Ch. 2 and 3

Chapter 2 and 3 of  The Trouble with Black Boys were very enlightening to me- as in, blow my mind, knock my socks off, how can that be??! enlightening. :)

While much of it was very good and cause for thinking, I decided I am only going to focus on the two main parts that really struck me. That way this post isn't all over the place and forever long (I'm sure you all have a ton of other things to do, such as our many readings!!)

In Chapter 2, I really appreciated the discussion about structural explanations of behavior and cultural explanations of behavior- especially where the poor are concerned. To be honest, this subject has become such a politicized issue, and for better or for worse, I really hate politics. I hate the debate over people like they are merely statistics and words on paper rather than human beings with hopes and dreams and hurts. I hate the fact that it seems politics is mostly just arguments between two sides who are forever condemning one another and never willing to compromise and actually DO something. All that to say, when discussions about welfare or cultural poverty or whatever it may be come up in conversation, I usually shut off due to my annoyance with the overall political structure. Reading this chapter, however, forced me to understand the theoretical position of both sides. For instance, structural explanations of behavior generally focus on economy- the availability of jobs, the economic opportunities, the class structure, etc. People are products of their environment, nothing more. Culturalists treat human behavior as a product of beliefs, values, norms, and socializations, and view people as trapped within a "culture of poverty". It seems to be the age-old nature vs. nurture debate, and one political side holds to structuralism and the other holds to culturalism. However, is anyone every really ONLY nature or ONLY nurture? I don't think so, and I am inclined to think the author agrees as he goes on to say, "Even as we recognize that individuals make choices that influence the character of their lives, we must also recognize that the range of choices available is profoundly constrained and shaped by external forces." I feel that if maybe, just maybe, both sides would acquiesce and realize that both sides are equally right and wrong, perhaps we could move forward into breaking down these issues and making progress rather than spending all of our time focusing on how the issues came to exist in the first place. {end rant} :)

In Chapter 3, I was shocked to find that Latinos have the highest dropout rates and the lowest college attendance rates. Again, because immigration is such a political issue, my ears and mind have mostly remained closed to the debates. However, I very much appreciated following Miguel Fernandez's story. It humanized the issue, and I relate to stories of real people rather than abstract theories (which is why some of these articles are really hard for me to grasp!) One thing that really struck me in the chapter was this, "We are accused of taking American jobs , of making neighborhoods unsafe, of causing the quality of life in affluent areas to deteriorate, and spreading communicable diseases. Although American society is historically a nation of immigrants, and although increasingly the US economy is dependent on the labor of Latino immigrants in particular, we are treated as a burden, as unwanted parasites, and problems that must be tolerated or, if possible, removed." That honestly broke my heart a little. For any human being to work hard to achieve "the American Dream", and then feel treated as if a parasite, that is despicable. I think the word parasite really struck me. It is vivid language, for sure. I felt that this opened my eyes to the way people must feel when the immigration debate is going full-force.

Again, the best part of the book for me are the personal stories paired with the statistics. I am interested to begin Part II, as I am hoping for a little more practical advice in how one teacher can change the world, or at least one teacher can change his or her classroom. :)