A Teaching Practice that helps students achieve Academic and Cultural Excellence!

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A Teaching Practice that helps students achieve
Academic and Cultural Excellence!
Culturally Relevant Teaching
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Focusing on Teaching Minority and Economically
DisadvantagedStudents
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DRUGGED BY MY PARENTS...
 
 





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Why Are we Here?

• We are here because we have a strong personality
  and passion for working to improve education.
• We believe in Educating ALL students, parents,
  teachers, the community, and school leaders.
• We continue to worked to bridge the gap among and
  between parents and the schools.

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Why are we here?

• We are committed to a quality and equitable
  education for all.
• We are here because students needs come first.
  We are not here to make ourselves look good. We
  know we have work to do and many students to
  reach.
• It is not about you, it is not about
  me, it is all about the students!

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Todays Purpose

• To help teachers and others to successfully work
  with All students in a manner that is fair,
  equitable, respectful and rewarding

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(No Transcript)
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Typical Heterogeneous Classroom
5041
Regular Ed 6-9
EC 3-4
Classroom
Econ. Dis. 4-5
ESL 1-2
Close the Gap!
AIG 2
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• What is shared here today is important to ALL
  students learning, but essential for working with
  minority and economically disadvantaged students!

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• Education, like electricity, needs a conduit, a
  teacher, through which to transmit its power.
• Rev. Jesse Jackson

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Group Activity

• Each participant should have 5 small cards with
  numbers 1-5.
• As a question is asked each participant will
  choose a card to identify where they fit on the
  knowledge line.
• After identifying where they fall ask
  participants to stand for each number called out.
• All participants are asked to look around the
  room and reflect on the results.

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Cultural Competence Continuum
Destructiveness Causes intentional
harm Incapacity Causes unintentional
harm Evasiveness (denial) I dont see
differences Pre-competence Seeks to learn about
self and others Competence Actions consistently
reflect stated values Proficiency Advocates for
change
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Cultural Competence
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What does it mean to be white?

• Race identity is like oxygen Its taken for
  granted when plentiful and frighteningly apparent
  when deprived.
• White people are taught that our lives are
  morally neutral, average, and ideal (D.W. Sue
  2004)

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Racial Identity Models

• Identity models explain the stages we are at in
  terms with our connectedness with our race. When
  we discuss, for example, the Black, Latino, or
  Asian identity models, we look at assimilation
  and acculturation within and around the White
  Euro-American culture. When we look at the White
  Identity Model, we look at how Whites deal with
  being the majority and acknowledgment of their
  privilege vs. others disadvantage.

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White Identity Model

• Naiveté phase It lasts the first 3 years of
  life. Social meanings are absent. The child is
  innocent, open, and spontaneous regarding
  differences.

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• Conformity phase The white persons attitudes
  and beliefs are very ethnocentric as there is
  minimal awareness of the self as a racial being.
  There is a strong belief in the universality of
  values and norms governing behavior. They know
  very little about other ethnic groups and rely on
  stereotypes as the main source of information.

White Identity Model
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• Dissonance phase Movement into the dissonance
  stage occurs when the White person is forced to
  deal with the inconsistencies that have been
  compartmentalized or encounters
  information/experiences at odds with denial. In
  most cases, a person is forced to acknowledge
  Whiteness at some level, to examine their own
  cultural values, and to see the conflict between
  upholding humanistic nonracist values and their
  contradictory behavior. Dissonance may result
  in feelings of guilt, shame, anger, and
  depression.

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Resistance and Immersion phase The white person
who progresses to this stage will begin to
question and challenge his or her own racism.
For the first time, the person begins to realize
what racism is all about, and his or her eyes
are suddenly open. Racism is seen everywhere
(advertising, television, educational materials,
interpersonal interactions, etc.). This phase of
development is marked by a major questioning of
ones own racism and that of others in society.
Realities of oppression are realized as well as
the advantages being white grants.
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Integrative awareness phase Characterized by 1)
understanding the self as a racial/cultural
being, 2) being aware of sociopolitical
influences regarding racism, 3) appreciating
racial/cultural diversity, and 4) becoming more
committed toward eradicating oppression. The
person values multiculturalism, is comfortable
around members of culturally different groups,
and feels a strong connectedness with members of
many groups.
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Commitment to antiracist action phase This
phase is most characterized by social action.
There is likely to be a consequent change in
behavior and an increased commitment toward
eradicating oppression. Seeing wrong and
actively working to right it requires moral
fortitude and direct action. Objecting to
racist jokes, trying to educate family, friends,
neighbors, and coworkers are examples of
individuals who achieve this status.
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• When someone pushes racism into my awareness, I
  feel guilty (that I could be doing so much more)
  angry (I dont like to feel like Im wrong)
  defensive (I already have two black friends I
  worry more about racism than most whites do
  isnt that enough) turned off (I have other
  priorities in my life with guilt about that
  thought) helpless (the problem is so big what
  can I do?). I HATE TO FEEL THIS WAY. That is why
  I minimize race issues and let them fade from my
  awareness whenever possible.

