Like many other Black families, Hakeem and his parents felt confident enough to question the lead teacher, and the assistant teacher was courageous enough to offer a contrasting opinion. But it’s not hard to imagine this situation going another way if the lead teacher had continued to focus on her frustrations with Hakeem’s high-energy play rather than acknowledging his enthusiasm and willingness to work with his classmates— leading to a very different outcome for Hakeem.

Black boys, school discipline, and adults’ choices

Throughout the United States, Black boys tend to be viewed as troublemakers from a very young age. Adults often see Black boys as older and less innocent than their White peers (a practice called adultification), and their play is perceived as more dangerous, violent, and not developmentally appropriate. According to a 2016 report from the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, Black children make up only 19% of preschool enrollment, but they represent 47% of preschool children receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions. In comparison, White children represent 41% of preschool enrollment but only 28% of preschool children receiving one or more out-of-school suspensions. Many of these suspensions are the result of zero-tolerance policies, where even minor “misbehavior,” like Hakeem’s, triggers automatic penalties that include suspension and expulsion.

Racial disparities in suspension can and do dampen Black boys’ enthusiasm toward school—they often get the message that school is a place where they are watched, not welcomed. This in turn makes them less likely to be actively involved in acquiring academic knowledge and skills, socializing with other children, and interacting with teachers. As a result, far too many Black boys are denied genuine opportunities to achieve at high levels because of an unwelcoming classroom climate that contributes to inequity and negative assumptions based on race and gender.

In contrast, culturally competent teachers are aware of the ways Black boys are disproportionately and inappropriately punished in and outside of school. In addition to making sure this wrong is not perpetuated in their classrooms, they seek ways to foster Black boys’ developing senses of identity, agency, and voice.

How can teachers learn to identify and address their own biases and increase their cultural competence? How can they best support Black boys’ social, emotional, physical, psychological, and intellectual development?

Moving from deficits to strengths

Use these questions to prompt your own critical self-reflection as you work to recognize unconscious biases and eliminate them from your classroom.

• Reflect on your perceptions of the children in your class. How might they be affected by the tendency of many adults to view Black boys as older than their actual age and more dangerous than their peers? Ask yourself, “Am I holding the Black boys in my class to different standards of behavior than other children and, if so, how?”
   
• Notice the language you use when talking about Black boys. How often are you using terms like “aggressive,” “unteachable,” “hyperactive,” or “out of control”? How does your language shift when you talk about other children?
   
• Consider how often you focus on what children lack rather than what they bring to the classroom. When reflecting on classroom successes and challenges, try flipping your questions. For example, instead of Hakeem’s teacher asking herself, “Why won’t that boy behave?,” she could have wondered, “What can I do to help turn Hakeem’s energy into a leadership opportunity? Would he enjoy leading the class in a game of Simon Says?”​
   
• Pay attention to the activities and materials that most engage the Black boys in your class, and how the children show that engagement. How can you help to nurture these interests and support Black boys’ growth (while keeping in mind that not all Black boys will share the same interest in those activities or materials)?
   
• Learn about the larger structural challenges Black boys face, including the systemic racism that affects family income and wealth, access to resources, representations of African Americans in the media, and the likelihood of involvement in the criminal justice system (which is often summed up as the school-to-prison pipeline). Ask yourself, “What obstacles do Black boys face that I haven’t acknowledged? How do Black boys reveal their creativity, resilience, resourcefulness, and brilliance in overcoming these challenges?”

When teachers look for Black boys’ strengths and reflect on classroom exchanges to try to identify misunderstandings (especially cultural differences), they are more likely to reject stereotypes, build meaningful relationships, and offer the warmth, support, and enrichment that high-quality preschool promises to all children. To ensure that Black boys reach their full potential, it is imperative that teachers proactively take a culturally competent, strengths-based approach. By this, I mean that teaching and learning need to be responsive to the diverse identities of Black boys, including their different languages, literacies, interactional styles, and cultural practices. This cultural responsiveness will help teachers to recognize and engage the positive identity development of Black boys, and to encourage Black boys to use their authentic voices toward agency as full and respected community members.

From reflection to action

When teachers spend time reflecting on themselves and their practices and then turn those observations into concrete change in the classroom, they enable Black boys to bring their own experiences, ideas, and practices into the learning space as important and enriching contributions.

In the April/May 2019 issue of TYC, I will provide suggestions for activities and practices that can help Black boys feel like valued members of the classroom community (rather than troublemakers) and that create space for Black boys to thrive.