I began my journey to study, discover and outline the forces that shape the formation of urban youth culture in a scholastic setting on March 16 and 17 2012. While reading this paper, keep in mind that I am writing from an observer’s point of view and I am describing the data/information I gathered from those two days. My intention for this paper is to uncover the phenomenological experience and learn about the complexities of the scholastic youth culture. While participating in the field, I came across a couple questions: what influences foray the formation of this student built public and how do these forces structure their culture. My hunch about this project is that the dynamic sources of influence in a school environment spawn a subculture that fabricates the nature of adulthood. This subculture is important to understand because it can distinguish and set apart this generation’s society.
Generally, public space is designed for the opportunity to engage one another. In a scholastic environment these forces that shape “the openness” reflects from the society’s public on a micro-scale. Younger adults are easily influenced which in turn leaves room for forces [within their environment] to impact their outlook and form their society. I conducted this study not only to illuminate the urban culture of the youth but to possible make connections onto what is going on in this subculture and the complexities of this society. Some forces that influence the youth as a public community are authorities’ relationship between educator and student, uninformed aspiration and limitations of the structure of the institution. This generation is our future. These students grow up and go on to populate and run our city. They are the future doctors, lawyers, congressmen, and teachers. My micro-study of the youth and education is extremely relevant because it sheds light on the social and economic system that forms their sub-culture. I care about it because I have a compassion for humanity and respect for higher learning. One of the first methods I used was behavior inventories. Though one of the simpler methods of collecting data, I chose to employ this because it was the perfect way to gain a personal accounts and to record the student culture in the class room. I ended up collecting several pages of data this way. Another method I used was interviews. I found this way very interesting because I was able to take personal accounts from several teachers and students alike. Like most ethnographies, this project had its ups and downs. The principle who I previously thought was open to questioning immediately shut down and asked me to leave when I had asked him for data to support his claims. On the other hand I was pleasantly surprised that the students welcomed me into their subculture and were more than willing to give me interviews. The youth created a micro-society in this public space. They have their set of laws [what is cool], social standards, and organization. In Stepha’s book, On the plaza she defines what factors make a public space. She discusses how the public space influences the shape of civil society and extends democratic participation. In this project I observed these public space influences and uncovered several complexities about the school society that the students formed. This project was equally people and place based because they were equal counterparts in my study. I visited this site two times and spent a total of 16 hours with the students in order to understand the lens of the youth and comprehend the subculture and forces that fuel it.
The school was a clean bright red brick building surrounded by bright green grass neatly trimmed in a geometric patterns linear to the walk ways. All of which was surrounded by a steel caged fence garnished with barbed wire. As I approached the entrance I saw the principle, a grey haired blue eyed man with a thick bushy mustache wearing a blue polo and long dress pants. Though he was short in stature he stood with an air of confidence. He was standing next to the double doored entrance to the school waving on the students as they entered. Students appeared to ignore him which seemed peculiar. As I entered the red brick building decorated with many prestigious plaques, I was bombarded with the noisy chatter and laughter of students echoed throughout the hallways. Room 302 ‘homeroom’ was my first stop. This room was average sized with 7 rows of desks, a gigantic window on the western wall and a sensory overload of posters which were covering every inch of spare wall space. At 7:41 numerous students entered. Though confined to the school uniform [a navy blue polo and cache pants] the students expressed their individuality through dyed hair and piercings. Chattering commenced as the teacher hurried them in. The teacher, who I will refer to as Mrs. Klein, passed out some papers a brunette boy with freckles and a pierced ear walked outside of the classroom without asking. Another male student who had very long black hair that exceeded his shoulders got up and locked the door. Meanwhile a female student with black hair and bleached bangs, dark skin, and several piercings got up and threw away the blank worksheet that Mrs. Klein just handed out. Chaos ensued when the freckled boy tried to reenter the classroom. The students picked up on this and erupted with laughter. At 8:00 the students finally settled down except for a group of 4 boys in the left hand corner of the class room. The boys continued to chatter, throw paper and cause a disturbance despite the teacher’s efforts. At 815 I started to conduct interviews with some of the students that caught my eye. At first I called upon a loud chubby black haired boy in the third row. Unsure of what was going on, he approached me with caution. His name was Angelo, freshmen, age 15. I proceeded to ask him a series of questions. “Hey, Angelo what classes are you not doing well in and what is your grade?’He frowned. “Umm….I don’t do good in English.’ He started to fidget in his chair. I gave him a reassuring smile and nodded for him to continue. He crossed his left leg and continued,’ I…uh..I think I have a 33% or sum tin”. I asked him why he wasn’t doing so well and if he wanted to go to college. “I don’t know, I think I talk a lot. Mi amigos and me f*** around ‘lot in class ‘He leans back in his chair comfortably “ …… I also don’t do my homework.’ He smiled. “I like to watch TV instead.” I gave a slight chuckle. Seeing my approval he relaxed completely and then continued, “I am thinking bout go ‘in to USC!” He uncrossed his legs and leaned forward engaging me. I asked if his parents went to college and if they support his decision to go. He responded “no but since his siblings go so there’s been a lot of pressure”. At 8:27 home room was over and I awaited the next group. As the students filled in, a repeat of the previous class pattern began. There was a clique of girls in the right hand corner of the class room passing notes and laughing, the boys who were adjacent to them were sitting reverse in their seats talking to the boys behind them. Despite the teacher’s attempts of getting their attention, the students continued to rule the classroom. A student who caught my attention was a girl named Veronica, age 16, grade 10. She was a short chubby girl with black hair with bleached bangs and a lip piercing. I asked her what her grades were she responded, “Okish bad.” I proceeded to ask her why she felt that she didn’t do as well as she wanted to and if she wanted to go to college. “Well… I don’t turn in work, I can be lazy and sometimes I do not understand. Yes, I wanna go to college we get in auto matically with the school so I don’t care.” I asked her if her parents have gone to college and if they want her to do well. “ My mom didn’t go and my pop didn’t finish”. I asked her why she felt that some of her peers are not doing so well. She smiled, “ To be honest, we just don’t care. Right now its progress reports so it doesn’t count. There’s a lot of teachers who are too hard. Socially it is acceptable to fail. Nobody really cares”. After a series of interviews with other students I proceeded to observe a English class with a teacher named Mrs. Green. As the students entered the class, sluggishly they recognized me from previous class periods. One girl who I had previously spoken to whispered to me that this was the hard class she was talking about. The students actively chatter until the teacher silences them. There are 13 girls and 10 boys in this class. At 12:11 the teacher assigns group work leaders. Slight muttering persists but is drowned out by the teacher’s booming voice. The students segregate into 6 groups and pull out different reading books. After walking around and observing the students and their group activities I decided to interview the teacher. “ What are your credentials? ‘This is my 6th year teaching here, I graduated from Colombia University in 2006’.’Why do you feel that some students do not do as well as others?’ ‘There is such an achievement gap at this school as well as other schools in the inner city. You can earn a 60 % on a bellow basic test and still be considered proficient. The students do not have a proper environment in order to study. They have a "No Homework" culture; they do not have the same norms that you and I do. They do not have parents that have gone to college so they don't have those studying skills taught to them at an early age. They are the product of their environment.’ ‘Do you feel that the students who are in your class are at the level they need to be?’ ‘The school considers 70% of the students at proficient reading levels. I want to start off and tell you that only 30% of my students are actually at grade reading level. Because of this reality it is very difficult to teach. I am no miracle worker, I can raise these students 2 to 3 reading levels a year but I only have them for 4 hours a week. I am not with them constantly encouraging them to read and do their home work. Remember table #4 that you sat in with? Out of the 4 students three of them are at 3rd grade reading level and they are 16 and 17 years of age. You saw those books I was having them read, it’s a shame because these are nice kids. These students are in this school to get ready for college but they are nowhere ready to even apply.’ ‘Why do you think these students are not at their appropriate levels?’ ‘Social promotion. We do not have gate keepers in the public education system. Even though they fail they are still allowed to move on. They are pushed through because there is no room for them. There is practically no learning in middle and elementary school. We receive students who can barely read and write. Don't get me wrong, our school has excellent teachers and this school doesn't get the worst cases. We don't have any students that are homeless, or in gang activity. We do have a 100% graduation rate. Its just that these students are not receiving as well as retaining the education that was promised by the state’. ‘Do you think the students will get into a 2year or 4year college with these work ethics?’ ‘These students have potential but they do not engage, this especially shows in the HW retention rate. This school guarantees the students an entry into a 4 year or 2 year college but the councilor works tirelessly in order to support these students. There is more support from this school than any other public school. If these students do not get into a habit there’s no chance of staying in’.’ Do you have statistics of graduation rate from said colleges?’ ‘Sadly we do not. We haven't collected the data to secure funding”. At 2:30 I was finally able to get an interview from the principle. His office was in a closed off room with two giant windows and tons of trophies from previous schools he advised at. “How long have you been working here? ‘I have been here 3 years as principle. ‘What is the main purpose of this school?’ ‘Getting kids into college charter management organization alliance for college ready students’ Do you feel that the school is living up to these standards? ‘ I think we are working hard at it, we have sent 80% of our students to a 4 year college and the rest of them to 2year colleges.’’Do you feel the students are at the level of proficiency where they will be able to succeed in college?’’Our level of proficiency is where it needs to be in our test scores. The CASHEE has an 80% passing rate in either math or English. We take kids from disadvantaged backgrounds, which demographic tends to be way behind but we work very hard.’ ‘Do you guys have statistics about your alumni’s graduation rate from the colleges you send them to?’’No, we don’t……” At this point he had asked me to leave his office. After wandering out of the office I was able to make one last interview with the honors history teacher, Mr. Pit. “How long have you been teaching? ‘This is my first year here but I have been teaching here only for a year but in total, 11 years.’’ How do you feel your students are doing? Are they reaching the proficiency level they need to be?’’ I feel that my honors kids are doing decent. Their average is 78 to 80% where as the other kids are in the 60-70 % bracket. Proficiency level? Well remember these students are being asked a lot. The standards are really low in comparison to schools you and I went to. A 65% is normal grade level and that doesn’t match up to what this school stands for. ‘Do you think the kids who go to colleges how many do you think will stay in?’’ Some stay and some don’t. For kids who don’t have parents who went to college, education is not as important. Some of these parents do not even want their kids to go to school. They’d prefer to have them work. One of my honors students for example. He was an A student but missed a month of school. When I asked him after class where he was, he responded by telling me that his father had broke his arm and had him stay home and work construction in his place. Note this is a 14 year old.’’
