Abdel-hamid Murci
10/03/2023
Prof. Barnes (ACL 150)
School Disadvantages for an African-Born or Raised Student
One of the many problems or struggles of an African-born or raised student, it being able to fit in. “Our children face a dilemma in school or anywhere they go,” said an African-born father. An African-raised young man continues to elaborate on this idea/statement, from a point of view of what goes on in a classroom and how different the daily practices of his piers are in school, compared to how he was raised. Raised in an African household, he was taught things that would come customary to his culture, such as being humble, keeping a cool, calm, and collective demeanor, speaking accordingly and respectfully, never acting reckless, and so on. Then comparing it to his school piers, where in a classroom students are almost completely opposite. For example, a teacher would hold an open discussion, where then one student would raise their hand to answer, and another would go on to cut them off mid-answer, while someone else would blurt out another comment. “They try to push you to be yourself in this educational system, but being raised the way I am raised it would not work out very well,” the African-raised student states. And in all of this, while having a good answer for whatever the question(s) maybe, and not wanting to interrupt/overtake anyone else’s, the African-raised student comes off as not wanting to participate, un-attentive, and likewise. All due to lack of cultural understanding and consideration.
In “African-Born Immigrants in U.S. Schools,” 4 main issue are discussed, 1. The growing demographic representation of the African population; 2. The need for African voices in the multicultural education scholarship; 3. The limited recognition of African cultures in U.S. schools and society; and 4. Challenges and possibilities of advocacy for a deeper and broader coverage of African topics in the U.S. curriculum. Banks & Banks (2007) have defined multicultural education as, “ an idea, a reform movement, and a process whose major goal is to change the structure of educational institutions so that male and female students, exceptional students, and students who are members of diverse racial, ethnic, language, and cultural groups will have an equal chance to achieve academically in school. It is without a doubt that as time passes by, the U.S. African immigrant rate grows. Naturally with this growth comes various types of African’s in the communities. Now even though they are “in” the community, there is fine line that is drawn between being “in” the community and being “a part of” of the community. Now even though we can’t really point fingers and blame a certain someone or a certain race for that, we can take it into our own hands to unify as one. This barrier is built on lack of cultural understanding, stereotyping, outdated expectations of the parents and children, no cultural appropriate representation, and the list can go on and on. One way this can be at least minimized is by implementing or creating partnerships with African studies programs to sponsor lectures, seminars, and talks on Africa and Africans to both active and inactive teachers, students, and parents. And another is encouraging teachers to apply for exchange program opportunities. When both the teachers and students engage in this with the aim of African nations as the study, not only will this open an opportunity to visit and learn about African countries, but the smaller, less travelled to countries in Africa can also be taken into study. That way it is not only the big African countries but also the minority in Africa as well.
Not only am I an African-raised student, but I am an African-Muslim raised student. This is a complex mix of both cultural and religious tradition and practices. Everyday I live my life, everyday I can see that even though I can understand and coexist with American practices or culture, a lot have yet learn even the basics of my practices and traditions. I have had instances where this barrier has caused very awkward or intense moments, because somethings that I have just been raised on, may seem out the ordinary in the U.S. For example, I was taught that men and women should not be touching, unless certain conditions are met, out of respect for each other and protection from any unwanted motives. But if I am at an interview, or speaking with a classmate, and suddenly a female would reach her hand out, now I have to be that guy and in the most courteous kind of way explain why I can’t “simply” shake her hand. And this is one of many scenarios that occur not just for me or for Africans alone, but majority of immigrants may experience the same things.
