Understanding Culture to Help Foster a Culturally Proficient Workforce

Understanding Culture to Help Foster a Culturally

Proficient Workforce

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Reflection Packet with Articles

Vocabulary

Partners

The Data

78 students dropped out of Sun Prairie Schools over the last 3 years.

49 – 63% were boys

43 – 56% were African-American

In the 2010-2011 school year, there were

306 disciplinary incidents that resulted in

out-of-school suspensions. 114 or 37% of

those students were Black.

Last year 218 students in grades 9-12took at least one Technical EducationCourse.

8 or 3% were English Language Learners12 or 9% were girls

A Black student in Sun Prairie is 5 times more likely than a White student to be referred for Special Education evaluation by Sun Prairie staff members.

A Black male student is 11 times more likely than a White male student to end up labeled Emotionally/Behaviorally Disabled.

Last year a total of 260 AdvancedPlacement (AP) exams were taken by

SunPrairie Students. Only 19 or 7% of

thoseAP exams were taken by students ofcolor.

Having a disability is the greatest barrier to

participation in 'performance music' when

students enroll for 6th grade. Greater than

language, race, or poverty.

For Sun Prairie students, race is a greater

factor over poverty in reading and math

achievement.

The Vision

All students, families, school employees, and community members unified by mutual

respect and the shared purpose of seeking successful learning for

every student.

The Priority Goal District Goal #4

Develop a highly qualified, diverse, and culturally proficient district workforce

Action plan 4c Ensure that every employee receives

training in skills of cultural proficiency

Agenda

Reflection on Culture Privilege and Racism Culturally Responsive Practices

Workshop Goals

To develop an understanding of my own culture and how it impacts my beliefs, values, and actions

Workshop Goals

To understand how institutional racism marginalizes groups of people

Workshop Goals

To develop an awareness of white privilege and its influence on my belief, values, and actions

Ground Rules

Everyone has a right to express his/her point of view.

Listen respectively to others without judging.

Share “air time” with others. Limit sidebar conversations.

What is culture? “What is culture?”

Culture

Thoughts, feelings, attitudes, beliefs, values, customs, behaviors and artifacts that are shared by racial, ethnic, religious, or social groups of people.

Why do I need to understand my culture?

Culture shapes the way we see the world, ourselves, and others.

It is the predominant force in shaping behaviors, values, and institutions.

The more we understand ourselves, the better able we are to understand others.

Factors that Influence Culture

Me

Personality Traits

Gender

ReligionRace

Ability

EconomicClass

Dimensions of Culture Language Space/proximity Attitude towards

time Gender roles Family roles

Grooming and presence

Life cycles Status of age Education

Exploring the Features of Culture

Reflection Activity #2 Review/Read the following documents:

Identity Quilt Features of Culture

Complete the Features of Culture Survey.

Reflection Packet

Partner Share

Share the completed survey with your 12 o’clock partner.

Culture is Like an Iceberg

Iceberg Activity

Reflection Activity #3

Using the features of culture list within Activity #2 in your Reflection Packet, place the number of features that you believe are observable above the surface of the water and the number of the features that are not directly observable below the surface of the iceberg.

Cultural Features Below the Surface

#3, #4, #6, #8, #9, #10, #16, #17, #18,#22, #23, #24

Table Discussions

On chart paper at your table, list specific examples of how features below the surface influence your behavior.

What is my cultural identity? Reflection Activity #4

How did my cultural identity develop? Who are the people who have been influential in

shaping my beliefs, values, and actions? What experiences within my family, school,

church, and community shaped me? How did the media influence my thinking? How has my cultural identity changed over time?

Diverse Views Reflection Activity #5

Based upon your cultural biography, write down a belief or value that you hold.

Next, write down another view of that value/belief. Where may this differing viewpoint have originated? What could be an advantage to having a differing

viewpoint?

Appreciate Diverse Views

Resist the urge to make a judgment about people or behaviors, instead make a conscious effort to understand their cultural perspective.

Power and Privilege: The Invisible Feature of Culture

Whenever one group of people accumulates more power than another group, the more powerful group creates an environment that places its members at the cultural center and the other groups at the margins.

Race

Political concept

Arbitrary division of humans according to physical traits and characteristics

Connecting Power and Privilege

People in the more powerful group are accepted as the norm, so if you are in that group it can be very hard for you to see the benefits you receive.

This accounts for the reason that whites have difficulty recognizing their privileges in society.

What is white privilege?

advantages that whites as a group hold in society.

“White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks.”

Peggy McIntosh

“White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”

by Peggy McIntosh

I can, if I wish, arrange to be in the company of people of my race most

of the time.

I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my

race widely represented.

When I am told about our national

heritage or about “civilization,” I am

shown that people of my color made it what it is.

I can be sure that my children will be given curricular

materials that testify to the existence of their race.

I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket

and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a

hairdresser’s shop and find someone who can cut my hair.

Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on

my skin color not to work against the appearance of

financial reliability.

I can arrange to protect my children

most of the time from people who might not like them.

I do not have to educate my children to be aware of

systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.

I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters,

without having people attribute these

choices tothe bad morals, the poverty, or the

illiteracy of my race.

I can do well in a challenging situation without being called

a credit to my race.

I am never asked to speak for all the

people of my racial group.

I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to the “person in

charge”, I will be facing a person of my race.

If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the

IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I haven’t been singled

out because of my race.

I can easily buy posters, post-cards,

picture books, greeting cards, dolls,

toys and children’s magazines featuring people of my race.

I can go home from most meetings of organizations I

belong to feelingsomewhat tied in, rather than

isolated, out-of-place, outnumbered, unheard, held at

a distance or feared.

My culture gives me little fear about

ignoring the perspectives and powers of people of other

races.

I am not made acutely aware that my shape, bearing, or body odor will betaken as a

reflection on my race.

I can worry about racism without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking.

I can take a job with an affirmative action employer

without having my co-worker on the job suspect that I got it

because of my race.

If my day, week, or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation

whether it had racial overtones.

I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness

reflect on my race.

I can be sure that if I need legal or

medical help, my race will not work

against me.

I have no difficulty finding neighborhoods where people

approve of our household.

I can arrange my activities so that I

will never have to experience feelings of rejection owing to

my race.

White Privilege

Partner Share

Find your 9 o’clock partner and respond to the following questions:

How did you feel as you read the slides? Of which aspects of white privilege were

you aware? Which were surprising to you?

Power and Privilege Lead to Institutional Racism

Institutional racism or systemic racism describes forms of racism which are structured into political and social institutions.

Institutional Racism

Institutional racism is the most difficult to recognize and counter, because it reflects the assumptions of the dominant group and is viewed as the norm.

The Meritocracy Myth

The myth that everyone in the United States has an equal opportunity to achieve success.

Institutional Racism in Schools

Power and privilege disparities within schools create inequitable educational opportunities and outcomes for students of color.

What does institutional racism look like in schools?

More likely to be in segregated urban, high poverty school settings

Pull out and low track programs Over representation in remedial and Special Education

programs Under representation in gifted and advanced level courses Less likely to be taught by qualified teachers Higher drop out rates than white peers Lower achievement than white peers

National Statistics on U.S. Schools (2005)

47% of black students, 51% or Hispanics, and 5% of white students attend high poverty schools.

National Statistics on U.S. Schools (2005)

Students in high poverty schools were more than twice as likely to be taught by an out-of-field teachers than low poverty schools

National Statistics on U.S. Schools (2005) Black students account for 17% of

the public school population, but are disproportionately represented in Special Education, accounting for 33% of students classified as CD, 27% EBD, and 18% SLD.

National Statistics on U.S. Schools (2005) White students with disabilities were more

likely than students of any other race/ethnicity to spend 80% or more of their day in a regular classroom.

Black students with disabilities were more likely than students of any other race/ethnicity to spend less than 40% of their day in a regular classroom, resulting in inconsistent, fragmented instruction.

National Statistics on U.S. Schools (2005) Proficient or Advanced on 4th

Grade Reading Achievement

18% American Indian 42% Asian 13% Black 16% Hispanic 41% White

National Statistics on U.S. Schools (2005) Proficient or Advanced on 4th

Grade Math Achievement


National Statistics on High School Graduation Rates(2008)


Students of color

Called on less frequently Praised less often and reprimanded more often Punished more severely Given answers more frequently by teachers Not encouraged to develop higher order thinking Not encouraged to elaborate on statements Rewarded for following rules and being “nice”

Gay(2000)

The Hidden Curriculum

“…..schools teach more than the knowledge and content that is explicitly stated in the formal curriculum scope and sequence. In fact, children are always learning in school, but may be learning more about their “place” in society, the expectations (often low) that others hold of them, the value, or lack of value, attributed by society to their particular cultural group, gender, or community that they learn about the core content.” Michael Haralambos

Racism

Video clip: A Gardener’s Tale

Table Discussion How did you feelings change throughout

the video clip? What are the stereotypes that

institutional racism reinforce about the character and abilities of people of color?

Using the gardener’s tale allegory, how are the levels of racism (institutional, interpersonal, and intra personal) exhibited in schools?

Why does culture matter?

Often misunderstandings about the role of culture in behavior, communication, and learning lead to assumptions about the abilities of children to be successful in school.

Why does culture matter?

An awareness and understanding of the different values and behaviors that accompany culture can remove unintentional barriers to a child’s success.

How do we remove barriers for students?

By implementing culturally responsive practices and becoming a culturally responsive workforce.

Culturally Responsive Practices

Aware

A Culturally Responsive Sun Prairie Employee

is constantly aware that one’s culturalidentity impacts behavior. He/sheunderstands that there are specific,sometimes differing beliefs, pastexperiences, values, and feelings thatcontribute to the way the he/she and othersact.

Appreciative


recognizes similarities and differences between his/her own cultural identity and that of others. He/she accepts and associates freely with individuals of differing beliefs, appearances, and/or lifestyles, even while maintaining his/her own cultural identity.

Sensitive


Understands the dangers of stereotyping and other biases; he/she is aware of and sensitive to issues of sexism, racism, and other prejudice. He/she is able to recognize biased messages about persons of differing cultural identities, and works to eliminate or discredit their impact whenever possible.

Knowledgeable


has ever increasing knowledge of differing cultural identities and groups in the school, the community, the United States and other countries in the world. He/she is able to take on and/or consider perspectives of non-majority groups at times.

Interactive


works positively with individuals who have other cultural identities and actively seeks out individuals and/or resources and perspectives.

Table Discussions

Looks Like

Feels Like

Sounds Like

Reflection on Today’s Workshop

Reflection Activity : Goal Setting

What one characteristic of theculturally responsive practices will

youfocus on to implement in your workspace over the next 3 months?

Documents

Understanding Culture to Help Foster a Culturally Proficient Workforce