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This article was insightful for me, because as of recently, I do not have experience teaching African American boys. My last placement was majority girls (high 80+ percent) total, and there was only one male in the class I student taught. Articles like the one we read for this week help me broaden my perspective and experience on how I can reach students (in this article, specifically African American male students) to foster belonging and an answer to the question: “why are we reading this?”

This article addresses that question particularly through placing an emphasis on texts that matter: for African American boys, Tatum calls these engaging texts: “[h]istorically, texts have been central in the literacy development of African American males, with the connections among reading, writing, speaking, and action eminently clear. The literacy

development of African American males, both self-generated and school-rendered, connected to larger ideals, such as cultural uplift, economic advancement, resistance to oppression, and intellectual development” (2). This feels genuine, because as readers we want texts that allow us to not only enter with our imaginations––to consider and conceive of possibility––but we also want them to reflect us, and to feel a connection to the subject matter at hand. Tatum echoes the metaphors of sliding glass doors and mirrors through bringing us to the texts that are engaging to African American students: For the application of insight, I wonder how we can continue to modernize cannon in order to bring engaging texts to the forefront of the literature that students read. Tatum shows how many instances there are to include engaging texts in the curriculum: as an educator who wants to foster belonging in her classroom, the concrete, practicum examples that Tatum gives (ex/ The Wretched of the Earth) is profound.

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This article considered how to get African American males more invested in reading. Tatum suggested that teachers should expose students to culturally responsive texts that can be used to make sense of their history/experiences. I really liked Tatum's definition of must-read texts, because it seems universally applicable: "Must-read texts have four characteristics: They are intellectually exciting for both students and teachers, they serve as a roadmap and provide apprenticeship, they challenge students cognitively, and they help students apply literacy skills and strategies independently." These points are useful when reading adolescent lit and considering whether you would teach a book or have it in your classroom.

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I really appreciated how Tatum not only laid out the four key qualities found in “must read texts” for connecting with African American young men, but also illustrated an example of how these texts could be used in a classroom setting to open opportunities for conversations that are both intellectually stimulating and meaningful for these students. I really admired his description of using texts by Walker, King, and Baldwin to not only think critically about relevant societal questions, but to dig deeper and consider the role they, their teachers, and their community, “played in constructing their own ‘dungeons’” because it truly felt like such a natural integration of texts into a classroom setting that was meaningful to the students own lives, and not just a generalized understanding of young Black men’s broader cultural experiences.

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My largest takeaway from the article is the notion that simply teaching reading strategies isn't enough—meaningful, enabling texts must be at the core of the curriculum to empower and uplift African American male students. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to readers, highlighting the importance of reading as a means of positive self-affirmation. When students see their identities, histories, and voices represented authentically in the texts they engage with, it fosters a deeper connection to learning, promotes critical thinking, and cultivates a sense of belonging. This approach shifts reading from a mechanical skill to a transformative practice that validates their lived experiences and encourages them to envision new possibilities for themselves and their communities. When we center enabling texts that capture the multiplicity of their lived experience, it then "can provide students with the capital they need to be resilient in environments in which they were previously vulnerable." (p.47)

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A quote that stood out to me from the article is: "these texts can provide students with the capital they need to be resilient in environments in which they were previously vulnerable" (49). To me this gets at the heart of this article. Black (male) students are vulnerable in classrooms, for many internal and external factors that the article outlined. When we provide texts that reflect the experiences of our students, we engage these students and give them tools far beyond academics that help students in and out of school. So far, in my classroom experience (as a student and as a teacher), I have never read nor taught a text focused on Black boys. As someone who wants to emulate hooks and Freire in my teaching, as well as to provide mirrors and sliding glass doors for all students, I plan to teach these kinds of stories to reach all students.

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Tatum's argument that "these texts provide students with the capital they need to be resilient in environments in which they were previously vulnerable" made me think about the school-to-prison pipeline (Tatum 47). Engaging students with curriculum and readings that reflect their experiences, aspirations, and identities is one step teachers can take to keep kids in school. In high school, a few of my friends had just gotten out of juvie and were unengaged and uninterested in anything related to school until our English teacher assigned them to read a book about a group of boys who shared their background (I can't remember the book or what it was about). Initially, they were resistant to reading, but after a few conversations with the teacher, I saw them do school work for the first time in the 10 years of knowing them.

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The article went across how schools "lack that broader perspective and largely ignore students' local contexts and their desire as adolescents for self-definition..." I think it is super important that schools are able to support students in understanding their identity, because adolescence is a critical period for self-discovery and personal growth. Schools should not fail to acknowledge students' unique backgrounds and cultures because it will prevent them from connecting their abilities to their learning. Teaching students to embrace and understand their identities will help them develop a stronger sense of self-worth and belonging.

