the identity of the student.

Bracher believes, “…our most profound identity support comes in the form of recognition from the real: evidence that we have made a significant contribution to the lives of others" (Radical Pedagogy). To be “real”, is to recognize what is truly important. Bracher insinuates that an educator’s unseen motive is to validate their own identity and believes that, “Our own identity needs, whether in collusion with students’ identity needs or in conflict with them, are thus significant factors in pedagogical failures and, through such failures, in social problems” (Radical Pedagogy).  

In accordance with Bracher’s statements, I believe that the majority of educators have a true concern for the advancement of their pupils and genuinely intend to have a positive impact on the students they teach. I believe that most teachers enter into the profession with the belief that they will be helping or improving other people in one way or another. Although at times I am sure educators can create learning environments that may not be inclusive to all learners, I believe that an educator should be proud of their overall academic and social contributions.  

Initially, I was opposed to Bracher’s assumptions that our own need for recognition can actually undermine our intended goal to make a difference in the lives of our students. For me teaching has never been about being “smart” or “brilliant” as Tompkins felt. These are not qualities that have ever been part of my self-concept, nor have they been labels I have sought to achieve. They are not assets that I feel can validate my teaching ability. Maybe this is because I knew that these were labels that would never be used to refer to me. My aspirations have always been to guide students on the right path. In hopes that some of these students will become, “brilliant”, however, more so to become confident, insightful, good citizens who follow their own aspirations and passions in life.

In time I realized that my opposition to Bracher’s statements could be seen as an act of self-defense for my own identity needs, in considering myself as an effective teacher. If we are to consider Bracher’s assumptions as valid, than we as teachers need to spend much time reflecting on our motives and our teaching processes, in order to recognize when our actions are counterproductive. In Bracher’s terms we must come to a “Rectification with the Real”. “Rectification with the Real, as Bracher implies, is to recognize that one’s own actions has unconsciously produced an unintended result (Radical  Pedagogy).”

 On “The Real”; as a teacher, I feel that educators should be continually changing pedagogies to better support the needs of students. If met with obstacles that impede the advancement of learners, than we should alter teaching strategies and pedagogies to suit student’s needs. In turn, rectifying our ineffective attempts at transmitting intended information and modifying methods in order to assume a successful outcome. This is an ever-changing cycle that should be on-going throughout our teaching careers. In altering our teaching philosophies to better suit the needs of our students; we will find a more holistic form of success within all areas of teaching outcomes.  Bracher implies that educators must rid themselves of pride and understand that, “…some of our pedagogical practices are unproductive or counterproductive …” Understanding pedagogical shortfalls as an educator, Bracher suggests, will modify teaching practices and motivate educators to alter their thoughts and ideas for the betterment of their students (Radical Pedagogy).

Strong Identity Builds Strong Individuals

As Bracher states, “a strong identity is a valuable and even essential basis for the development of intelligence and the capacity and motivation to learn.” (Radical Pedagogy)  In contrast, a negative view of one’s own identity can in turn affect ones social and educational progress. In the follow blog I would like to examine how Bracher’s notions about the influence of a strong identity on educational progress and goals, is defeating for the Black learner for many reasons. Firstly, because identity is largely influenced by the external ideas of society, which are often misinformed and portray a negative image of people of African descent.  Secondly, because of the omission of our true history from classrooms, textbooks, and most human understanding, Black learner’s as a whole do not have a strong or accurate sense of identity.

Identity formation is twofold; it encompasses a personal understanding of self as well as the societal understanding of self. A person’s identity is formed by their own idea of who they are, and, maybe even more so, societal ideas of who they are. At times, societal identity views can misconstrue or even replace internal ideological views (becoming the norm).  Often times, identity is constructed and internalized through the outsiders view, whether positive or negativity, thus replacing a peoples identity with the outsiders ideological concept of their identity.  Cooley (1902)’s concept of the “looking glass self” highlights the influential role that the external environment plays in the development of identity. (Identity developmentacross the lifespan: a biracial model)

