Carol Ann Tomlinson and Edwin Lou Javius - Teach Up For Excellence

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.  

An important strategy for teachers is to have a growth mind set for their students so that they will adjust their instruction and practices to meet the students needs as they grow.  The greatest barrier to learning is often not what the student knows, but what the teacher expects of the students” (Good, 1987)

Having a community where all children feel comfortable allows the children to take some risks.  If teachers have high expectations for all students and they know teachers believe in them, they also willing to take more risks.  The environment needs to be full of trust, high expectations, and a lot of support for all to succeed.  

Joshua Aronson - Knowing Students As Individuals

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. 

Pat Guild - The Culture/Learning Style Connection

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.  

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…”

Priya Parmer & Shirley Steinberg - Locating Yourself for Your Students

Sometimes the most obvious thing goes unnoticed.  Often the most obvious and unspoken is gender and first language, as well as dis/ability, but also race. In this article, the students were quoted as saying, "they knew at every moment of their lives that they were not White, but they felt White people did not know they were White."

"When an educator's whiteness is unnamed, it remains in a dominant position, reinforcing that it is the non-color color by which all other colors are measured." 

Not only name the race of people of color, but also name the race of the white author, inventor, etc., to normalize the language and not point out just the people of color or women as the "other" or add-ons to the [white] curriculum.

Emily Style

Emily Style says teachers need to avoid the "color blind" trap, "There are still American educators who pride themselves on being color-blind, thinking that ignoring accidental differences or race or gender or religion or class creates the best classroom climate. Promoting such partial seeing is highly problematic for the creation of curriculum which will serve all students adequately."

What is Culture?

Culture Quotes:

It is the acquired pair of glasses through which we see life. - Mbarek A. 

Culture is us. We make it. We shape it as we love it to be. It is a call for individuals to agree upon some common values that bind them in harmony. - Moustafa H.

The more we know about the cultures of others, the more open-minded, tolerant and global we become. - Samir El A.

Sayings from a culture tell us about that culture's values:

• Haste makes waste
• Walk in Beauty
• Practice what you preach
• To err is human, to forgive divine
• Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.
• Don’t beat around the bush.
• Time is money.
• Stand on your own two feet.
• God helps those who help themselves.
• You’ve made your bed. Now lie in it.
• Feed two birds with one bowl
• Don't speak until spoken to
• If you can’t say something nice, don't say anything at all.
• Take time to smell the roses.
• Turn the other cheek
• Everyman for himself
• You should use all the brains you have and all that you can borrow. 
• If a man works hard, the land will not be lazy
• Don’t depend on heaven for food, but on your own two hands carrying the load 

Intent vs. Impact

Example of Intent vs. Impact and  Educational lesson gone wrong

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/19/underground-railroad-reenactment-field-trip-james-sandra-baker-hartford_n_3956232.html

On Explicit Communication Styles

“The Silenced Dialogue”, by Lisa Delpit

http://faculty.washington.edu/rikitiki/tcxg464sp08/Silenced%20Dialogue%20by%20L%20Delpit.pdf

Websites:

Teaching Tolerance – Fabulous and free curriculum ideas

http://www.tolerance.org/

Videos

Reconsider Columbus Day 

   

Differently Abled

About a differently limbed man (born w/out arms)

www.upworthy.com/this-guy-is-going-to-show-you-one-of-the-most-important-things-you-can-teach-your-kids-10

Inspiring Wheelchair Basketball Commercial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgSVBDeqVs4

Example of Culturally Responsive Teaching

Ms. Toliver

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRm0aHNVCuk

Allies

Playing for Change- video on supporting each other  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM

Sportsmanship http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaXVk5GBx-s

Inspirational

Boys Playing Soccer in Thailand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU4oA3kkAWU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Story of a Star Fish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wuSaNCIde4

Chess Prodigy from Uganda

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/10/world/africa/uganda-chess-teen/index.html

Articles:

Principles of Culturally Responsive Teaching (Brown University)

http://www.alliance.brown.edu/tdl/tl-strategies/crt-principles.shtml

 

“Locating Yourself for Your Students” by Priya Parmar and Shirley Steinberg

“Showing Students Who You Are” by Heather M. Pleasants

Watch:

Culturally Responsive Rap

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5eKveSnCNE

7 Principles of Culturally Responsive Teaching
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IptefRjN4DY

North Central Regional Educational Laboratory

By 2004, we knew how to do it. Citing the Learning Point 2004 publication, "All Students Reaching the Top:  Strategies for Closing Academic Achievement Gaps" by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.

Affirmative development of academic ability is nurtured and developed through:
(1) high-quality teaching and instruction in the classroom,
(2) trusting relationships in school, and
(3) supports for pro-academic behavior in the school and community.”

In the August 2004 article by Kiley Walsh Symonds titled, “After the Test: Closing the Achievement Gaps With Data,” Schools and districts may benefit from the following recommendations:
1. Schools need frequent credible data.
2. Teachers need support to use data.
3. Race matters.
4. Focus, especially on reading, is essential.

Closing the achievement gaps between white/Asian students and Hispanic/Latino or African-American students is a primary goal for school leaders.  We do not have to reinvent the wheel. We just have to act… NOW!

Teachers are not in this alone. Although it hurts to read Pedro Noguera’s article, “Closing the Racial Achievement Gap: The Best Strategies of the Schools We Send Them To” (August 2007) in which he states…
Children know when they are taught by adults who care about them and who believe in them. They typically respond by displaying the qualities that are so essential to school success – self-motivation, self-discipline and resilience.

Dorinda Carter - On Spotlighting and Ignoring Racial Group Members in the Classroom

In a course, Building Bridges for Understanding, that my colleague, Elli Stern, 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.  

By ignoring varying racial groups, teachers can miss the richness of diversity and the opportunity to strengthen every child’s identity.  However, by noticing, one can end up "spotlighting."

We can not make assumptions regarding race for all our students. The key is flexibility and mindfulness. Children will let you know how they are feeling as long as you remain open to listening and seeing what they are communicating to you.  Awareness of racial diversity is important. It will help teachers to talk about multiple groups that contributed to U.S. history and culture, while being sensitive to not spotlighting any one child. As your repertoire grows, and diverse groups become more and more part of the curriculum and teaching.  It’s important to include many, if not all, the ethnic and racial groups that contributed to our country.  By inclusion of multiple perspectives, there is less of a need to highlight individual students.

Mitali Perkins - Straight Talk on Race: Challenging the Stereotypes in Kid’s Books

In a course, Building Bridges for Understanding, that my colleague, Elli Stern, 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.  

Mitali Perkins (http://www.mitaliblog.com/ and books at http://www.mitaliperkins.com/) was born in India and immigrated to the States with her parents and two sisters when she was seven. Bengali-style, their names rhyme: Sonali means "gold,” Rupali means "silver,” and “Mitali” means “friendly.” Mitali had to live up to her name because her family moved so much — she’s lived in India, Ghana, Cameroon, England, New York, Mexico, California, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Massachusetts.

Mitali studied political science at Stanford University and Public Policy at U.C. Berkeley before deciding to try and change the world by writing stories for young readers. Now she’s settled in Newton, a town just outside of Boston, where she writes full-time. 

After studying political science at Stanford and public policy at U.C. Berkeley, she taught in middle school, high school and college. When she began to write fiction, her protagonists were often—not surprisingly—strong female characters trying to bridge different cultures.

 

Heather M. Pleasants - Showing Students Who You Are

In a course, Building Bridges for Understanding, that my colleague, Elli Stern, 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.  

Priya Parmar and Shirley Steinberg - Locating Yourself for Your Student

In a course, Building Bridges for Understanding, that my colleague, Elli Stern, 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.  

 

Kevin Washburn - Inspiring Others

In a course, Strategies to Close the Achievement Gap, that my colleague, Elli Stern, 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.   

Robert Marzano - Teaching Self-Efficacy with Personal Projects

In a course, Understanding Self-Efficacy, 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.

Ronald Ferguson - Helping Students of Color Meet High Standards

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.  

Ferguson’s article outlines that the most effective teaching occurs when a teacher has high expectations or high-perfectionism and also provides a high level of support or high help. This teaching practices sends a message to students that they will all get their and that the teacher is going to help get them there.

