A Few Things That Shaped My Educational Path…
Educational Biography
I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Besides visiting other places and vacationing, I’ve lived in Portland all of my life. My parents are both from Texarkana, Arkansas. They grew up in the same neighborhood and were high school sweethearts. Unfortunately for them and for me as a result, they were raised in a region and during a time that sharecropping was normal practice. This had a profound effect on their educational experience which in turn affects mine.
Legally, sharecropping was supposed to be a situation that provided both signing parties a fruitful ending. It should’ve been a situation where a farmer fronted land and farming materials to a person or family that more often lived on the farmer’s land; housing was most often paid at the end of the year, the same time that the two signing parties “evened up” from crop sales and fronted materials. Both parties were supposed to evaluate how much was fronted versus how much was made by the sharecroppers. The family that was fronted was supposed to have this great opportunity to “better” themselves and get off the ground; in fact, at some point, this family would likely have their own farm. This concept almost reminds me of banks and other creditors that front poor people money knowing that they likely will never get out of debt.
Anyways, my father filled me in on was how this actually played out in reality. Many sharecroppers had little to no education. It was thus next to impossible for them to adequately keep track of all their expenses. But regardless of this, the farmers always had the final say on how much was truly borrowed and how much was truly owed. This was enforced by intimidation if necessary. Lynching didn’t only happen when a Black man was caught having had sex with a White woman. Seldom did sharecroppers make anything after the tallying was complete; in most cases, they ended up owing money. Both situations kept them working for the boss and perpetually being in debt. This has far reaching consequences when we consider assessing accumulated assets and wealth.
Since my parents were born into debt, they started life with a serious disadvantage. Tim Wise speaks on accumulated wealth or debt in the first chapter of his excellent book titled, White Like Me. The disadvantage my parents received was passed on to me. People born into this world are born into accumulated assets or accumulated debts. To compile this egregious circumstance, both of my parents only went to school the second half of the year, as they had to tend to helping their families’ farm, pick and chop cotton. In an attempt to be “good” White folks, there teachers always passed them even though they were unable to pass basic reading, writing, and mathematics tests.
As one could imagine, this has had far reaching results on my education which started before I ever set foot into a classroom. I was hardly if ever read to as a child. Honestly, I don’t recall ever being read to. My memory of children’s books comes around the time I entered school. The language I was taught was one dimensional and that being African-American vernacular English which is considered primitive to mainstream society even though it isn’t true (Leading anthropologists and linguists confirm today that Ebonics or African-American vernacular English is just as legitimate of a dialect/language as mainstream English). This one dimensional aspect of literacy translated into little to no mainstream or academic language contact and a lack of exposure to and practice with mainstream discourses (i.e. “professional” behavior, social “norms” like dining etiquette, and valuing “education”). Many look at these things as norms, but it’s only normal to certain people. Others have to figure these things out as they go which equates to a disadvantage.
Nonetheless, measured by mainstream standards I was a good student. Through the 10th grade I was always on the honor roll and had a high B/low A average. Both my elementary and middle schools had students whose parents were overwhelmingly working-class. Seldom do I remember having classmates whose parents owned anything besides their homes and they typically worked jobs similar to my parents. Considering the teaching styles I encountered, I vividly remember coming to class and having many things written on the board so that my classmates and I could copy them in a journal; in addition, we had to have signed and dated hall passes to use the restroom. I was typically taught mechanical, rote memorization type of skills. It would be hard to say that we were being trained to be creative, express our thoughts on life, or lead the country through decision making. We were being trained to follow rules. One of the rules I never quite understood was standing in a line to travel throughout the school. I remember being in the eighth grade and my classmates and I arguing with the teacher about how we didn’t need rules or to stand in line in order to travel to other classrooms. From my recollection, the teacher just didn’t think we were capable. My high school experience was a bit different.
I went to a high school that had a significant amount of students from wealthy families. I remember going to parties in high school where my classmates had elevators in their homes. Some of my classmates lived on “the Ridge” (Alameda Ridge that is). In retrospect, it isn’t simply that these experiences are different because of the content of the curriculum, what is also equally important is how the information and experience is transmitted to the student. I had a math class that comes to mind. In this class, I remember being sent to the library for almost weeks at a time to do research creatively. We were given very open instructions as to how to structure our research and to what it could be on. I clearly remember feeling as though I wanted more rules. I also remember some of my classmates going right to it while I pondered; I wasn’t accustomed to having that type of freedom. That part of me, the creative side, had been suppressed.
Honestly, I have spent the last few years trying to patch up the holes in my mathematics and grammar that I’m positive is a result of this inequity. Much of my math and writing have small unusual holes and gaps that don’t make sense. How can I do 400 level mathematics courses but not be clear on simple aspects of Algebra; how can I write as often and with such enjoyment as I do and never quite understand when and when not to use commas. Matter of fact, I remember asking a number of my writing instructors over the years what the “rules” were for this and I never seemed to get a concrete answer. Maybe I was only taught the basics. The color of my skin, my social class “category”, and my parent’s educational history has had a profound effect on my education. Much of my pertinent education has come outside of the classroom where I study on my own.
