The Guide for White Women Who Teach Black Boys

Toward A Black PlayCrit in Educational Leadership: What School Leaders Need to Know About Black Boyhood Play

“…Not only have research studies acknowledged the ways in which early childhood education has academically failed Black boys, but there is also ample information about how it has failed them socially when teachers are unable to meet their needs in culturally relevant and affirming ways. Consistent with a compendium of research studies on Black boys' social outcomes (Gilliam et al, 2016;Miller-Dyce et al, 2020;Moore et al, 2018;Nasir et al, 2019;Wint et al, 2021), Wright and Counsell (2018) have noted that early childhood education is a discipline hub for Black boys. Indeed, rather than educating them, early childhood educators school them by over-disciplining and under-educating them (Shujaa, 1994).…”

“…Similarly, Sealey-Ruiz and Greene (2015) documented how films including Dangerous Minds and Boys in the Hood reinforced stereotypes and biases about Black (and Latino) boys among preservice teachers prior to entering into K-12 classrooms. Given the stereotypical and biased lens teachers bring to classrooms (Moore et al, 2018;Sealey-Ruiz & Greene, 2015), they often misinterpret Black boy's behaviors, which leads to the boys' disproportionate suspension and expulsion from early childhood classrooms.…”

“…According to recent statistics, 78% of school administrators are White (McFarland et al, 2017). While being White is not a problem in and of itself, it does often make it difficult to understand and build relationships with Black boys and other students of Color with different cultural ways of knowing and being (Moore et al, 2018;Picower, 2021). Even Black boys themselves have verbalized their concerns about contentious relationships with Black and White school administrators (L. Howard, 2012).…”