Diversity in the School Diversity in the School CommunityCommunity

Part IIPart II

University of North Carolina, WilmingtonUniversity of North Carolina, WilmingtonJune 25, 2009June 25, 2009

Presented by:Presented by:Deloris RhodesDeloris Rhodes

Audrey Toney, Ed.D.Audrey Toney, Ed.D.

Objectives & OutcomesObjectives & Outcomes

Developing Culturally Proficient TeachersDeveloping Culturally Proficient Teachers

Provide reflective opportunities and information to Provide reflective opportunities and information to enhance participants’ knowledge about critical enhance participants’ knowledge about critical factors related to educating diverse studentsfactors related to educating diverse students

Develop a better understanding of cultural Develop a better understanding of cultural competency and cultural discontinuitycompetency and cultural discontinuity

Share dialogue and share instructional strategies Share dialogue and share instructional strategies that teachers can use to address the needs of that teachers can use to address the needs of diverse studentsdiverse students

Transformation of Transformation of SELFSELF

To be effective and proficient multicultural educators, we must be in a constant process of self-examination and transformation.

Why Do We Need Culturally Why Do We Need Culturally Proficient Teachers?Proficient Teachers?

The Children’s Defense Fund predicted that within the first decade following the year 2000, there will be 5.5 million more Latino children, 2.6 million more African-American children, 1.5 million more children of other races and 6.2 million fewer white, non-Latino children in the United States.

Pair / Discuss / SharePair / Discuss / Share

“I fundamentally believe that educating all children, even those who are poor and non-White, is an achievable goal, if we truly value all children. Of course, that is the real question: Does American society truly value all of its children?”

-Pedro Noguera, City Schools and the American Dream

Pair / Discuss / Share continuedPair / Discuss / Share continued

The percentage of students (by racial categories) in the US who are proficient in mathematics by grade 12:

3% African-American4% Hispanic-American10% Native American20% White34% Asian-American

Source: 2 million Minutes: A Documentary Calculating the Education Divide, Broken Pencil Productions

Pair / Discuss / Share continuedPair / Discuss / Share continued

Gary Howard writes in We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know: White Teachers, Multicultural Schools:

“At the present time in American public education we are faced with three simultaneous statistical realities: (1) our teacher force is mostly White, (2) our student population is highly diverse and growing in children of color, and (3) children of color are precisely the students most at risk of being caught on the negative end of the achievement gap. These statistics beg the question: Is there a causal relationship between the over-representation of White teachers in our classrooms and the under-performance of children of color in our nation’s schools?...Diversity is not a choice, but our responses to it certainly are. And to date, all indicators point to the fact that our responses have not been adequate to deal with the full range of issues presented by the complexities of teaching in a multicultural nation.” page 4

“A White elementary teacher, with a tone of intense frustration in her voice, said to the group, “I don’t understand all of this talk about differences. Each of my little kindergarten students comes to me with the same stuff. It doesn’t matter whether they’re Black, Hispanic, or White; they each have a brain, a body, and a family. They each get the same curriculum. I treat them all alike. And yet, by the end of the year, and as I watch them move up through the grades, the Blacks and Hispanics fall behind and the White kids do better. They all start with the same basic equipment. What happens?” page 29

Gary Howard writes in We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know: White Teachers, Multicultural Schools:

Pair / Discuss / Share continuedPair / Discuss / Share continued

How do we prepare a predominately White teacher population to work effectively with racially and culturally diverse students? Page 117

Gary Howard writes in We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know: White Teachers, Multicultural Schools:

http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/quiz/quiz1.htm

Equity & DiversityAwareness Quiz

TIME FOR TIME FOR A A SHORTSHORT BREAK!BREAK!

Portrait of American Public Schools Today

TeachersTeachers StudentsStudents WhiteWhite Ethnically and culturally diverseEthnically and culturally diverse

Middle ClassMiddle Class Socioeconomically disadvantagedSocioeconomically disadvantaged

MonolingualMonolingual English Language learnersEnglish Language learners

MonoculturalMonocultural Special NeedsSpecial Needs

Why do we have an achievement gap?

As the classroom teacher, what is within your influence to

change?

Group DiscussionGroup Sharing

Processing the Multicultural Education and Equity Processing the Multicultural Education and Equity Awareness QuizAwareness Quiz

Did any specific questions/answers surprise Did any specific questions/answers surprise you?you?

How can misinformation about these issues How can misinformation about these issues contribute to stereotyping and oppression?contribute to stereotyping and oppression?

What is your role as an educator in What is your role as an educator in challenging any stereotypes or providing a challenging any stereotypes or providing a greater understanding of these issues?greater understanding of these issues?

Seven Critical Areas for Seven Critical Areas for Educational EquityEducational Equity

AccessAccess InstructionInstruction MaterialsMaterials AssessmentAssessment AttitudesAttitudes LanguageLanguage InteractionsInteractions

Cultural DiscontinuityCultural Discontinuity(Cultural Mis-Match)(Cultural Mis-Match)

Cultural Mis-match or discontinuity occurs when students’ cultural values, beliefs, and behaviors are the exact opposite of the dominant culture in their schools.

In some cases, the students’ cultural values and characteristics are ignored, dismissed or devalued.

Cultural ConflictCultural Conflict

Cultural conflict can occur when children have not had experiences that provide them with the kind of information that is used and valued in schools. To reach all children, educators must expand their repertoire of instructional strategies to encompass the various approaches children use to learn.

