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After reading the article, please respond to each of the following questions:
1. What were the "aha" moments for you in this article? What did you learn?
2. How can these learnings be applied in your classroom or in our school?
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Shizz says ...
ReplyDeleteMy aha moment was actually at the very beginning of the article. SciTech teachers are consciously addressing this issue right now. I know that personally I try to send the opposite message to my African American young males in my classroom. I try to get them to see that it is really okay to embrace education and its advantages; that it is really okay to be a leader and show that you care.
Recently, I offered an extra credit opportunity to my students in which I asked them to respond to the following: Why have you chosen to make education a priority? It was interesting to read all of the responses, but especially some of the responses from the young gentlemen in my class. They openly share that they do not want to repeat the errors that their brothers/sisters made and that they do not want to become another African American statistic. They recognize that SciTech allows them to pursue their education in a safe and loving and supportive environment.
We must never become complacent, however. We must continue to strive to review our literature, our practices, or interactions.
I read in the paper today about a group of Harrisburg AF AM profesionals who are interested in mentoring students. I will be sharing this article with all of us. That is really the key; finding successful people that share their background and community roots to show them by example that education is an expectation in their community and not something foreign or imposed on them by others! I also think that when our children truly know their history, and the lengths AFrican Americans went in the Reconstruction period and at the turn of the century to get a quality education, then they truly know that embracing education has ALWAYS BEEN an expectation of their community.
ReplyDeleteDesiree said: SciTech has been very successful in establishing a nurturing and caring environment in which students are more likely to achieve academic success. I applaud this. However, we must now now work on our student support systems, especially in subject areas that students find more difficult. We have to provide more tutorial support in higher level Math and Science courses which our students find difficult. We need to initiate more school-wide competitions in Math and help students to overcome their feelings of inadequacy in these areas. The true test will be to engage our boys fully so that they they can achieve in greater numbers the dreams that they dream.
ReplyDeleteExcellent article. The "aha" spot was really an "oh, yeah!" response to the section about giftedness. I have battled that battle for many of my ELLs over the years and I get tired to arguing and arguing with the testing restuls. Like in this article, if you look at the demographics in our own district, you would notice that the number of ELLs in the gifted program is not in line with the population. Specfically, the Hispanic/Latino population is missing from the gifted program but even the Asian population is still under-represented.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher/advocate for my population(s), I have taken professional risks by pushing the envelope at both of our district's academically challenging programs (MSA & STH). Even this morning, I was questioning the admissions team at MSA about the ELLs who have been invited to take The Test for admission. Sadly, I felt I put them on the defensive and I was merely looking at statistics and hoping that my population was, at least, being considered for this exclusive program. I know I can be an irritant but my population comes from cultures where it is not proper to question the professionals in addition to the obvious language barrier.
"and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep."
Deb says...ELL and LS students often only have teachers as advocates. You should make no apologies for advocating for your kids. That's what all good teachers do!
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