Thanks to Jersey Jazzman for discovering this gem from Sesame Street.
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor explains to fuzzy character Abby Cadabby that there are good careers for girls like her.
Like teaching.
To have a career, you have to have training.
By “training,” she didn’t mean five weeks of training.
She was referring to a “career,” not a job.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I just had a bit of an epiphany. I was reading an article by Monica Brown, an associate professor in the Department of Special Education/Communication Disorders at New Mexico State University. She was writing about teachers needing to shift their focus to providing Culturally Relevant Teaching in their classrooms. She writes, “We do know that the U.S. education system has not been culturally responsive to students from [culturally and linguistically diverse] CLD backgrounds. Historically, these students were expected to check their cultures at the school or classroom door and learn according to the norms of European Americans. This was not fair to those groups of students, but neither is placing a teacher in the classroom who is unable (or unwilling) to change his or her teaching style and classroom to facilitate students’ mastery of the curriculum” (Brown, 2007, p. 61).
My epiphany came upon reading this. Is it possible that reform in the culturally relevant way we present instruction is what we have needed this whole time? Gay (2000, 2001), Nieto (1999, 2004), and Ladson-Billings (1990, 1994, 1995, 2001) have all written about the need to make education more accessible to students through a respect for their students’ backgrounds as well as “a knowledge base for CRT by acquiring detailed, factual information about the cultural particularities of specific ethnic groups” (Brown, 2007, p. 59-60). Is it possible that the reformers simply missed the implications of the data about the achievement gap? Could it be that rather than all the reforms mandated through NCLB for testing and rigorous standards forced us in the wrong direction? Is it possible that all we need to do is train teachers in the cultural norms of their students’ home lives so that we can start with what they know rather than forcing them to check their home cultures at the door and learn by European American norms? What if we had found the right problem but implemented the wrong solution?
Brown, M. R. (2007). Educating all students: Creating culturally responsive teachers, classrooms, and schools. Intervention in School and Clinic, 43(1), 57–62. doi:10.1177/10534512070430010801
What if the “problem” was bogus to begin with?
I think it would help for me to understand your ideas if you give some examples of European American norms that we use in our schools that are obstacles to the learning of students from other cultures, and also some examples of norms we might use instead, or are you suggesting we use an array from all cultures?
Rather than get too in depth may I suggest you pick up Geneva Gay’s book _Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research and Practice_ 2000. Nieto’s book is also a practical guide to CRT. My thoughts were simply that when we discuss the achievement gap we are most often referring to students of color being lower on achievement tests than their white peers. However, given that there are culturally varied ways that children interact with adults these gaps may have more to do with our approach to the students than with the curriculum. One example Gay gives is that in social settings like church it is considered appropriate to shout out responses and verbally participate without being formally recognized by the leader. However, in our schools we ask questions and then insist that students wait with their hands raised to be called on. A child raised in a setting where participating verbally is appropriate may find the expectation in school to wait to be called on confusing. Gay gives many more examples from other cultures.
Unfortunately, I think we have to get more in depth to solve the gaps: my district has required CRT training and equity training for the last several years, we have read the books, and learned a great deal, but the gap remains unchanged. Most teachers I know would jump for joy to hear a spontaneous “Amen” as a response to their teaching.
I just reread my comment and realized that “rather than” should have been deleted from this question: Could it be that rather than all the reforms mandated through NCLB for testing and rigorous standards forced us in the wrong direction?
Sesame will have to come up with a privatizing puppet….it will look just like the Rheeject with Mike, Bill and Rupert pulling the strings.
Nah, no strings attached, just a fist up the rear to control the puppet.
Reblogged this on Thinking in the Deep End.
Rather than restating my views, if you are interested you can find them here in the post “It’s New and it’s Shiny. The ADHD of Educational Policy”. http://ThinkingInTheDeepEnd.wordpress.com