(Kuykendall, 1995)

A Framework for A Framework for Understanding PovertyUnderstanding Poverty

1. What do educators need to know about teaching children who live in poverty?

2. How do the “hidden rules of class” affect a child’s achievement in the classroom?

3. Why is it so hard for people living in poverty to negotiate a world that relies on technology to operate?

4. What should teachers know about the motivation of children living in poverty?

Cinderella Cinderella

The life, learning, and home The life, learning, and home experiences which children bring to experiences which children bring to

school are now recognized as school are now recognized as constituting the foundation for all their constituting the foundation for all their

future learning. If some teachers future learning. If some teachers choose to remain ignorant of these choose to remain ignorant of these

formative experiences, or if they formative experiences, or if they disregard, or even worse, discredit disregard, or even worse, discredit

them, then them, then a gap is created between the a gap is created between the children and the teacher children and the teacher which is left up which is left up

to the children to close.to the children to close.

….personal and cultural histories each student brings to the classroom is vastly different. These histories are not the same, yet they profoundly influence the educational process…institutional practices that systematically favor certain racial, economic, and language groups, while negatively influencing others…500 year history of racism and cultural genocide in the U.S. which has had a devastating impact on the lives of many of the students and their family. Page 29

Gary Howard writes in We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know: White Teachers, Multicultural Schools:

Video Excerpt fromVideo Excerpt from“White Teachers/Diverse Classrooms”“White Teachers/Diverse Classrooms”

Dr. Paul GorskiDr. Paul Gorski

On what are teacher On what are teacher expectations based? expectations based?

Teacher expectations are:Teacher expectations are:

Based Based primarilyprimarily on the teachers’ own on the teachers’ own perceptions about race, class, physical perceptions about race, class, physical appearance, gender, physical and emotional appearance, gender, physical and emotional challenges.challenges.

Based Based less frequentlyless frequently on more objective on more objective information (e.g. past achievement, diagnostic information (e.g. past achievement, diagnostic

test scores)test scores)

Brophy, Brophy, Teacher Expectations & Student AchievementTeacher Expectations & Student Achievement (TESA) (TESA)

North Carolina North Carolina Professional Teaching StandardsProfessional Teaching Standards

““For every student in North Carolina, a For every student in North Carolina, a knowledgeable, skilled, compassionate knowledgeable, skilled, compassionate teacher….a star in every classroom”.teacher….a star in every classroom”.

Standard IIStandard II

Establish a respectful environment for a diverse Establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students.population of students.

Standard II ContinuedStandard II Continued

How will your classroom look?How will your classroom look? Pair/discuss/sharePair/discuss/share

Transformation of SocietyTransformation of Society

IIn a sense, multicultural education n a sense, multicultural education uses the uses the transformation oftransformation of self andself and schoolschool as a metaphor and starting as a metaphor and starting place for the transformation of place for the transformation of societysociety. .

Ultimately, social justice and equity in Ultimately, social justice and equity in schools can, and should, mean social schools can, and should, mean social justice and equity in society. Only then justice and equity in society. Only then will the purpose of multicultural will the purpose of multicultural education be fully achieved. education be fully achieved.

Dr. Paul GorskiDr. Paul Gorski

Cultural Proficiency is the effective Cultural Proficiency is the effective integration of knowledge about integration of knowledge about

students’ backgrounds into students’ backgrounds into instructional planning and instructional planning and

strategies, resulting in learning of strategies, resulting in learning of curricular concepts at higher curricular concepts at higher

levelslevels..

Are you a culturally proficient teacher?Are you a culturally proficient teacher?

As a culturally proficient teacher, IAs a culturally proficient teacher, I

Understand the sociopolitical context in Understand the sociopolitical context in which students exist and how it shapes them which students exist and how it shapes them as learnersas learners

Have the ability to use students’ cultural Have the ability to use students’ cultural “capital” as an instructional aid (how student “capital” as an instructional aid (how student make meaning)make meaning)

Facilitate the creation of a cross-racial, cross Facilitate the creation of a cross-racial, cross cultural learning community in the classroom cultural learning community in the classroom (cultural mediation)(cultural mediation)

..

THE DIFFERENCE BEGINS WITH YOU!THE DIFFERENCE BEGINS WITH YOU!

..

Critical to truly seeing and understanding the students we serve, is the courage to reflect about ourselves. Facing our own biases openly, recognizing the limits imposed by our embeddedness in our own culture and experience, and accepting the influence of emotions on our actions are extraordinary challenges.

Revised from Nancy Balaban (1995)

Homework Assignment

In WE CAN’T TEACH WHAT WE DON’T KNOW, Gary Howard describes three dimensions of knowing: Knowing My Self, Knowing My Students, and Knowing My Practice. He states that the intersection points of these dimensions function as doorways (rigor, relationship, and responsiveness) of action. Howard states “transformationist pedagogy is the place where our passion for equity intersects with our cultural competence and leads to culturally responsive teaching. Transformationist teaching is a challenge and a necessity for all educators, what ever our racial or cultural identities may be. Based on Figure 7.3 (page 134 in WE CAN’T TEACH WHAT WE DON’T KNOW) discuss the strategies you will use to become a “transformationist teacher and build a culturally responsive learning community in your classroom. Paper should be a minimum of two pages with a maximum of three pages using 12pt font, 1” margins and single-spaced type. 

Reflections due no later than July 2, 2009.(Email to Deloris Rhodes and Audrey Toney)

 

Now’s a good time to ask questions or Now’s a good time to ask questions or clarify something you heard or think clarify something you heard or think you heard…or make commentsyou heard…or make comments