Bad Boys Ann Arnett Ferguson Summary

In her case study Bad Boys: Public Schools in the Making of Black Masculinity, Ann Arnett Ferguson analyzes the factors that enforce the stigmatization of African American boys at Rosa Parks Elementary School in the 1990s. Ferguson’s desire to learn from young black males, rather than about them, allows for an investigation that is both inquisitive and analytical. Her work challenges the institutional and societal notions that African American boys make the personal decision to be either naughty or compliant, suggesting that such systems are uninformed in terms of their understanding of young black males’ behaviors (Ferguson 17). Using Ferguson’s 3-year case study, I explore the ways in which institutional and societal impositions of student labeling and individualized instruction contribute to African American boys’ placement into the school-to-prison pipeline.
Institutional educators possess the stringent outlook that African American
In taking this step, our youth will learn that solutions to world issues are not unilateral—rather, an atmosphere that is inclusive of an exchange of ideas allows various cultures a place to thrive. Instead of permitting teachers to implement their “disqualified, illegitimate knowledges as a source for a critical stance toward institutional power,” we must frequently evaluate our institutions to ensure that bias does not serve as the primary means of student labelling (Ferguson 104). We can no longer allow our children's educators to channel their uninformed depictions of African American boys into the school system. Let us structure the future of education to practice adaptability in the face of transition and to be susceptible to change. When all these components are in check, we can aim to abolish the school-to-prison