Today's trivia question to prepare you for the “Clash of Civilizations”.
What is creole language?
Click here and Scoll down to "Interests" for the answer.
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I have been discussing the low graduation / dropout rate and the low college attendance / low SAT score problems. The subject of this blog is the closely related concepts of caste and class and the negative impact of caste and class on Knox’s educational environment especially the dropout rate.
We ordinarily associate caste problems with India and don’t consider this to be an issue in America. John Uzo Ogbu described “caste-like” behavior in black students as a major factor in educational underachievement. Ogbu described a phenomenon he called "oppositional identity" to the mainstream culture. Oppositional identity is a fancy set of words for what might be called a “chip on the shoulder” or “pride” or “inferiority complex”. Caste-like behavior is common among certain lower socioeconomic groups in Knox and is a big factor in dropping out.
In 1950 we would have easily recognized caste-like behavior patterns among the recent Appalachian transplants, AKA hillbillies* (see comment 4 below). The Appalachian students brought cultural attitudes to school that got them in trouble and often caused them to drop out. Attitudes like low academic confidence, anti-intellectualism, and distain for mainline cultural values. Low academic confidence combined with “southern pride” and we ended up “with a chip on the shoulder” or "oppositional identity to the mainstream culture”. These students had difficulty getting along socially and academically. We have the same sort of problem today. However it is no longer an easily identified set of Appalachian transplants with a distinctive dialect. There is a more diverse and ethnically complex socioeconomic set that exhibits the same caste-like, self-destructive behavioral patterns that we had to deal with in the 1950s.
Caste-like behavior is a problem of self-identity. Of course there is not an actual caste structure in Knox or in our schools. Using the word caste is only useful insofar as it accurately describes how a sub-cultural group’s attitudes hinder their advancement in mainstream society.
While there is no caste system in Knox there most certainly is a class system. Class behavior goes the other direction. Class behavior by the cultural mainstream is directed against those same students that exhibit caste-like behaviors. This creates a non-virtuous cycle that exacerbates the caste problem. There is a tendency to identify students as being from “good families” or “bad families”. Judgment is based upon little clues like non-vaccination, non-payment of book rental, free lunch participation, and prior family history with the school. There is, at a minimum, a subconscious tendency to more readily accept poor performance from a difficult student from a “bad family”.
I have received two interesting comments to my earlier blog, “How’s the High School Doing? Bright Kids. Middle Class Kids.” One comment praised the school because their children have done quite nicely. The other comment bitterly condemned the school for not caring for their children on the basis of class. This illustrates the great fault line that runs down the middle of our school. I believe this is the most significant contributor to the dropout problem. Our school has been run as a middle class sanctuary. The values of the middle class may be worthwhile and even, at times, virtuous. The challenge is to recognize that the students in our school system don’t all hold these values, yet still give them a decent education.
Incidentally, John Uzo Ogbu is the fellow that pushed for Ebonics, the classroom use of African American Vernacular English. I know how hilarious our community finds the idea of Ebonics. We also wouldn’t think of taking off school on M. L. King day. Nor would we consider getting rid of the “Redskins” mascot. Thus, our middle-class demonstrates our own caste-like behavior. As I am a member of this class I will say that “We” hold ourselves back. Our own middle class "oppositional identity" with its attendant self-destruction is in full bloom. My next blog: "Caste and Class in the Classroom Part 2", how middle class identity holds down the performance of our school, resulting in low SAT scores and poor college attendance.
4 comments:
Since I was brought up in this section from my previous comment, let me set something straight. We are a average lower middle class family. We are nobody special. However, the key would be loving, caring parents who what the best for their kids. The school system is just a system. It is the people who send their kids to the system that make the difference.
We never took part in our kids activities, except to drive them. But we encouraged them. Do better and make a difference.
Parents make the difference. So can you. Just don't be dumb.
I detect a slight misunderstanding. Caste behavior is self-destructive. Being a member of a so-called lower class doesn’t at all mean that you have those kinds of self-destructive tendencies. My next blog will hopefully make this point more clearly. So-called lower class families have proven beyond any doubt that class is not destiny. Class in America is quite fluid, not only in generational time spans but in intra-generational time spans. It is common to see a family go from lower middle class to upper middle class in 10 or 15 years. Indeed, that is the beauty of America.
Of course you are entirely correct when you write, “The school system is just a system. It is the people who send their kids to the system that make the difference.” What worries me is that there is a large set of families in Knox that seem to be stagnating in a low class trap. This trap is of their own making to the degree that their behavior is self-destructive. But, whether we like it or not, this is the material that our local school is supposed to mould into educated citizens. It is perilous to all of us to ignore the problem.
This was an email I received about the Redskins issue:Hi Marian,
It is a little surprising that the Redskins mascot hasn't become controversial. There's a strong argument that all use of Native. Americans as mascots is in poor taste...here's a link.
Personally, I find the issue a little more complicated; e.g. in the case of Winamac, the town is, in fact, named after a prominent Native American known for his skills in warfare, as well as his prediliction towards warfare. Is 'warrior' derogatory, given the town's named after a historical warrior, a real life captain to none other than Tecumseh? Should they change the name of the town?
Twin Lakes HS's mascot is the "Indians", but then we call the state "Indiana". Are we going change the name of the state?
Compare Notre Dame's mascot: the Fighting Irish. Nobody seems upset by that, even though at the time they adopted it Irish were most certainly a disadvantaged minority; and there were lots of Irish names on ND's teams.
Northwestern University was originally known as the "Fighting Methodists" - they dropped that, but I'm guessing it was simply not macho enough. Purdue's mascot "the Boilermakers" originated from mockery from Ivy Leaguers who looked down on their studies of practical skills. IU's "Hoosiers" similarly originated in taunts (you know, ignorant Hoosier) from elite schools.
Local tradition on my end of the county says the North Judson "Bluejays" got their name sometime around 1900 because they had a Blue "J" on their uniforms, suggesting the bird (thankfully, not yet a controversal choice). It's not unlikely the Redskins got their name mainly because they wore red.
All that said, it's really hard to defend 'Redskins' in 2007 as being anything other than a negative stereotype. It's probably about the worst Native American related mascot. When you think about it, that is. I've mentioned this to quite a few people and it really seems like they just never thought about it before; it's so familiar that it.
So it's an excellent subject to bring up, at least get people thinking about it. That's the first step.
Maybe the "Redcoats"?"
John Uzo Ogbu’s caste theory has interesting relevance beyond what was mentioned above. Ogbu noticed that newly arrived West-African immigrants did much better in school than the descendants of slaves from West Africa. This was puzzling because these new immigrants had no money, no education and no language skills. The immigrants however did not have "oppositional identity" to the mainstream culture. Thus was born Ogbu’s caste theory. Ogbu called the new immigrants “voluntary” immigrants and the “descendants of slaves” were call “involuntary” immigrants. He theorized that being a voluntary immigrant meant that you were very interested in joining the mainstream culture, not interested in having an "oppositional identity".
The same very positive phenomenon took place in the late 1940s and early 1950s among the Appalachian immigrants to Knox. Initially these immigrants had difficulty adjusting to the mainstream culture. But the important fact was that they very much wanted the middle class life. Their "oppositional identity" was transitory. They moved here to better themselves. They were here voluntarily. They quickly adopted mainstream cultural values. It was common in that first generation of Appalachian immigrants to be the first person in your family to graduate from high school. Although the idea persists that there is today a lower class Appalachian subculture, it is illusionary. The descendents of those Appalachian immigrants are now attending college at the same rate as everybody else. They are in the middle class. The derogatory term hillbilly is meaningless. And most teachers and school administrators understand that, we hope.
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