When I think about societal views of people of African descent, the following portrayals come to mind, lazy, unmotivated, criminal, uneducated, athletic, musical, hypersexual, unreliable, aggressive, and intimidating.  When I think about characteristics that are never used to describe people of African descent the following depictions come to mind; highly educated, professional, intelligent, motivated and reliable. If these are the images of Black people that are bombarding our youth as they are constructing their identities, than, these are the images our black youth will, at least in part, have of themselves. These images become part of our youth’s fractured and inaccurate sense of self. Under these circumstances, African Nova Scotian youth will not construct a strong sense of identity. And the identity that they do construct will not include signifiers such as intellengent, which as Bracher implies “is a valuable and even essential basis for the development of intelligence and the capacity and motivation to learn.” (Radical Pedagogy) 

Another factor that is impeding the development of a strong identity in our black youth is actually the education system that is responsible to educate them. Akbar highlights the idea that “the first function of education is to provide identity” (Radical Pedagogy). Akbar contends that African-Americans have been “miseducated” as we have not received adequate knowledge of ourselves. Bracher supports this statement when he asserts that “learning can threaten student’s identities in numerous ways, most of which are invisible to educators and students alike” (Radical Pedagogy).

In the past and even today, students are confronted with the predicament of finding themselves left out and devalued in the textbooks and furthermore, left out of the curriculum that they are being taught. This conjugates the feelings of disconnect and disinterest with what is being taught. Even more importantly, it leads to the feeling of low self-worth, low self-esteem and a negative self-identity.  As the BLAC Report states, “the suppression, destruction, distortion of a group’s history and culture by others, and the surrender of one’s culture results in low self-esteem" (BLAC Report).

African Nova Scotian students have long been excluded from the textbooks and from the curriculum that is exposed to them.  Even today many classrooms around the province exclude and undermine African Nova Scotian identity and only present a Eurocentric perspective of our culture and history.  This cultural and historical distortion, or worse, omission of identity connectors leaves African Nova Scotian students oblivious of their past. This distortion, in turn, may lead them on a path of identity confusion, not knowing the difference between the societal concept of their identity and their true self. In turn creating, what Bracher terms a “vulnerable identity” (Radical Pedagogy). 

As I have hoped to illuminate in this blog, the combination of negative societal views of African descent people, combined with the misinterpretation and omission of African Nova scotia history in our classrooms, make it a difficult task for our black youth to construct a strong identity, which Bracher views as an essential piece in the development of intelligence and motivation for learning. It is vital for us as educators to provide our students with an Afrocentric education, which will place them at the center of all learning about themselves and the world around them. This would be the first and most important step for us as educators and an education system to take to begin to counteract the damage that has been done to our youth in terms of identity construction. If education can play a pivotal role in aiding our youth in their construction of a strong identity, than according to Bracher it will also have a positive impact on their development of intelligence as well. 

Identity and Education: Part 2

I have decided to write this blog in response to questions posed to me concerning my educational background while also linking my experiences to Bracher’s notion of identity.  When Bracher speaks of Identity-bearing affective-physiological states and how it affects learning, I can make a number of connections to my own personal learning endeavors. Bracher  explains that “maintaining ones identity is the most basic human need and thus the ultimate motive underlying all human behaviour” (Radical Pedagogy).  Identity and recognition play a vital role in one’s education and encompasses a multitude of factors. By exploring education, identity and recognition, I hope to shed light on how despite my learning adversities, I was able to find success through education while finding balance between my identity within mainstream society and that of a young black man.

I was born into a middleclass bi-racial home; my mother being white and my father black.  Growing up in Lawrencetown, Nova Scotia, there were very few black people to identify with.  I grew up in the church were my father later become the pastor of our congregation.  Education and faith are two main values within my family structure.  When looking through my eyes as a child and growing up in a predominantly white community I believe race placed little bearing on my perception of self.  I do not remember realizing that I was different or that I understood that I was black until I was approximately seven years old.  In grades primary and one I attended a school in Lawrencetown where there were not many children of color then later began school at Ross Road Elementary/ Jr. High where there was a large number of black students.  It was in this transition to Ross Rd. that I realized that I was a struggling learner.  It was also at this time that I began to identify myself as being black and started encompassing what I believed to be identifiable qualities of blackness. 

