MacLaren

MacLaren – Race, Class, and Gender: Why students Fail

Quotes

1.       “That is, striving for academic success is a subtractive process: the individual black student following school standard practices that lead to academic success is perceived as adopting a white cultural frame of reference…as “acting white” as the inevitable outcome of losing his or her black identity, abandoning black people and black causes, and joining the enemy, namely white people. “

-          Although I can’t directly relate to this, a few close friends of mine can. I’ve been told stories that this quote pretty much summarizes. They were labeled “weird” and “nerd” for speaking Standard English or just excelling in school. I’ve also seen not just my friends but others that attended my high school try to conform to what they thought they should be like. I find it sad that some kids don’t feel comfortable being themselves or achieving academic goals because of social pressure from their peers.

2.       “A study I did on Azorean students who had immigrated to Toronto and were attending in inner-city high school there explored the contradictory notion that many of these students held toward doing schoolwork. Portuguese parents frequently encourage their children to drop out of school at sixteen to help out their families economically, often in the family business.”

-          I chose this quote for several reasons. First, I as a first generation American-Azorean was a bit shocked to hear that in this study I’m considered a minority. The shock aside, I also chose this quote because I feel as if this is what happened to my mother. My mother immigrated here at the age of 14 years and was enrolled at Hope High school until the age of 17. It was then that she dropped out and started to work full time at a jewelry factory. She lived with and helped support her family. I’ve heard that this was not an uncommon thing then but it’s also why I believe my parents encouraged me to do well in school and attend college. I’d imagine this occurs with many different cultures who immigrate here only to have the first generation not quite live the “American dream”.

3.       “The girls in the Corridor often rejected marriage as a desirable option for the future. At the same time, however, some felt that marriage would be preferable to working in a meaningless job. Marriage at least provided the status of “wife” – undoubtedly worth more than having no status at all.”

-          This quote was particularly disturbing to me. I’m not sure on the date of this article but I would hope it was not published recently. For there to be only two extremes, single or just a “wife” is horrible. These girls should be striving to become something themselves and possibly be open to marriage and not view it as a trap.  If this is a recent article then we have a much serious problem with American females than I realized.

 Questions/Comments/Points to Share:

I’m not normally to fond of reading pieces like this. There were a few sections that grabbed my attention but not as frequently as other articles we’ve read so far. I am curious to know what year this was published in, I think that would help a bit in understanding the culture and time he’s speaking about.