Why are so many African American and Latino students performing less well than their Asian and White peers in classes and on exams? Researchers have argued that African American and Latino students who rebel against "acting white" doom themselves to lower levels of scholastic, economic, and social achievement. In Keepin' It Real: School Success beyond Black and White, Prudence Carter turns the conventional wisdom on its head arguing that what is needed is a broader recognition of the unique cultural styles and practices that non-white students bring to the classroom. Based on extensive interviews and surveys of students in New York, she demonstrates that the most successful negotiators of our school systems are the multicultural navigators, culturally savvy teens who draw from multiple traditions, whether it be knowledge of hip hop or of classical music, to achieve their high ambitions. Keepin' it Real refutes the common wisdom about teenage behavior and racial difference, and shows how intercultural communication, rather than assimilation, can help close the black-white gap.
Author(s): Prudence L. Carter
Year: 2005
Language: English
Pages: 240
Contents......Page 18
Introduction Minding the Gap: Race, Ethnicity, Achievement, and Cultural Meaning......Page 22
1 Beyond Belief: Mainstreamers, Straddlers, and Noncompliant Believers......Page 38
2 “Black” Cultural Capital and the Conflicts of Schooling......Page 66
3 Between a “Soft” and a “Hard” Place: Gender, Ethnicity, and Culture in the School and at Home......Page 96
4 Next-Door Neighbors: The Intersection of Gender and Pan-Minority Identity......Page 126
5 New “Heads” and Multicultural Navigators: Race, Ethnicity, Poverty,and Social Capital......Page 156
6 School Success Has No Color......Page 176
Appendix......Page 194
Notes......Page 202
Bibliography......Page 214
A......Page 232
C......Page 233
G......Page 234
M......Page 235
R......Page 236
T......Page 237
Z......Page 238