I was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. Besides visiting other places and vacationing, I’ve lived in Portland all of my life. My parents are both from Texarkana, Arkansas. They grew up in the same neighborhood and were high school sweethearts. Unfortunately for them and for me as a result, they were raised in a region and during a time that sharecropping was normal practice. This had a profound effect on their educational experience which in turn affects mine.
Legally, sharecropping was supposed to be a situation that provided both signing parties a fruitful ending. It should’ve been a situation where a farmer fronted land and farming materials to a person or family that more often lived on the farmer’s land; housing was most often paid at the end of the year, the same time that the two signing parties “evened up” from crop sales and fronted materials. Both parties were supposed to evaluate how much was fronted versus how much was made by the sharecroppers. The family that was fronted was supposed to have this great opportunity to “better” themselves and get off the ground; in fact, at some point, this family would likely have their own farm. This concept almost reminds me of banks and other creditors that front poor people money knowing that they likely will never get out of debt.
Anyways, my father filled me in on was how this actually played out in reality. Many sharecroppers had little to no education. It was thus next to impossible for them to adequately keep track of all their expenses. But regardless of this, the farmers always had the final say on how much was truly borrowed and how much was truly owed. This was enforced by intimidation if necessary. Lynching didn’t only happen when a Black man was caught having had sex with a White woman. Seldom did sharecroppers make anything after the tallying was complete; in most cases, they ended up owing money. Both situations kept them working for the boss and perpetually being in debt. This has far reaching consequences when we consider assessing accumulated assets and wealth.
Since my parents were born into debt, they started life with a serious disadvantage. Tim Wise speaks on accumulated wealth or debt in the first chapter of his excellent book titled, White Like Me. The disadvantage my parents received was passed on to me. People born into this world are born into accumulated assets or accumulated debts. To compile this egregious circumstance, both of my parents only went to school the second half of the year, as they had to tend to helping their families’ farm, pick and chop cotton. In an attempt to be “good” White folks, there teachers always passed them even though they were unable to pass basic reading, writing, and mathematics tests.
As one could imagine, this has had far reaching results on my education which started before I ever set foot into a classroom. I was hardly if ever read to as a child. Honestly, I don’t recall ever being read to. My memory of children’s books comes around the time I entered school. The language I was taught was one dimensional and that being African-American vernacular English which is considered primitive to mainstream society even though it isn’t true (Leading anthropologists and linguists confirm today that Ebonics or African-American vernacular English is just as legitimate of a dialect/language as mainstream English). This one dimensional aspect of literacy translated into little to no mainstream or academic language contact and a lack of exposure to and practice with mainstream discourses (i.e. “professional” behavior, social “norms” like dining etiquette, and valuing “education”). Many look at these things as norms, but it’s only normal to certain people. Others have to figure these things out as they go which equates to a disadvantage.
Nonetheless, measured by mainstream standards I was a good student. Through the 10th grade I was always on the honor roll and had a high B/low A average. Both my elementary and middle schools had students whose parents were overwhelmingly working-class. Seldom do I remember having classmates whose parents owned anything besides their homes and they typically worked jobs similar to my parents. Considering the teaching styles I encountered, I vividly remember coming to class and having many things written on the board so that my classmates and I could copy them in a journal; in addition, we had to have signed and dated hall passes to use the restroom. I was typically taught mechanical, rote memorization type of skills. It would be hard to say that we were being trained to be creative, express our thoughts on life, or lead the country through decision making. We were being trained to follow rules. One of the rules I never quite understood was standing in a line to travel throughout the school. I remember being in the eighth grade and my classmates and I arguing with the teacher about how we didn’t need rules or to stand in line in order to travel to other classrooms. From my recollection, the teacher just didn’t think we were capable. My high school experience was a bit different.
I went to a high school that had a significant amount of students from wealthy families. I remember going to parties in high school where my classmates had elevators in their homes. Some of my classmates lived on “the Ridge” (Alameda Ridge that is). In retrospect, it isn’t simply that these experiences are different because of the content of the curriculum, what is also equally important is how the information and experience is transmitted to the student. I had a math class that comes to mind. In this class, I remember being sent to the library for almost weeks at a time to do research creatively. We were given very open instructions as to how to structure our research and to what it could be on. I clearly remember feeling as though I wanted more rules. I also remember some of my classmates going right to it while I pondered; I wasn’t accustomed to having that type of freedom. That part of me, the creative side, had been suppressed.
Honestly, I have spent the last few years trying to patch up the holes in my mathematics and grammar that I’m positive is a result of this inequity. Much of my math and writing have small unusual holes and gaps that don’t make sense. How can I do 400 level mathematics courses but not be clear on simple aspects of Algebra; how can I write as often and with such enjoyment as I do and never quite understand when and when not to use commas. Matter of fact, I remember asking a number of my writing instructors over the years what the “rules” were for this and I never seemed to get a concrete answer. Maybe I was only taught the basics. The color of my skin, my social class “category”, and my parent’s educational history has had a profound effect on my education. Much of my pertinent education has come outside of the classroom where I study on my own.
Posted by
at
09:14:00
Hey! I see you’re still posting! You shoudl write and autobiography haha! No seriously, this is really good. We should get together! When though!!!!!