My year of terror and abuse teaching at a NYC high school

[lostinblue 1,989]

hey Marvin, back on topic, aye?

This teacher was exposed to feral kids, social skills of mongrels. Can we somehow talk about that, instead?

This is from a blog in 2009 .

https://web.archive.org/web/20090704034716/http://martynemko.blogspot.com/2009/06/white-teacher-speaks-out-what-is-it.html

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

"What it's Like to Teach Black Students?"

We rarely, however, hear from a more typical teacher who, day to day, teaches low-achieving African-American kids. So it was with interest that I read this truly depressing account from a teacher. I've edited out a couple of unnecessarily snarky sentences, which are irrelevant to the issue. Nonetheless the essay is long yet, I believe, worth your time.)

The essay does make me feel uncomfortable because while it presents an eye-opening report from the trenches, it is just one person's report and one that feels more extreme than what I experienced when I taught in a heavily African-American school. Also, while the author made passing mention that not all Blacks behaved as he described, those comments felt, to me, too parenthetical.. Of course, many black students are high-achieving and motivated.

But I decided to post this teacher's essay on my blog for the following reason. The much-needed women's movement was triggered not just by measured academic tomes but also by passionate statements that, even though often excessively male-bashing, shone powerful light on women's plight. Similarly, I believe we need to hear passionate (even if deeply frustrated and overly drawn) reports from the trenches on this issue. For decades, we've certainly heard plenty of the lofty rhetoric from education leaders and academics yet the achievement gap remains and little new is being proposed. I hope that my posting this will make a small contribution toward a more full-dimensioned view of the problem and thus in turn, toward identifying more promising approaches and not be used to justify racist behavior toward African-Americans. That is the last thing I want.

After you read this essay, I hope you'll post your thoughts on what if any implications you believe this has for what we should do differently to better serve the needs of African-American kids, their non-African-American classmates, and in turn, the nation as a whole.

What is it Like to Teach Black Students?

From a comment section dealing with this blog.

Anonymous said...

I was a substitute teacher for years as well as a History teacher for many years as well throughout Dade county. I worked in nearly every middle school and high school in the district. I won't tell you my race, I am neither Black nor White, but one thing I can tell you with absolute certainty is that the level of control and my ability to teach in ANY given class was in direct proportion to the ratio of Black students I had. If the class was 10% Black, just minor problems. 30% Black, things became increasingly difficult. 50% or greater and I suddenly felt as though I was a correctional officer rather than a teacher and I spent most of my time policing the classroom.

And I MUST point out here that the normal excuses that we are fed to try and explain these differences did NOT apply in my experiences. I might teach a class of poor Hispanics and the response from my students would be GREAT when compared to the Black students in the same school and in the same socioeconomic class. I became somewhat of an independent researcher over my years of teaching and I am absolutely convinced that the only differences that can attribute to this clear correlation were racial, since all other variables could be accounted for. As unpleasant of a conclusion as that might be for anyone to face, I think Blacks need to face this FACT more than anyone else. Their finger pointing will do NOTHING to address this issue. And for once they need to look WITHIN, rather than to simply blame the White man or the system.

For what it's worth.

[Darnell 8,478]

Dade County? Is that around Chicago or Detroit? [ya, I know, two cesspools of blight, but hey]

[Expat1 971]

Show me where I said that.

Dude you'd never say anything that would put the responsibility for getting an education squarely on the shoulders of the students and their parents, where it belongs

Instead it's what? The teachers now?

Edited January 31, 2016 by Expat1

[Expat1 971]

Dade County? Is that around Chicago or Detroit? [ya, I know, two cesspools of blight, but hey]

I think that's the "blue" area of Florida LOL - you know, where they voted 2:1 for Obama.

Gotta be a peaceful, democratic utopia - or it would be if they just spent a little more money in the classroom....

[Darnell 8,478]

oh. that place.

wasn't there a translator used, for a witness in the Trayvon Martin Shooting ? Cause this black female was a product of Dade County?

I remember watching this on the tv, disgusted that her parents or parent not take responsibility for her upbringing and subsequent schooling.

You may not notice, but in most of my rants and purges here,

I blame the parents.

Edited January 31, 2016 by Darnell

[Expat1 971]

oh. that place.

wasn't there a translator used, for a witness in the Trayvon Martin Shooting ? Cause this black female was a product of Dade County?

I remember watching this on the tv, disgusted that her parents or parent not take responsibility for her upbringing and subsequent schooling.

You may not notice, but in most of my rants and purges here,

I blame the parents.

Yeah I believe this is your winner. Threw racial slurs around like it's OK or something. I don't believe it's her parent's fault. It appears she ate her schoolbooks <burp>

Edited January 31, 2016 by Expat1

[Darnell 8,478]

yup. that's her. Now we have to causally link her to the school system in NYC somehow. Lemme think....

nah, you do it..

[Expat1 971]

Wasn't that Ghostbusters movie with the big marshmellow man set in NYC?

There's yer link

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

Yeah I believe this is your winner. Threw racial slurs around like it's OK or something. I don't believe it's her parent's fault. It appears she ate her schoolbooks <burp>

signed a statement she could not read. That was gold right there. Must have been them crackers fault

[ExPatty 502]

This is from a blog in 2009 .

https://web.archive.org/web/20090704034716/http://martynemko.blogspot.com/2009/06/white-teacher-speaks-out-what-is-it.html

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

"What it's Like to Teach Black Students?"

I came upon this some years ago. I don't know if it's true or made up, but as I mentioned in my city there is indeed money thrown at all students and black ones graduate high school at a 50% rate. The problem is, of course, not the school's fault at all. It's the thoroughly dysfunctional environment in which they are raised (school merely a single aspect of it), more times than not without a father figure around, born out of wedlock more than 2/3rd of the time, likely to an uneducated mother. A huge lack of decent role models outside of the teachers in school who cannot be a proxy parent. To half these kids school is just day care.

Society is obviously doing something wrong. Birth out of wedlock is higher for all races in the past several decades but has taken a stratospheric jump for blacks.

[smilesammich 10,727]

This is from a blog in 2009 .

https://web.archive.org/web/20090704034716/http://martynemko.blogspot.com/2009/06/white-teacher-speaks-out-what-is-it.html

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

"What it's Like to Teach Black Students?"

We rarely, however, hear from a more typical teacher who, day to day, teaches low-achieving African-American kids. So it was with interest that I read this truly depressing account from a teacher. I've edited out a couple of unnecessarily snarky sentences, which are irrelevant to the issue. Nonetheless the essay is long yet, I believe, worth your time.)

The essay does make me feel uncomfortable because while it presents an eye-opening report from the trenches, it is just one person's report and one that feels more extreme than what I experienced when I taught in a heavily African-American school. Also, while the author made passing mention that not all Blacks behaved as he described, those comments felt, to me, too parenthetical.. Of course, many black students are high-achieving and motivated.

But I decided to post this teacher's essay on my blog for the following reason. The much-needed women's movement was triggered not just by measured academic tomes but also by passionate statements that, even though often excessively male-bashing, shone powerful light on women's plight. Similarly, I believe we need to hear passionate (even if deeply frustrated and overly drawn) reports from the trenches on this issue. For decades, we've certainly heard plenty of the lofty rhetoric from education leaders and academics yet the achievement gap remains and little new is being proposed. I hope that my posting this will make a small contribution toward a more full-dimensioned view of the problem and thus in turn, toward identifying more promising approaches and not be used to justify racist behavior toward African-Americans. That is the last thing I want.

After you read this essay, I hope you'll post your thoughts on what if any implications you believe this has for what we should do differently to better serve the needs of African-American kids, their non-African-American classmates, and in turn, the nation as a whole.

What is it Like to Teach Black Students?

From a comment section dealing with this blog.

Anonymous said...

I was a substitute teacher for years as well as a History teacher for many years as well throughout Dade county. I worked in nearly every middle school and high school in the district. I won't tell you my race, I am neither Black nor White, but one thing I can tell you with absolute certainty is that the level of control and my ability to teach in ANY given class was in direct proportion to the ratio of Black students I had. If the class was 10% Black, just minor problems. 30% Black, things became increasingly difficult. 50% or greater and I suddenly felt as though I was a correctional officer rather than a teacher and I spent most of my time policing the classroom.

And I MUST point out here that the normal excuses that we are fed to try and explain these differences did NOT apply in my experiences. I might teach a class of poor Hispanics and the response from my students would be GREAT when compared to the Black students in the same school and in the same socioeconomic class. I became somewhat of an independent researcher over my years of teaching and I am absolutely convinced that the only differences that can attribute to this clear correlation were racial, since all other variables could be accounted for. As unpleasant of a conclusion as that might be for anyone to face, I think Blacks need to face this FACT more than anyone else. Their finger pointing will do NOTHING to address this issue. And for once they need to look WITHIN, rather than to simply blame the White man or the system.

For what it's worth.

HEY VJ MODERATION, THIS IS WHAT RACISM LOOKS LIKE.

Yeah I believe this is your winner. Threw racial slurs around like it's OK or something. I don't believe it's her parent's fault. It appears she ate her schoolbooks <burp>

AND THIS.

[ExPatty 502]

"HEY VJ MODERATION, THIS IS WHAT RACISM LOOKS LIKE. "

Possibly: It is racist if the guy made it up to pick a bone with black people. But, if he experienced what he wrote, writing about it isn't racist.

"AND THIS. "

Yes: I do recall her being racist

[Expat1 971]

HEY VJ MODERATION, THIS IS WHAT RACISM LOOKS LIKE.

AND THIS.

It sure does. Racism talks like her too.

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

HEY VJ MODERATION, THIS IS WHAT RACISM LOOKS LIKE.

AND THIS.

I agree . That girl using all those racist slurs was Racist.

[Expat1 971]

HEY VJ MODERATION, THIS IS WHAT RACISM LOOKS LIKE.

AND THIS.

^^

This looks more like I dunno "attempted badgering" to me