August 17, 2013Multicultural and Urban Education: Teaching for Equity and Social Justice

A.M. Agenda: • 8:30 a.m. Introductions• Community Principles• Self Assessment• What is multicultural education?• Syllabus/wiki/ ~ 9:30 Dr. Anita Bright• Planning for Aug 20• Debriefing homework due today• Lunch, noon to 1 p.m.

• Put your first name on your file folder & preferred pronoun in ( ----).•Write your first name in big letters on the front

of name plate, and your preferred pronoun. On the back: list two facets of your cultural identity to share, using the “dimensions of diversity” wheel in your folder. Sit with someone you do not know well and share your information. •Do you have any additions to the wheel?•Whole group sharing & photos

INTRODUCTIONS

Community Principles

What do you need for a successfully safe learning environment?

What kind of the things distract you from focusing on the course?

Do we want to create snack groups for the class sessions? Note: Aug 24 we ALL bring pot luck. If so, we need folks to sign up on the sheet.

Self Assessment “pretest”

• Self Assessment on Student, Family, and Community Engagement and Connections

• Complete the front of the page only, and file in your folder.

• You will revisit this form on the last day of class to assess progress and areas to explore further. Please leave it in your folder.

Introduction to Critical Multicultural Education and Racism_objectives

Objectives for today’s session: (from course syllabus)• Reflect on personal knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to become an

effective teacher of diverse learners.• Understand how personal identity, worldview, and prior experience affect

perceptions and expectations, and recognize how these may bias behaviors and interactions.

• Understand institutional and cultural forms of oppression, including schools which are organizations/institutions within a historical, cultural, political, and social context.

• Acknowledge cultural, linguistic and institutional privileges attached to “whiteness” in the US.

• Acquire tools and resources for confronting various acts of discrimination and oppression as an educator.

Four Approaches to Multicultural Curriculum Reform Banks, J.A. (1999). An Introduction to Multicultural Education (2nd ed.).

Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

1. The Contributions ApproachThis approach reflects the least amount of involvement in multicultural education approaches. Selecting books and activities that celebrate holidays, heroes, and special events from various cultures incorporates this. For example, spending time reading about Dr. Martin Luther King in January is a common practice that falls into this category. In this approach, culturally diverse books and issues are not specified as part of the curriculum (Banks, 1999).

2. The Additive Approach

In this approach content, concepts, themes, and perspectives are added to the curriculum without changing its basic structure. This involves incorporating literature by and about people from diverse cultures into the mainstream curriculum without changing the curriculum. For example, examining the perspective of a Native American about Thanksgiving would be adding cultural diversity to the traditional view of Thanksgiving. However, this approach does not necessarily transform thinking (Banks, 1999).

3. The Transformation Approach

This approach actually changes the structure of the curriculum and encourages students to view concepts, issues, themes, and problems from several ethnic perspectives and points of view. For example, a unit on Thanksgiving would become an entire unit exploring cultural conflict. This type of instruction involves critical thinking and involves a consideration of diversity as a basic premise (Banks, 1999).

4. The Social Action Approach

This approach combines the transformation approach with activities to strive for social change. Students are not only instructed to understand and question social issues, but to also do something about important about it. For example, after participating in a unit about recent immigrants to North America, students may write letters to senators, Congress, and newspaper editors to express their opinions about new policies (Banks, 1999).

Course Overview/ Syllabushttp://multiculturalresources.pbworks.com/

Homework Debriefing

• “My social identity” is your start on the Critical Autoethnography paper. See syllabus.

• Whole group commentary, Q & A about the White Privilege assignment.

• Use Ruth Anne Olson’s article (in your folder) when we split to group work.

• Discussion questions:

Possible discussion questionsRe: Ruth Anne Olson

• Can you think of other privileges that could be added to this list?

• What are the implications for children of color if Whites have these privileges?

• How can the system be changed so that these “privileges” become rights for everyone?

• What actions can you take to help the system change?

For August 20Homework for Classism session:Reading• Section 3: Introduction • Section 3: Jigsaw Context (gather in random groups 1)• Section 3: ALL Voices and Next StepsWriting:• Poverty Survival Skills• Communication Styles• Reading Response• Work on Critical Autoethnography Paper

Group Formation & Tasks• Amy, Ashley, Carla, Carol• Chris, Cristina, David, Jessica• Joanne, Joceline, Jordan, Kirk • Richard, Roxanne, Tracy, Wendy

Roles: facilitator makes sure everyone speaks, timer lets folks know at intervals how much time is left, recorder takes a few notes on key items discussed, reporter speaks in whole group debrief (use role cards)

Section 3 Jigsaw: Divide context articles among you for reading and reporting to group Aug 20Discuss insights from your reading responses.Turn in reading responses to Steph. Keep folders.

Uniting to Understand Racism

LUNCH !P.M. Agenda:

1 P.M.: Cat and KatrinaIntrosHistorical timeline (context)1 hour youtube re critical race theory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfehONdBHewMicroaggressions- define, look at examples, practice six stepsSome Aspects and Assumptions of White Culture in the US and Developing Positive Racial AttitudesEight Progressive Principles of Equity/Anti-Racist Learning & Teaching