Advertisement

The Urban Review

, Volume 50, Issue 2, pp 284–299 | Cite as

Understanding the Black Teacher Through Metaphor

  • Anthony L. Brown
  • Mary E. Dilworth
  • Keffrelyn D. Brown
Article
First Online:

Abstract

Teacher education scholars have long used the literary device of metaphor to describe the work of teachers. Metaphors offer colorful descriptions about the teacher and the profession of teaching. What also undergirds the use of metaphors about teaching is the underlying philosophies about the purpose of the teacher and teaching. We argue however, that race and culture inform the kind of metaphors one might use to describe the teacher . In this sense, racialized sociohistorical forces (Omi and Winant, Racial formation in the U.S., 3rd edn. Routledge, New York 2015) envelope the discourse of the teacher—particularly when deconstructing the metaphoric meaning of the “Black Teacher.” In this paper, we show how four metaphors took shape within historically situated contexts and have endured over time.

Keywords

Black teachers Metaphors Racialized discourses 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. Ayscue, J. B., & Orfield, G. (2016). Perpetuating separate and unequal worlds of educational opportunity through district lines: school segregation by race and poverty. Race, equity, and education (pp. 45–74). Berlin: Springer International Publishing.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Banks, J. A. (2015). Cultural diversity and education. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  3. Beauboeuf-Lafontant, T. (1999). A movement against and beyond boundaries: ‘Politically relevant teaching’” among African American teachers. Teachers College Record, 100(4), 702–723.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. Beauboeuf-Lafontant, T. (2002). A womanist experience of caring: Understanding the pedagogy of exemplary Black women teachers. Urban Review, 34(1), 71–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Blackshear, E. L. (1969 [1902]). What is the Negro teacher doing in the matter of uplifting the race?. In D. W. Kulp (Ed.), Twentieth century Negro literature (pp. 334–338). New York: Arno.Google Scholar
  6. Bohrnstedt, G., Kitmitto, S., Ogut, B., Sherman, D., & Chan, D. (2015). School composition and the Black-White achievement gap (NCES 2015-018). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics.Google Scholar
  7. Boyd, D., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2003). Understanding teacher labor markets: Implications for equity. In M. Plecki & D. Monk (Eds.), School finance and teacher quality: Exploring the connection (pp. 55–84). New York: Taylor and Francis.Google Scholar
  8. Brown, A. L. (2009). “Brothas Gonna Work it Out:” Understanding the pedagogic performance of African American male teachers working with African American Male students. The Urban Review, 41(5), 416–435.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Brown, A. L. (2012). On human kinds and role models: A critical discussion about the African American male teacher. Educational Studies, 48(3), 296–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Brown, A. (2013). Waiting for superwoman: White female teachers and the construction of the “neoliberal savior” in a New York city public school. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 11(2), 123.Google Scholar
  11. Brown, K. D. (2014). Teaching in color: A critical race theory in education analysis of the literature on preservice teachers of color and teacher education in the US. Race Ethnicity and Education, 17(3), 326–345.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Bullough, R. V. (1991). Exploring personal teaching metaphors in preservice teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 42(1), 43–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Cann, C. N. (2015). What school movies and TFA teach us about who should teach urban youth: Dominant narratives as public pedagogy. Urban Education, 50(3), 288–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Carver-Thomas, D., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2017). Teacher turnover: Why it matters and what we can do about it. Palo Alto: Learning Policy Institute.Google Scholar
  15. Case, K. I. (1997). African American othermothering in the urban elementary classroom. Urban Review, 29(1), 25–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. Casey, K. (1990). Teacher as mother: Curriculum theorizing in the life histories of contemporary women teachers. Cambridge Journal of Education, 20(3), 301–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Cherng, H., & Halpin, P. (2016). The importance of minority teachers: Student perceptions of minority versus white teachers educational researcher. Educational Researcher, 45(7), 407–420.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. Clewell, B. C., Puma, M. J., & McKay, S. A. (2001). Does it matter if my teacher looks like me?: The impact of teacher race and ethnicity on student academic achievement. Urban Institute, Education Policy Center.Google Scholar
  19. Collins, P. H. (1990). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  20. Cooper, A. J. (1999 [1933]). On education. In C. Lemert & E. Bahn (Eds.), The voice of Anna Julia Cooper (pp. 248–258). New York: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
  21. D’Amico, D., Pawlewicz, R. J., Earley, P. M., & McGeehan, A. P. (2017). Where are all the black teachers? Discrimination in the teacher labor market. Harvard Educational Review, 87(1), 26–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Dee, T. S. (2005). A teacher like me: Does race, ethnicity, or gender matter? American Economic Review, 95(2), 158–165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Dee, T., & Goldhaber, D. (2017). The Hamilton Project: Understanding and addressing teacher shortages in the United States. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution.Google Scholar
  24. Dilworth, M. (Ed.). (2018). Introduction. In Millennial teachers of color (race and education). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.Google Scholar
  25. Dilworth, M., & Brown, C. (2001). Consider the difference: Teaching and learning in culturally rich schools. Handbook of research on teaching, 4, 643–667.Google Scholar
  26. Dilworth, M., & Brown, A. L. (2008). Teachers of color: Quality and effective teachers one way or another. Handbook of research on teacher education: Enduring questions in changing contexts, 3, 424–444.Google Scholar
  27. Dilworth, M., & Coleman, M. (2014). Time for a change: Diversity in teaching revisited. Washington, DC: NEA.Google Scholar
  28. Dixson, A. (2003). “Let’s do this!” Black women teachers’ politics and pedagogy. Urban Education, 38(2), 217–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. Dixson, A., & Dingus, J. (2008). In search of our mothers’ gardens: Black women teachers and professional socialization. Teachers College Record, 110(4), 805–837.Google Scholar
  30. Dumas, M. (2016). Against the dark: AntiBlackness in education policy and discourse. Theory into Practice, 55(1), 11–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Egalite, A. J., Kisida, B., & Winters, M. A. (2015). Representation in the classroom: The effect of own-race teachers on student achievement. Economics of Education Review, 45, 44–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. Fitchett, P. G., Hopper, E. B., McCarthy, C. J., & Lambert, R. G. (2017). Racial congruence, teacher stress, and professional commitment among African-American female teachers. In A. Farinde-Wu, A. Allen-Handy, & C. Lewis (Eds.), Black female teachers: Diversifying the United States’ teacher workforce (pp. 117–135). Bradford: Emerald Publishing.Google Scholar
  33. Fordham, S., & Ogbu, J. U. (1986). Black students’ school success: Coping with the “burden of ‘acting white’”. Urban Review, 18(3), 176–206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. Foster, M. (1993). Othermothers: Exploring the educational philosophy of black American women teachers. In M. Arnot & K. Weiler (Eds.), Feminism and social justice in education: International perspectives (pp. 101–123). Washington, DC: Farmer Press.Google Scholar
  35. Fultz, M. (1995). African-American teachers in the South, 1890–1940: Growth, feminization, and salary discrimination. Teachers College Record, 96(3), 544–568.Google Scholar
  36. Fultz, M. (2004). The displacement of Black educators post-Brown: An overview and analysis. History of Education Quarterly, 44(1), 11–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  37. Gist, C. D. (2017). Voices of aspiring teachers of color: Unraveling the double bind in teacher education. Urban Education, 52(8), 927–956.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  38. Goldhaber, D. (2007). Everyone’s doing it, but what does teacher testing tell us about teacher effectiveness? Journal of Human Resources, 42(4), 765–794.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  39. Goldstein, L. S. (2005). Becoming a teacher as a hero’s journey: Using metaphor in preservice teacher education. Teacher Education Quarterly, 32(1), 7–24.Google Scholar
  40. Grant, C., & Gibson, M. (2011). Diversity and teacher education: A historical perspective on research and policy. In A. Ball & C. Tyson (Eds.), Studying diversity in teacher education (pp. 19–61). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum & Associates.Google Scholar
  41. Griffin, A., & Tackie, H. (2016). Through our eyes: Perspectives and reflections from Black teacher. Washington, DC: The Education Trust. Retrieved from: https://edtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ThroughOurEyes.pdf. Accessed 15 Feb 2018.
  42. Guiffrida, D. (2005). Othermothering as a framework for understanding African American students’ definitions of student-centered faculty. The Journal of Higher Education, 76(6), 701–723.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  43. Henry, A. (1992). African Canadian women teachers’ activism: Recreating communities of caring and resistance. Journal of Negro Education, 61(3), 392–404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  44. Henry, A. M. (2011). Feminist theories in education. In S. Tozer, B. P. Gallegos, A. M. Henry, M. B. Greiner & P. G. Price (Eds.), Handbook of research in the social foundations (pp. 261–282).Google Scholar
  45. Herrera, S., & Morales, A. (2018) Understanding “Me” within “Generation ‘Me’: The meaning perspectives held towards and by millennial culturally and linguistically diverse teachers. In M. E. Dilworth (Ed.), Millennial teachers of color (race and education). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.Google Scholar
  46. Hope King, S. (2018). Advancing the practices of millennial teachers of color with the EquityEd professional learning framework. In M. E. Dilworth (Ed.), Millennial teachers of color (race and education). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.Google Scholar
  47. Hughey, M. W. (2010). The white savior film and reviewers’ reception. Symbolic Interaction, 33(3), 475–496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  48. Ingersoll, R., & May, H. (2011). Recruitment, retention and the minority teacher shortage. Consortium for policy research in education. CPRE Research Report #RR-69. Retrieved from: http://repository.upenn.edu/gse_pubs/226. Accessed 18 Mar 2015.
  49. Irvine, J. J. (1989). Beyond role models: An examination of cultural influences on the pedagogical perspectives of Black teachers. Peabody Journal of Education, 66(4), 51–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  50. Irvine, J. (1990). Black students and school failure: Policies, practices, and Prescriptions. New York: Greenwood.Google Scholar
  51. Irvine, J. J. (1999). The education of children whose nightmares come both day and night. Journal of Negro Education, 68(3), 244–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  52. Jay, M. (2009). Race-ing through the school day: African American educators’ experiences with race and racism in schools. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 22(6), 671–685.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  53. Kemper, T. D. (1968). Reference groups, socialization and achievement. American Sociological Review, 33(1), 31–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  54. King, J. (May 16 2016) the invisible tax on teachers of color. Opinions. The Washington post. Google Scholar
  55. Kumashiro, K. (2004). Against common sense: Teaching and learning toward social justice. New York: Routledge Falmer.Google Scholar
  56. Ladson-Billings, G. (2006). From the achievement gap to the education debt: Understanding achievement in US schools. Educational researcher, 35(7), 3–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  57. Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (2003). Metaphors we live by. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  58. Lynn, M., & Jennings, M. E. (2009). Power, politics, and critical race pedagogy: A critical race analysis of Black male teachers’ pedagogy. Race Ethnicity and Education, 12(2), 173–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  59. Mabee, C. (1979). Black education in New York state: From colonial to modern times. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.Google Scholar
  60. Margo, R. (1990). Race and schooling in the South, 1880–1950: An economic history. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
  61. Mawhinney, L. (2011, 2012). Othermothering: A personal narrative exploring relationships between Black female faculty and students. Negro Educational Review, 62 & 63(1–4), 213–232.Google Scholar
  62. McFarland, J., Hussar, B., de Brey, C., Snyder, T., Wang, X., Wilkinson-Flicker, S., et al. (2017). The condition of education 2017 (NCES (2017-144). Retrieved November 17, 2017 from https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2017144.
