The first chapter of Pedro A. Noguera’s The Trouble With Black Boys opens on a very personal note with the author discussing his son’s struggle with racial identity and academic performance.  Although his historically, Noguera’s son Joaquin had done very well academically and received much praise from his teachers, a point came when Joaquin’s grades suffered and he started getting in trouble at school.  Many of Joaquinn’s friends of which he identified with did not have supportive backgrounds like him, and began dropping out of school or experiencing academic failure.  Luckily, Joaquin had strong family support and got back on track as a great student.  Joaquinn is not alone with this struggle with racial identity and self, and Pedro explains that he had a battle with this as well. 

After reading this chapter, some things from my adolescence, which I didn’t really understand at the time, came to mind.  A friend that I meet right away when I started high school had just moved to our middle/upper class, predominately white,  suburb.  This friend (I’ll call her Bee) was Egyptian, Muslim and just moved from a predominately African American lower/middle class neighborhood of Chicago.  Bee often asked me to explain customs of our high school to her.  At the time, I was just under the assumption that everyone knew of our high school customs, such as the homecoming dance.  I was surprised that they were not just common knowledge to all.  At school, Bee was extremely competitive academically (she is now a medical doctor).  In class, she always had her hand raised ready to participate.  I was shocked the first time I spent time with Bee and her friends from her old neighborhood because she acted so differently than she did at school.  The friends talked about smoking pot in the bathroom at school, blowing off class, and just getting by in school.  Bee laughed, and a couple times eluded that she did similar things.  I was mostly just quite during these interchanges- I didn’t know what to say! I knew that she did not do these things in school!  She also used a different accent and a different slang vocabulary with her old friends than she did when she was at school.  This chapter made me reflect back on that time with a new understanding.  Looking back I see that Bee had a struggle that I didn’t recognize at the time.  It must have been hard to feel like she had to use a whole different way of speaking when she was at her new school, and to feel like she had to hide her academically ambition side with her old friends.  It seems like she had to change a part of who she was with anyone that she spent time with. 

Clearly, I know that Bee is not the only student who felt the need to use multiple personas, and makes me really think about ways in which I can help my students with this.  There are many points in Noguera’s section of the chapter, “What Can Educators Do?” that stand out to me.  Ultimately, teachers can work to debunk racial stereotypes, break down racial separation, and challenge the hidden curriculum.  To prevent students from segregating themselves, teachers can assign seats and allow students of different backgrounds to work together.    Noguera recommends teachers to encourage students to pursue things that are not traditionally associated with members of their own group.  He also suggests that teachers find ways to incorporate information related to the history and culture of students into the curriculum.  Noguera also argues that effectives teachers who gets to know students and inspires them can do a lot to overcome antiacademic tendencies. 

So far I am enjoying this book and it is making me thing not only of past experience but how I will approach future experiences.  I like how the author points out really specific things that teachers can do.  I am looking forward to reading on and also in gaining perspectives of the rest of the group!