the dreamkeepers: successful teachers of african american children

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The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children Gloria Ladson Billings

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The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children. Gloria Ladson Billings. Effective teaching of A frican A merican students. Inner-city schools are de facto segregated schools - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children

The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American

childrenGloria Ladson Billings

Page 2: The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children

Effective teaching of African American

students Inner-city schools are de facto segregated schools Public schools have not sustained an effort to provide

quality education for African American students African American students attending small African

American schools perform better Separate schools? Culturally relevant teaching

Page 3: The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children

“I don’t really see color” ‘Dysconsciousness’ …these attempts at colorblindness mask a

‘dysconscious racism,’ an “uncritical habit of mind that justifies inequity and exploitation by accepting the existing order of things as given.” This is not to suggest that these teachers are racist in the conventional sense.

It is about being culturally unaware

Does culture matter?

Page 4: The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children

Culturally diverse students’ failure stems from

societal conflict and a struggle for power; specifically for African American students, there are special historical, societal, economic and political aspects to the role race plays in that struggle.

Aim is develop a “relevant black personality” that allows African American students to choose excellence in school yet still identify with African and African American culture.

Students should be able to hold their own in the classroom without forgetting their community.

Does culture matter?

Page 5: The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children

Cultural relevant teaching is…

An approach that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally and

politically by using cultural references to impact knowledge, skills and attitudes.

Page 6: The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children

Communication of high expectations Active teaching methods Teacher as facilitator Inclusion of culturally and linguistically diverse

students Cultural sensitivity Reshaping the curriculum Student-controlled classroom discourse Small group instruction and academically-related

discourse

CRT

Page 7: The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children

Teachers who practice culturally relevant

teaching use student culture in order to maintain it and to transcend the negative effects of the dominant culture.

Empowers student by using cultural references to impart knowledge; moves between two cultures but recognizes each as legitimate

Antithesis of assimilation – emphasizes sharing responsibility

Seeing color, seeing culture

Page 8: The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children

We are family

• Teachers establish strong, caring relationships with all students

• Recognize that teachers perceptions of students have a significant impact on student learning

• View themselves as part of the community, and as giving back to that community

• Connectedness between themselves and their students• Teaching is an art not a skill

Page 9: The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children

Knowledge is continuously recreated, recycled and shared

by teachers and students Knowledge is viewed critically Teacher is passionate about content and helps students

develop necessary skills Teacher takes student diversity and individual differences

into account Knowledge builds on what students already know There is more than one way of knowing, and there is more

than one side to a story Highlights students’ strengths and gives them confidence

to confront their weaknesses

Tree of knowledge

Page 10: The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children

Students whose educational. Economic, social, political and

cultural futures are most tenuous are helped to become intellectual leaders in the classroom.

Students are appreciated in a learning community rather than taught in an isolated and unrelated way.

Students’ real-life experiences are legitimized as they become a part of the ‘official’ curriculum.

Teachers and students participate in a broad conception of literacy that incorporates both literature and oratory.

Teachers and students engage in a collective struggle against the status quo.

Teachers are cognizant of themselves as political beings.

Lewis vs. Deveraux

Page 11: The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children

Administrators and Teachers’ power and responsibility:

Administrators should recruit teachers who have expressed an interest and desire to work with African American students.

Provide educational experiences that help teachers understand the central role of culture

Provide opportunities to critique the system in ways that will help them choose a role as a challenger of or a defender of the status quo

Require teachers to have prolonged immersion in African American culture

Provide opportunities for observation of culturally relevant teaching

Conduct student teaching over a longer period of time and a more controlled environment

Dreams into reality

Page 12: The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children

Dreams into reality

What a school would/should look like:• Provide educational self-determination• Honor and respect the students’ home

culture• Help African American students understand

the world as it is and equip them to change it for the better

Page 13: The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children

“From the spirituals of enslaved African Americans to the powerful oratory of civil rights leaders, African American dreams have challenged the “American Dream” to make itself manifest for those citizens who have been excluded from full citizenship. African Americans have believed that as long as they continued to dream, there was still a reason to look toward tomorrow. One of the most tangible vehicles for these dreams has been education – even when it was substandard and alienating. African Americans believed that somehow education could make their dreams a reality. I too believe and hope that if we can dream it, we can surely do it.”

~ Gloria Ladson Billings

Page 14: The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children

Resource

Ladson-Billings, G. (2009). " The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children." San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass.