"Cuz I'm only learning baby stuff."
This was the answer a high school principal received when he asked a sophomore why he wanted to drop out of school in a meeting with his parents and teachers. Alas, the principal, with a stack of papers in front of him, responded to the student by announcing, "But you are, according to my records, reading at a 1st grade level, and you have to work hard to improve this."
"Why is my teacher giving me this baby stuff to read?"
This complaint came from a 4th grade student. His teacher explained that she was making sure his guided and independent reading books were at his instructional level, even though it was far below that of his peers. She went on to say that she had explained to him numerous times why he had to read the easier books and that he needed to practice more before he could read the books his friends were reading.
"I'm not stupid. School is stupid."
When I asked this 5th grade student to share more about why school is stupid, he continued, "I get baby stuff in the resource room, and I get baby stuff in my class. I get baby stuff all day."
Seek Out Strengths
All of these boys were part of what educators consider traditionally underperforming groups. They were black and came from so-called "impoverished" communities. Their teachers didn't expect any presence of literacy in their homes. And since students rarely completed homework (more baby stuff), some teachers felt that these students didn't care about their education. In other words, they were pointing to deficits in these boys and their families, and at the same time, holding schools—and themselves—as exculpatory (Valencia, 1997). However, their perceptions of these boys were inaccurate at best. They came from hardworking families who wanted more than anything for their sons to do well in school and get good jobs. These boys were well-fed, had beds to sleep in, had books and online sources to read, wrote letters and lists, attempted to rap, saw multiple members of their families go to work every day or every evening, babysat their younger siblings or cousins, went to church, played sports, hung out with their friends, and often discussed the importance and frustration of getting an education at school.
Unfortunately, baby stuff is a common refrain I hear among these boys when I go through meetings, interviews, evaluations, and consultations with them and their teachers, administrators, and parents.
Here were boys who spoke up, loud and clear, about baby stuff, only to be immediately disempowered. In the words of Kirkland (2013), there is "a fatal assumption made when literacy is regarded as a possession, usually owned by the schools and the dominant group" (p. 148). In their ethnographic studies of young black children living in urban poverty, Taylor and Dorsey-Gaines (1988) found families who were highly literate and yet were not educated in the traditional sense of the word. They asserted that "education and literacy cannot be used interchangeably" (p. 202). Even though these boys completed literacy practices in their homes and communities, Kirkland explained that "with assumptions attached to 'literacy' and 'education,' black men are understood and come to understand themselves in racist terms—that is, that black men don't read and write" (p. 140).
Conscious acknowledgment of and legitimacy for unique and personal experiences that provide multiple roads to literacy are important for reaching students from diverse backgrounds (Goodman, 1997). When educators explore the interrelationship between language, identity, and power, they can turn to culturally responsive teaching or restorative practices in their classrooms and schools (Lazar, Edwards, & McMillon, 2012). Such practices allow educators with a positive, strength-based manner to see how languages, linguistics, and literacies are already present as part of their students' lives and worldviews.
Challenge the Goldilocks Rule
For years, teachers have been using simple benchmarks, tests, or other assessment tools to select materials that attempt to align with students' abilities. This is often known as the Goldilocks Rule—selected books are not too difficult and not too easy but supposedly just right. Unfortunately, this was how all three boys ended up confronting baby stuff at their schools. While tests have a range of statistical validity, reliability, bias, scaling, and standard settings, test scores usually do not provide a direct and complete measure of educational achievement (Koretz, 2008). We need to reconsider text complexity in terms of both quantitative and qualitative issues and how well the match is between readers, texts, and tasks (Fisher, Frey, & Lapp, 2012, p. 2). And, according to Zambo and Brozo (2009), for males in particular, we must discover their entry point texts—materials they will find immediately gratifying that will propel them to read more (p. 7).
Acknowledge Mismatches Between Spoken Language and Print
All three boys spoke a variation of English, commonly known as African American or black English. However, their struggles did not stem from spoken language differences but rather from teachers who did not differentiate between spoken language versus written English and comprehension. There is no need to expect students to read aloud on an exacting word-by-word or letter-by-letter basis. There is no need to note, score, or correct misused words that do not change the meaning. Additionally, student answers to comprehension questions may not exactly correspond with a teacher's worldview or expectations. Instead of reading baby stuff for accuracy and "correct" answers, these boys should move on to read and discuss more interesting and challenging texts.
Offer Authentic and Engaging Material
All three boys carried a wealth of knowledge and experiences that was not transferred to their school environment, primarily because schools have developed an unstated framework for what is considered acceptable, comfortable, and safe literacy. Educators should offer or allow students to read authentic and engaging material in all kinds of formats and genres, even when the content may feel controversial or the text level may be considered too advanced for them. Examples of such materials include graphic novels, comic books, sports magazines, news media, automobile manuals, fantasy football news and stats, or lyrics.
Listen, Listen, and Listen
Educators have interactions with students who experience the world differently on a daily basis, particularly in culturally, linguistically, economically, and academically diverse communities. Thoughtfully listening, reflecting, and paraphrasing students' messages is empowering for both students and educators. Cries over baby stuff need to be heard. Listening builds trustful relationships in which students feel safe exploring the more standardized form of English in print as a viable addition to their already intact repertoire of languages, linguistics, and literacies.
