How to Become an Outstanding Educator of Hispanic and African-American First Generation College Students
by:
Dr. Samuel Betances, Senior Consultant, Souder, Betances & Associates, Inc.
There is a cultural shift that is taking place in higher education. For the first time in the history of colleges and universities, educators have to go where no previous generation of their peers has ever gone before. Namely, to educate learners who are members of the dominant society along with those who are not. To educate those who view the institutions of the greater society as their friend along with those who do not. To educate those intelligent students who come with a middle-class college-learning framework, whose journey is enhanced by developed competencies for abstract thinking, theoretical ways of knowing and proficiency in written communication and formal discourse, along with those equally intelligent students who do not have those skills. To educate those who are blessed with a vast network of supporters who provide resources to help them complete academic projects, and who eagerly assist in removing socio-political/economic hurdles so they may climb to the top of their class, along with those who are not blessed with such support. To educate those who come from well-to-do backgrounds and those who do not. To educate those for whom completing post-secondary, higher educational requirements, and earning degrees form part of their rich family history, along with those for whom it does not. To educate those whose cultural heritage/interest/racial group identities are positively affirmed in our racially stratified society, along with those whose are not. To educate those who are white, and those who are not.
The reason why higher education has to succeed in educating learners with and without all the pluses noted above has to do with demographic changes. Simply put, the demographic base available to colleges and universities to recruit and develop the talent for professional leadership needed by our public and private institutions has been altered forever.
(Adapted from an essay in the book What Makes Racial Diversity Work in Higher Education: Academic Leaders Describe Models by Frank W. Hale (Editor), Published by: Stylus Publishing LLC, Copyright July 2003)
Without inclusive and educated work teams at all levels of our organizations, our nation will not remain productive and competitive in the global economy. Therefore, differences in the fabric of our society must be embraced, not shunned. We must see differences as opportunities to grow in our collective purposes rather than to shrink from our collective expectations. We must practice deliberate inclusivity. We must implement diversity processes as a strategy to unleash the full potential of all the members in our diverse workforce. We must also recruit, retain and graduate students from all interest groups in order to be responsive to the changing demographics. Leading change in higher education requires that stakeholders also leverage diversity as a mission, bottom-line driven imperative. This imperative is particularly significant for colleges and universities at the beginning of the 21st century.
The growth factor of students of color is the primary reason why racial diversity must work in higher education. Instead of referring to members of these interest groups as “minorities,” they should be considered members of “emerging majority groups.” The needs of these students should not be viewed as marginal on the educational agenda. Educational leaders must study the declining birth rates of whites, due in part to their success in the economy, and compare those numbers to the growth of emerging majority groups so as to implement inclusive strategies for all. For example, the U.S. Census Bureau data indicates that the number of working-age Hispanics is projected to increase by 18 million while the white working-age population is projected to decrease by 5 million over the next twenty-five years. It ought to be crystal clear that as far as demographic changes go, the future is ahead of schedule. We must educate Hispanics and African-Americans, not out of generosity, but out of necessity for all.
Hispanic and African-American first generation college students provide a series of unique challenges to leaders in higher education. These two groups are likely to feel the indignities of belonging to racially stigmatized groups. As a category of students, they may not have had the advantages of being socialized and nurtured into having developed the competencies and framework for competitive learning in a middle-class place called college. Groups labeled “minorities” can experience the same institutional landscape that members of the dominant groups may view as friendly, as hostile. The vast network of resources and support systems for completing challenging academic projects and for removing socio-political/economic hurdles is all too frequently not a part of their toolkit during the climb to the top of their class. Without allies in higher education willing to practice deliberate inclusiveness on their behalf, the negative situation impacting both of these interest groups will worsen, not get better, and the larger society will suffer as well.
This brief essay provides a series of recommendations to educators who, as willing learners, are eager to further develop their cultural competencies at unleashing the learning potential of all students by making racial diversity work in higher education.
Expand your Multi-Cultural Knowledge Base
There is much that educators -- particularly as members of the majority, dominant group – must teach themselves before they can become part of the force that will create a learning-teaching environment to ensure the success of first generation college students from stigmatized groups. Namely, they must familiarize themselves with the ways students labeled “minorities” have been impacted by racism.
Dr. Jennifer James, after much reading on the subject and experiencing her own transformation, writes: “The majority consistently underestimates the depth of pain and anger endured by minorities and the enormous price – emotional and economic – paid by everyone.” (James, Thinking in the Future Tense: 215) The books that have informed her journey are many and varied. She highlights a few that can assist members of the majority in their quest to understand the issues before they can ever hope to lead change strategies in the quest to achieve diversity goals. She writes with a sense of urgency and underscores the reason why we must be informed:
Even in multicultural America, there remains a deep divide between black and white. Sanford Cloud, Jr., president of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, declared: “It’s as though white America is sleepwalking on the edge of a volcano of ethnic and racial differences.” The O.J. Simpson verdict let us peer into the heart of that volcano. Several books by African-Americans in the 1990s express deep resentment that discrimination persists. Brent Staples, in Parallel Time: Growing Up in Black and White, writes of the petty cruelties of whites and “the contained fury that grips even the most outwardly docile black man. “Makes Me Wanna Holler by Nathan McCall chronicles the self-hatred of a young black male who rejects the society that has rejected him. Rage of a Privileged Class by Ellis Cose records the depth of anger of middle-class African-Americans who have “made it” into mainstream America only to remain shut out of the actual power structure. (James: 216)
It was not until Jennifer James dug deep into the literature of creative informants from the African-American experience that she was able to undergo her own paradigm shift, which led to her becoming an advocate for racial diversity.
