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Effective teaching of African American
students
Inner-city schools are de facto segregated schools Public schools have not sustained an effort to provide
quality education for African American students African American students attending small African
American schools perform better Separate schools? Culturally relevant teaching
“I don’t really see color” ‘Dysconsciousness’ …these attempts at colorblindness mask a
‘dysconscious racism,’ an “uncritical habit of mind that justifies inequity and exploitation by accepting the existing order of things as given.” This is not to suggest that these teachers are racist in the conventional sense.
It is about being culturally unaware
Does culture matter?
Culturally diverse students’ failure stems from
societal conflict and a struggle for power; specifically for African American students, there are special historical, societal, economic and political aspects to the role race plays in that struggle.
Aim is develop a “relevant black personality” that allows African American students to choose excellence in school yet still identify with African and African American culture.
Students should be able to hold their own in the classroom without forgetting their community.
Does culture matter?
Cultural relevant teaching is…
An approach that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally and
politically by using cultural references to impact knowledge, skills and attitudes.
Communication of high expectations Active teaching methods Teacher as facilitator Inclusion of culturally and linguistically diverse
students Cultural sensitivity Reshaping the curriculum Student-controlled classroom discourse Small group instruction and academically-
related discourse
CRT
Teachers who practice culturally relevant
teaching use student culture in order to maintain it and to transcend the negative effects of the dominant culture.
Empowers student by using cultural references to impart knowledge; moves between two cultures but recognizes each as legitimate
Antithesis of assimilation – emphasizes sharing responsibility
Seeing color, seeing culture
We are family
• Teachers establish strong, caring relationships with all students
• Recognize that teachers perceptions of students have a significant impact on student learning
• View themselves as part of the community, and as giving back to that community
• Connectedness between themselves and their students• Teaching is an art not a skill
Knowledge is continuously recreated, recycled and
shared by teachers and students Knowledge is viewed critically Teacher is passionate about content and helps students
develop necessary skills Teacher takes student diversity and individual
differences into account Knowledge builds on what students already know There is more than one way of knowing, and there is
more than one side to a story Highlights students’ strengths and gives them
confidence to confront their weaknesses
Tree of knowledge
Students whose educational. Economic, social, political
and cultural futures are most tenuous are helped to become intellectual leaders in the classroom.
Students are appreciated in a learning community rather than taught in an isolated and unrelated way.
Students’ real-life experiences are legitimized as they become a part of the ‘official’ curriculum.
Teachers and students participate in a broad conception of literacy that incorporates both literature and oratory.
Teachers and students engage in a collective struggle against the status quo.
Teachers are cognizant of themselves as political beings.
Lewis vs. Deveraux
Administrators and Teachers’ power and responsibility:
Administrators should recruit teachers who have expressed an interest and desire to work with African American students.
Provide educational experiences that help teachers understand the central role of culture
Provide opportunities to critique the system in ways that will help them choose a role as a challenger of or a defender of the status quo
Require teachers to have prolonged immersion in African American culture
Provide opportunities for observation of culturally relevant teaching
Conduct student teaching over a longer period of time and a more controlled environment
Dreams into reality
Dreams into reality
What a school would/should look like:• Provide educational self-determination• Honor and respect the students’ home
culture• Help African American students understand
the world as it is and equip them to change it for the better
“From the spirituals of enslaved African Americans to the powerful oratory of civil rights leaders, African American dreams have challenged the “American Dream” to make itself manifest for those citizens who have been excluded from full citizenship. African Americans have believed that as long as they continued to dream, there was still a reason to look toward tomorrow. One of the most tangible vehicles for these dreams has been education – even when it was substandard and alienating. African Americans believed that somehow education could make their dreams a reality. I too believe and hope that if we can dream it, we can surely do it.”
~ Gloria Ladson Billings