The racial achievement gap in literacy is one of the most difficult issues in education today, and nowhere does it manifest itself more perniciously than in the case of black adolescent males. ...Approaching the problem from the inside, author Alfred Tatum brings together his various experiences as a black male student, middle school teacher working with struggling black male readers, reading specialist in an urban elementary school, and staff developer in classrooms across the nation. His book, Teaching Reading to Black Adolescent Males: Closing the Achievement Gap' addresses the adolescent shift black males face and the societal experiences unique to them that can hinder academic progress. With an authentic and honest voice, Tatum bridges the connections among theory, instruction, and professional development to create a roadmap for better literacy achievement. He presents practical suggestions for providing reading strategy instruction and assessment that is explicit, meaningful, and culturally responsive, as well as guidelines for selecting and discussing nonfiction and fiction texts with black males. The author's first-hand insights provide middle school and high school teachers, reading specialists, and administrators with new perspectives to help schools move collectively toward the essential goal of literacy achievement for all.
This forum focuses on the intersections of texts and identities with the aim of selecting and mediating texts that readers and writers find valuable within and outside of formal educational settings.
This forum focuses on the intersections of texts and identities with the aim of selecting and mediating texts that readers and writers find valuable within and outside of formal educational settings.
In this report, the authors describe the scope and scale of Black male literacy research; discuss theories, conceptual frames, and groundings informing the research on Black male literacy education ...in grades preK–12; and offer insights on Black male literacy research based on the current state of research. Each is based on an extensive review of quantitative and qualitative literacy research studies from 1999 to 2020 with primary or secondary data analysis solely or predominantly focused on Black males in grades preK–12. Four directions for future research are offered to nurture a scientific culture on Black male literacy education to address the methodological possibilities to capture the complexities of the literacy education of Black males across multiple contexts (e.g., in school, out of school), multiple locations (e.g., urban, rural, and suburban), and school types (traditional public, private, parochial, charter, home, boarding).
In this article, Alfred Tatum argues that the current framing of the adolescent literacy crisis fails to take into account the in-school and out-of-school challenges confronting many African American ...male adolescents today, particularly those growing up in high-poverty communities. Using the metaphor of literacy instruction as a human body, he argues that in the absence of sound theory about the importance of texts for African American male adolescents, even the best instructional methods will fall flat, like a body without a head. He offers a more anatomically complete model in which instructional methods are governed by theories about how literacy can help young men of color respond to their immediate contexts, and in which professional development gives legs to these methods by preparing teachers to engage all students. Finally, in a case study of one Chicago youth, Tatum illustrates both the power that relevant texts can hold for young men of color and the missed opportunities that result when students do not encounter such texts in their schools. (Contains 4 figures and 3 tables.)
This book will help educators rethink their expectations of and practices for developing the literacy skills of Black boys in the elementary school classroom. Tatum shows educators how to bring ...students' literacy development into greater focus by creating an early intellectual infrastructure of advanced literacy, knowledge, and personal development. He provides a strong conceptual frame, with associated instructional and curricular practices, designed to move Black boys from across the economic spectrum toward advanced literacy that aligns with the Black intellectual tradition. Readers will learn how to use texts from a broad range of potential professions, across academic disciplines, to nurture social and scientific consciousness. The text includes guidance for selecting texts, reading supports, prompts for analysis, and examples of student work. "Teaching Black Boys in the Elementary Grades" counters the current obsession with basic and proficient reading and argues for adopting an exponential growth model of literacy development. This book features: (1) A multidimensional model that supports reading and writing development; (2) Student writing artifacts that can be used as a model for teachers; (3) Sample lessons with texts for use across the academic disciplines; and (4) A strong conceptual and curricular frame to support educators in their text selection. Foreword written by Josh Parker. Afterword written by Cornelius Minor.
This commentary discusses the legacy of Walter Dean Myers in relationship to advancing writing as an intellectual tool of protection for black male teens. Multiple implications are provided for ...teachers who want to engage black male teens to write fearlessly to extend the legacy of Walter Dean Myers.
Advancing the literacy development of African American males in contexts that are characteristically urban has been a challenging task for educators across the P-12 spectrum. Frames that have been ...traditionally used to improve the reading achievement of African American males have not reversed trends in reading achievement that find many of these young males underperforming on traditional reading assessments. The purpose of this article is to reframe the discussion on the literacy development of African American males based on a review of several bodies of literature. Attention is given to evidence-based reading research: three historical frames of the literacy development of African American males and a literacy model for advancing the literacy development of African American male youth in urban schools. Finally, a research agenda is proposed for advancing the literacy development of African American male youth with the goal of offering guidance to teachers, teacher educators, researchers, and policymakers.
This forum focuses on the intersections of texts and identities with the aim of selecting and mediating texts that readers and writers find valuable within and outside of formal educational settings.