In Junior High it became apparent to me that I was facing a dilemma constructing my identity. I realized that I didn’t so easily fit into the social framework of my white peers or of my black peers. Now analyzing the shifts in my identity I recognize that I felt as though I was dancing between the margins. On one hand I had to live up to my families expectations of me in terms of education, personal beliefs and overall character. On the other I sought recognition to validate my identity as a black man. It was not until high school that I was able to form a balanced sense of identity and be comfortable with who I viewed myself to be.

As I began to come into my own, things began to click in my life. Athletics and music were two identifiable, “commodities” that I possessed. These, “commodities” mapped out many avenues within my life. I enjoyed and excelled in these two areas which validated my personal status on many different levels. I began to have expectations of myself similar to the expectations that my family, community teachers and peers had had of me. I believe that these things were a saving grace for me because they helped build the confidence in all areas of my life.  

High School graduation came and went as this was something that was expected of me.  The unexpected was that I graduated High School being almost illiterate.   This follows the, ‘Black Learners Advisory Committees’ statement, “The next anticipated result of education described as basic literacy and numeracy skills and knowledge cannot even be anticipated by the African Nova Scotian learner, as black students are represented in disproportionate amounts in resource or lower track classes, many even graduate illiterate”(BLAC Report).   My literacy levels were apparent after completing my first year of university which ended with me being placed on academic probation.  As a result of my poor academic achievements it was suggested that I be retested for learning differentiation, which reaffirmed the struggle that I faced learning in conventional learning environments.  

As I fell through the cracks of the High School education system, University was able to help me address my learning needs and assisted me in my quest for higher education.  This reaffirmation led me to beneficial resources that provided me with the ability to succeed despite my setbacks and learning environment.   Once again as confidence grew I was able to find educational success.  My friends and family always gave me positive encouragement throughout my battles with education and because of their unwavering belief in my abilities. They always held the expectation that I would graduate from University which eventually came true.

Bracher says that, “the most fundamental identity need is the need for recognition; the need to have one’s being appreciated and validated by others” (Radical Pedagogy). When reflecting on my life, and my struggle to educate myself despite the many disadvantages that could have easily held me back, I realize how true this quote from Bracher really is. I believe that it was the pressing expectation, validation and appreciation that my family and community had for me, that allowed me to create and reach goals that I may not have even dreamed of achieving without their support.

Identity and Education: Part 1

Identity and Education: Part 1

Identity is a major contributing factor in one’s life, it shapes who we are and what we aspire to be.   Identity and education affect each other on many different levels.  Often young black men struggle with education in its modern institutionalized form. This leads to an understanding that education in its modern form does not fully lend itself to the recognition that most young North American black men are looking for.  Moreover, it questions its validity creating an educational divide between institutionalized education and the education that is provided just around the corner through everyday life experiences. Often young black males seem to value street recognition as opposed to recognition through our existing educational system.

Young Black men are frequently caught in a struggle between societal recognition of success; as these ideals can be in contrast with what is recognized as successful amongst their peers. The route and means of achieving this success is at odds. The commonality of the two at first glance is to be wealthy and powerful; however, as Bracher believes, “Even wealth and material possessions are not an end in themselves but a way for us to be assured of the recognition identity, motivation, and recognition of others” (22-23). As a result we come to an educational divide, respectively leading in two opposing directions.

Following the socially excepted norms leads to a more modern form of education in which academics and scholasticism are of ultimate value. However academic success, as it seems can oppose ideological definitions of what it means to be black. A young black male achieving academic excellence can be perceived as a traitor placing him in a position where he must defend and even vindicate his blackness. In which case, as explained by Tom Fox in Bracher’s, “Radical Pedagogy: Identity, Generativity and Social Transformation”, “Success in school means joining the opposition, threatening their identity as black Americans” (34).

An alternative form of education is to go against social norms and become informed by means of everyday life. Although academic success is seen as a positive thing to the societal majority, it can also be seen as obsolete to the young black male because the success most common to him is not always found through school or academics; it is achieved by way of monetary endowment accumulated through alternative means.  The young black male gains knowledge through observation and understands that for him, the more practical way towards money, power and respect does not subside in academics but through an alternate education only acquired through an unconventionally attained knowledge. A form of awareness not found in the classroom but found on the corner, on the block and throughout the buildings that compose their neighborhood. 

Politicians, lawyers and police officers are visible; however, pimps, drug dealers and hustlers seem more tangible and are undeniably more benevolent.  Although viewed by mainstream society as degenerate, the latter provide a formula that delivers recognition and a form of success that young black males may possibly model their lives after. As Bracher postulates, “While such forms of recognition can be an impediment to education, they can also provide motivation to learn in cases where the system itself does not, or motivation to acquire knowledge that the system ignore or excludes” (26).

The educational divide that many young black males face is like a fork in the road, each with benefits and setbacks.  To choose academic success may ostracize an individual from their culture and community and to choose the alternate route goes against societal values.  “Each form of recognition can either support or interfere with learning.  When students seek recognition as being “a good student” or “intelligent” and such recognition is not received, they may feel depressed, anxious, or angry and as a result be less effective in their learning, or pursue noneducational means of achieving recognition” (24).   As an educator the dilemma still remains; how does one enforce positive recognition of identity through the modern institutionalized educational system?

An Alternative Pathway to Education

Looking back on my early years of school, I begin to contemplate our societal ideas of academic success. I recall being almost illiterate, which led to struggles in all areas of academia. I was very week when trying to work my way through math equations in the traditional way. I found it hard to string a sentence together when writing and I could not seem to get a grasp on phonic awareness.

As I grew older, I found a way to be successful; successful in life, but not in the academic sense. I did all of the things that people expected of me as a Black male. I became talented at sports like basketball and football. I sang and preformed. These were the things that proved my worth to many of the people who surrounded me.

As I continued to be successful in all areas of life excluding academics, I also began to gain confidence in myself, confidence in all of my abilities, including academics. This academic confidence did not come with practice in the areas of reading, writing and arithmetic, although I did work hard in these areas. It came through a self confidence that I found only through social acceptance.

Years later I began to consider where people like me fit into this so called inclusive education. Using Wenger’s words, I viewed my institutionalized education as irrelevant, feeling that learning was boring and arduous, and that I was not really cut out for it (Wegner, 3). I asked myself, “What it is that I am good at? How can I succeed?” 

It was then that I came up with my own personal theory of learning. A theory that fits my experience, my understanding, a theory that is familiar to me! Come to find out, the theory that I conceptualized was not a new theory at all and in fact goes hand in hand with Social Learning Theory. My thoughts lead me to believe that people, especially young males, particularly young Black males were not designed to learn in the traditional manner as it is interpreted today. Young Black males were not intended to spend hours a day sitting in a desk, listening to facilitators lecture at us, taking notes and internalizing all of the ideas spoken at us, expected to regurgitate every word in sequence. Historically, Black males have learned through modeling and participating. As the social learning theory suggests, “learning must therefore integrate the components necessary to characterize social participation as a process of learning and knowing" (Wenger,4-5).  Realizing that, “knowledge is a matter of competence with respect to valued enterprises" (Wegner, 4).   I conceptualized what learning would be like many years ago for a learner such as me.

It begins 300 years ago, on the North West coast of Africa. Boys like me were the pride of the village: the best wrestlers, the fastest runners and the most efficient hunters; next in line to be the leaders of our people. All of our peers admired us, all of the girls had their eyes on us and all of the elders had faith in our ability. But everything changed when the ghost appeared!

The ghost put shackles on our legs and arms to prohibit our athletic ability. It put voices in our heads telling us that all of our realities were false. The ghost hindered our ability to think rationally in the way we were taught by our forefathers. The ghost drained us of our pride, our spirituality and our confidence. Mentally, physically and spirituality: our souls in duress. Leaving only a lifeless body and at the foot of modern education we lay.