  63. McGrath, I. (2006). Using insights from teachers’ metaphors. Journal of Education for Teaching, 32(3), 303–317.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  64. Milner, H. R., IV, & Lomotey, K. (Eds.). (2013). Handbook of urban education. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  65. Moore, A. L. (2002). African-American early childhood teachers’ decisions to refer African-American students. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 15(6), 631–652.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  66. Norman, O., Ault, C. R., Bentz, B., & Meskimen, L. (2001). The Black-White “achievement ap” as a perennial challenge of urban science education: A sociocultural and historical overview with implications for research and practice. Journal of research in science teaching, 38(10), 1101–1114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  67. Omi, M., & Winant, H. (2015). Racial formation in the U.S. (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  68. Pabon, A. (2016). Waiting for black superman: A look at a problematic assumption. Urban Education, 51(8), 915–939.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  69. Paige, R., & Witty, E. (2009). The Black-White achievement gap: Why closing it is the greatest civil rights issue of our time. New York: American Management Association.Google Scholar
  70. Ross, K. M., Nasir, N. S., Givens, J. R., McKinney de Royston, M., Vakil, S., Madkins, T. C., et al. (2016). I do this for all the reasons America doesn’t want me to: The organic pedagogics of Black male instructors. Equity & Excellence in Education, 49(1), 85–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  71. Rury, J. L. (1983). The New York African free school, 1827–1836: Conflict over community control of Black education. Phylon, 44(3), 187–197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  72. Saban, A. (2006). Functions of metaphor in teaching and teacher education: A review essay. Teaching Education, 17(4), 299–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  73. Silver Bullet. (2018). In Merriam-webster.com. Retrieved from: www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/silver%20bullet. Accessed 15 Dec 2017.
  74. Sleeter, C. (2010). Afterword—Culturally responsive teaching: A reflection. Journal of Praxis in Multicultural Education, 5(1), 116–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  75. Stack, C. D. (1974). All our kin: Strategies for survival in a Black community. New York: Harper & Row.Google Scholar
  76. Stevenson, Z. (2018). Millennials as educators in the PreK-12 classroom: Removing barriers to the recruitment and retention of educators of color. In M. E. Dilworth (Ed.), Millennial teachers of color (race and education). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.Google Scholar
  77. Tate, W. F., IV. (2008). Geography of opportunity: Poverty, place, and educational outcomes. Educational Researcher, 37(7), 397–411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  78. Troester, R. R. (1984). Turbulence and tenderness: Mothers, daughters, and “Othermothers” in Paule Marshall’s “Brown Girl, Brownstones”. Sage, 1(2), 13.Google Scholar
  79. Valencia, R. R. (2015). Students of color and the achievement gap: Systemic challenges, systemic transformations. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
  80. Villegas, A. J., & Irvine, J. J. (2010). Diversifying the teaching force: An examination of major arguments. The Urban Review, 42(3), 175–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  81. Siddle-Walker, V. (2000). Valued segregated schools for African American children in the south, 1935–1969: A review of common themes and characteristics. Review of Educational Research, 70(3), 253–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  82. Ware, F. (2002). Black teachers’ perceptions of their professional roles and practices. In J. J. Irvine (Ed.), In search of wholeness: African American teachers and their culturally specific classroom practices (pp. 33–45). New York: Palgrave.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  83. Ware, F. (2006). Warm demander pedagogy: Culturally responsive teaching that supports a culture of achievement for African American students. Urban Education, 41(4), 427–456.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  84. Wysienska-DiCarlo, K.,DiCarlo, M., & Quintero, E. (2016). Teacher segregation in Los Angeles and New York City. Retrieved from: http://www.shankerinstitute.org/sites/shanker/files/teachersegregationbriefFINAL.pdf. Accessed 16 Dec 2017.

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018

Authors and Affiliations

  • Anthony L. Brown
    • 1
  • Mary E. Dilworth
    • 1
  • Keffrelyn D. Brown
    • 1
  1. 1.University of Texas at AustinAustinUSA

Personalised recommendations

Cite article

Buy options