CONTENTS Closing the Education Achievement Gaps for African American Males International Race and Education Series series editors Richard Majors, University of Colorado–Colorado Springs Theodore S. Ransaw, Michigan State University senior editor Robert L. Green, Emeritus, Michigan State University editorial board Thomas Bean, Old Dominion University Graciela Chailloux-Lafffijita, Havana University, Cuba Patricia Edwards, Michigan State University Deborah Gabriel, Black British Academics, UK Pierre Gomez, Gambia University Everlyne Makhana, Stathmore University, Kenya William Schmidt, Michigan State University Silvio A. Torres-Saillant, Syracuse University CONTENTS Closing the Education Achievement Gaps for African American Males Edited by Theodore S. Ransaw and Richard Majors Michigan State University Press | East Lansing Copyright © 2016 by Michigan State University i The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper). p Michigan State University Press East Lansing, Michigan 48823-5245 Printed and bound in the United States of America. 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 library of congress cataloging-in-publication data Closing the education achievement gaps for African American males / edited by Theodore S. Ransaw and Richard Majors. pages cm.—(International race and education) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-61186-201-0 (print : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-1-60917-487-3 (pdf)— ISBN 978-1-62895-262-9 (epub)—ISBN 978-1-62896-262-8 (kindle) 1. African American boys— Education. 2. African American young men—Education. 3. Academic achievement— United States. I. Ransaw, Theodore S. II. Majors, Richard. LC2717.C56 2016 371.829'96073—dc23 2015022472 Book design by Charlie Sharp, Sharp Des!gns, Lansing, Michigan Cover design by Shaun Allshouse, www.shaunallshouse.com G Michigan State University Press is a member of the Green Press Initiative and is committed to developing and encouraging ecologically responsible publishing practices. For more information about the Green Press Initiative and the use of recycled paper in book publishing, please visit www.greenpressinitiative.org. Visit Michigan State University Press at www.msupress.org CONTENTS Contents vii introduction 1 Male and Black Male Learning Styles by Theodore S. Ransaw 11 Black Males, Peer Pressure, and High Expectations by Theodore S. Ransaw and Robert L. Green 23 Understanding the Superintendent’s Dropout Challenge: Challenges and Successes between Schools with Low vs. High Percentages of African American Young Men (of Promise) by Jonathan J. Doll 47 Smartphones: A Mobile Platform for Greater Learning, Equity, and Access by Kevin K. Green, Robert L. Green, and Theodore S. Ransaw 83 Using Response to Intervention Efffectively with African American Males by Sean Williams 95 College and the African American Male Athlete by Stephen Brown 109 Using Mentorship to Transition Black Males to Prosperity by Charesha Barrett 123 Turning Negatives into Positives: Cool Ways to Implement Successful Expectation Violations in Black Male Classrooms by Theodore S. Ransaw, Richard Majors, and Mikel D. C. Moss 143 appendix: handouts 175 contributors 179 index Introduction Introduction At this writing, it seems as if there are more programs, conferences, symposiums, panels, initiatives as well as policies about education for African Americans and Black males than ever before. We have the White House’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative, the Educational Excellence for African Americans initiative, the annual Black Male Development Symposium, the African American Boys Conference, the CUNY annual Black Male Initiative, the annual African American Male Youth Conference, and there is also the National Conference on Educating Black Children that has been in operation for twenty-eight years, just to name a few. However, the problem of education achievement gaps and African American males has been going on for over fijifty years (Murphy, 2010). While not specifijically about Black males, it is interesting to note that Carter G. Woodson wrote about the same problems that African Americans are experiencing in education in his book The Mis-Education of the Negro in 1933, nearly one hundred years ago! Contemporary authors have not strayed far from this thinking. Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu wrote in 1990 that it appears as if there is a conspiracy to destroy Black boys. The impetus of this thinking stems from the fact that in America, the negative images of Black males are so embedded and pervasive in our culture that they are perceived as violent, unemployed, uneducated, and uneducable (Ransaw, 2014). | vii | viii Introduction Unfavorable perceptions of Black males are so persistent that the way they walk, talk, and even their names can be barriers to them in school (Ransaw, 2013). Some Black males sufffer so much from low self-esteem that they doubt the possibility of getting a good education; accordingly, they do not even try to succeed when they come to school (Curnutte, 1998). Woodson so wisely tells us when you “handicap a student by teaching him that his black face is a curse and that his struggle to change his condition is hopeless . . . [that] is the worst sort of lynching” (1990, 2–3). As a result, many Black males put on a virtual mask of coolness to protect themselves from racial and social oppression. They act cool as a way of defending themselves against myriad ubiquitous inequities in America. This mask is a source of inner strength; a nonviolent, confijident, cool form of resistance against oppression (De La Cancela, 1994). De La Cancela (1994) suggests the masklike response to oppression is fabricated to defend against cultural assimilation. Majors and Billson (1992) describe this mask of coolness that is often exemplary of Black males as a cool pose. In Africa, the art of making masks is traditionally handed down from father to son (Lommel, 1970). African masks serve as tools for social communication. Although decorative, African masks typically are adorned with hidden symbols such as spirit animals, star constellations, or celestial mapping. One African snake mask is over fijifteen feet tall, and the zig-zag pattern around its border tracks solar orbits of the Sirius star system. Masks also vary in appearance and are subject to interpretation. However, despite their many diffferences, masks have one thing in common: they reveal something about the person wearing them. When Black males portray themselves with their mask of coolness in the classroom, they are doing more than just being disruptive; they are adopting naturally culturally afffijirming masculine behavior. This cool pose is an art form and can be used as a way to engage Black males in lessons and activities and not as an indicator of when to push them out of the education system. Take Chicago’s Urban Preparatory Academy as a successful example. For three straight years, 100 percent of their students were accepted to colleges (Preston & Wojciechowski, 2012). All of the students at Urban Prep Academy are men of color. Additionally, there are White female teachers who are succeeding in educating Black males (Hardy, 2010). New and innovative trends are showing great promise in the improving the education of Black males. The authors are so confijident about this new thought—that there are ideas and approaches that have the potential to close the education achievement of Black males—we have written an entire book about it! | Introduction ix Closing the Education Achievement Gaps for African American Males is a com- pilation of works of multiple authors from diffferent fijields that explore new trends and directions to solve the contemporary problems of educating Black males. Do males and boys have diffferent learning preferences than females? What role does peer pressure play in a Black male’s expectations for himself? Is a child’s spirit something that teachers can nurture in order to cultivate his desire to stay in school? Can this same motivation translate to success in college? Does attending school largely with other African Americans help or hinder a Black male? How can response to intervention (RTI) plans make a diffference for Black males? What roles do academics and family play in the success or hindrance of the Black male athlete? How can teachers create more positive interactions with their Black male students? These are just a few of the items you will fijind in this book. You will also fijind handouts throughout as we learn together and from each other. Chapter and Verse Additionally, Closing the Education Achievement Gaps for African American Males provides eight chapters full of information, callout margins, and tips from the fijield. We begin with two schools of thought about male learning styles: biological and cultural. We then move into a common problem with African American males of all ages and social economic statuses: peer pressure. Since peer pressure is related to so many things including lack of motivation to go to school, our next chapter covers dropout prevention for African American males in predominantly Black schools and predominantly White schools. Next is a chapter about the necessity and promise of using smartphones to increase engagement and educational outcomes with Black males. The following chapter covers RTI, which, when implemented correctly, holds the potential to keep Black males who should not be in special education out of special education, while the chapter on the Black male athlete details how family support is key to academic success for African American males. Mentorship and increasing educational outcomes is typically synonymous in talking about closing gaps with Black males. However, we provide assessment based practices for those wishing to mentor Black boys. Our fijinal chapter looks at reversing negative expectations as a way to engage Black males. Spread out throughout the chapters are special add-ins and tips that help support classroom implementation of the main ideas.