Multicultural Education Feb 8-Feb 14: The Historical Context

What does it mean to be a teacher? According to the book Making Choices in Multicultural Education by Christine E. Sleeter and Carl A. Grant, there are two primary models to define teaching. The first model puts a strong emphasis on what the teacher does; its main focus is a teacher-centered learning approach. This approach is when the teacher is telling the students what to do and how to do it.

The second model engages students and assist them to make sense of the academic concepts they are learning; this approach is geared more toward the student. Historically, our education system has followed the teacher-centered approach. I believe that this approach is becoming less common. However, due to the pressure that many teachers are under, the student-centered approach has not taken off in the way it should have. Because of the No Child Left Behind Act, which puts pressure on teachers and making them accountable for how their students test. The focus rests with the test results thus taking away time for creativity and true learning in the classroom.

Since I aspire to be a teacher, I take this issue to heart. Although I think it is important for a teacher to be held accountable, I wonder if there might be a better way to achieve this. I agree with Prof. KM Smith’s method of how she assesses her students, which is through the progression of a personal portfolio. I think a portfolio potentially measures an individual’s progress rather than comparing a child with other students their age from around the country. All children are different and come from different background and cultures. I therefore, believe it's important to measure a child by their individual progress rather than comparing them to other students.

In addition to my concerns with the method by which students are tested today, I am also concerned as how racially, culturally and socioeconomically biased the tests are. I believe this can somewhat be shown by the statistics shared in the book Making Choices for Multicultural Eduction. The statistics illustrated that in 2006, only 10% of white children lived in poor families, 33% of black children lived in poor families and 27% of Latino children lived in poor families. These statistics seem to be related to the average earnings of these different races and their subsequent graduation rates. It was shown that poverty is negatively correlated to test scores, which then affects the chances of higher education, employment and income. In 2002, whites with a high school degree earned 28,145 dollars a year, while Blacks only earned 22,823 dollars and Latinos earned only 24,163 dollars. This shows there to be a direct correlation between education and employment. These statistics cause me to wonder what exactly is wrong with our schools today, especially in the low income and culturally diverse areas. What I think is the biggest issue, an issue that was talked about in my class today, is the level of expectations teachers have for their students. I think that many teachers who work in these lower income schools tend to think their students aren't really capable of that much. Teachers need to increase their expectations of their students and show that they believe they can do well and succeed in school and in life.

This whole concept of a student–centered learning approach and increasing the level of expectations, especially in neighborhoods that are poverty stricken, is shown in the movie, "Dangerous Minds", starring Michelle Pfeiffer. The movie is about a retired Marine officer who is hired to teach angry teenagers, all from lower class and underprivileged backgrounds. Most of them are involved with gangs and drugs, and refuse to engage in anything academically or school related. Desperate to connect to her students, LouAnne (Pfeiffer’s character) begins to use themes and the language that the students can relate to (which was something Matthew pointed out and I agree). She also took a very interesting approach, in the way she tried to motivate them. She began the year with giving them all an A and the only way to maintain that A is if they can understand the symbolism from the lessons she teaches and then are able to relate it to their own lives. LouAnne shows how she believes in them and expects that they will all do the work needed to keep their A. I have posted a link to a short scene from the movie. I had a tough time choosing what part to show because I think the whole movie is an excellent example on how a big part of a student’s success is dependent on a teacher and the expectations he or she has of them. This video shows that when students have someone who believes in them, they will make the right choices. Please enjoy this clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9yGsweX6eA

In addition to this fascinating clip from "Dangerous Minds", I also think many of you will find this article (link below) very interesting. The article centers around Capital Prep, which is a school in Hartford, Connecticut started by principal Steve Perry. Perry is a tough principal with extremely high expectations of his students. The school is more than 80% Black and Latino students. I found this article extremely telling because it shows how with the right teachers and proper encouragement and motivation, anything can be accomplished. Many would say that principal Perry is defying the odds, but I disagree. I think he is just proving that no matter what someone's race, gender, religion or ethnic background - all people are capable of being successful when given the proper tools and motivation. I think this all relates back to the importance of the way teachers teach and of standardized testing. These tests are putting students into a 'box' and defining what their capabilities are. Someone's potential cannot be determined by a single test. It is through motivation and assessing the student in an individualized way, that he or she will truly become successful.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/07/22/bia.education.success/index.html