Reconfiguring the Meaning of "Good Student": Alternative Schools and Teen Mom Student of the Month

• In Event: 44.033 - Challenging Educational Borders

Abstract

In this paper, I use the case study of mothering teens at an alternative school along U.S./Mexico border in Texas to explain how teacher practices and school structure are both equally important in creating a transformative educational experience for students who were disengaged from schooling. Through Bourdieuian theory (Bourdieu, 1990), this paper focuses on the interplay between teacher-students interactions that embody authentic care (Noddings, 2001, 2013; Valenzuela, 1999) and the schooling structure that facilitated these classroom interactions. This interplay resulted in pregnant and mothering teens generally being treated and seen as “model” students.

Author

• Ganiva Reyes, Miami University - Oxford