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If anything can help ease the conscience of an
unintentional suppressor, it is that all races,
including White, are victims of racism. We have
all been programmed by society to be racist .
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Not only is everyone a victim of racism, everyone
is RACISTOnly when we accept it can we do
something about it
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What can we do?

• Realize that all cultures are valid and valuable.
• Begin appreciating other cultures.
• Ask others about their cultures.
• Take field trips to cultural centers.
• Point out the elephant in the room We are not
  from the same culture, do you feel comfortable
  discussing this with me?

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Multiculturalism

• Multiculturalism Refers to the process of
  recognizing, understanding and appreciating
  cultures other than ones own. It stresses an
  appreciation of the impact of differences
• Cultures are more than racial, they include
  class, age, physical, sexual/affectional
  orientation, and religions.
• If you struggle with how to proceed, ask
  yourself What does it feel like to be older, a
  woman, of a different religion? (We can feel the
  other side when we look at differences in this
  light)

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Research and Resource

• Culturally Diverse Counseling
• D.W. Sue, 2004

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European American
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So what..?

• I must know
• Myself in order to understand others
• My values, my beliefs, my opinions and how they
  impact my decisions and others.
• The impact of my power to influence.

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Topics of Discussion

• Why Culturally focus teaching?
• Being conscious of what you do unconsciously.
• Building Relationships with All students.
• Build relationships with parents and the
  community
• Shift in Thinking How we work with students
• Culturally Relevant Teaching what does it look
  like?

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What do we know?

• Minority students continue to lag behind their
  counterparts on all standard measures of
  achievement.
• Minority students are three times more likely to
  drop out and twice as likely to suspended from
  school.
• These same statistics correlate to minority
  students coming from harsh social and economical
  realities.

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What do we know?

• Most minority students are already segregated in
  community schools usually in the inner city
  area.
• African Americans and other minorities who attend
  private or independent schools consistently show
  higher levels of achievement than those who
  attend public schools.

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What do we know?

• Although the 1960s produced a large body of
  literature on teaching the disadvantaged and the
  1970s produced a body of literature about
  effective schools none of it was aimed at
  specifically preparing teachers to meet the needs
  of minority and disadvantaged students. Even
  today some of the more popular educational
  innovations, such as cooperative learning and
  whole language approaches to literacy, were
  developed and refined to improve achievement
  among disadvantaged students. Unfortunately the
  relationship of these practices to minority
  learners is rarely made clear.

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What do we know?

• Society fails to recognize African Americans as a
  distinct cultural group.
• Society tends to relate minority low performance
  and achievement to environmental and social
  factors (poverty and lack of opportunity).
• One in three Latino children live in poverty.
• Poor children are much more likely than non-poor
  children to suffer developmental delay and damage
  to drop out of high school, and give birth during
  the teen years.
• Children from poverty are more likely to be
  raised by a single parent.

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What do we know?

• Poor youth living in the inner city are more
  likely to be victims of child abuse or neglect
  than are other children.
• Poverty is caused by parental employment status,
  earnings, family structure, and a parental
  education.

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HMMMMMMMM???

• It is not that we dont want to change its
  that we often dont realize theres a need for
  change or how to go about making the change.
• Megan Milani

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Group Activity Stop, Think and Discuss it!

• Think of a time when someones message, tone,
  body language or actions affected your feelings
  or your thinking.
• 1. Describe what the person did?
• 2. How did this action make you feel?
• 3. Were you able to determine if it was
  intentional or a perception created by yourself?
• 4. How do you know?

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Be Conscious of what you do unconsciously!

• If we were to look closely at even the simple
  things we subconsciously do each day, we would
  probably be stunned by the implications and the
  impact on our students.
• Sometimes what we do unintentionally our
  actions, tone, words, and body language may imply
  a wrong perception to others.

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Scenarios/Role Play

• Scenarios/Role Play
• Act out or read the scene.
• Discuss what the issue is.
• Explain how you would handle this.
• What could have been done differently?
• Are there any hidden innuendos?
• What other factors might we need to consider?

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Be Conscious of what you do unconsciously!

• The teachers who communicate to children through
  words and actions what they believed to be their
  true potential, empower students to begin to
  believe in themselves.

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Shift in Thinking

• We have to believe that every student in our
  classroom can reach their full potential and will
  learn.
• We must observe students through a new lens, and
  refrain from making judgments that put limits on
  kids.

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Shift in Thinking

• Change your thinking from there is something
  wrong with this kid, to perhaps there is
  something wrong with the way we are teaching or
  approaching this child.
• Hmmmmmm?

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Shift in Thinking

• Bring your assumptions down to where you can
  challenge them.
• Assumptions have a truth status that are
  uncertain.

