Carol P. McNulty

“I'm not really that bad”: Alternative School Students, Stigma, and Identity Politics

Public schools in the United States are predicated upon some common, albeit contested, understanding of a “normal” child. Such an identity comes with corresponding rules of behavior. In this study, we use identity politics as the primary lens through which to interpret the experiences of students at an alternative middle and high school. Through ethnographic field observational data and student interviews over a four-month period, we examine student narratives to inform the theoretical framework of this research. We conclude that the alternative school in this case study is a stigmatized space for students with spoiled identities (Goffman, 1963). We offer implications for alternative schools in general and suggest that their design, by definition, can reinforce the stigmatized identity and its corresponding “deviant” behavior.

Help Wanted: Seeking the Critical Confluence of Minorities in Teaching.

The teaching force in the United States is facing an impending crisis, one that Scherff (2008) describes as a “perfect storm,” due to massive retirements, increasing impractical mandates related to the No Child Left Behind Act, and an alarmingly high teacher attrition rate. Currently, it isestimated that approximately one-third of teachers leave the field within three years, and nearly half of teachers leave within five years (Alliance for Excellent Education, 2005; Ingersoll, 2003). Thus, schools are often losing teachers before they reach their most experienced and effective years (Hopkins, 2008). Indeed, Ingersoll(2003) has referred to education as the proverbial revolving door. This unprecedented crisis in both the supply and retention of highly qualified teachers has devastating implications. For starters, the economic impact is overwhelming, costing the nation billions of dollars per year. Moreover, and more important, children, and most often those in low-economic areas, are left with inexperienced teachers who may be less likely to offer an initial quality education (Futernick, 2007; National Commission on Teaching and America‘s Future, 2007). As bleak as the above-mentioned reality is, another equally distressing byproduct of the teacher shortage is facing the United States. The crisis in the overall teacher shortage has overshadowed the severe underrepresentation of minority teachers in today’s teaching force. Trends continue to indicate that the teaching force is becoming increasingly white and middle class (Gordon, 2005), despite a significant trend toward increased diversification in the student population (National Center for Education Statistics, 2005). It is reported that over one-third of U.S. students are children of color (Kearney, 2008), while fewer than 16% of teachers report minority status (Stevens, Hamman, & Olivarez, 2007). In this article, we foreground the disproportionate number of majority teachers for two reasons: to underscore the importance of recruiting and retaining minority teachers in K-12 education, and to offer suggestions to help majority teachers work more effectively with minority students.

Introduction: Teacher Education Programs in the Midst of Change

(2011). Introduction: Teacher Education Programs in the Midst of Change. Childhood Education: Vol. 87, Teacher Education Programs: In the Midst of Change, pp. 315-317.

Family Connections: Helping Children Understand Fraction Concepts Using Various Contexts and Interpretations

T h e topic of fractions can be intimidating and difficult for children, even into the middle grades. Elementary schoolchildren spend a lot of time learning about whole numbers and then attempt to apply those ideas when working with fractions. Although i t is important for children to apply their prior knowledge, problems may arise if they apply the knowledge incorrectly. For example, 10 is larger than 5, but not when comparing 1/10 to 1/5. Beyond establishing the rules and procedures for working with fractions, teachers often do not have a lot of time for developing students’ understanding of the meaning for fractions.

Turn the Kaleidoscope: Fifteen Strategies to Shift Perspectives When Learning

(2011). Turn the Kaleidoscope: Fifteen Strategies to Shift Perspectives When Learning. Childhood Education: Vol. 87, No. 3, pp. 154-160.