Integration Interrupted

Tracking, Black Students, and Acting White after Brown

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, African-American Studies, Reference & Language, Education & Teaching
Cover of the book Integration Interrupted by , Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9780199793013
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: February 21, 2011
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9780199793013
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: February 21, 2011
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

An all-too-popular explanation for why black students aren't doing better in school is their own use of the "acting white" slur to ridicule fellow blacks for taking advanced classes, doing schoolwork, and striving to earn high grades. Carefully reconsidering how and why black students have come to equate school success with whiteness, Integration Interrupted argues that when students understand race to be connected with achievement, it is a powerful lesson conveyed by schools, not their peers. Drawing on over ten years of ethnographic research, Karolyn Tyson shows how equating school success with "acting white" arose in the aftermath of Brown v. Board of Education through the practice of curriculum tracking, which separates students for instruction, ostensibly by ability and prior achievement. Only in very specific circumstances, when black students are drastically underrepresented in advanced and gifted classes, do anxieties about "the burden of acting white" emerge. Racialized tracking continues to define the typical American secondary school, but it goes unremarked, except by the young people who experience its costs and consequences daily. The rich narratives in Integration Interrupted throw light on the complex relationships underlying school behaviors and convincingly demonstrate that the problem lies not with students, but instead with how we organize our schools.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

An all-too-popular explanation for why black students aren't doing better in school is their own use of the "acting white" slur to ridicule fellow blacks for taking advanced classes, doing schoolwork, and striving to earn high grades. Carefully reconsidering how and why black students have come to equate school success with whiteness, Integration Interrupted argues that when students understand race to be connected with achievement, it is a powerful lesson conveyed by schools, not their peers. Drawing on over ten years of ethnographic research, Karolyn Tyson shows how equating school success with "acting white" arose in the aftermath of Brown v. Board of Education through the practice of curriculum tracking, which separates students for instruction, ostensibly by ability and prior achievement. Only in very specific circumstances, when black students are drastically underrepresented in advanced and gifted classes, do anxieties about "the burden of acting white" emerge. Racialized tracking continues to define the typical American secondary school, but it goes unremarked, except by the young people who experience its costs and consequences daily. The rich narratives in Integration Interrupted throw light on the complex relationships underlying school behaviors and convincingly demonstrate that the problem lies not with students, but instead with how we organize our schools.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Schumann by
Cover of the book Neighborhoods and Health by
Cover of the book Sociolinguistic Variation by
Cover of the book Inside Early Music by
Cover of the book Shapes of American Ballet by
Cover of the book Cognitive Foundations of Musical Pitch by
Cover of the book The Fast Path to Corporate Growth by
Cover of the book Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass by
Cover of the book The Marsh Builders by
Cover of the book The Card Level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library by
Cover of the book Bits and Atoms by
Cover of the book Sketches of Life in Chile, 1841-1851 by
Cover of the book Failure to Flourish by
Cover of the book Turkestan and the Rise of Eurasian Empires by
Cover of the book The Philosophy of Science by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy