This piece was published on March 14, 2014 on Cloaking Inequity.
Each day, I could have up to 10 students in my office,
affectionately dubbed the T.O.C., (time out center) by the end of the
first period. Students continued to come throughout the day as teachers
would simply not allow students to come back to their classroom. Most of
the teachers guilty of this behavior were (TFA) Teach for America
cohort members who were great hearted individuals, but could not control
their classrooms. Most had no sense of cultural competence and frankly
felt as if they did not need to know the kids to teach them. When a few
teachers attempted to develop relationships with Black students and
parents, it seemed disingenuous and painful. Many times, they avoided
parent phone calls and conferences because they felt like a
confrontation would occur. Students would enter my office daily and say
“she put me out for nothing,” “I just got up to sharpen my pencil and
she said go to Mr. Griffin, that lady don’t like me.”
Are some charters’ practices new forms of colonial hegemony? When
examining current discipline policies and aligned behavioral norms
within charter school spaces, postcolonial theory is useful because of
the striking similarities between problematic socialization practices
and the educational regimes of the uncivilized masses in colonized
nations. A number of postcolonial theorists focus on multiple ways that
oppressors dominate their subjects and maintain power over them. For
example, while working as the Dean of Students for a charter school in
New Orleans, it took me some time to realize that I had been enforcing
rules and policies that stymied creativity, culture and student voice.
Though some of my main duties involved ensuring the safety and security
of all students and adults at the school, investigating student
behavioral incidents and establishing a calm and positive school
culture, I felt as if I was doing the opposite.
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