Being challenged in an urban classroom: A case study documenting the engagement of a young male who wanted to 'look smart'

Abstract

This study builds on previous research that investigates the nature of engagement as it occurs ‘in the moment’ in urban classrooms (Goldin, Epstein, Schorr, & Warner, 2011). In this article, we report on a young male student, Eric, who called out an answer in front of all his peers in response to a question posed by the teacher. Almost immediately, his peers challenged his response. Upon hearing their comments, he retorted that he “didn’t care anymore” and withdrew from the discussion. Nonetheless, moments later he reentered the discussion, reiterating his response. In a later interview, Eric noted that he called out the answer in order to impress others, but felt disrespected when they disagreed. In this examination, we attempt to characterize his reactions with specific reference to his momentary engagement in order to discuss the implications for learning.