Historically Africa has had advanced knowledge of architecture, sciences, mathematics etc.  This knowledge today still mesmerizes us and leaves us in wonder.  I cannot help but think that these types of knowledge were not taught in our modern education style, but were taught through apprenticeships, modeling and learning through doing.  The knowledge that we value is a reflection of what our society deems as important.  Our current educational system places learners into a small box that does not necessarily fit all learners.  Social Learning Theory practices the idea that people can learn by modeling; using more interactive teaching strategies would be beneficial to many students who may not find success in education in its traditional form.

Social Learning Theory and the Black Male as a Role Model

When looking at Social Learning Theory, the main premise is that people learn through modeling others behavior.  Reflecting on this theory in relation to the black learner, it is apparent how important it is for students to have Black teachers as facilitators and positive role models within the classroom and throughout their day to day lives.  As the Blac Report states, “There is an urgent need to increase the number of Black administrators, teachers, social workers and guidance counselors at all levels of administration and support.” (Blac:17)  Taking this concept further, I would suggest that it is of vital importance for Black students to have Black male role models within their learning environment. I will use Project 2000, a social learning theory study, as well as, some of my own observations to show how the influence of Black males in the classroom can enhance the Black students learning experience.

In brief Project 2000 was created with the fundamental belief that Black male children could be taught to believe in themselves as learners and enhance their values and moral behavior by modeling successful men who they could identify with and respect.  The founder of the project noted that often times in Black communities, as well as, in elementary schools, women are the main authority figures.  By integrating black male role models within the school system as mentors, Black students, especially males, would have a prototype to model their learning, interactions, respect, values and behavior after.  The men that were recruited to be mentors were mostly Black, from the children’s community and were successful in their careers.  55 children were involved in the project and their results were later compared to children in the same school that were not involved with the project.  These mentors were volunteers whose role was mostly in the classroom as teacher’s aids.  “First, the men assisted children who experienced difficulty with concepts the teacher introduced. Second, the men assisted the teacher by managing discipline problems. Third, the men taught and reinforced positive values ( Wells-Wilbon and Holland ).” 

Children were later interviewed about their experience in Project 2000 and over 80% of the children felt that these mentors not only helped them academically but also helped them learn important life lessons and values.  One of the children stated that the men made them want to learn. ( Wells-Wilbon and Holland ) This is a very powerful statement, because the children who once were having difficulty with school now identified themselves as learners and that they understood that there was not anything that the teacher taught that could not learn.  Not only were interviews conducted with the children, but, data was also gathered from grade point averages and standardized test scores of the participants in second, third and fourth grade.  These results showed that the children involved in the project were more likely to earn average or above average grades than the comparison group.  It was also noted that no children from the comparison group scored higher grade point averages than the children involved in Project 2000.  When compared to the national norm, children in PROJECT 2000 were at or above the national norm for spelling and mathematics for all three grade levels (Wells-Wilbon and Holland).  After this project was shown to be very successful many other schools also adopted this program.

As Project 2000 proves, “inventive ways of engaging students in meaningful practices, of providing access to resources that enhance their participation, of opening their horizons so they can put themselves on learning trajectories they can identify with and of involving them in actions, discussions, and reflections that make a difference to the communities that they value.” (Wenger, 10) Having Black male role models volunteering within the classroom was an innovative way of enriching the classroom experience. Modeling behavior in this way proved to be successful and follows Social Learning Theories claim that imitation is, “one of the most powerful socialization forces.” (Wells-Wilbon and Holland)

Through my teaching experience I have noted that African Nova Scotian students, especially males, benefit from having a positive Black, male, role model involved in their everyday learning experiences.  Bringing Africentric prospective into the classroom allows for African Nova Scotian students to feel as though they are a part of the curriculum.  I have observed in my last couple of years teaching that many of the Black children in my classes behave much better for me than what other teachers describe.  In addition, these students seem to be achieving more academic success in my class than compared to their other classes.  I attribute this success to the fact that I am a caring young Black male who they look up to and respect.   

