During my fourth tutoring session at Meadow Valley Middle School*, I once again had the chance to do one-on-one work with Lynn*, a sixth-grade student in a special education math class. I made one quick observation of my own actions at the beginning of our time together while we were still in the classroom. The teacher was asking the students to settle down and begin doing the problems on the board, and Lynn leaned over to talk to me while Ms. Smith* was still talking. I put my finger to my lips to signal that she needed to be quiet, but I also nodded to acknowledge what she said at the same time. This was probably not a good idea, as I was sending her mixed messages about what she should do. On the one hand, I was telling Lynn to be quiet, but on the other hand I was telling her I heard and understood what she said, which is reinforcement for talking. I think I should change how I deal with this in the future as I feel I was telling her two different things at the same time.
The event I observed that I would like to focus on, however, occurred in the hallway as I waited for Ms. Smith to open her classroom. I observed two girls, one African-American and one Caucasian, standing by a drinking fountain and talking to people who passed by. At one point in time, the Caucasian girl yelled to someone else in the hallway, “You’d better not be calling me white!” From my perspective, this was a very interesting threat, as the student did indeed appear to be white. Of course, I could have been wrong about her ethnicity, but if I was right I am left with a question about what I observed. Why did the girl wish to be perceived as having a different ethnic background?
From the perspective of a student at Meadow Valley Middle School, I think there may have been several reasons. The first has to do with the same reason that middle school students everywhere speak, dress, and act in certain ways- social acceptance. Perhaps there is something about her situation, her group of friends, or who she wants to be friends with that makes her feel it would be easier to fit in if she was African-American.
Another reason could have been the student’s need for self-acceptance. When students at middle school ages don’t feel good about themselves for whatever reason, I don’t think it is uncommon for them to try to deal with it by doing something that will cover up that unease. For this young lady, feeling good about herself might have been accomplished by asserting a certain identity, different from the identity she has had previously. This reason is probably related to the first, as a feeling of confidence might also make it easier to gain social acceptance.
Of course, there could be all manner of cultural reasons that this student, if she was truly doing so, feels the need to identify with a different ethnic group. She may have been adopted by an African-American family and so feels that she identifies with their ethnic background. Perhaps she lives in a neighborhood where the majority of the population is African- American and so feels a cultural connection through the culture of the environment she grew up in. As I stated before, it is totally possible I am wrong about her ethnicity, but even if I was this has been something interesting to think about in terms of the perspective of a middle school student.
*These names have been changed.
