Possibilities of Class Solidarity Between

IN A CLASS BY THEMSELVES: POSSIBILITIES OF CLASS SOLIDARITY BETWEEN MIDDLE CLASS AFRICAN AMERICAN TEACHERS AND THEIR ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS by SHARLONNE DENISE ROLLIN (Under the Direction of Stephanie Jones) ABSTRACT This is the story of six teachers who share their life experiences and stories regarding their family social class backgrounds and histories. Grounded in the traditions of qualitative narrative research and expressed through active interviewing, this dissertation reflects the voices of the participants as well as the researcher. Using a theoretical framework based upon critical pedagogy, this work examines the idea that teachers conceptualize and discuss dominant discourses regarding class division and social class issues within the African American community and classrooms. It is the critical discussion of discourse which will allow teachers to make meaning of new connections between knowledge and power. INDEX WORDS: Social class, Critical pedagogy, African American teachers, African American students, Discourse INA CLASS BY THEMSELVES: POSSIBILITIES OF CLASS SOLIDARITY BETWEEN MIDDLE CLASS AFRICAN AMERICAN TEACHERS AND THEIR ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS by SHARLONNE DENISE ROLLIN BA, University of Georgia, 1995 MED, Cambridge College, 2002 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2012 © 2012 SHARLONNE DENISE ROLLIN All Rights Reserved INA CLASS BY THEMSELVES: POSSIBILITIES OF CLASS SOLIDARITY BETWEEN MIDDLE CLASS AFRICAN AMERICAN TEACHERS AND THEIR ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS by SHARLONNE DENISE ROLLIN Major Professor: Stephanie Jones Committee: Mark Vagle Juanita Johnson-Bailey Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2012 DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my ancestors who not only fought and died so that I and many others could obtain these educational opportunities, but who also instilled in the community the importance of education and the mantra ”never give up”-especially my father Livy who was instrumental in my determination to make a place in the world. My mother Minnie, the self- made educator who taught me that no goal was unreachable, and lastly my daughter Rayne - without her existence my stamina to push forward through good and bad times would not be possible. I love you “Raynedrops”. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and Foremost I would like to thank the Creator, God, who has guided me every step of the way. I would like to thank my Major Professor, Dr. Stephanie Jones for the unwavering belief that she has placed in me from the very first day I sat in one of her fabulous courses-little did I know the impact that she and the course would have on my life’s’ work. Without her mentorship, positivity, encouragement, guidance, advice, and passion for reading, writing, and social change-this dissertation would not have occurred. I extend additional thanks to my committee members: Dr. Mark Vagle, and Dr. Juanita Johnson-Bailey. Their recommendations, shared wisdom, and kindness helped guide me through the many choices I faced during this scholarly process. Words cannot express the thankfulness of Mark and Juanita being placed in my life at the right time as they agreed to continue through the bumpy roads and paths that I encountered. Other professors helped to challenge me and played integral roles in my experience at The University of Georgia. Gayle Andrews, Amy Parks, and Katherine Thompson provided important experiences with teaching and research, which built solid groundwork for my future career in higher education. To former colleagues from Harper Archer Middle, and present colleagues at The Best Academy, thank you for the offers of encouragement, strong support, and for providing the push that I needed to close this chapter of my life so that I could began a new one. To each of my study participants, I thank you for your time, your enthusiasm, and your contributions to the pointed and reflective discussions we shared during the interview process. v You women are amazing educators and I applaud your efforts in becoming the “visionary black thinkers” that we desperately need in our classrooms. I thank my colleagues from the ESSE department with whom I have formed friendship and camaraderie. You guys have served as unofficial advisors, encouraged me, accepted no excuses, forced me to become a red wine connoisseur, challenged me to take on my fears and kick butt, and welcomed me with open arms into the world of “PHD”ness. You all will never know what you mean to me, and I hope that we will always stay connected during our tenure as scholars. Finally to my mom, my daughter, my family, and all of my close and dearest friends, I am truly lost for words because there are not enough that would explain my gratitude for your unconditional love and support. So I will not attempt to try. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................v TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................. vii CHAPTER 1 RELATIONSHIPS ARE THE KEY ..............................................................................1 Questions that inspire the pursuit of Solidarity........................................................3 In this day and age does social class really matter? .................................................7 Problem Abstract and Guiding Research Questions………………………………8 Theoretical Framework…………………………………………………………..12 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................19 The Great Divide....................................................................................................19 Critical Pedagogy ...................................................................................................38 3 METHODOLOGY .....................................................................................................59 "[Click here and type Subheading]" # Design of Study......................................................................................................61 Participants .............................................................................................................64 Data Collection .....................................................................................................66 Initial coding ..........................................................................................................71 Assembling Discourses ..........................................................................................72 4 WE ARE FAMILY ......................................................................................................77 Meet the Family .....................................................................................................78 vii Meet the Teachers ..................................................................................................92 5 TEACHERS STORIES-TALES FROM THE CLASSROOM .................................119 Forming Relationships .........................................................................................121 Stereotypes and Assumptions ..............................................................................129 Glimpses of childhood experiences .....................................................................140 African American middle class teachers conceptualize social class ...................150 6 FOR MEMBERS ONLY-AN EDUCATION WITH CLASS ...................................166 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................176 viii CHAPTER ONE RELATIONSHIPS ARE THE KEY The teacher who underrates and underestimates her role in the ongoing progress of mankind has never really looked and seen that boy or girl who sits before her each day. He is not clay, not stone, not metal, not even a sapphire or a diamond, but he is a human being. As a human being he has a mind and as a teacher it is our job to guide, so direct, and so motivate his mental progress to the end that he may become a responsible citizen in our society. What more glorious task is there to perform? (James Dillard of CCTS cited in Siddle-Walker, 1996) Mr. Dillard, a principal of the Caswell County Training School, spoke these words at a faculty and staff meeting to express his expectations and standards of how teachers should treat their students. As I read this speech I would assume it aimed to address any misgivings or mis- directions of teachers in the building as to their importance in the lives of students. Possibly in the mind of Mr. Dillard it was the teacher who must take the responsibility to forge ahead in developing students who sat before them regardless of learning environment or academic history. Mr. Dillard’s rhetoric focuses on the importance in capturing the essence of what teachers are to do which is to assist in shaping students into responsible citizens1 of the world and motivate their inquisitive minds to no end. I also would assume the speech was spoken with great intention to demand teachers take further responsibility beyond that of teaching, and go forth towards a direction where pedagogy involves relationships and developing students into critical thinkers. James Dillard asks the question regarding the

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