Where Are the Teachers of Color? Photo GROWING up in the 1970s and ’80s in the Chicago suburb of Blue Island, Ill., Gladys Marquez, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, never once had a Hispanic teacher. Sometimes, when trying to explain to her parents her plans for college — or even why she wanted to play softball or try out for the cheerleading team — she wished she had a mentor who shared her background. “It would have been nice to have a teacher in the classroom who could help you bridge over and help you become a better version of yourself,” she said in a recent interview. Now Ms. Marquez is herself a high school teacher in Blue Island. But while nearly half of the students at the school are Hispanic, Ms. Across the country, government estimates show that minority students have become a majority in public schools.
In some school districts, the disparities are striking. In New York City, where more than 85 percent of the students are racial minorities, 60 percent of the teachers are white. What is Culture? What is Culture? Howard Gardner of The Multiple Intelligence Theory. Banksy on Twitter: " Study shows how children view race bias. Why Don’t More Men Go Into Teaching?
The World as 100 People - Jack Hagley // Graphic Design // Infographics. The World as 100 People I remember seeing this as list of this information when I was a kid. It was an email from my Nanny that my mum had pinned to the kitchen pin-board. I always wanted to do something with it, here is my attempt. Now available as a print in these languagesEN • PT • FR • ES • AR • NL + more to follow. Source. The Power of Introverts: An Essential Understanding for Teachers. Photo credit: iStockphoto About a year ago, I read Susan Cain's Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking. I wanted to tell everyone about this book right away, but I also wanted to let what I'd learned sink in.
I wanted to sit alone with my new self-awareness, process my experience, and absorb the revelations I'd had -- all in true introverted fashion. See, as I'd read Cain's book, my predominant thoughts were, "She's describing me! I'm an introvert! And there's nothing wrong with that! " The margins of my copy are littered with stars, exclamation points, and scribbles that, as I look back, reflect my profound relief and gained understandings. Reading this book was a healing experience that has given me a tremendous confidence boost. Introverts Defined Susan Cain writes, "At least one third of the people we know are introverts. Cain suggests that those who answer yes to the following questions are most likely introverts: Do you have a horror of small talk? Preparing for Cultural Diversity: Resources for Teachers.
How can teachers effectively engage students from diverse backgrounds? It's a question many teachers face at the beginning of the school year, and of course, there isn't one prescribed strategy that works. Luckily, there are many useful resources to help new and veteran educators explore the subject. If you're looking for a starting point, How Can We Prepare Teachers to Work With Culturally Diverse Students and Their Families? (an article from the Family Research Project at Harvard University) features insightful advice and useful tips from leading diversity education specialists.
Two other sources of inspiration are Yvonne Pratt-Johnson's article Communicating Cross-Culturally: What Teachers Should Know and this book excerpt from ASCD's Diverse Teaching Strategies for Diverse Learners. More From Edutopia You'll find a trove of insightful articles on Edutopia. Rethinking Tolerance: Ensuring That All Students Belong. I’ve always disliked the connotation of the word "tolerance" in schools because it reflects the language of a segregated society. We can tolerate the smell of ten-day-old sushi, but are we really addressing the problems of society by teaching our students to simply tolerate one another?
"Hello, My Name Is…" Photo credit: Todd Bradley As part of a culture-building field trip, students and staff at Craven Early College and Early College EAST in North Carolina were asked to open an envelop, remove a "Hello, My Name Is…" label, and stick it onto their shirt. These labels already included a variety of identities (e.g., Gay, White, Black, ADHD, 504, IEP, Ghetto, Suburban, Stoner, Redneck, Hispanic, Mexican, etc).
Once everyone had their labels attached to their shirt, I asked, "How many of you would like to swap your label? " Students wrote freely for several minutes about images associated with their assigned identity, and their positive or negative connotations. "Muslim. "Asian. Just Like Us. 3 Ways to Plan for Diverse Learners: What Teachers Do. In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and crew are so intimidated by the Wizard's enigmatic personality that they struggle to talk with him on equal footing. Fear and frustration overwhelm them as they blindly accept a suicide mission to slay the Witch of the West. In return, they each receive a treasured prize: a heart, a brain, courage, and a way home. Ironically, they already have these gifts -- which they only discover after unveiling the man behind the curtain posing as the grumpy wizard.
Differentiated instruction (DI) casts a spell on educators as to how it meets all students' needs. The skillset required to differentiate seems mystical to some and incomprehensible to others in this environment of state standards and high-stakes tests. Where does one find the time? The DI elements were first introduced to me in How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms by Carol Tomlinson, and my understanding later deepened thanks to my friend and mentor, Dr. Image Credit: John McCarthy.