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Shift in Thinking

• Think of different way to approach the child.
• Every day is a new day, forget what happen
  previously and rethink your approach.
• Find a mentor to work with your students.
• CAP-Caring Adult Program
• Contact outside agency

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Milanis Research from The 3 Habits of Highly
Successful Reading Teachers

• Students have a good sense of what we think of
  them, if we believe in them, and what we expect
  of them.
• Teachers indicate true feelings all the time.
  Expressions on our faces may be fleeting, but
  they are there and others are easily able to pick
  them up and ascertain what they mean.
• It is vital to know how much you can affect the
  students you teach, and how well they do.

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Students dont think like adults think, but they
feel like adults feel. Lee Jenkins
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Building Relationships with Students

• Think about the message you send to students, by
  your tone, your words, your body language
• Convey positive messages to All students
• In your classroom, remind students everyday that
  you know they are smart, and that sometimes
  learning is hard work but that youre there for
  them.
• Try something new

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Building Relationships with Students

• Observe your students to see how they learn best
• Make sure the classroom environment is one where
  students feel comfortable, appreciated, and safe.
• Look at your students in a new way

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Building Relationships with Students

• Dont assume you already know what to do for a
  child look for the truth.
• It is imperative that you tell each child that
  she or he is capable and is making progress.
  Celebrate every step toward the goal.

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Culturally Relevant Teaching

• Culturally Relevant
• Knowledge is continuously recreated, recycling
  and shared by teachers and students. It is not
  static or unchanging.
• Knowledge is viewed critically
• Teacher is passionate about content
• Teacher helps students develop necessary skills
• Teacher sees excellence as a complex standard
  that may involve some postulates but takes
  student diversity and individual differences into
  account

• Assimilations
• Knowledge is static and is passed in one
  direction, from teacher to student.
• Knowledge is viewed as infallible
• Teacher is detached, neutral about content
• Teacher expects students to demonstrate
  prerequisite skills.
• Teachers sees excellence as a postulate that
  exists independently from student diversity or
  individual differences.

Research from Successfully Teaching
African-American Students, Gloria
Ladson-Billings, pg. 81
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Making students feel appreciated
Giving students opportunities
Holding students accountable
Purposefully, help students feel valued
Create the Optimal Environment by intentionally
Making students feel safe
Listen, listen, listen
Connecting reading and learning to culture and
environment
Purposefully make students feel comfortable
Looking at students in new ways
Intentionally building rapport with parents
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Connect reading and learning to culture.
Do community service in surrounding neighborhoods
and in your classroom.
Go to community events where your students are.
Determine with the class what will be your symbol
for respect of diversity.
Cultural Relevant Focus
Invite Parents to your classroom to view student
presentation.
Purposefully include opportunities for learning
about different cultures.
Dont assume you can relate to other cultures.
Host Parent nights specifically showcasing
student work/project.
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What factors influence brain development and
academic achievement?
Genes
Psychological
Nutrition
Positive reinforce-ment and Feedback
Emotional
Exercise
Social
Love
Physical
Challenge and the Arts
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Educate yourself and be in the know!
Resources

• Billings-Ladson, Gloria, Successful Teachers of
• African-American Children.
• Clark, Ron, The Essential 55.
• Covey, Stephen, R. The 7 Habits of Highly
• Effective People and The 7 Habits of Highly
• Effective Teens.
• Garner, Betty, Getting to Got it!
• Pavik, Robert and Ramsey, Richard, Reading and
• Writing Sourcebook.
• Jensen, Eric, Teaching with the brain in mind.
• Peters, Stephen, Do You Know Enough About Me
• to Teach Me?
• Teaching Tolerance (magazine subscription)
• Educational Leadership (magazine subscription)

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It is well-known that when we are in an
environment where we feel comfortable,
appreciated, and safe, we thrive. If we know that
our opinions matter, that we are listened to and
valued, its a place where we want to be. When we
know what the expectations are and that much is
expected of us, and we are given the tools, time,
and guidance to reach our goals, we surpass what
we think were capable of.
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What did we learn? What will we do?

1. Be conscious of what we do unconsciously?
2. Shift in our thinking about how we approach and
   work with minority learners.
3. Intentionally, genuinely build relationships with
   students.
4. Intentionally, genuinely embed opportunities for
   cultural learning into instruction.
5. Intentionally, build relationships with parents
   and be involved in the community.

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The world is a rainbow
With Many Kinds of People
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It takes all kinds of people,
To make the world go round!
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• Kids only have one chance for an education---and
  we need to have the courage to stand up for
  them.
• Anne Duncan

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Gods little flowers.
Gods little flowers, thats what I call them.
Every one a little different but every one so
sweet. And just like a garden, the classroom has
got to be a place that nurtures them. They dont
all need the same thing. One might need a little
pruning and some might need to roam free. Theyre
just so precious and it breaks my heart to see
the hurtful way they are treated. Some teachers
think they are hard because they live tough lives
but they are just as fragile as hothouse
orchids. Elizabeth Harris
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Contact Information

• Marlene Bryan Smith
• (704)-253-3188
• mdsmith_at_iss.k12.nc.us
• Robin Ambrosini
• (704)-528-5137
• rambrosini_at_iss.k12.nc.us