Acts of Resistance: Student (In)visibility

This paper argues that public school structures are oppressive for all students. Because of racial, class and gender biases, school environments are often especially problematic for African American and working-class/working-poor students. Boys and girls also experience school differently because of gender roles. These intersecting problems include facing dominant narratives based on stereotypes and discrimination. The current study took place in a school building that serves predominately African American and low-income students. The questions examined include: how does school silence children, and how do children resist being silenced? Observational and interview data indicate that children are disciplined into invisibility by treating them stereotypically and consequently demanding uniformity in their behavior as a way to control their mostly colored bodies. Children resist such treatment through creative and collaborative acts that promote their voice and visibility and which critique the dominant narrative. In general, students attempt to construct an alternative view that allows another, student-generated narrative to emerge.