Educators must become relentless readers. Teaching faculty must never stop learning themselves. The challenge of becoming effective change agents in institutions of higher education and in the lives of first generation college students requires passion. Passion persuades. Passion for social justice is driven by continuous acts of discovering new ways by which to confront power with truth!
No one really knows what they want until they know what options are available. Constant reading of the rich and growing body of multi-cultural literature by educators who are dissatisfied with the status quo inspires new, engaging and revealing ways by which to provide options to students from poverty and the working class.
A true educator is an option provider. A true educator is a resource for universalizing the human spirit. A true educator strains every nerve to reach more than one class of student. To become a true educator requires familiarity, literacy with all kinds of analogies, stories and case studies of the varied experiences, perspectives, wit and social histories of our heterogeneous nation and world.
How do people survive in hostile environments? What lessons can be gleamed from survivors of concentration camps, slavery, segregation, abuse, harsh climates and the many “isms” that create injury, perpetuate injustices and then blame their victims? In what ways will reading works on those subjects help to increase the cultural competencies of educators genuinely interested in ensuring the success of all students?
Work to Make Tenured Teams Inclusive
There is nothing more pitiful to me than individuals with graduate degrees claiming to be professionals in higher education who seek and obtain tenure as a way of retreating from the challenge of acquiring and adding to the essential knowledge base by which to confront power with truth. All too frequently in post-secondary institutions, tenure is thought of solely by some educators, as a type of union protection against being fired. Unquestionably, tenure is invaluable as a shield, which protects true professionals who are engaged in research or the promotion of ideas and perspectives that may make colleagues and/or top administrators nervous or unhappy. Consider the fate of those without tenure who defend the interests of first generation college students and wrestle resources for them against the keepers of the status quo in academe.
White faculty members with both tenure and informed passions can make a difference in helping to make higher education work teams inclusive. To do so, however, they must be bold in their stand against the hidden rules that exclude underrepresented groups from their teams. Protecting privilege and preference for the familiar by some, and a lack of boldness for justice on the part of others, may keep members of protected classes from being considered for tenure.
A classic illustration of this practice is described by a courageous professor, who confronted and exposed the hidden agenda in her university, one that sought to maintain an all-white tenured faculty, in her words: “When I was at the University of Washington in Seattle, professors being considered for tenure had to pass the “lunch test”: Would you want to eat lunch with this person for twenty years?” (James: 220)
It is inconceivable that tenured faculty, who hold the view that no member of a “so-called unacceptable group” gets promoted, will want to ensure the success of Hispanic and African-American first generation college students. Without people of goodwill, who are in conflict with the practices that exclude, working inside the clubs and cliques of faculty members, racial diversity in higher education will not become a reality.
Professions exist to solve problems. The problem of ignorance can best be solved by mastery of knowledge. Tragically, we have become a very literate, yet uninformed people. It is worse to be literate and uninformed, than to be uninformed because of illiteracy. Educators must take steps to transform themselves before ever assuming that it is within their purview to attempt to create a transforming climate for anyone else. Students need less to be told what they need to do in order to succeed, as much as they need to see positive change happening in the lives, worldviews and behavior of their would-be models and mentors.
Don’t Be an Obstacle, Become a Bridge
Failing first generation college students for not knowing what they have not been taught constitutes one of the most flagrant acts of educational malpractice in higher education today. By becoming aware that they may not understand what needs to be done to stop inflicting pain on students that need to be educated rather than failed, educators can begin to battle their own ignorance. The transformation from being an obstacle that stands in the way of success for non-traditional students to becoming a bridge requires open-mindedness and a total commitment.
The role of white faculty members in complicating the academic journey of African-American students in predominantly white colleges and universities has been documented by Joe E. Feagin and Melvin P. Sikes in their book, Living With Racism: The Black Middle-Class Experience. Through a series of interviews with students on college campuses throughout the Nation, both Feagin and Sikes reveal how white misconceptions about black competence tend to derail the pace of progress that some victims of stereotypes are able to pursue.
Several case studies illustrate the commonplace assumptions that may question black proficiency by white faculty members. Here is one:
So, what happened one time in graduate school, I had this professor, and I didn’t talk much in class, so when I did a paper, a final paper, he refused to accept the fact that I did the paper on my own ability. So, what he told me in essence, he would not accept the paper, and I wouldn’t get another grade until I redid the paper, which I refused to do. I thought that was basically a discriminatory act. What he was saying was that black folks can’t write this good. He didn’t know my ability, what I was capable of. I didn’t talk much in class, the class was boring. [So, did you do the paper over?] No, I didn’t. I took the incomplete. And I talked to the head of the department and I think he put a withdrawal on it. [So you didn’t get any credit for the class?] No. I refused to do it. But, I didn’t like that. I thought if it had been a white student who kept their mouth shut in class, and did a paper that was above what he thought, I’m quite sure that he wouldn’t have challenged them. (Feagin and Sikes: 110)