I have never read an academic text that I could actually relate to. Joaquin's story had some similarities to my adolescent years. The text explained that Joaquin was an all around good student and during his sophomore years, things began to change due to his want of social acceptance. I spent most of my academic years at a private school. At this school, I was the minority. I knew I was different from my classmates, but they accepted me. For high school, I transferred to a diverse public school. Many times I was ridiculed, because I talked or acted "white". This was hurtful and confusing to me, because I thought I was speaking English. This ridicule even came from teachers. My best friend at the time was Caucasian and we played volleyball together. When it was time for nicknames, we were named salt and pepper. My coach thought it would be funny to name me salt and her pepper, I guess because she acted "blacker" than me. I was stuck with that name my entire high school career. I didn't want to cause any trouble,so I just sucked it up and pretended the name didn't bother me. I actually don't think the name really bothered me, but the context in which the name was given. At one point, I felt like I didn't fit in any where. I felt like I wasn't black enough to fit in with my peers and too black to fit in with any other group. I was hiding the fact that I was in honors classes from peers. I also didn't share my grades with anyone for the fear of being ridiculed.
I think that the difference between myself and my peers were my parents. I had them to look to as an example of how educating yourself can be beneficial. I feel that many of my peers did not have that example. The text indicates that these few examples could be implicit messages that gives meaning to to what it is to be a member of a particular racial group. There definitely needs to be more examples of successful people of minority groups. These examples need to come from other sources besides athletes and musicians.
This leads me to the section "What Can Educators Do?". I like the author's approach to helping students of different backgrounds to support positive racial identity development. The author that in education the educator must take an initiative to break segregation barriers. The author encourages the educators should make sure that students do not segregate themselves. Next, Noguera states that educators should encourage students to participate in activities that are not usually associated with members of their group. Third, he states that educators should integrate the culture of the students in the curriculum. Finally and the most useful, the educator should get to know his or her students. One can make a big impact in another's life by showing that you care. This could help a student gain confidence to excel in school. I plan to incorporate his suggestions in my classroom.
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