Diversity in the School Community Part II University of North Carolina, Wilmington June 25, 2009 Presented by: Deloris Rhodes Audrey Toney, Ed.D.

Objectives & Outcomes Developing Culturally Proficient Teachers Provide reflective opportunities and information to enhance participants’ knowledge about critical factors related to educating diverse students Provide reflective opportunities and information to enhance participants’ knowledge about critical factors related to educating diverse students Develop a better understanding of cultural competency and cultural discontinuity Develop a better understanding of cultural competency and cultural discontinuity Share dialogue and share instructional strategies that teachers can use to address the needs of diverse students Share dialogue and share instructional strategies that teachers can use to address the needs of diverse students

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

Why Do We Need Culturally 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 / Share Pair / 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 continued Pair / Discuss / Share continued The percentage of students (by racial categories) in the US who are proficient in mathematics by grade 12: 3% African-American 4% Hispanic-American 10% Native American 20% White 34% Asian-American Source: 2 million Minutes: A Documentary Calculating the Education Divide, Broken Pencil Productions

Pair / Discuss / Share continued Pair / 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 continued Pair / 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:

lticultural/quiz/quiz1.htm Equity & Diversity Awareness Quiz

TIME FOR A SHORT BREAK!

Portrait of American Public Schools Today Teachers TeachersStudents White White Ethnically and culturally diverse Ethnically and culturally diverse Middle Class Middle Class Socioeconomically disadvantaged Socioeconomically disadvantaged Monolingual Monolingual English Language learners English Language learners Monocultural Monocultural Special Needs Special Needs

Why do we have an achievement gap? As the classroom teacher, what is within your influence to change? Group Discussion Group Sharing

Processing the Multicultural Education and Equity Awareness Quiz Did any specific questions/answers surprise you? Did any specific questions/answers surprise you? How can misinformation about these issues contribute to stereotyping and oppression? How can misinformation about these issues contribute to stereotyping and oppression? What is your role as an educator in challenging any stereotypes or providing a greater understanding of these issues? What is your role as an educator in challenging any stereotypes or providing a greater understanding of these issues?

Seven Critical Areas for Educational Equity Access Access Instruction Instruction Materials Materials Assessment Assessment Attitudes Attitudes Language Language Interactions Interactions

Cultural Discontinuity (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 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 Understanding 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

The life, learning, and home experiences which children bring to school are now recognized as constituting the foundation for all their future learning. If some teachers choose to remain ignorant of these formative experiences, or if they disregard, or even worse, discredit them, then a gap is created between the children and the teacher which is left up 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 from “White Teachers/Diverse Classrooms” Dr. Paul Gorski

On what are teacher expectations based?

Teacher expectations are: Based primarily on the teachers’ own perceptions about race, class, physical appearance, gender, physical and emotional challenges. Based primarily on the teachers’ own perceptions about race, class, physical appearance, gender, physical and emotional challenges. Based less frequently on more objective information (e.g. past achievement, diagnostic test scores) Based less frequently on more objective information (e.g. past achievement, diagnostic test scores) Brophy, Teacher Expectations & Student Achievement (TESA)

North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards “For every student in North Carolina, a knowledgeable, skilled, compassionate teacher….a star in every classroom”. “For every student in North Carolina, a knowledgeable, skilled, compassionate teacher….a star in every classroom”. Standard II Standard II Establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students. Establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students.

Standard II Continued How will your classroom look? How will your classroom look? Pair/discuss/share Pair/discuss/share

Transformation of Society

I n a sense, multicultural education uses the transformation of self and school as a metaphor and starting place for the transformation of society. Ultimately, social justice and equity in schools can, and should, mean social justice and equity in society. Only then will the purpose of multicultural education be fully achieved. Dr. Paul Gorski

Cultural Proficiency is the effective integration of knowledge about students’ backgrounds into instructional planning and strategies, resulting in learning of curricular concepts at higher levels. Are you a culturally proficient teacher?

As a culturally proficient teacher, I Understand the sociopolitical context in which students exist and how it shapes them as learners Understand the sociopolitical context in which students exist and how it shapes them as learners Have the ability to use students’ cultural “capital” as an instructional aid (how student make meaning) Have the ability to use students’ cultural “capital” as an instructional aid (how student make meaning) Facilitate the creation of a cross-racial, cross cultural learning community in the classroom (cultural mediation) Facilitate the creation of a cross-racial, cross cultural learning community in the classroom (cultural mediation).

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, ( to Deloris Rhodes and Audrey Toney)

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