[Julie E.]

A teacher/colleague told me that we shouldn't expect black students to sit still in class and not speak out because their culture conditions them to be aggressive and active in classroom situations. Is this true?

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Name : Julie E., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Presbyterian, Age : 31, City : Lincoln, State : NE Country : United States, Occupation : Educator/Musician, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Eli25298]

Your friend has made a sweeping generalization of "black" culture. It is true that I like to speak out in class, though considering my dad's a lecturer and my mum and her family have a tradition of public speaking, I have always been taught to speak my mind. However, I am not aggressive at all (I have always been brought up to be polite), and like to convey a certain amount of intelligence. Black culture is composed of a multitude of subcultures. These cultures are so numerous and differing that it is impossible to dictate one overall behavior for black people. I also know too many people to whom the cultural rule you have stated does not apply. For instance, my sister, who is incredibly quiet and placid.

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Name : Eli25298, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Ghanian/English, Religion : Atheist, Age : 17, City : Oxford, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : Student, Education level : High School Diploma, 

[C.C.]

Ridiculous. It sounds like the theory of an armchair anthropologist.

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Name : C.C., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 44, City : Northern New Jersey, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Attorney, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Mark]

I went to a high school that had roughly 50 percent black students and 50 percent white students. Black students were just as capable of being attentive in class as white students. I would think the reasons for being disruptive in class are more personal than race-related.

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Name : Mark, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 29, City : San Francisco, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Musician/Nerd, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Kim H.]

I bet the teacher who gave you this little gem of information about black students was white. I've been dealing with students for more than 25 years. What I have observed is this: The school system reflects the values and mores of the dominate culture (white), so there is an emphasis put on control - the controling of one's emotions, actions, thoughts, etc. This particular value judgment can be quite detrimental to students who are kinetic learners. Kinetic learners come in all colors and in both genders.. Obviously your teacher friend has taken the word "kinetic" out of the equation and has replaced it with very loaded and subjective words like "aggressive," which means that any of her students whose best way of learning a subject that does not embrace sitting quietly and in control of their actions is likely to get labelled any number of things. Unfortunately, in the U.S. school system labeling starts early and follows the student all the way into their adult years. Labeling is one of the prime culprits of kids developing poor self-esteem. This is exactly how students of color get labeled and erroneously put in remedial classes, or have negative assumptions made about their intelligence. If more schools provided different styles of learning, negative assumptions about students wouldn't be so prevalent.

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Name : Kim H., Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Humanist, Age : 43, City : Minneapolis, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Actress, Playwright and Director, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Arnell]

I don't know where your freind is from and who gave him/her this information, but it's erroneous. As an African American and educator, I would say this form of behavior has not been cultivated in me or others I know. As with all children, you have to set boundaries of acceptable and unacceptable classroom behavior and appropriately reinforce them. Assume nothing; everything must be taught.

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Name : Arnell, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : Educator, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Marcus-P22208]

I would suspect that your friend is referring to black children from an urban environment who are recieving little or no positive stimulation at home or in school. While she may be commited to educating these young black children, she may be woefully unaware of the conditions in which they live and have been brought up in. It is my experience with children from inner-city (or urban) settings that they are often left to fend for themselves in an environment of scarcity. This may lend to the 'aggressiveness' your friend speaks of. As far as them not sitting still, it may be that she is ineffective with her classroom management rules and procedures. I would reccomend that she (and you) read a very great book by Harry K. Wong called, How to be an Effective Teacher: The First Days of School. His video series are also very informative and encouraging. Any child can learn to appreciate a calm, secure environment.

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Name : Marcus-P22208, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 25, City : Orange Park, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : Student-Teacher, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

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