Haynes, Rebecca EDF 3210 Theorist Reflection 4: John Ogbu

a- Ogbu was born in 1939 in Nigeria. He went to to Methodist Teachers' Training college

to become a minister. To further his plans of becoming a minister he enrolled in a theological

seminary at Princeton University. While being there he noticed that he needed to know more

about his country and turned his passion to Anthropology (Maclay, 2003).

While doing Anthropology he noticed that there was a split between the dominant

culture group and the minority culture group when it came to academic achievement. he himself

being a minority and an immigrant. His work came to prominence when he studied African-

American students in an upscale Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights Cleveland. What he

noticed was that African-American students were lagging behind their white classmates in

standardized tests, grade point average and advanced courses. He published his findings in a

book titled Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb: A Study of Academic

Disengagement. The book explored the Black-White achievement gap and answered the

questions of why Blacks were not achieving high academically as their white counterparts

(Carter, 2004).

I picked John Ogbu because I could relate to his theory of Acting white. Most of my

academic career has been in predominantly Black schools. I spoke in proper English and did very

well in school because of it I was picked on. I never felt bad because my parents explained to me

how some of the students in my class were misinformed. They told me that the media’s

portrayal of African-American’s were erroneous and racially biased. The media tried to show

blacks in a negative light , the youngsters in my class began believing it and thus had a

misconstrued view of what it meant to be Black in America. My parents told me to be proud of

who I was and that my ancestors had built this country . They instilled in me a sense of pride in
my heritage and gratitude towards my predecessors. My parents always encouraged me to get my

education and be the best that I could be because my ancestors were not dummies and I wasn’t

one either. Through John Ogbu’s theories I believe I can educate my students on the benefits of

being intelligent and that doing well in school isn’t bad nor does it make you a traitor, or betray

your culture. I want to instill a sense of pride in my student’s toward their heritage. I want them

to know that those who paved the way fought hard for equal rights so that the succeeding

generations could have the opportunities they dreamed of. My students must know that skin

color, sex nor social class is indicative of one’s potential, ability to learn or one’s skill, this can

only be determined by an individual’s self will, desire, tenacity and passion. I want my students

to know that there is nothing wrong with being smart, the only people that have a problem with

this are the ones who are threatened by their potential.

b- Ogbu found that there were two types of minorities voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary

minorities were immigrants who came to a country of their own free will. Voluntary minorities

come to a country with the realization that they may be a minority right now but if they work

hard they will eventually be a part of the dominant culture group. An example of this would be

the Italian migrant workers who came to America. They were once a minority but as time went

on, over generations, they were engrafted into the dominant culture group. Involuntary (non

immigrant) minorities are those that were brought to a country or were already there and the

dominant culture group tried to assimilate them. For instance, the Native American’s were here

way before the White settlers came, they were the first American’s. However the white settlers

didn’t seem to think so and treated the Native American’s harshly and tried to make them accept

the White European culture. Another example of this would be the slaves that were brought to

America from Africa. They didn’t come to America on their own accord they were taken as
captives on ships and forced to do menial labor. This explains why some minorities are relatively

successful even though they may be discriminated against. Ogbu argued that academic success

in school does not come from genetic, linguistic or cognitive differences but History. He said to

look at how a minority group has been treated by the dominant culture group through the years

(Ogbu, & Simmons, 1998).

Ogbu theorized A resistance culture is one that is in oposition of the dominant culture’s values,

attitudes and beliefs. A resistance or oppositional culture is content with the fact that they are not

accepted with the dominant culture. Therefore, the members of the oppositional culture create

their own morals, values, language anything that can distinguish them from being or “fitting-in”

with the dominant culture. An example of this would be the Black’s in America. After years of

being discriminated against they created their own identity. How they defined their selves was

through music (jazz, Soul, Rhythm & Blues, Gospel etc) the way in which they behaved their

own language (Ebonics) their own food etc. Low socioeconomic status individuals from these

ethnic backgrounds reject studying, attending class and any other behavior that would make them

successful in school. They feel that by being unsuccessful in school helps them maintain identity

within their cultural group. Individuals from this culture group that achieving in school is

making them more acceptable to the dominant or White culture. Therefore if they were to do

good in school they would be “Acting White”. Individual’s from this culture group feel that if

they don’t do well in school they have maintained their culture identity because they have not

succumbed to the demands of the dominant or White culture .Ogbu studies mainly pertain to
African Americans he referred to Black student’s uneasiness about achieving in school as the

fear of “Acting white”(Woolfolk, 2011).

