“To behave differently – too nice, gentle, kind, or sincere – meant that he would be vulnerable and preyed upon.” (Sadowski, 2008, p. 24)

In “Joaquín’s Dilemma” the quote “To behave differently – too nice, gentle, kind, or sincere – meant that he would be vulnerable and preyed upon.” (p.24) reminded me of a student that I once worked with while in college. Continue reading Juxtaposition of identies →

Haley Robertson

“I came to the conclusion that Joaquin was trying desperately to figure out what it meant to be a young black man.  I realized that, like many black male adolescents, Joaquin was trapped by stereotypes, and they were pulling him down.”

As we read last week, adolescence is a pivotal juncture as we come into ourselves and struggle to find our own identities, where we fit in in society and what our futures hold.  As difficult as this is for all of young people, it is difficult to imagine the enormity of the identity crisis faced by African American youth, boys in particular.  Our society constantly projects negative images about this particular demographic, promulgating stereotypes, and waiting to catch them in the wrong.  How does one’s self-image suffer from the ongoing negative imagery?   While hardly comparable, as a young woman in business school, I was often stereotyped: demeaned that women are too weak for the business world, not smart enough, and told time and time again that women just don’t have a head for business.   I was often excluded from group projects and study sessions as it was assumed that I would have nothing to contribute.  These stereotypes infuriated me and pushed me to prove them wrong.   While I had internal motivation, there were several male professors who made it clear that they valued my opinions, respected my hard work and believed in my success.  These professors validated my presence in the classroom, as we as teachers must do with our minority students.   All people, but particularly young people, can feel tied to the stereotypes that people assign them.  For this reason, especially as a white educator, it is necessary that students of color see their presence as an asset to the classroom.  It is essential that we motivate our students to see themselves where they are not often pictured, through both examples that we provide in class and through encouragement.

Response to Noguera’s essay “Joaquín’s Dilemma”

Stereotypes are acquired and they imply students to behave accordingly to meet existed expectations that have been established culturally and psychologically within a group. The stereotype, or “hidden rule” called by Noguera, makes me recall the Pygmalion Effect in classroom. Continue reading Stereotype Implies Students to Spontaneously Meet the Expectations- Response to “Joaquín’s Dilemma” →

“These stereotypical images we hold of certain groups are powerful in influencing what people see and expect of students. Unless educators consciously try to undermine and work against these kinds of stereotypes, they often act on them unconsciously. Our assumptions related to race are so deeply entrenched that it is virtually impossible for us not to hold them unless we take conscious and deliberate action” (Noguera 30).

I found this passage from “Joaquín’s Dilemma” particularly thought provoking because it made me stop and think about underlying stereotypical images that I held because of my own school experience. I went to middle and high school in a very white-dominated, more affluent suburb of St. Louis, and in all of my honors or AP classes throughout high school, I could count on one hand the number of minority students in my classes. Therefore, I think I subconsciously began making assumptions about different groups of students that took particular levels of classes.

Moving forward as an educator, I want to try and take ‘conscious and deliberation action’ against these stereotypes, as Noguera recommends. My personal experience is not indicative of the entire population as a whole, and the assumptions that I may have made subconsciously do not have credibility. I want to strive to treat all my future students fairly and with as little of influence from stereotypes as possible, and although I know that this is a difficult task to carry out, I do personally believe that it will be one of the most important aspects of being an educator of adolescents.

The first article from Chapter two “Joaquin’s Dilemma” Understanding the Link between Racial Identity and School-Related Behaviors really provoked some thoughts in me. What makes this article different is how it talks about the stereotypes of certain groups of people determined not just by race, but also gender, academic achievement could all be problems for adolescent students since they are developing an identity in this society and need acceptance from people around them. It is hard enough for adolescents to try to be approved both by adults by studying hard and by their peers or group members by trying to be  “cool” or “tough”. Whichever group they belong to, everybody suffers at some point because of being different.

What’s important is what we as educators should do to help students with such problems. The author proposed some very useful suggestions and what I would like to add is that we should try to be able to identify the problems but believe it deeply in our hearts that everybody is equal at the same time; to try to break the stereotypes but also believe that they are false at the same time; to try to distinguish students as their individual selves but also know that everybody is the same whatever color their skin might be, whichever social class they come from, or whichever gender they are. We must believe as the author mentioned that all students need a healthy relationship with a supporting adult no matter what they may appear to be and never stop trying to help them.

Thank you very much for your time!