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Following reading "Engaging African American Males in Reading" (Tatum, 2006), I was struck by the importance of integrating culturally relevant and responsive texts into the curriculum. It is incredibly transformative for students to see their perspectives and lived experiences represented in the text, which increases engagement and allows individuals to build broader critical and cultural competencies. One idea which I found to be especially salient was the integration of "enabling texts" (Tatum, 2006, p. 47). In short, the inclusion of these books affords students the opportunity to move beyond solely honing certain skills or mindsets in the classroom but can fundamentally appeal to, and reflect, their identities and better serve their social and emotional needs. One primary insight that I feel that I can take away from the text is the decision to not integrate enabling literature into a curriculum that negates the contexts and lived experiences of students. Like in our reading of hooks, Tatum again reinforces the importance of agency and forms of self-actualization, both for students from marginalized backgrounds and also for adolescents more broadly. He discusses their innate "desire as adolescents for self-definition" (Tatum, 2006, p. 47); texts that are relatively static and rigid and do not have significant interplay with their lived experiences and identities do not afford the cultural, political, or spiritual growth that Tatum ascribes to enabling texts. In the classroom, I believe this means that students must see inclusive curricula that reflect culturally responsive and relevant literature that draws upon, and encourages sharing of, their cultural and linguistic knowledge and individual contexts. I would seek to review set texts and ensure that they can engage and reflect readers of all identities and backgrounds.

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As a reader of YA literature and a teacher, I am familiar with the stereotyping of young adult males that exists in books and in classrooms. Because of these stereotypes, the various factors that serve as barriers to achievement become even more heightened. The article details these factors including self concept and identity issues in addition to factors such as structural racism, socioeconomic status, and parent education attainment. These arguments all make sense, but they intimidate me as a teacher. We are faced with the question, as educators and as a society, of how we plan to break this stereotype and engage young African American males in reading. After reading this article, I still don't know, but I am headed in a more promising direction. I particularly enjoyed Tatum's emphasis on incorporating student input into the classroom space. This combines with some of our discussion from last class about creating an anchor text alongside small group book clubs, presentations, or discussions. Tatum says that "Many experience school as an assault on their identities and their masculinity." If this is the case, then we should take special care to incorporate student input. There should be anonymous space to share opinions about literature, reading hopes, and classroom dreams. However, this should also be an ongoing dialogue within our classrooms. This then returns us to the ideas disussed by hooks about classrooms being a space for both students and teachers learning together. If both parties see the space as a comfortable learning environment, there is hope that we can bring African American males into our classrooms just as much as our other students.

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I love the quote “These texts can provide students with the capital they need to be resilient in environments in which they were previously vulnerable” These enabling texts and reading materials not only can focus on the students' knowledge and skills but emphasize these marginalized students' social, cultural and spiritual needs. Current school curriculums are lack of African American males' relates content. According to the Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors theory, African American male adolescents need to see their culture, experiences, and identities reflected in books to build confidence and self-esteem. When they find themselves reflected in literature, they feel that their experiences are recognized and valued. For historically marginalized groups, books that lack a mirror can lead to them feeling socially excluded. African American male adolescents are often viewed as ‘problems’ in school settings and will continue to be marginalized if we do not change their reading experiences. We need to introduce meaningful texts into the core of the curriculum, otherwise no amount of great reading strategies or reforms will truly close the achievement gap.

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When reading, I thought of one of James Baldwin's pieces, "A Talk to Teachers." In it, Baldwin notes that Black children come into awareness about the world around them at a very early age, and that they must be stronger than the conspiracies and stereotypes stacked against them- not making peace with it all. This awareness Baldwin mentions relates to what is being discussed in Tatum's article when he discusses the internal and external factors that relate to the literacy needs of Black boys. The article made me think about some of the Black boys I taught back in Misssissippi. I had one period that was majority Black boys, and I remember them absolutely hating The Outsiders and The Wednesday Wars, because they never saw themselves. I included a lesson on MLK & Malcolm during our Wednesday Wars unit, and the boys latched onto it for the rest of the semester. This idea of enabling and disabling texts is so true- and as a Black girl I know the feeling of a disabling text. When all you read about your people is pain and trauma, you start to feel disempowered. Where is the joy on display? Our choice of texts can help this. Young Black boys aren't reluctant or bad readers or even resistant, they are simply uninterested because they are never given a chance to have a novel or story be their mirror. Is that not understandable?? It gets tiring walking into the same old sliding door- we all deserve a mirror for ourselves too.

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Literature that Represents our Students 

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Literature that Represents our Students 

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Our students are enveloped in their journey of self-identification, as we all were at that age. Providing literature representing our students is vital to helping empower them by creating connections to cultural uplift, economic advancement, resistance to oppression, and intellectual development. What stood out to me was the checklist of literary needs for students to feel appreciated and fully engaged in classroom literature and conversation; they need literature that is "Academic, cultural, emotional, and social" in nature. If we do not provide literature in which students can fully engage and prosper, it runs the risk of creating a diminished sense of self. However, the biggest thing is reaching kids based on culturally relevant reading. Because many students resist school-related tasks, we need to tie in modern, culturally relevant, and inclusive content.

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After reading "Engaging African American Males in Reading" (Tatum, A., 2006), reflect on its key arguments and how they connect (or don't) to your experiences with teaching or reading YA literature. Include a quote from the article that stood out to you. Share one idea that resonated with you, one question the article raised for you, and one way you might apply its insights to your classroom or future teaching practice.