BAD BOYS Public Schools in the Making of Black Masculinity

1. BAD BOYSPublic Schools in the Making of Black Masculinity Francesca Cannella Isabelle Jacobson Nicole Soleimani Tori Eigner

2. Introduction “Social reproduction- they socially reproduce social inequalities that maintain social stratification. Schools also produce and reproduce gender distinctions found in society.”

3. Introduction • “That one has a jail-cell with his name on it” • Just as children were tracked and watched as being future doctors, scientists, engineers, or fast-food workers, children were tracked as leading a life to prison. • Most of these children who were thought to have life in prison were African American males. For the most part, society was already setting these children up for failure by destining them to a future in prison.

4. Introduction • The making of these bad boys comes from what happens in school and the way they are punished. • They are not made into bad boys because of the violence on the street, but by the school that they attend. • At the Rosa Parks Elementary School, three-quarters of the kids suspended that year were boys and of that, four-fifths were African American. • “It is an account of the power of institutions to create, shape and regulate social identities.”

5. Introduction • From a young age, young black children are punished more than young white children and isolated as being “future criminals” • A white child may commit a more serious crime then a black child, but yet receive the same amount of punishment in school because of his skin color. • Hearing an adult or authority figure tell you at a young age that you are bound for jail and will spend time inside prison walls can scare a child and make them feel like they are destined to this path no matter what they do

6. Dreams • School officials make assumptions about the fate of these students simply because of their gender and race. • Many young boys had a very optimistic view of what they could be when they grew up. • A majority of the young boys when asked what they wanted to do when they were older said they wanted to be professional athletes. • No child dreams of spending there life in prison

7. Dreams • Being an athlete meant that they could do something that they enjoyed and make money while doing it. • Being an athlete would not be easy but the children argued that with hard work anything was possible. • Although it was a far reach, parents supported these dreams because it kept there kids out of trouble and they saw it as a potential career.

8. Dreams • Being a professional athlete is an ideal career because young makes tend to become disillusioned by the social concept of school and sports is a way to obtain success that is not tied to school • Young black males reject schooling because they feel that they must abandon their lifestyles, family, pattern of speech, and selves to obtain upward success • With sports, they can be successful and be themselves

9. Dreams • The chances of actually becoming a pro athlete are very slim. • It is about 1/1000’s • It is important that young children know this because they need to make a more realistic career option and try to channel there ambitions and energy from sports towards learning in school.

10. Nightmares • Children who are labeled as “deviant” or criminal will often adopt this identity and follow this pathway as an adult • When kids are suspended for doing something bad in school they would be isolated or banished to lounging at home or loitering the streets. • When kids are sent to punishment, they lose time in the classroom and it creates a bigger gap between education and socialization

11. Nightmares • “There is a direct relationship between dropping out of school and doing time in jail: the majority of black inmates in local, state, and federal penal systems are high school dropouts”. • Children need to be taught not to abandon education in order to stop the relationship between being high school drop outs and doing jail time.

12. Nightmares • To keep black children in school we should… • Accept and adopt “black English” that was spoken at home to keep children interested and teach about different environments • Educate teachers and professionals about Ebonics • Black children are not necessarily inclined to lives of crime

13. Nightmares • A study showed that there was a greater chance that an individual within a minority group would be questioned by police, apprehended and charged • “Minorities appear to be at a greater risk for being charged with more serious offenses than whites involved in comparable levels of delinquent behavior, a factor which may eventually result in higher incarceration rates among minorities”.

14. Nightmares • If a young white man was categorized by the court as “dangerous” he was more likely to actually be dangerous than any young black man that was also categorized as “dangerous”. • Stereotyping and profiling lead more black males to end up within the penal system • Punishment for young black males is usually more severe

15. Open Endings • To eliminate discrimination is to not come up with temporary fixes. • It is to force society to uphold the same standards to everyone and everyone be treated equally. • We must restructure the entire educational system. • When asked how to improve school many students responded by saying they wanted an “increase in play”

16. Open Endings • The more discipline, prisons and tighter control are not the answers to any of the problems that we have today. • Our society is so determined to pursue disciplinary actions rather than allowing ourselves to imagine the possibilities.

17. Questions To Consider • Can institutional racism be eliminated without eliminating social racism? • Can small changes make a difference in the long run or must the change be radical? • What links schools to prison? • What does it mean to hear an adult say that you are bound for jail and to understand tat the future predicted for you in “doing time” inside prison walls?