Branding Bad Boys. Teachers' Perceptions of Behaviour and How to Tackle Stereotyping Black Males

Academic Paper from the year 2007 in the subject Didactics - Common Didactics, Educational Objectives, Methods, grade: A, Southern Illinois University Carbondale (Curriculum & Instruction), language: English, abstract: Teachers' attitudes towards black male students are still an under-discussed topic. But do we educators furnish them with equal learning opportunities as our white male students? Frankly, teachers of third track classes filled with black boys, can you claim for yourself never to use easy reader texts for your audience while providing the same literature in its original, sophisticated version to top track classes abundant with white students? In the following, let us explore current teachers' perceptions of their black male students, in order to find ways for instructors to identify possible forms of stereotyping and labeling, and to make suggestions for a change in perspective for teaching a diverse classroom.

Christina Linda Lyons (born Voss) holds a PhD in English from Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, FTSK Germersheim, Germany (2003) and a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (2013) and has taught English and English Education for 15 years in the United States. She was a student teacher for a year at Carbondale Community High School, taught for 10 years at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, for a year at John A. Logan College in Carterville, IL, and for nearly four years at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN. Her interests include Freemasonry and secret/planned languages, learning disabilities (dyslexia, dysgraphia, etc.), translations, educational philosophy, pedagogy, and music. She was married to the late pianist and composer David Paul Lyons and studied music composition with him as well as with Armando Bayolo, Christopher Walczak, and Phillip Brown at SIUC for several semesters, winning about 22 composition awards and honorable mentions. She also holds two Montessori certificates (Early Childhood and Elementary Education) and is interested in child-centered, constructivist, and hands-on education.