Book Club

I got to read Honky by Dalton Conley.  This book initially intrigued me because it is about a white boy in a predominantly black community.  Having never formed part of the minority myself, I wanted to learn more about what it would be like in the tables were turned and I were to find myself as the odd one out.  As I read I found that being in that position definitely had disadvantages, yet regardless of being the minority in his community, being white provided Conley with opportunities that his black peers missed out on.

Reading Conley's experiences, I found that racism was institutionalized by those around him. Specifically people in the schooling system.  He tells a story about the Christmas gifts he and his younger sister received while participating in a head start program before kindergarten.  The teachers gave all of the students dolls that matched their race (i.e. white dolls for white children and black dolls for black children).  While I'm sure this was well intended, and probably even an attempt to NOT be racial, all of the black girls wanted Conley's sister's doll, saying it was "the real barbie." These teachers, in an attempt to racially sensitive, ended up reinforcing racism.  This was a bit uncomfortable for me because I feel like the teachers were in a lose-lose situation.  By trying to be sensitive they offended. Conley says the next year everyone got black dolls, regardless of race.  I have heard people complain about dolls and their looks and the large amounts of white dolls.  I wonder if they had opted to give all the children white dolls if parents would have complained.  This makes me nervous because I can see myself in the place of those teachers.  In trying to do what is right I might offend.

Another disruption going along with the dolls is about the institutionalized racism Conley describes in his grade school.  When he arrives, he is the only white boy in the school.  Not knowing where to place him, the principal explains to Conley and his mother that there is an asian class, an african american class, and a latino class. This school that is supposedly integrated still segregates the races into separate classes.  Again, I imagine the administration did so to make things easier for the kids or the teachers, but they are reinforcing that different needs to be separate, and inevitably one is superior.  I don't think this is the message they intended, but it was disturbingly clear in the reading. This, along with the fact that Conley was never struck on the knuckles for misbehaving like the rest of his black peers, shows that there is even racism within the races.  This is hard for me to swallow because it shows me that the problem is bigger than just white vs. black.

Another big thing in this book dealt with class and poverty.  Conley is poor, but white.  Because of the schooling situation in his neighborhood, his mother works it out so he can go to a school across town.  This school's student body is mostly white, but they are middle class.  It was interesting to see that although Conley was white, he still never felt like he fit in because of his poverty.  He often talks about feeling like he's living to lives, but isn't fully accepted in either.  Conley is more worried about having the right labels on his clothes or if he has enough money to buy snacks like the other kids than he is about what is going on in school.  This point helped reiterate what we had discussed in class about poverty being a distraction for students; often they have more important things on their minds that what is going on inside the classroom

My favorite point made by the author is about cultural capital.  Conley talks about lots of different experiences: his friend Jerome being shot, another friend Marc being sent to prison, going to a better elementary,getting into his top choice high school even though his scores weren't actually high enough, not being blamed for a fire he accidentally started, etc.  In all these cases he alludes to cultural capital as the reason he receives these privileges or special treatment.  As I read these accounts individually I found myself rebutting the author, thinking, "how can he be sure his race helped him not be punished for that or get into that school?".  At the end of the book Conley compares these experiences with traffic on a major highway by saying, "Masses of cars lunge and recoil according to some not-so-complicated algorithm.  Pulling back even further we would notice that roads cover only a small portion of the earth's surface.  From above, we don't appear to have much choice in where we are going, or how fast we can get there, but that does not deny each driver's experience of freedom and agency.  It's the same with race and class.  When I look back on my life and that of my neighbors, I cannot say that it was racism that got Jerome shot or that landed me in Struyvesant (high school) or that sent Marc to prison.  Nor can I conclude definitely that it was class that propelled me to the school district across town or got me off the hook when I burned down Raphael's apartment.  Maybe I happened to change lanes just in the nick of time to avoid and accident; perhaps a traffic cop happened not to see me when I pulled an illegal maneuver.  But when I add up all these particular experiences -- as I have done in this book -- the invisible contours of inequality start to take form, like the clogged traffic arteries of I-95." (203-204, emphasis added). This explanation by the author helped me to see that by looking at the pattern of cultural capital more can be learned than by individual instances.  Like he says, Conley's race or class may or may not have played a role in his experiences, but added all together it is difficult to deny that it has played an important role in the opportunities he's had.  For me, this was the biggest teaching moment of the book.

This book didn't really address directly teacher student relationships, but I think it has shown me the importance of teachers being aware of the circumstances their students are in.  Dalton Conley looked one thing on the outside, but his experiences and background was something different than the peers who were similar to him physically.  Also, using special treatment isn't always the answer.  I think of his teachers that didn't hit him for misbehaving or the teachers that gave out "racially accurate" dolls. These experiences caused more harm than good for everyone involved.  I don't want to get in my own way.  As a teacher I hope to be able to find solutions for what is best for everyone, starting with not hitting any of my students.  Occasionally I think people do need exceptions made for them, but I plan on making these exceptions with students individually, not for all to see.  Though not mentioned in the book, I feel like his teachers didn't really take advantage of all the cultural diversity and different funds of knowledge their students possessed.  As a teacher I plan to use students experiences as a spring-board to form my lessons and discussions.

I genuinely enjoyed reading this book.  Some things I expected, and other things surprised me.  In the very end the author talks about how his story (that of just one life) isn't statistically generalizable.  He says, "What's gained in story is lost in numbers" (204).  I loved this.  While numbers can say a lot, its the individual that matters.  I want my classroom to be a place where I care about each individual student, and not the numbers that they represent.