c- My goal as an educator is to promote learning for all my students. The one’s who have all

the resources and the ones who lack them, those from the dominant culture and those who are

minorities. John Ogbu’s research has enlightened me about one’s own belief system on

academic achievement. Yes finances and social class dictate many of the statistics however they

are not deciding factors in a child’s academic success. That can only be determined by a

student’s willingness to defy cultural norms. Cultural norms which include stupid theories of

what are acceptable and what isn’t. Success in sports and in relationships is accepted why

academic excellence should be any different. As an educator I want to promote learning in all my

students the rich, the poor the middle class, everyone. They must know that learning is universal

and that anyone can do it they just have to be dedicated, tenacious and have be passionate. I

know that minorities are underrepresented in Advanced Placement classes , as an educator I

will pay particular attention to the minority students in my class and provide them extra

encouragement. An example of encouragement includes each month celebrating a minority who

contributed their findings to science. I will introduce these achievements based on the

chapter/unit that is being covered. This is a great way to teach my White students about

minorities’ prominence in science. This is also a great tool for the minority student’s I want my

students to know that their ancestors are an integral part of America and so are they. That

academic achievement is nothing to be frowned at, it’s something to celebrate. I want them to

feel proud of who they are. When a student feels proud of where they come from then they will

be more likely to achieve.

d- Minority students are at risk of dropping out of school at a rate twice as high as White

students. Low socioeconomic students have a dropout rate double that. Minority students

between the ages of 14 and 17 ( 9th-11th grade) are at risk even more for dropping out . Although

statistics are abysmal there is still something that can be done. Educators must put aside their

own racial biases and generalizations to help lower the dropout rate in America. A good way for

this to occur is to get to know students. Teachers should look beyond what the Individualized

Education plan says and look at what their student is saying. One way educators can get to know

students better is through a questionnaire, usually given on the first day of class. The

questionnaire should include such questions as what do you like to do for free time? Where were

you born? What other languages do you speak? What is your family like? What is your ethnic

heritage? These questions give teachers a little background to where their students are from,

which can help them understand why student’s may behave in the manner that they do. When

teachers know where there students are coming from they can help get guide them to where they

need to be ( on the road of success).

Parents have a huge responsibility in promoting academic excellence. Parents should

acknowledge when their child does well in school and not take it as the child betraying their

culture. Parents should accept the fact that promoting academic excellence in their child is

setting their child up for success. This can only be promoted when parents know where their

child stands. Asking how their day goes and what they learned in school is a basic, surface

summary of their academic progress. To get the details and the in’s and out’s, parent’s should

monitor their child’s grades. This can be done online via a website. In the state of Florida the

site is called Parent internet Viewer. Parents can find out if their child is attending class regularly
or if at all, due dates of projects, submitted homework assignments and past marking grading

periods. Parents should stay up to date with student progress by scheduling parent-teacher

conferences. By speaking regularly with the teacher, future problems can be foreseen and

concerns can be addressed. The best way for a parent to promote achievement is being cognizant

of their child’s progress and being concerned if they feel there is a problem. A great way for

parents to get involved is by attending Parent Teacher Association meetings, attending to school

functions, checking the child’s planner (elementary age children) and reading the school

newsletter . It shouldn’t take Timmy bringing home an F or D to intervene, a C on any

assignment should be a warning sign and a call to action.

 References

Carter, Dorinda. (2004). Editor's review of John U. Ogbu's black American Students in an

Affluent Suburb: A Study of Academic Disengagement . Harvard Educational Review,

Retrieved from http://www.hepg.org/her/abstract/38

Maclay, K. (2003, August 26). Anthropology professor John Ogbu dies at age 64 .

Retrieved from http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2003/08/26_ogbu.shtm

Ogbu, J, & Simmons, H. (1998). Voluntary and involuntary m i n o r i t i e s : A cultural-ecological

theory of school (Adobe Reader Digital Editions Version), Retrieved from

http://faculty.washington.edu/rsoder/EDUC310/OgbuSimonsvoluntaryinvoluntary

Woolfolk, A. (2011). Educational psychology: Active learning edition. Boston, MA: Pearson

Education, Inc.