El realismo

Tina, and Michelle return to the conversation about their Spanish class. James: This is not the first test we’ve taken in this class, but I feel like this one is

going to be hard.

Shanice: Studying past homework assignments usually helps me get ready for tests. James: I don’t understand any of it, so nothing will help me.

Shanice: Some of my friends are in the class, so we do our homework together. We are in multiple classes together, so we meet after soccer or swim practice to finish our homework.

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Steve: Same here. My friends and I feel more comfortable talking to each other. We seem to hang out more and work on group projects. The majority of the time 2 or 3 of us hang out or work on things together. I mean we have to kind of work together.

James: That’s because we don’t get help from anyone else. The other day I talked about how I’m so turned off by my counselor that I have to talk about things with my friend. I thought about quitting, but then I was like maybe I will keep taking Spanish because you never know when you might need it. I mean it won’t hurt because it’s not like it’s costing me anything to do it. Tina: I agree. I started studying Spanish because I knew a lot of people who

speak the language, so I felt that learning a language where other people would be able to support me would be easier than learning a language without any support.

Michelle: Same here. My best friend is Mexican, so whenever we’re around each other, her family speaks Spanish. They speak Spanish to me and I

understand them, so I learn more that way than being in school, and I find that the conversations I have with them helps me a lot.

Shanice: This is why we need friends! They laugh and continue studying.

Act II – Scene I: Analysis and Findings

In the traditional school context, African American students often form same-race counter-spaces, spaces where dominant, hegemonic forces do not exist (Carter, 2007). They construct these spaces as a positive resistance strategy to buffer and cope with their experiences

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of racism (Carter, 2007). In a study on the formation of same race peer networks, Carter (2007) found that African American students in a predominantly white high school formed formal and informal counter-spaces to positively resist the hegemonic forces of the school that devalued their cultures and everyday experiences. As the African American students congregated on the steps of the school, they displayed behaviors respective of their ethnic culture, used words and expressions to affirm and validate one another, and assisted one another in the completion of academic tasks. Findings from this study are consistent with that line of research. The students in this study also constructed same-race counter-spaces. Their peers – those who shared common identities and experiences – affirmed and reaffirmed their educational experiences and supported their language learning goals and orientations.

Counter-space as a site for peer support. In the previous section, James reported that his counselor’s frequent absences and lack of responsiveness discouraged him from talking with her about his language learning goals. In this section, however, James’ comment illustrates the power of support through peer networks. Although James did not mention his friend’s language background, he helped us understand that he / she played an important role in his decision- making process. Due to his counselor’s passive role, the communicative exchange between James and his friend helped him think through his language learning goals. In other words, because James’ counselor demonstrated behaviors that “turned him off,” he participated in a network in which he sought advice and support from a friend. In addition to same-race peers providing support around language learning goals, the students also discussed how their peers served as a source of academic support.

Counter-space as a site for academic-oriented behaviors. Steve and Shanice’s comments illuminate the sense of community and collaboration created and shared between the

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African American students. To cope with the burden of “otherness” and alienation, the African American students provided academic support to one another. By assisting one another with homework and “group projects,” Steve and Shanice’s peer groups participated in cooperative learning structures where they worked toward the completion of a shared goal (Gillies & Boyle, 2010; Johnson & Johnson, 1988, 1994, 1999, 2009; Lopata, Miller, & Miller, 2003). According to Nelson-Le Gall (2006), students participate in cooperative learning structures as a “…way of fostering a sense of belonging and establishing or of reinforcing a communalistic value

orientation” (p. 11). When the encouragement provided by the Spanish teacher “wasn’t enough” to push Steve, he received “the necessary psychological, social, and cultural support” (Carter,

2007, p. 548) from his same-race peers who shared his ethnic identity and educational background.

Summary Analysis of Act II – Scene I

Participation in social peer networks is one way African American students push pass structural barriers set forth by dominant teaching and counseling practices and continue learning world languages beyond the minimum 2-year requirement. As discussed in the scene above, they bring students together to share life and educational experiences (Carter, 2007). When African American students participate in same-race counter spaces, they freely adjust to the school and classroom environments that seek to suppress them and their ethnic identities. In addition to relying on same-race peers for academic support, African American students also rely on their peers for information about post-secondary processes.

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