Over the course of my field work I unveiled several contributing forces that shaped the youth’s culture. Some of the main factors were lack of authority, cookie cutter uninformed goals and the structure of the schools funding that confines the students. Instantaneously, I picked up on the culture of the classroom. In this culture there is a lack of authority over the students. The student culture has been shaped by the contributing forces inside and outside the classroom, the line between the “dominate” and “subordinate” has been blurred. To understand why the student-teacher relationship has become so unorthodox one must understand the school system’s use of ‘due process”. The teachers are evaluated on their ability to teach on the basis of test scores. If the test scores are low, the teacher loses his job while the students are passed to the next grade. This voids all consequence from the student and makes the teacher weary of presenting low grades. This in turn empowers the students and shapes their instant gratification culture. Another force that I witnessed was the structure that the institution constrains the students. The institution emphasizes on getting into college but does not recognize the inequalities that their public space has provided They inform the students that they must go, and give them a guaranteed entrance but do not inform them any further. Another force that contributes to this sub-culture mentality is the outside political pressures which are imposing budget cuts into the educational system. The city imposes graduation requirements on the institution which in turn creates money driven push for a high graduation rate/ college admittance. The school does not recognize the disequilibrium that they are producing in the enclosed environment. The youth as a subculture are not provided spaces where normally the public is formed. They are not given the opportunity to engage one another to mature as well as their studies because of the constant uprooting and continuation to the next grade level. In result these students do not have the solid foundation they need to incorporate in higher education. Another pattern I found interesting was that there was a commonality in response to the question, “Do you want to go to college”. The uniformity of aspiration is a true key to understanding the urban youth. In my interviews countless students informed me that they were going to college yet they had little to no idea how to get there. Many students explained to me that just by going to this school they were guaranteed entrance to a 4 year or 2 year institution. This directly outlined urban culture of the students. They are shaped by their public setting and this limits their growth and gives them an “easy” path to what the bureaucratize define as “success”. The youth’s interpretation of college reflects their earlier experiences; thus giving them a fabricated sense of reality. Their culture is a direct reflection of their public space that was originally provided to them. In result creates a micro society of gratification.
According to Harvey, “cities are processes that foster capital accumulation. These cities are spaces where the human relation to nature is transformed”. This relates to my study because the institution is a city on a micro scale. The institution fosters the students [public] and the productivity [grades] reflects the success of both of their futures. They are bonded together with similar purpose “The central point of tension between capital and labor lies in the workplace and is expressed in struggles over the work process and the wage rate. These struggles take place in context. The nature of demands, the capacity of workers to organize and resolution with the struggles are waged, depend a great deal upon contextual conditions” (125). When a crisis in one circuit occurs it is absorbed by another circuit. In other words when the students fail the teacher is fired. The rhythm to the rise and fall of the organization is determined by the productivity of each party. The student confining budget, authority and uniform goals create an error in the original contract. “Competition may produce on aggregative result which is wholly antagonistic to their collective class interest” (102). The ‘city’ institution is producing adults who will not be qualified to run various systems that make the city run. This disequilibrium is the fodder in which the subculture feeds. In result reproducing the urban hierarchy that is already existent the urban setting that these students were born in.
In Stepha Low’s book “On the Plaza” she describes the open space as, “culturally and politically charged public spaces [which] are essential to every day civic life and the maintenance of a participatory democracy”(xiv). The public space users create cultural meanings about the space. A school yard can be described the same way. The students generate their own path ways in their subculture like society. They form meanings for certain open spaces in their confined environment. The school has minimal section of allotted time for societal mobilization. This time should be expanded because it is essential to human interaction. It gives shape to the culture of the students. “The linkage between public space and the globalizing political economy deserves closer scrutiny because societal mobilization about the space influences the shape of civil society and by extension democratic participation”() This school yard society is public space which mirrors the general public space. If anything the school subculture is a prerequisite to adult society. This phenomenological experience creates the stepping stones for the transition into adulthood-society.
Supply and demand are a mechanism for growth in a society. A city is a byproduct of the search for balance and the culture reflects it. The urban youth I observed, had created a mini city within the walls of the institution. Though limited, the students made use of the public space and formed their own paths. As an outsider looking in my data was only taken from two days of field work and cannot completely define the culture. My intent was to understand the forces that shape it. Through my research I have come to conclude that the sub-culture of scholastic society is perplexsive. It was very difficult to interpret their way of life in just two days because there are many factors that shape it into the culture it is today. Which include but are not limited to authority, uninformed goals and the walls that confine the students. The observations I wrote about were not intended to be in a negative light. It was just very hard not to notice the situational circumstances that were occurring at the time. These students who are the public of the institution their culture and society reflects their learned behavior in the space.
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