Multicultural Initiatives: Willis D. Hawley - Another Inconvenient Truth, Race and Ethnicity Matter

What's this blog about?

I teach several courses under the broad topic of "Multicultural Education," prioritizing social justice issues of access, power/privilege, & narrowing the academic achievement gap. I am a person of color and I almost always have a white co-teacher. We include topics, such as: racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism, ethnocentrism, deculturalization, transforming curriculum, etc. This is a place where I post information that we teach; lesson plans for activities; and resources we use and/or which are shared with me by my adult students.

Monday, July 4, 2016

Willis D. Hawley - Another Inconvenient Truth, Race and Ethnicity Matter

In a course, Strategies to Close the Achievement Gap, that my colleagues, Elli Stern/Jennifer Wolfrum, and I teach, we ask participants (teachers, counselors, administrators, tutors, nurses, etc.) to get into a group and "become the expert" on an article that we have assigned for homework. To this end, we then ask the group to construct a graphic organizer, mnemonic, or other visual aid to help "teach" the other groups about the article.

“…teachers need to respect and build on differences to foster student learning.”

“The following practices illustrate the interdependence of good instructional practice and of caring and trustful relationships among students and teachers:
* Building on students’ prior knowledge, values, and experiences.”
* Respecting and being interested in students’ experiences and culturalbBackgrounds…….”

“…the problem of student underachievement [lay] not in students’ identities or in family culture or poverty, but rather in uncaring school-based relationships…”