Ferguson’s work that found that teachers who held a high expectations, high help philosophy were most successful in closing the gap resonated with me.  This philosophy is based on the assumption that all children have the ability to learn and that my job as their teacher is to show them how to do it.  To be successful, I have to be mindful of each child’s learning style and cultural experience.  

In a course, Understanding Self-Efficacy, 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. 

“…combining cheerful helpfulness with pressure for producing correct answers is an anti-racist strategy for raising achievement and narrowing achievement gaps.”

Quick Link to Authors, Summaries, and Graphic Organizers for Courses I Teach

In courses (named below) 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.  

BUILDING BRIDGES FOR UNDERSTANDING

Kevin Washburn - Inspiring Others
http://multiculturalinitiatives.blogspot.com/2015/08/kevin-washburn-inspiring-others.html 

Christine Sleeter - Involving Students in Selecting Reading Materials
http://multiculturalinitiatives.blogspot.com/2011/07/christine-sleeter-involving-students-in.html

Priya Parmar and Shirley Steinberg - Locating Yourself for Your Student
http://multiculturalinitiatives.blogspot.com/2015/08/priya-parmar-and-shirley-steinberg.html


Heather M. Pleasants - Showing Students Who You Are 
http://multiculturalinitiatives.blogspot.com/2015/08/heather-m-pleasants-showing-students.html 

Dorinda J. Carter - On Spotlighting and Ignoring Racial Group Members in the Classroom
http://multiculturalinitiatives.blogspot.com/2015/08/dorinda-carter-on-spotlighting-and.html

STRATEGIES TO CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP

Pat Guild - The Culture/Learning Style Connection

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

Ron Ferguson - Helping Students of Color Meet High Standards

Joshua Aronson - Knowing Students As Individuals

Carol Ann Tomlinson and Edwin Lou Javius - Teach Up For Excellence

Mneumonics & Raps (Larry Bell, Beverly Daniel Tatum, Amanda Taylor, Julie Landsman, Chike Akua) - http://multiculturalinitiatives.blogspot.com/2012/03/mneumonics.html

Bonnie Davis - Unlocking Potential of Diverse Learners
http://multiculturalinitiatives.blogspot.com/2012/03/bonnie-davis-unlocking-potential-of.html

Lisa Delpit - Raising Expectations for Other People's Children
http://multiculturalinitiatives.blogspot.com/2012/12/lisa-delpit-raising-expectations-for.html 

Gail Thompson - Through Ebony Eyes
http://multiculturalinitiatives.blogspot.com/2012/03/gail-thompson.html

Larry Bell - Strategies That Close the Achievement Gap
http://multiculturalinitiatives.blogspot.com/2012/03/larry-bell.html
  
Doug Lemov - Teach Like a Champion
http://multiculturalinitiatives.blogspot.com/2012/03/doug-lemov.html
UNDERSTANDING SELF-EFFICACY

Geoff Cohen - Providing Supportive Feedback
http://multiculturalinitiatives.blogspot.com/2012/03/geoff-cohen-providing-supportive.html

Ron Ferguson - Helping Students of Color Meet High Standards
http://multiculturalinitiatives.blogspot.com/2015/08/ronald-ferguson-helping-students-of.html

Marina Krakovsky - The Effort Effect
http://multiculturalinitiatives.blogspot.com/2012/03/marina-krakovsky-effective-effort.html

Robert Marzano - Teaching Self-Efficacy with Personal Projects
http://multiculturalinitiatives.blogspot.com/2015/08/robert-marzano-teaching-self-efficacy.html

There Is No 'Palestinian-Israeli Conflict'

I Traveled to Palestine-Israel
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ferrari-sheppard/i-traveled-to-palestine_b_4761896.html

Paraphrased -



"When it comes to oppression, and one group has all the power and makes all the rules, and that group is "scratched" in a conflict, then there is a failure to understand the conflict."


"There is no conflict because the Israeli government controls everything… there is only power and those who resist it."