Combining both project 2000, as well as my own personal experiences within the classroom I believe that having Black male role models within the classroom not only helps create comfort and security within the learning community, it also brings many new learning strategies to the table. These strategies can take learning from a predominately Eurocentric point of view and incorporate an Afrocentric perspective into the mix. A pedagogy that brings African centered education to the forefront, but also draws upon many other education systems (ALI). In doing this, it is not only Black students who benefit. What results is an inclusive classroom environment open to many different learning styles and many new learning opportunities. In alignment with Wells-Wilbon and Holland, I believe that, “responsible adults know that for children to grow into productive members of our society, children need to be able to read, write and acquire basic knowledge and skills, which are taught in school. This cannot happen if children don't feel good about themselves and lack basic values, which govern how they act and treat other people. Further, this cannot happen if children do not have appropriate models that teach and demonstrate acceptable behavior” (Wells-Wilbon and Holland).

Kwanzaa: A Tool to Enrich the Practice of Learning

This being my first ever blog, I am not exactly sure how I should begin, or for that matter, how I should go about writing it. However, a topic considered and discussed in class that I found thought provoking was Kwanzaa.  For this blog I will explore how the principles of Kwanzaa can be incorporated as a learning process within my family unit.

To start I must admit the fact that I knew very little about Kwanzaa or its seven principles until I attended a demonstration that the two youngest girls in my household were involved in over this past Christmas break. Here I learned many of the customs and traditions that Kwanzaa includes. While taking in all of this new information, I was also thinking about the ways in which my family could incorporate the principles of Kwanzaa into our family’s holiday customs, while also keeping my Christian concepts of Christmas at the forefront.

As the busyness of the holiday season overcame any other prior thoughts, Kwanzaa was something that just slipped my mind. Coincidentally, the topic of Kwanzaa would soon be reintroduced into my life through the film, “The Black Candle” and through my peers within this course (GSLL 6201-80). As I sat watching the film, “The Black Candle” and listening to class conversation about what Kwanzaa meant to the families of my classmates, I contemplated what it could mean to me. These are some thoughts that came to mind.

First, Kwanzaa does not have to be a replacement for Christmas and nor should it be. Although Kwanzaa takes place in close proximity to Christmas in terms of time, it does not have to be an alternative. Christianity has long been a withstanding tradition in the black communities of Nova Scotia and in North America as a whole. Kwanzaa should not replace Christmas, but should enhance it.  Uniting the Christian Christmas tradition with Kwanzaa combines Africentric idealisms and Christian idealisms to form new meaning.

Second, the principles of Kwanzaa should not only be reflected upon from the 26th of December through to the 1st of January. It should be a yearlong awareness and a lifelong learning process. Nguzo Saba’s principles can be used throughout our day to day lives and should not be forgotten about after the holiday season but should continue on throughout the entire year.

For example, Kwanzaa can be used in the process of learning on a number of different levels. Ujima, Kwanzaas principle of collective work and responsibility supports the idea of cooperative learning in a way that the traditional Eurocentric notion of learning tends to exclude. Often the traditional method of learning is individualistic. Ujima would suggest that we learn as a collective, working together to achieve educational goals. It may prove to be beneficial to take this idea of cooperative learning and apply it to our everyday learning experiences.

After reading the prologue of Wenger’s “Communities of Practice”, I have been able to make strong connections with the concept of Communities of Practice and my thoughts of uniting Christmas and Kwanzaa.  Identifying that my family unit is one of my communities of practice now enhances the concept of using the virtues and ideals of Kwanzaa to create a new learning process for my family.  The fundamental ideas set forth by Wenger around the connectedness of the social learning theory and communities of practice; we can learn to shape these virtues within our family unit by creating a tradition which includes our identity of self and our identity within the world.  Also, by learning to practice how we use these virtues in our everyday lives and larger community.  This new tradition will also create a new meaning for us of our values and how we as individuals can make change within our other communities of practice. 

For my family and I Christ will continue to be the main focus during the Christmas holidays; however, I feel that the principles of Kwanzaa will be something that we will begin to include. Although this year my family did not incorporate the seven principles of Kwanzaa within our holiday festivities, I believe that incorporating the principles of Kwanzaa into our family’s practices will not only enrich our holiday season but will also enrich our day to day lives.