7 Things to Consider Before Choosing Sides in the Middle East Conflict
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ali-a-rizvi/post_8056_b_5602701.html
1. Why is everything so much worse when there are Jews involved?
2. Why does everyone keep saying this is not a religious conflict?
3. Why would Israel deliberately want to kill civilians?
4. Does Hamas really use its own civilians as human shields?
5. Why are people asking for Israel to end the "occupation" in Gaza?
6. Why are there so many more casualties in Gaza than in Israel?
7. If Hamas is so bad, why isn't everyone pro-Israel in this conflict?

Whitewashing Films

Commentary on the film Lucy staring Scarlett Johansson.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/olivia-cole/lucy-why-im-tired-of-seei_b_5627318.html

Here's a clip:
I can't accept that. I can't accept that there was only one black woman in the entire film, who delivered one line and who we never saw again. I can't accept that the bad guys were Asian and that although in China, Lucy's roommate says, "I mean, who speaks Chinese? I don't speak Chinese!" I can't accept that in Hercules, which I also saw this weekend, there were no people of color except for Dwayne Johnson himself and his mixed-race wife, whose skin was almost alabaster. I can't accept that she got maybe two lines and was then murdered. I can't accept that the "primitive tribe" in Hercules consisted of dark-haired men painted heavily, blackish green, to give their skin (head-to-toe) a darker appearance, so the audience could easily differentiate between good and bad guys by the white vs. dark skin. I can't accept that during the previews, Exodus: Gods and Kings, a story about Moses leading the Israelite slaves out of Egypt, where not a single person of color is represented, casts Sigourney Weaver and Joel Edgerton to play Egyptians. I can't accept that in the preview for Kingsman: The Secret Service, which takes place in London, features a cast of white boys and not a single person of Indian descent, which make up the largest non-white ethnic group in London. I can't accept that in stories about the end of the world and the apocalypse, that somehow only white people survive. I can't accept that while my daily life is filled with black and brown women, they are completely absent, erased, when I look at a TV or movie screen.

Male Privilege

This Response to That Princeton Freshman Should Be Required Reading for White Males
http://mic.com/articles/88903/this-response-to-that-princeton-freshman-should-be-required-reading-for-white-males?utm_source=policymicFB&utm_medium=main&utm_campaign=social

Great article and videos.  Here is an excerpt:
He's partially right: Because of our life experience, we will make mistakes. I certainly have. But what's not mentioned is that women and people of color and LGBT folks are the ones running across this minefield while we white, straight men — impervious to social shrapnel — have reached the other side, only to wonder aloud — mockingly, condescendingly — why the rest of these folks can't hurry the hell up because how awful could bigoted shrapnel be, really?There's a mountain of statistics and studies I can cite, from the wage gap to the way professors respond to student inquiries, that exclusively benefit white men in our society. But this really hammers the point home: TIME magazine wound up publishing Fortgang's op-ed, in full, on its website, just a week after unveiling its predominately privileged "TIME 100," which excluded Laverne Cox, a transgender woman of color and star of Orange Is the New Black who finished among the highest in their website's fan poll.

To the Princetion Privileged Kid:  http://groupthink.jezebel.com/to-the-princeton-privileged-kid-1570383740/+violet-baudelaire

ASU professor encourages students to defy body hair norms

Excellent Research
https://asunews.asu.edu/20140703-body-shaving#.U7gk07tzEEg.twitter

Since 2010 Breanne Fahs, associate professor of women and gender studies in ASU’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences has offered students the chance to participate in an extra-credit exercise related to body hair.

Female student participants stop shaving their legs and underarms for 10 weeks during the semester while keeping a journal to document their experiences. For male students, the assignment is to shave all body hair from the neck down.

Robinson says part of her motivation for deciding to participate in the exercise was that in previous semesters she felt left out of the sense of the camaraderie of the students who were all bonding over their body hair, or lack thereof for males in the class.

That act of rebellion isn’t quite the same for males as females, according to Fahs. It’s not uncommon in our society for some men to engage in “manscaping,” removing hair from some parts of their bodies. For the extra-credit assignment, she asks male students to shave everything below the neck and maintain it for 10 weeks. This makes the process labor-intensive and gives men some insight into what women who shave go through, she said.